Lead Stories

NDAs are hiding data center deals, drawing ire from locals — and attention from lawmakers

By fields of cotton and soybeans where his bees forage and pollinate, Foster Hensel pries open the lid of one of his beehives, setting off a rising hum from inside. "You hear the difference in the sound?" he asks, pumping the bellows of a small smoker to try and settle the bees. "They're getting a little aggravated." What has Hensel concerned is a few miles down the road. In Boyce, a small town in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana, construction is starting on a 300-acre data center site. The beekeeper worries the new warehouse-like facilities will raise his utility bills or change the local environment. And he asks why there's not more information. "Let me quote a good writer, Shakespeare — there's something rotten in Denmark," Hensel said. "There's something wrong with that." The negotiations between the data center developer — Dallas-based Applied Digital Corp. — and local officials were shielded under nondisclosure agreements (NDAs).

In Rapides Parish, the secrecy left residents with unanswered questions and distrust of their local leaders. But the use of NDAs for negotiations on data centers is common across the country, according to experts and those in the industry. And the practice has faced opposition from the public and some lawmakers. Bills to ban NDAs for data centers have been introduced in several states, including Michigan, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Ohio. Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro banned their use on data center projects by agencies he oversees. Eric Bonds is a professor and environmental sociologist at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. He and his research partner found that NDAs were used in at least 25 of 31 data center projects they surveyed there last year. He said NDAs seem to be "standard practice." "After we published our research," Bonds said, "we heard back from reporters and activists kind of around the country from Arizona, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania." Companies and local officials who sign nondisclosure agreements say they're needed to protect corporate secrets and to negotiate freely. But experts say they also give data center developers an edge as they move from county to county — in this case, parish to parish — seeking the best deals. "Information is power, and these folks, they're powerful, and they want to make a lot of money, so they're going to control information as closely as they can so they have an advantage," said David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida.

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ICE officer's release escalates fight between states over extradition

The release of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer from a Texas jail on Thursday despite Minnesota’s request for his return could set a dangerous precedent, increasing friction between states and helping criminal defendants avoid justice, legal experts said. Christian Castro was released from a detention center in Brownsville after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declined to immediately sign his extradition warrant. A federal judge also declined to block Castro’s release or order Abbott to sign the warrant. Minnesota officials say they believe Castro could flee to Mexico to avoid prosecution on charges he shot a man and lied about it during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January. Extradition from Mexico would require action by the Trump administration, which opened an investigation into Castro’s actions but also has argued ICE agents have “absolute immunity” for their actions on duty.

The standoff between the two states is highly unusual. Under federal law, states have little discretion to reject extradition requests from fellow states. Thousands of fugitives are sent to other states each year as a matter of routine. But Abbott, a Republican, said last week he would not respond to Minnesota’s extradition request, citing the ongoing investigation into fraud in government social service programs in the state, which President Donald Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there. The decision is alarming because it injects politics into the extradition process, said Marsh Halberg, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor in Minnesota. “Something that’s been a routine process may now turn into a political card,” he said in a phone interview. In recent months, California and New York have rejected extradition requests from Louisiana for doctors accused of mailing abortion pills. But legal scholars say those cases are different because the doctors weren’t in Louisiana and never fled the state and became fugitives. Under federal law, the New York and California governors had no duty to turn over the doctors, Georgetown University law professor Stephen Vladeck wrote on Substack. “Abbott is just refusing to perform his,” he said.

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Texas Senate hopeful Talarico teams with Mark Cuban on plan to break up healthcare 'monopolies'

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is out with a new plan, first shared with CNBC, to break up what he says are healthcare monopolies and bring down the cost of prescription drugs. And he’s teaming up with entrepreneur Mark Cuban to launch it. Talarico, a member of the Texas House of Representatives who is running against state Attorney General Ken Paxton in one of the most closely-watched Senate races of the 2026 election cycle, will appear with Cuban for a live event and podcast recording in Fort Worth on Saturday to discuss the plan.

“Mark and I agree it’s time to break up the Big Medicine monopolies that control our broken healthcare system,” Talarico said in a statement to CNBC. “Healthcare corporations are ripping us off — jacking up premiums and profiting off our pain. This plan will break up monopolies, lower medical debt, bring down the cost of prescription drugs, and ensure doctors decide what medication their patients need — not insurance companies.” Talarico is trying to become the first Democrat elected statewide in Texas since 1994, in a seat that would be key for the party if they want to win control of the Senate from Republicans. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates the race a “toss-up,” and recent polling shows Talarico and Paxton neck-and-neck. Democrats across the country have hammered home a cost-of-living message heading into the November election, criticizing President Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled House and Senate for enacting policies they say have hurt the economy and raised prices.

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Trump visits Houston for GOP fundraiser and NASA ceremony

President Donald Trump touched down in Houston Thursday afternoon ahead of a private fundraiser before a Friday ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center on his third visit to Texas since returning to the White House. The two-day trip puts Trump at the center of two consequential Texas stories: Republicans’ effort to hold a U.S. Senate seat in an unexpectedly competitive election and NASA’s push to return astronauts to the moon through the Artemis program. After arriving at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Trump was scheduled to headline a Republican National Committee reception to raise money ahead of the midterm elections. He is also scheduled to visit NASA Johnson Space Center on Friday.

Trump's visit to help raise money for Republicans in Texas come as his endorsed candidate, Ken Paxton, is neck and neck with James Talarico in the race for U.S. Senate. The RNC Chair previously told the Houston Chronicle that Texas is a "treasure trove" for finding Republican conservative donors. According to a copy of the invitation for Thursday's event obtained by a New York Times reporter, donors must pay $10,000 to attend the reception and more than $88,000 for a photo opportunity. At NASA, Trump will honor the Artemis II crew and award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch. Only 30 astronauts have received the honor, according to NASA. Experts said Trump has shown a particular interest in space policy over his two terms in office. “He's certainly, particularly among modern presidents, one of the more energetic and impactful drivers of national space policy,” said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy for the Planetary Society, a space advocacy organization. He redirected NASA to the moon with the Artemis Program and created the U.S. Space Force during his first term. In his second term, Trump worked to streamline regulatory paperwork required by companies seeking to launch rockets. Many presidents have enjoyed the symbolic power of NASA and human spaceflight, Dreier said. Trump seems to understand that returning NASA astronauts to the moon is a “very potent symbol of American capability,” he said. “He understands the power of symbolism and of a story and narrative,” Dreier said of Trump. “One of his great strengths is understanding how to sell an idea.”

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State Stories

Enbridge to buy Houston pipeline co.'s crude oil business in $600M Permian deal

Canada-based Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB), which has its U.S. headquarters in Houston, is acquiring pipeline assets for $600 million. Houston-based Salt Creek Midstream LLC is selling its crude oil gathering business — including 100% of the Orla and Wink North systems and a 50% interest in the Delaware Crossing system — to Enbridge. The business has about 500 miles of crude oil gathering infrastructure in the Delaware Basin portion of the Permian Basin. It serves more than 20 producers and has about 320,000 net dedicated acres under long-term commercial agreements with an average remaining contract life of about 10 years. The assets have a combined 420,000 barrels per day of throughput capacity and 350,000 barrels of storage capacity with access to Enbridge’s majority-owned Gray Oak Pipeline.

"These assets will strengthen our value chain in the Permian Basin and Enbridge can now offer customers full wellhead to water integration via Gray Oak, Cactus II and the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center,” Colin Gruending, Enbridge’s executive vice president of liquids pipelines, said in a news release. The deal is expected to close in 2026. RBC Capital Markets acted as financial adviser to Enbridge. Sidley Austin LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP were legal advisers to Enbridge. Salt Creek Midstream was formed in 2018 by Houston-based Arm Energy Holdings LLC and funds managed by Los Angeles-based Ares Management LP (NYSE: ARES). Aside from the crude oil gathering business, Salt Creek also has natural gas and water infrastructure in the Permian Basin. Enbridge is working on several other pipeline projects that come out of the Permian Basin. A joint venture is developing the 450-mile Eiger Express Pipeline, which will run from the Permian to Katy with a capacity of 3.7 billion cubic feet per day. A separate joint venture reached a final investment decision with Houston-based Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) last year to develop a 160-mile, bidirectional natural gas pipeline between the Corpus Christi area and Katy.

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Prominent general contractor's Texas offices raided by federal authorities

Federal authorities raided a general contractor's Austin, San Antonio and Plano offices on Aug. 26. More than a half-dozen eyewitnesses told the Austin Business Journal they spotted around 15 federal and state officers enter Three Barton Skyway, which is located at 1221 South MoPac Expressway, in the morning. The officers were circling in on the office of Plano-based Cadence McShane Construction Co. LLC and left with several boxes and confiscated cell phones, sources said. Srinath Kasturi, Cadence's executive vice president over the Austin office, on Aug. 27 confirmed the activity at the Austin office, along with offices in San Antonio and the Plano headquarters.

Kasturi said the incident "involved a government agency obtaining records related to a previous project," and added that Cadence fully cooperated and provided the requested information. He identified that agency as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and said no arrests or detainments were made. Cadence McShane is a prominent general contractor in the area and has worked on some of the region's most notable projects, including the massive NFM-anchored shopping center in Cedar Park. It ranked No. 11 on ABJ's list of largest area general contractors, based on $315.3 million in construction billings in 2025. It reported 79 local employees at the time. Representatives from the Texas Department of Public Safety on Aug. 27 confirmed they were at the scene assisting HUD, and deferred questions to HUD. HUD officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Austin Police Department confirmed it was not involved.

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‘The whole enchilada’: House Speaker Mike Johnson says all eyes are on San Antonio’s new district

A new congressional district on San Antonio’s South Side is ground zero in Republicans’ efforts to save a narrow U.S. House majority this November. On Wednesday evening, that brought U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), U.S. Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Florida) and Rudy Yakam (R-Indiana) to a VFW near the Mission Marquee Plaza, where they mingled with veterans and local officials at a campaign event for first-time congressional hopeful Carlos De La Cruz. “I just want to tell you that leaders from across Congress and across the country are all watching what happens right here in this district,” Johnson told the crowd of roughly 200 people. “This district is the whole enchilada — did I say that right?”

Texas’ 35th Congressional District was drawn to give the GOP a leg up in an election that party leaders worry could be brutal. Johnson can only afford to lose a few seats and still hold onto the speaker’s gavel, so his party placed a gamble on a part of the country that swung toward President Donald Trump two years ago. Last year, Trump got Texas to redraw its congressional districts outside of the census cycle, creating the new San Antonio-area district and reshaping several others south of here that are currently held by Democrats. “2024 was a bellwether election,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “We had a true demographic shift. We had a record number of Hispanic and Latino voters — we had a record number of Black and African American voters — coming to the Republican Party.”

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Free speech lawsuits against Tarrant County judge awaiting decision from US appeals court

A U.S. appeals court will determine whether two lawsuits alleging First Amendment violations move forward against Tarrant County and Judge Tim O’Hare. The lawsuit Bishop Mark Kirkland filed against the county and O’Hare in January is paused until the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether to reconsider a lawsuit Kirkland’s attorney, CJ Grisham, filed against the county judge last year. Both men allege that O’Hare violated their constitutional right to freedom of speech when he had them removed from public meetings of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. A magistrate judge canceled the Aug. 28 hearing to settle Kirkland’s lawsuit, citing U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman’s decision to wait on the appeals court before further judgment.

“The related case before the Fifth Circuit is substantially similar in posture and involves the constitutionality of precisely the same county rules of decorum,” Pittman wrote in an Aug. 6 court filing. The cancellation issued Aug. 7 came three days after O’Hare earned state headlines for ordering all attendees to leave the commissioners courtroom when some of them clapped after he told them not to during a public meeting. A former Tarrant County state lawmaker was arrested and carried out of the courtroom by sheriff deputies after continuing to speak when O’Hare cut off his public comments. Grisham, an attorney and gun rights activist from Temple, alleges that O’Hare violated the First Amendment when the county judge had him removed from a commissioners court meeting for using profanity in January 2025. U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means dismissed the lawsuit in April, and Grisham is appealing that decision. Kirkland, a Fort Worth pastor, sued O’Hare days after the county judge had him removed from a commissioners court meeting in December — then refiled the suit in January after it was tossed out for logistical errors. O’Hare had cut Kirkland’s speaking time short when the pastor commented on the county judge ordering attendees not to clap during the meeting.

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Houston ethics proposal targets late, missing campaign finance reports

Political candidates seeking office at Houston City Hall could soon face stiffer penalties for some campaign finance violations under a new proposal being considered by city officials. Filing campaign fundraising reports late — or failing to file them at all — is a criminal offense under state and city laws and can be subject to hefty fines. But in practice, the city doesn’t enforce those rules, leading to routine violations from officeholders and their challengers alike. A new proposal filed by Council Member Julian Ramirez seeks to encourage more timely reports by requiring the city secretary to file a sworn complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission anytime a candidate misses a deadline.

“With no penalty assessed for not meeting the deadline, filers can ignore the requirement with impunity,” the proposal reads. “Because violators are not held accountable, the public’s confidence and trust in its government is undermined.” Ramirez is pushing the idea through Proposition A, which allows any three City Council to place an item on the city council agenda. The proposal, which is also supported by Council Members Amy Peck, Sallie Alcorn and Joaquin Martinez, must pass a legal review before being scheduled for a vote. Ramirez and other council members have engaged in more than a year of talks at City Hall over ethics reforms. Mayor John Whitmire campaigned on rooting out waste, corruption and conflicts of interest in city government, but various proposals, from reviving the city ethics commission to reforming the Office of the Inspector General, have not advanced. Ramirez’s proposal also would require City Secretary Troy Lemon to post the names of delinquent filers on a city website within 24 hours after each filing deadline. Under state law, contenders for Houston mayor, controller, and city council seats are required to post reports with donations and spending twice a year, with extra reports due before each election day.

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Houston ICE shooting could go before grand jury soon, Sean Teare says

Harris County prosecutors plan to bring witnesses to the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo before a grand jury “very soon,” District Attorney Sean Teare said in an interview Thursday. Teare’s announcement comes less than 24 hours after a second witness, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, was released from federal custody. The investigation into Salgado’s fatal shooting July 7 by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has entered “a tipping point,” Teare said in an appearance on Hello Houston. “Physically, when you’re talking the evidence from before it occurred and what happened that day, I think we’ve gotten just about all we’re going to get,” Teare said. “There are still pieces of evidence we need from the federal government that we are waiting on. But we are much more moving into the evaluation phase and determining what, if any, charge we’re going to present to a grand jury.”

Officials with Teare’s office declined to provide a more precise timeline in the case. Two witnesses in the van the day Salgado was fatally shot in Magnolia Park have been released from federal custody, but Teare said a third was still fighting his detention in court as of Thursday. The third witness, Victor Salgado Araujo, is Lorenzo Salgado’s brother. Ruby Powers, the Houston-based immigration attorney who represents Victor Salgado, told the Houston Chronicle Thursday that there has been movement recently in her client’s case, but a timeline on when a federal judge might rule on Salgado’s petition for release is unclear. Local prosecutors have interviewed all three of the men at some point in federal custody, Teare said. Teare said investigators with his office have compiled witness accounts and surveillance video that provide a compelling picture of events leading up to and immediately following Salgado’s shooting, but no one has yet provided video of the incident itself. The lack of evidence of the shooting itself suggests ICE has changed its tactics, Teare said, and is moving toward more surreptitious enforcement. “The agency has adapted from Minnesota and now you’re doing these operations at 7 a.m. on a side street,” he said. The name of the ICE agent who killed Salgado has not been released.

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Austin City Council begins process of banning large-scale data centers

It’s the perfect moment for an easy vote. The Austin City Council just came through a tough budget-writing process. It’s only weeks removed from the controversial decision on the Dog’s Head development. Taking a vote to ban large-scale data centers must feel quite comfortable by comparison. And banning large-scale data centers is definitely the plan. As Mayor Kirk Watson said at Tuesday’s work session, “It’s pretty clear what we’re hoping to see.” Watson opened the conversation by referring to recent Council message board posts, including one of his own, stressing that data center approvals in Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction should be frozen until Council finalizes a policy on their development. A post from Council members Vanessa Fuentes, Ryan Alter, José Velásquez, Zo Qadri, and Mike Siegel took the sentiment further, stating they are “committed to ensuring that Austin does not allow a single large, ‘hyperscale’ data center within the City limits.”

State law forbids Austin from simply banning data centers overnight, however. Joi Harden of the Austin Planning Department told Council that a data center ban will need to be executed through the city’s zoning process. That process would allow opportunities for public comment and conclude with Council amending the city’s Land Development Code, which currently does not even define the term “data center.” Council pushes the proposal forward today, Aug. 27, with a vote directing City Manager T.C. Broadnax to begin crafting amendments to the LDC for Council consideration. Harden told the CMs the process could be complete by spring of next year. Harden also ran through a presentation with the now-familiar reasons that large-scale data centers are causing such an emetic backlash – they consume obscene amounts of energy and water, give off sound and light pollution, and are housed in ugly industrial buildings. She and Austin Energy’s Stuart Reilly said the city is currently providing electricity to a handful of small data centers of 20 megawatts or less. These are not to be confused with large wholesale data centers, those using between 20 and 100 MW, Harden said, or the hyperscale data centers, the thousand-acre facilities consuming more than 100 MW. With the presentation complete, the Council members offered comments. Alter noted that the increased electricity use would increase the state regulatory fees that are a portion of everyone’s utility bill.

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Dallas knew of ICE flights as operator sought privacy at Love Field

Dallas officials were explicitly told a private aviation company was taking over ICE deportation flights at Love Field Airport, email records show, even as the city publicly described that message only as an "irregular operations courtesy notice." The emails don’t show that Dallas controlled federal immigration decisions or had authority to stop the flights. But they give a more detailed picture of what city officials knew about the operations and how they responded behind the scenes. The records also show Signature Aviation asked Dallas aviation department officials to approve black mesh being installed along fencing beside a public observation area, saying it wanted greater privacy and sought to “prevent further media scrutiny.” A senior city aviation official separately asked in a later email that the operations be conducted “more discreetly” away from the observation area.

The information comes from more than 100 pages of emails among Dallas aviation officials and Signature employees obtained by The Dallas Morning News through a public records request. Dallas aviation officials confirmed to The News in July that flights connected to federal immigration operations had occurred at the city-owned Dallas Love Field. Officials with the city and Signature told The News they had no authority to stop lawful flights conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. City officials also said the information they normally received from private aviation companies was generally limited to operational details like flight times and aircraft type. But on June 29, Signature General Manager Brett Langsdorf emailed Dallas airport and police officials a more explicit notice. “Starting tomorrow, we will be taking over all ICE deportation flights that Atlantic once had,” Langsdorf wrote. He said the planes, buses and support vehicles for the operations would use Signature’s Terminal 3.

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Here's why MD Anderson Cancer Center President Peter Pisters is retiring and what's next

Dr. Peter Pisters’ career has been divided into 10-year chapters, and the outgoing president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is turning the page on another one. “I was an academic surgeon for a period of time, then I was a mid-level administrator. I've been a healthcare CEO in two countries, and now I'm going to go on to something else,” Pisters told the Houston Business Journal in an interview. Pisters announced his retirement as president this week after nine years in the role. He’s handing over the reins to Dr. Jeffrey Lee, the cancer center’s chief physician executive, who now serves as interim president. Pisters told the HBJ that his and Lee’s working relationship is so good that they could “finish each other’s sentences.”

Pisters said he’d been thinking about the decision to leave for some time, but his ultimate call was aided by the institution’s strong financial position and improvement in several care and research metrics. After Pisters’ last day on Sept. 30, he plans to take some time before jumping into his next venture. His wife, also a physician, is retiring, and he’s welcoming a grandchild. But leaving the day-to-day demands of one of Houston’s biggest academic medical centers will also give Pisters time to reflect on what he described as “the societal factors that are going to impact us decades into the future,” like artificial intelligence in healthcare. Pisters also said his time as MD Anderson’s president and previously as a healthcare CEO in Toronto shaped his thinking on healthcare accessibility in the U.S., especially given what he described as an “epidemic of chronic disease.” “We're going to really want to think about how we really deal with that and how can some of the new technologies influence our ability to even out gaps in healthcare across society at this point in time,” Pisters said. “I think lots of opportunities will open, and those will be created by a confluence of factors and positive changes in the way that we approach medical student education, the ways in which AI is used to benefit society and to improve healthcare in rural areas and in underserved areas.”

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Expect road closures, enhanced security in downtown Dallas during GOP convention

All roads surrounding the American Airlines Center will be closed during the upcoming Republican midterm convention in Dallas. That includes Houston Street, Victory Avenue and Nowitzki Way. That’s part of the city's traffic and safety plan for the convention, which runs Sept. 9 through 10 at the arena. “Our teams are planning for the expected while also preparing for the unexpected,” said city manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, who added that security measures will begin Sept. 7 and conclude Sept. 11. The plan was developed in partnership with the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, Dallas Police, Dallas Fire-Rescue and DART Police.

Secret Service Special Agent in charge Christina Foley said the public should expect “visible and non-visible” security measures around the arena, including checkpoints, vehicle barriers and temporary fencing. Deputy Dallas Police Chief Devon Palk said there will be temporary and rolling road closures around the convention, along with motorcades and other security operations. “The most significant traffic impacts are gonna be expected around the American Airlines Center and Victory Park," he said at a news conference Thursday. "Other areas of the city may experience temporary closures as security needs arise. Some of these closures could happen with little to no notice." Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Victory station will also be closed during the convention beginning Sept. 8 through 10. Dallas will pay nearly $2 million on police to provide security for a midterm Republican convention in September, officials said Monday. Security and traffic preparations for the convention are estimated to cost the city $1.8 million, the Office of Emergency Management and Crisis Response shared at a committee meeting on Monday.

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Wylie is getting 'DeFlocked' after city council votes against renewing traffic camera contract

Wylie City Council voted unanimously to end its contract with Flock, marking the Texas city to move away from the controversial traffic surveillance technology. After almost two hours of discussion Tuesday the council voted 7-0 to end its automatic contract renewal, with the possibility of revisiting a new contract in the future. Wylie's contract with Flock will expire on Oct. 31. Mayor Matthew Porter acknowledged what he saw as the technology's successes in solving cases, but added his concerns are not with the Wylie Police Department. Porter said his main concerns stem from how Flock stores and shares the data. “My concerns are not with Wiley,” Porter said. “My concerns are that we continue to see misuse by other departments, some of which are partners that we share data with within the state.”

The city had deployed six license plate reader cameras since August 2024 at an annual cost of roughly $27,000. At least one of those cameras was recently vandalized — a trend seen across the nation. Residents in some Flock coverage areas say they are concerned over the privacy and data management of information collected by Flock Safety's automated license plate readers, or ALPR. Most recently, the Hood County Commissioners Court shut down three Flock cameras after residents raised concerns. Wylie Assistant Police Chief Tommy Walters said the tools were helpful in solving crimes, but he also said the department put additional internal regulations to try and prevent misuse. “I was a critic of this kind of technology when it first started coming out, " Walters said. “So there was a group of people that sat around and discussed the safeguards that can be put in place from implementation. These weren't knee-jerk reactions.” Local residents remained focused on who ultimately holds access to their information. Throughout public comment, speakers like Austin Gregory, founder of DeFlock Wylie, voiced concerns about misused information.

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National Stories

Years late, billions over budget: California’s high-speed rail hasn’t laid a track

Some 18 years after California voted to launch a bullet train that would travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours, the project now costs billions more than planned, is years behind schedule and has yet to lay its first track. The 2008 ballot measure passed narrowly, 52.7% to 47.3%, kick-starting America’s largest active infrastructure project. A legislative bill said it should be completed by 2020, and the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s initial business plan estimated a cost of $33 billion. After years of legal battles, cost overruns, leadership changes and political fights, the price tag is up to $126 billion, with a high estimate of $231 billion, and it isn’t expected to be fully operational until 2040. Since 2008, the authority has spent about $15 billion, purchasing thousands of land parcels and building giant overpasses, rail beds, walls and other concrete structures that now rise over California’s Central Valley. The work has generated thousands of jobs.

But the Authority’s inspector general estimated the project will “exhaust its current funding resources” as early as next year, according to its July report. “This is a disaster,” Democratic state Sen. Catherine Blakespear said at a Transportation Committee meeting in April to review the project’s 2026 business plan. “I am such an enthusiast for rail and I really want this to be successful and just hearing these things makes it seem like we’re proceeding on a wing and a prayer.” The authority is currently focused on completing an initial segment through the Central Valley, then connecting it to San Francisco and Los Angeles later. The topic is polarizing in the valley. “You can’t really talk about it too loudly until you know where people stand. I’m pro-train, but it’s a divisive issue,” said Constance Peters, a shift leader at The 18hundred restaurant in Bakersfield who grew up in the area. Before that, she worked for a concrete company that helped build some structures for the rail project. “Californians have money. We want to travel,” Peters said.

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New coalition fights Trump’s efforts to weaken protections for historic sites

A coalition of more than 600 historic preservation groups, architectural associations, tribal governments and other organizations is urging Congress to block President Donald Trump’s efforts to weaken or evade laws intended to protect historic sites. Members of the new coalition say that they are seeking to safeguard sites in every congressional district — and that they intend to pursue legal action if Congress does not act. “Our coalition did not exist six weeks ago. Today it brings together constituencies who have rarely spoken with one voice,” the groups wrote in letters that were set to be sent to all members of Congress on Thursday. The signatories want lawmakers to reject the administration’s revisions to a 60-year-old federal law that governs changes to landmarks such as the National Mall, sites that are significant to Indian tribes and other properties eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The proposed changes would allow federal agencies to undertake their own projects or permit construction by private developers without public input, breaking with long-standing requirements for public participation. Some members of Congress are also considering similar changes to the review process, which is required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The administration can enact regulatory revisions to Section 106 without congressional approval, but the coalition is asking lawmakers to help oppose such changes. The coalition also wants Congress to block legislation that would separately allow similar revisions to take effect. The coalition says it is also responding to Trump’s attempts to unilaterally change historic sites, such as demolishing the White House’s East Wing to build a planned ballroom. Administration lawyers have argued in court that they do not need to seek congressional approval for Trump’s projects, such as the ballroom and his planned triumphal arch. “The burden of standing up for congressional authority is falling heavily to civil society organizations, law firms, and individual Americans when Congress itself should be taking the lead,” the coalition wrote in a letter shared with The Washington Post.

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What a fake poll reveals about worries around prediction markets and the midterms

Earlier this month, after news broke that a phony company had released fake election polls, it prompted immediate speculation that the stunt was an attempt to manipulate prediction markets — fears especially pronounced with midterms right around the corner. The 21-year old man behind the fake polls posted a statement saying the bogus polls were "a short-term social experiment" to see just how fast the fabricated figures would circulate in news stories and social media. He said he was not trying to profit off the attention the polls attracted. But the suspicion was understandable, considering the spate of high-profile market manipulators uncovered in recent months on the surging prediction market sites Kalshi and Polymarket, where billions of dollars of bets flow in every week on everything from baseball games to the future of the Trump administration's policies.

While the poll stunt may not have been an effort to rig prediction markets, concerns are growing ahead of the midterms two months away about other attempts to influence the betting sites with ginned-up polls, viral social media campaigns, or other misinformation. "These markets are very easily manipulated, and the platforms say they invest in surveillance and catch people after the fact, but when it comes to elections, the consequences are really grave," said Amanda Fischer, chief policy officer at Better Markets, a financial reform group that studies prediction markets. Fischer added that since this is about to be the first major election cycle with Kalshi and Polymarket having gone mainstream, "some folks will be looking for ways to game prediction markets, partisan interests, and worse, perhaps even foreign actors." This year, prediction market operators have caught traders trying to make a buck through various types of insider trading, from a special forces soldier betting on the operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to former Congressman George Santos betting against his own attendance at the State of the Union address to President Trump's teleprompter operator profiting off the president's prepared remarks.

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Fauci contempt push stalls as Trump administration questions legal path

A Republican push to prosecute Dr. Anthony Fauci for contempt of Congress has stalled as the Trump administration questions whether the legal approach supports an indictment by the Justice Department. Three weeks after a GOP-led Senate committee voted to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress, some administration officials are skeptical that the current approach is procedurally sound enough to indict him for failing to answer questions before lawmakers, according to people familiar with the matter. The Aug. 6 contempt vote was brought by Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), a longtime Fauci critic. He sought to bypass the Senate’s customary full-floor vote by having Vice President JD Vance certify the resolution, allowing him to refer it directly to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.

Paul, who has said Fauci should go to prison, pushed a contempt vote against the 85-year-old former public-health official after he declined to answer questions before Paul’s committee over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The contempt resolution, which passed on a party-line vote, would traditionally be considered by the full Senate. Given his resolution would almost certainly fail to meet a 60-vote threshold to pass, Paul’s measure called on Vance to certify it in his capacity as Senate president. But as of early Tuesday, people familiar with the matter said that Vance’s office had yet to receive a document to certify. Paul’s office sent the report to the vice president late Tuesday, according to people familiar with the process, following repeated inquiries from The Wall Street Journal about its status. The Justice Department, which received a letter from Paul the day of the vote laying out the committee’s case against Fauci, has yet to receive a formal referral, a person familiar with the matter said. And President Trump hasn’t determined whether he wants the Justice Department to act on the referral, according to people familiar with the discussions, who say the issue hasn’t been a high priority for the president.

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Federal judge again blocks Trump's mail ballot executive order

A federal judge on Thursday halted — at least for now — attempts to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting. The move stalled the directive for a second time only about a week before the first mail ballots are due to be sent out for the rapidly approaching midterm elections. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani blocked the government from implementing the order for two weeks. The case could soon be appealed back to the Supreme Court, days after the justices handed down a procedural decision that allowed the the administration to move ahead. The ruling Thursday came after Democrats and voting rights groups refiled their lawsuits to comply with the recent Supreme Court decision. The high court’s conservative majority did not rule on the legality of Trump’s executive order, instead saying Talwani had acted too soon.

Now the administration has issued a formal rule governing whether the U.S. Postal Service will deliver states’ mail ballots, effectively restarting the legal fight. The whipsawing legal battle has major ramifications for the midterms. Nearly one-third of Americans vote by mail and election officials contend there isn’t enough time to revise their systems to comply with the new Postal Service directives. The Postal Service says it won’t deliver mail ballots unless states provide a list of voters who should receive them and format the envelopes in a certain way. “Plaintiff states have neither time nor funds to design new mail ballots, seek approval of the new designs, order production of mail ballots, update their own election management systems, train election officials to use the USPS portal and upload citizen data to the portal, all before the midterms,” Talwani wrote Thursday. The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A hearing in the case is set for Sept. 3. “This rule is a clear attempt by the federal government to interfere in elections it has no power to control. Today, a federal court halted it before this administration could wreak havoc on our elections,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of two dozen Democratic attorneys general who filed one of the suits, said in a statement after the order.

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Trump’s quietly working to give part of Yosemite to a private developer

For more than a year, the National Park Service has been quietly working to fulfill an unprecedented directive from Trump officials: Parcel off a corner of Yosemite National Park to give to a private developer. National Park Service staff in California and Washington, D.C., are trying to arrange a land exchange between a Nevada-based company and the federal government, according to four people directly familiar with discussions, as well as agency documents reviewed by NOTUS. Since the spring of 2025, the Trump administration has been looking into ways it could cede a roughly quarter-mile strip of land inside Yosemite to a company that, through a web of limited-liability companies, is operated by real-estate developer and investment firm Kingsbarn Realty Capital. Officials are proposing the Park Service give up the land or “interest” in the land in the form of an easement, and in return receive land of equal value somewhere in California that has yet to be decided.

The private developers own an 83-acre plot of land just outside the western boundaries of Yosemite, about five miles from one of the park’s defining ancient sequoia groves. Jeff Pori, the CEO of Kingsbarn, wants to build a short road connecting the property to one of Yosemite’s central thoroughfares. The new road would give the land exceptionally rare private access to a park that is otherwise almost entirely buffered by national forests. The property’s current access road is more than 10 miles from an entrance to the park, and much further from Yosemite’s most iconic sights. Without a new road, visitors to the property — whether it be developed into a hotel, resort or private residence — would need to drive an hour and a half in a circuitous route to reach the popular Yosemite Valley. The planning process has created a tense environment inside the National Park Service for the people involved; Kingsbarn’s proposal is backed by the full weight of the Interior Department’s top political leadership, sources said. “They want us to be responsive to the property owner and their lobbyists or people, and they want us to work with these folks,” said one person familiar with the conversations.

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Lead Stories

A judge says Texas authorities can release an ICE agent who shot a man

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot a man in Minneapolis could be released from a Texas jail this week despite still being wanted on criminal charges in Minnesota. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled against Minnesota’s attempt to force Texas to turn over Christian Castro, 52, concluding that the state’s lawsuit was filed too soon. “Based on the current record, the court concludes that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction because the case is not ripe for adjudication,” Rodriguez, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Donald Trump in 2018, wrote. Minnesota sued when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott refused to approve what is legally supposed to be “a summary procedure” in which a governor acquiesces to another state’s request to send a defendant to another state to face charges.

However, the judge said that technically Abbott hasn’t said no — he just hasn’t made a decision yet. “Governor Abbott has not denied the request for a rendition warrant,” Rodriguez wrote. “Minnesota alleges that Governor Abbott has ‘refused to sign’ and has ‘with[eld]’ the rendition warrant. But the record reflects only that Governor Abbott has neither agreed nor refused to sign the rendition warrant as to Castro.” Texas law only allows the state to jail someone for up to 90 days when that person is a fugitive wanted in another state. In court, Minnesota had alternatively asked that Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Treviño not release Castro from jail until the Texas governor signed a rendition warrant. However, Rodriguez wrote that “no grounds support a temporary restraining order requiring Sheriff Trevino to ignore the dictates of Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement that Abbott was “playing with constitutional fire.” “This case should concern officials and citizens of every state. If a governor can delay extraditions and cherry-pick cases according to their political tastes, then no state will be able to hold fugitive criminals accountable,” Ellison said.

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Meta to pay 47 states up to $17.1B in landmark child safety settlement

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, on Wednesday agreed to pay 47 states, the District of Columbia, and a handful of U.S. territories, up to $17.1 billion in penalties over claims that its social media platforms are addictive and a danger to children. As part of the settlement, Meta also pledged to make changes to Instagram and Facebook that are designed to reduce young people’s use of the platforms. “Meta intentionally exploited kids for profit and then lied about it, claiming its products were safe when its own internal research confirmed the platforms were addictive and harmful,” said Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, a Democrat, in a statement announcing the settlement.

“The physical, mental and emotional harms that intentionally addictive social media inflict on youth — and particularly teenage girls — are widespread across the tech industry, and this successful, coordinated multistage litigation has resulted in Meta being the first platform to come to the table and agree to such comprehensive reforms,” he said. “It will not be the last.” The settlement ended a high-stakes, landmark case, filed in 2023, in which states said Meta purposely designed its social media platforms with addictive features, that Meta knew it was exposing children to serious mental harms, and that it intentionally misled the public about the safety of those platforms. Meta has not admitted wrongdoing. The federal trial began last week in Oakland, California, led by a bipartisan group of attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. State officials are calling the settlement the biggest consumer protection win since the Big Tobacco settlements of the 1990s. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, a Republican, said in a statement Wednesday that the lawsuit was “never just about the money.”

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Trump toes line on data centers as more Republicans pump the breaks

Republicans’ growing skepticism about data centers is forcing President Trump to balance his steadfast support for the industry with pushback from his party ahead of the midterm elections. While Trump has doubled down on his support of data centers, the president signaled last week he may give GOP candidates room to oppose the facilities as they become a political lightning rod in the midterms. Trump told reporters last week he wants Republican candidates to “do what they want” on data centers, acknowledging “some people feel differently” on the issue after previously criticizing Democrats for pushing back on planned data center projects.

“If Republicans are against a data center, that’s okay with me,” Trump added. “I’m only saying that if I ran a community … if I was a mayor or if I was a governor in the state, I would want to have the data centers because they bring tremendous income.” Faced with mounting pressure around the risks of AI and data centers, several high-profile Republicans have abruptly shifted their stance with the midterms just months away. Those now advocating for stricter restrictions on data centers include not only state leaders such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) but also Trump-backed Senate candidates like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.). “I’d say [Trump’s] been fairly consistent in his messaging. What’s been more malleable is everybody else’s opinion,” one Republican strategist told The Hill.

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Acclaimed Holocaust book part of list Dan Patrick flagged for removal from Texas schools, despite being required reading

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said last week there were more than 2,000 “filthy, dirty, vulgar books” that don’t belong in school classrooms or libraries. Yet one of them is going to be taught in classrooms across Texas. “Night,” the seminal Holocaust autobiography by Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel, was approved by the Republican-controlled State Board of Education this summer as required reading for eighth graders starting in 2030. It’s also on the list of 2,198 “inappropriate books” created by Texas advocates that Patrick touted during a Wednesday news conference. He said he wanted to introduce a bill in the upcoming session that would penalize schools a letter grade on their accountability ratings if superintendents didn’t remove problematic books. “Many books are on our library shelves, in all of our schools — over 2,000 titles of filthy, dirty, vulgar books,” Patrick said, adding: “The purpose of this press conference today is to get parents in action to get these books removed.”

It’s unclear whether Patrick was aware that “Night” was on that list. He did not mention it at the news conference. After this story published, he wrote on X that the book would be rated R if it were made into a movie. “Night, which includes depictions of graphic violence and the machine-gunning of babies, should not be available to sixth graders in middle-school libraries. High school is more age-appropriate," Patrick wrote. Bonnie Wallace, the activist who appeared and spoke beside him last week, stood by her decision that it did not belong in classrooms. Wallace, a member of the Houston-area Christian activist group Recover America, said she included “Night” on the organization’s list because of its graphic violence, including what she described as babies being used as “target practice” by Nazi soldiers and being “thrown into the crematorium.” “There’s nothing wrong with the book,” Wallace told the Chronicle. “The inappropriate thing is, an 8th grade student is 13 years old. Do they need to read about soldiers massacring, throwing up babies, and killing them with machine guns?” She said she “thought long and hard” and prayed on whether to add it to the list. Despite the description of real events, she said young minds couldn’t process it.

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State Stories

What we learned at Tuesday’s tense, tearful Dallas hearing over Alaska-California surrogacy battle

A Dallas judge will decide which of the parties in a high-profile, multistate parentage case can make medical decisions for a newborn baby boy with a serious heart defect: his genetic parents, or the surrogate that gave birth to him. Dallas County District Judge Ashley Wysocki heard arguments from attorneys on each side Tuesday, as well as testimony from the child’s genetic mother, Nausheen Gilkar of Los Angeles, and surrogate McKenna West of Anchorage, Alaska. Wysocki then extended for 14 days a temporary restraining order preventing West from seeing or making medical decisions for the child while her ultimate ruling is pending. She’s expected to make her decision within the next two weeks while the TRO remains in place.

Gilkar, her husband Omar Ahmed and their attorneys say the baby’s legal name is Rumi Ali Ahmed, while West and her legal team call him Baby Gabriel. Tuesday marked the first time Gilkar spoke about the case publicly. Both women’s testimonies filled in the finer details of a complicated narrative playing out in three different states in a test of abortion, surrogacy, parentage and child custody laws. Among the revelations was that West withheld medical records from the couple. Gilkar also said West did not inform them of her move to Texas ahead of time. She called the surrogate “unstable” and said West was trying to take Rumi from them. “She has no right,” Gilkar said through tears. “She’s making us run from doctor to doctor, state to state with our baby. She’s trying to take him.” Meanwhile, after some back and forth between each side’s attorneys and hesitation from West, the surrogate at one point said she would indeed drop her parentage and custody claims — but later said she would continue fighting.

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Kendall Scudder: Why did Gov. Abbott set off a scramble over filling Texas House seat?

(Kendall Scudder is chairman of the Texas Democratic Party.) Gov. Greg Abbott suddenly has an affection for special elections. He called two recently that affect residents of Tarrant County, easily the most Republican mega metropolitan county in the state. Both will be held on the same day as the Nov. 3 general election, when federal, statewide and legislative, and local offices will be on the ballot. I don’t have a quibble with special elections, especially those held in conjunction with an already scheduled election to save taxpayer expense. My quandary centers on the mystery of how the governor determines whether filling a vacancy is urgent or easily postponed — and when he thinks it is necessary to tell the public he is doing it. When Houston-area U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner died in March 2025, the governor waited a month to call a special election to replace him, setting it for Nov. 5, eight months after the congressman’s death.

Residents of the 18th Congressional District, a solidly Democratic area, were left unrepresented all that time. Abbott also has delayed calling a special election for the 23rd Congressional District, a rural district that runs from San Antonio to El Paso and where the population is overwhelmingly Hispanic. Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzalez resigned in March, and the governor still hasn’t called a special election — perhaps because the district that has been in Republican hands for more than a decade is suddenly in play. On Aug. 18, three months after state Sen. Brian Birdwell resigned to accept a Pentagon post, the governor announced a special election in District 22 to replace him. The deadline for candidates to file to run was a mere two days later. Our Democratic candidate, Amy Salas, met the deadline. Then, on Aug. 20, Abbott apparently called yet another Tarrant County area special election for House District 93. This one will fill the seat vacated in early July by Nate Schatzline, now the governor’s special advisor for election integrity. I say “apparently” because the only place you could find mention of this special election on Thursday was at our website, texasdemocrats.org. Now there is a gubernatorial proclamation on the county website, time-stamped at noon Aug. 20.

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State Sen. Tan Parker on Amtrack's Heartland Flyer, his priorities for the next legislative session

Amtrak's Heartland Flyer, the line that runs between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City, is here to stay. Texas has provided its portion of the funding, ending what was a time of uncertainty over whether this line would have had to shut down. According to Amtrak, the line opened in 1999 and carried almost 81,000 passengers in the year ending last September. Republican State Sen. Tan Parker from Flower Mound, chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation, helped get this deal across the finish line.

What is the importance of keeping the Heartland Flyer going? Parker says this rail line is an important economic development tool for Fort Worth and for all the smaller communities in Texas. "I also believe in this environment where Texas is growing so rapidly, particularly in North Texas, that to address the issues of congestion and mobility, we need long-term rail or long-haul rail," he said. "Amtrak Heartland Flyer is a wonderful asset." Funding through next year and beyond Funding for the Heartland Flyer is secured through 2027, and Parker says the funding will need to be continuously approved every legislative cycle. "We're gonna be on that cycle every two years, which is the normal customary role that Texas government funds all our projects," he said. "I'll continue to advocate, because I think it's just so important." One issue Parker said he plans to focus on when the Texas legislature reconvenes in January is safety. "Safety is always number one for me," he said. "How do I get families back home in the evening? I want moms and dads to be able to get to the soccer field and get to ballet and be able enjoy one another. It's very important that we maintain safety." His other concern, he said, is growth. At a recent hearing of the Texas Senate Committee on Transportation, Parker says he highlighted three specific areas of growth in transportation — rail crossings, autonomous vehicles and making sure commercial driver's licenses are being provided legally,

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Ross Fire smoke blankets parts of North Texas, prompting air quality warnings

Smoke from the Ross Fire, burning across Palo Pinto and Jack counties roughly 60 miles west of Fort Worth, is drifting into the Dallas-Fort Worth area Wednesday, triggering air quality concerns for several North Texas communities and school districts. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth noted that smoke will gradually spread south and southeast through the evening, with visibilities dropping as low as 1 to 2 miles in areas of dense smoke. The agency is urging drivers to slow down and leave extra distance between vehicles as poor air quality and reduced visibility.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has issued an Ozone Action Day for the Dallas-Fort Worth area for Wednesday, warning that atmospheric conditions are favorable for elevated ozone pollution on top of the wildfire smoke. TCEQ's forecast shows the daily PM 2.5 Air Quality Index reaching the middle of the "Moderate" range across parts of Dallas-Fort Worth, with the potential for occasional spikes into the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" category, particularly in areas closer to the smoke plume. Sensitive groups include children, older adults, people with asthma or other lung conditions, and anyone spending extended time outdoors. TCEQ recommends staying indoors with air conditioning running when possible, and notes that masks suitable for filtering fine particulates can help reduce exposure for those who must be outside.

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A Texas austerity crisis is playing out city by city, school by school

Texas is in a state of fiscal crisis. Or, at least many of its school districts and municipalities are. All across Texas, from the biggest urban ISDs and metros to the smallest towns and exurban counties, local governmental bodies are feeling the increasingly painful fiscal pinch—and resorting to rigid austerity measures. The state’s 10 largest school districts, from Houston and Dallas to Austin and El Paso—collectively charged with educating a near-majority of Texas public school students—have all projected or enacted budgets that have them in a fiscal deficit. This is driven (in addition to factors like declining enrollment and property values) by an inadequately significant bump to the basic allotment of school funding last legislative session, as that funding has fast been consumed by inflation-fueled cost increases. Many districts across the state have been forced to close numerous neighborhood schools to alleviate the current strain.

Austin Independent School District (ISD) had a roughly $181 million deficit projection that it’s trying to close with staff cuts, campus closures, and a litany of other downsizing measures. Dallas ISD has a $108 million budget deficit; Houston ISD $25 million; neighboring Cy-Fair ISD about $80 million. A spring survey by the Texas Association of School Business Officials found that over 70 percent of surveyed districts would need to make budget cuts and that 44 percent would end the year still in a deficit. Some of the largest cities and counties in Texas are also facing dire funding gaps. For instance, the City of Dallas is facing a $30 million budget shortfall and recently furloughed more than 4,000 municipal workers. Harris County, the state’s largest population center, is facing a “structural deficit” of $130 million, which could reach as high as $800 million by decade’s end. Cities and counties are between a rock and a hard place, as they’ve lost the healthy cushion of COVID-era emergency funds, which helped maintain and expand services, at the same time that they’ve become severely limited by the state government in how much revenue they can raise through property taxes. Sales tax revenues, once sky-high during the pandemic era, have also come back down to earth. While population growth continues to surge across Texas, local governments can’t keep up with the growing cost of payroll and supplies. In some cities like Dallas, their revenue bases are also under threat, as major corporate employers threaten to flee downtowns for the surrounding suburbs.

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TCU bans Star-Telegram over coverage of football locker room attack

TCU has rescinded the Star-Telegram’s credentials to cover Horned Frogs athletics over the newspaper’s coverage of an Aug. 13 locker room assault that led to the dismissal of senior safety Jacob Fields from the football team. In a phone conversation Sunday, a TCU athletics spokesman said the Star-Telegram’s credentials were being pulled because the coverage resulted in threats to the victim. The Star-Telegram did not identify the player, junior wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma, until three days after the initial report, when he identified himself in a now-deleted Instagram video. “Our primary focus is the health and wellbeing of our student athlete,” TCU athletic director Mike Buddie said in a statement Tuesday. “Unfortunately, an unnamed source without first-hand knowledge of the incident provided inaccurate information cited in initial reporting by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which we strongly disputed.

“The inclusion of the misinformation advanced a narrative that endangered a student-athlete and resulted in threats to him and his family. These actions led to the decision to withhold the media credential until additional conversation can be held between athletics and the sports reporting team. We remain dedicated to restoring our student to health as well as focusing on the game that’s ahead.” Teams issue credentials to allow media members access to the press box, locker room, news conferences and media workrooms. TCU officials have not defined what criteria would need to be met to restore the credentials. Fields was dismissed from the team Aug. 18 “due to a violation of team rules,” a TCU spokesman said in a statement. Later that evening, the Star-Telegram reported that the dismissal came after an altercation in the locker room five days earlier. In that article, a source close to Fields said the player "felt targeted by teammates with insults and threats” leading up to the altercation and that TCU coaches made “no attempts to de-escalate the brewing tension.” TCU coach Sonny Dykes declined to comment for that story, as did athletics spokesperson Kyle Neaves. TCU officials disputed the source’s account of what led to the attack in conversations with the Star-Telegram, but they have declined to provide the university’s version of events for publication.

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Dallas County health officials confirm measles case, warn other North Texans of possible exposure

Dallas County health officials are warning of possible measles exposure after a resident tested positive for the virus. Dallas County Health and Human Services said Tuesday the individual visited three North Texas locations while infectious on Aug. 14 and Aug. 15. The highly contagious virus can remain infectious in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area.

The number of measles cases is higher than it’s been in 35 years, with more than 2,750 cases reported across the country – already surpassing last year’s total of about 2,300, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Texas health officials said they’re concerned about declining vaccination rates, especially as students head back to school. They said falling rates could lead to even more outbreaks, like the historic 2025 measles outbreak in West Texas – which lasted for months and resulted in more than 750 cases across 37 counties. “Measles is one of the most contagious diseases we know, but it is also highly preventable,” said Huang. “Vaccination remains our best protection against measles and the best way to prevent further spread in our community.”

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‘Living like vampires’: ICE surge fractures daily life in Deep South Texas

Deep in the Rio Grande Valley, Brenda Dumas and her family are adjusting to a new normal. One family member, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal from the federal government, has a work permit. He has to leave from his home in Olmito, a tiny town off Highway 69 between Harlingen and Brownsville, early in the morning to head east to South Padre Island, where he works. He shows up almost two hours before his shift starts. But to go any later is to risk being pulled over by the unmarked SUVs that drive around the Laguna Madre area—the 15-square-mile coastal mini-region surrounding the eponymous salty lagoon—starting around 7 a.m., pulling over, seemingly at random, other people heading to work. Dumas’ husband, who is close to achieving permanent residency in the United States, starts landscaping for clients once it gets dark, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are less likely to be driving around looking for work trucks.

Another family member, who also has a work permit and similarly requested anonymity, was detained by ICE in the nearby town of Port Isabel. ICE released him last week with an ankle monitor, one of more than 50,000 people the agency is tracking through the devices. Dumas now uses an app on her phone to track where family members are, and communication among them is constant. Since early July, ICE has arrested people daily in traffic stops throughout the Laguna Madre area—which includes Port Isabel, South Padre Island, Laguna Vista, and Laguna Heights—based on Texas Observer analysis of posts, photos and videos on social media. Like much of the Rio Grande Valley, these communities have a high population of people who were born outside of the United States. Twenty-one percent of those who live there were born in other countries, and more than half of those residents are not U.S. citizens, according to Census data. ICE arrested more than 46,000 people nationwide in July, which is around 3,000 more people than the agency did in June, according to internal data CBS News obtained. On July 14, the agency announced that on just one day in June it had arrested 238 people in the Rio Grande Valley, an apparent record for the Harlingen field office, which oversees the Laguna Madre area. ICE quietly took its statistics dashboard offline in July, after not updating its detention data for months. On July 20, ICE published its most recent data, showing that the agency has deported over 80 percent of the people it’s arrested since September last year. These arrests appear to usually occur in the early mornings or late afternoons, as people are heading to and leaving work.

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Gov. Abbott unveils three-year degree program for Texas public universities

Gov. Greg Abbott visited Stephen F. Austin State University Wednesday to discuss a proposal that could offer some Texas students a faster path to a bachelor’s degree. The proposal would create accelerated 90-credit-hour bachelor’s degree programs at public universities across Texas in high-demand fields. A typical four-year bachelor’s degree requires about 120 credit hours. Under the proposal, students in select programs could graduate a year earlier, potentially saving up to $35,000 in college costs, Abbott said. “Every additional year means more in tuition and fees, but also more in housing and living expenses,” Abbott said.

Fields under consideration include cybersecurity, supply chain management and information technology. Abbott said other high-demand fields could also be included. Abbott said students would likely take fewer elective courses and have more coursework concentrated in their area of study. “There are certain basic classes that would still be required here,” Abbott said. “It would probably take the place of a lot of selective optional classes.” Wednesday, Abbott directed the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to develop a framework for the program in collaboration with universities and lawmakers. The board is expected to make recommendations ahead of the next legislative session. Abbott said the program could take effect as early as next school year, depending on when the legislation passes. The proposal could also apply to students who transfer from community colleges. Abbott said the Higher Education Coordinating Board and universities would work to determine how credits earned at another college or university could count toward the 90-credit-hour degree.

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Six Flags to bring HQ back to Texas from Charlotte

Two years after a corporate merger that resulted in the moving of its headquarters to North Carolina, Six Flags Entertainment Corp. announced it's coming back to Arlington. Six Flags said Aug. 25 that the amusement park operator will move its corporate headquarters from Charlotte to Arlington's Choctaw Stadium at 1000 Ballpark Way. The relocation will occur by March 2027. Choctaw Stadium has served as a corporate office since 2020, where a portion of corporate leadership still operates. The stadium is in the heart of the city's Entertainment District and a mile away from Six Flags Over Texas, which just opened a record-breaking giga dive coaster called Tormenta: Rampaging Run.

It's a homecoming of sorts for the company. Six Flags relocated its corporate headquarters from Grand Prairie to Arlington in 2020. The city of Arlington offered $6 million in incentives in 2019 for the company to move and occupy roughly 40,000 square foot space and maintain a minimum of 120 employees. But Six Flags moved its headquarters to Charlotte in 2024 following a merger with Sandusky, Ohio-based Cedar Fair LP. The company will still maintain an office in Sandusky. John Reilly, who became CEO of the Fortune 1000 company in December, described Arlington is an "outstanding location for our headquarters that supports our long-term vision for growth." "Its central location and business-friendly environment make it a strong base for our company," he said in a statement. "Bringing our corporate teams together in the office will improve collaboration, strengthen our culture, enhance support for our parks and resorts, and help us continue delivering exceptional experiences for guests across North America." Six Flags reported a net loss of $203 million in the company's second quarter, more than double the loss it reported for the same time the previous year, according to Charlotte Business Journal.

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Pflugerville cancels Flock contract, covers and turns off cameras

After the city of Pflugerville voted to turn off all of its Flock License Plate Reader cameras Tuesday night, Pflugerville ISD followed suit. The district notified parents Wednesday morning that its suspending the use of Flock Safety cameras on district property, effective immediately. Pflugerville ISD sent a notice to parents Wednesday morning saying the cameras will be removed today. The district said since hiring its Police Chief Tyler Smith, the department had been reviewing its Flock Camera systems and evaluating whether continued use was appropriate. In its message to parents, PFISD said:

“We want to be clear about how this system has been used. The Flock Safety system is strictly limited to capturing license plate and vehicle information to support the safety of our students, staff, and families on our campuses. We understand this technology has raised questions and concerns within our community, and we have listened. Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping our schools safe.” It comes after Pflugerville City Council members unanimously voted to terminate their master services agreement with Flock Safety at their Tuesday night meeting, resulting in the city turning off all 28 Flock License Plate Reader cameras leased by the city and covering them with plastic bags. “Public safety and public trust have to go hand in hand, and recent revelations about the Flock system have fueled concerns throughout the community; we can’t engage with organizations we can’t trust,” Pflugerville Mayor Doug Weiss said in an early-morning social media post following the meeting. “Council will continue to explore tools to support law enforcement, but any vendors the City uses would need to have the safeguards in place to earn and keep the community’s confidence.”

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South Texas school district cancels classes after COVID outbreak

Just two weeks into the new school year, a Rio Grande Valley school district is closing all campuses for two days because of what officials described as the "rapid spread of COVID-19." San Perlita Independent School District announced Monday that all school operations will be suspended Tuesday and Wednesday "as a precautionary measure." Classes will resume as scheduled on Thursday.

The school year began Aug. 10. District officials said they are monitoring the outbreak and will provide updates to parents and caregivers. "Thank you for your understanding, cooperation and continued support as we work together to keep our Trojan community safe," the district said. San Perlita ISD is located in the small rural community of San Perlita, about 55 miles north of Brownsville. The district served 174 students during the 2024-25 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

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County Stories

Harris County Clerk rejects 70% salary increase to $305,000

Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, a Democrat, has rejected a nearly 70% raise, according to a Monday news release. Harris County Commissioners voted Aug. 6 to increase the salaries of all eight constables and most countywide elected officials to $305,000. But commissioners gave officials the option to decline the raises, which must be funded using their existing budgets. Hudspeth is the only official to publicly decline the pay hike. “At this time, I have chosen not to accept the newly approved salary,” Hudspeth said. “My immediate focus remains ensuring the resources available to the County Clerk’s Office are directed toward filling the positions requested during the budget process and maintaining the staffing needed to effectively serve Harris County residents and fulfill our statutory responsibilities.”

Hudspeth said during a July budget hearing that costs associated with elections have strained her office’s budget. Hudspeth currently makes $179,420 and oversees a staff of roughly 480 employees, according to county salary data. While the raises were initially expected to apply only to the constables, Commissioner Rodney Ellis motioned to extend them to all countywide elected officials except the treasurer, county judge and sheriff, saying it was “only fair” that they also receive pay hikes. But the pay hikes come at a precarious time for county departments, many of which are facing cuts as commissioners work to balance a projected $129 million deficit for the next fiscal year. First elected in a 2020 special election, Hudspeth is seeking reelection this year. She is the first Black woman to serve as Harris County clerk, an office tasked with overseeing election operations and processing certain civil records. Commissioners approved the pay increases Aug. 6, but they don’t take effect until the start of the new fiscal year Oct. 1.

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Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy temporarily reassigned after alleged ICE coordination

A Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been temporarily reassigned after allegedly detaining a 23-year-old woman during a traffic stop and waiting over an hour for federal immigration officers to respond. Joceline Penaloza Magana was allegedly detained by a sheriff’s office deputy last week when her vehicle partially blocked an intersection at Westheimer Rd. and State Highway 6. During a press conference Wednesday, a family member said the deputy called immigration officials and detained Magana for an hour waiting for their arrival.

Magana, who has been in the United States for over 20 years, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and is being detained in the Montgomery ICE processing center north of Houston, Kim Bruno, an attorney representing her, said. “Joceline complied with officers and it didn’t get her anywhere,” Bruno said. “Joceline has spent her entire life here mostly and she graduated at the top of her class. It is unfortunate and despicable that our community does not feel safe anymore.” Tess Rowland, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said the office is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the traffic stop to determine whether the deputy complied with policies. She did not say what the office’s guidelines are for coordinating with ICE. “The deputy has been temporarily assigned to non-traffic enforcement duties pending the outcome of the internal review,” Rowland said in a statement to Houston Public Media.

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National Stories

3 Secret Service officials placed on leave amid misconduct investigation

Three Secret Service officials, including the agency’s director of communications, have been placed on leave as an investigation into potential misconduct unfolds, a source familiar with the decision told CNN. The nature of the alleged misconduct was not immediately clear. All three officials, including comms chief Anthony Guglielmi, have lost their security clearances and access to their work devices, the source told CNN, adding that such practice is common during internal investigations. They each work in the agency’s communications office, the source said. The Secret Service confirmed to CNN that three people have been put on leave but did not include the names of the individuals. The agency also did not specify the nature of the alleged misconduct.

“Three non-law enforcement personnel at the U.S. Secret Service have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into potential misconduct,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. “Per policy, this incident is being investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility. We are unable to comment further at this time.” The statement continued: “The U.S. Secret Service is committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in fulfilling our zero-fail mission of protecting the President and other high-level government officials. Our critical work demands that our workforce maintain an unwavering commitment to duty, honesty, and courage in all aspects of their jobs. We will continue to pursue the level of excellence that is worthy of the mission which has been entrusted to us by the American people.” CNN has reached out to Guglielmi for comment but has not heard back. The investigation comes as the agency has been under intense scrutiny over the past several years — as Trump has faced several assassination plots, as well as more recent reports over a secret maneuver to spirit President Donald Trump safely away from Turkey this summer.

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Maryland judge strikes down Democratic redistricting ballot measure

A Maryland judge on Wednesday blocked a congressional redistricting amendment from appearing on the ballot this November, after state lawmakers voted to add the referendum during a special legislative session this summer. Maryland joined a wave of Democratic states that launched redistricting efforts in reaction to President Donald Trump’s push for Republicans to flip additional House seats ahead of the midterms. The state’s new map, which would favor Democrats in all eight House districts, would not go into effect until at least 2028. The Oversight Project, a conservative advocacy group, filed a lawsuit opposing the redistricting effort after Democrats in the state legislature passed an amendment this month to get the measure on the ballot.

Democrats appealed the judge’s decision to the Maryland Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore confirmed to NOTUS. During a July special legislative session, Maryland lawmakers passed a measure that would allow the state to pursue a new redistricting map, clarify the requirements for congressional district boundaries and give the state Supreme Court the sole authority to hear these cases first before the traditional lower-court appeals process. Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Robert J. Thompson concluded that the ballot measure is flawed because it would pose multiple redistricting questions to voters. “The question itself is defective because not only does it ostensibly intend to ‘clarify’ the application of compactness requirements, but it also seeks to confer original jurisdiction over congressional redistricting cases to the Supreme Court of Maryland,” Thompson wrote, adding that the state’s constitution requires a referendum to pose questions about a single issue. Maryland Democrats’ court loss is another example of a court striking down redistricting efforts from blue states this year. In neighboring Virginia, the state Supreme Court invalidated a similar ballot measure, largely on procedural grounds.

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Everyone is making a U-turn on data centers as public support craters

The public is turning on data centers. Politicians are trying to keep up. Candidates are fighting to own the messaging as voters increasingly sour on the mass hubs, hammering their foes for backing a controversial industry in interviews and on the debate stage. Republican and Democratic groups have been conducting internal polls to see how the issue will play out, as they grapple for balance of power in Washington. Of the more than 100 campaign ads this cycle that have mentioned data centers, not one of the candidate-run spots presented the infrastructure positively, according to a POLITICO review of AdImpact data. It’s a reckoning that’s happening in real time — and earlier than many expected: A few months ago, data center development was largely a local issue that barely registered among candidates running for higher office.

Now, it’s roiling some of the most competitive contests, from the Ohio Senate race to Michigan’s battleground 7th District. “The most amazing thing is how data centers have exploded as the hot issue du jour,” said Doug Preisse, an Ohio-based GOP strategist. “And this happens from time to time ... these things rise and fall. Right now baby, it’s data centers, and everyone’s taking note of it.” That dynamic is forcing top Republicans and Democrats who had been pro-data center development earlier this year — including potential 2028 presidential contenders — to redefine their positions, with some pushing for moratoriums and others turning away from tax incentives or other carveouts. And there’s no clean ideological lane. From MAGA Republicans to far-left Democrats, there are strange bedfellows joining forces against data centers, further complicating the narrative with voters. “It’s one of the only cross-partisan issues that we are seeing both in every poll and talking to voters on the ground,” said Ravi Mangla, press secretary of the progressive Working Families Party, which has backed a number of Democratic candidates who have opposed data centers on the campaign trail. “I think that it became readily apparent to both Republican and Democratic candidates that this was not going away, and it was not going to be a fringe issue. It was going to be something that was actually moving and animating voters.”

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Tim Curry, who found cult stardom in ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ dies at 80

Tim Curry, a British actor with a raffish swagger and Cheshire cat smile who found his most enduring acclaim in black fishnets and corsets as the gender-blurring mad doctor in a Broadway show that became the cult film musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 80. His death was announced by his manager, Marcia Hurwitz, who did not cite a cause. Mr. Curry had a stroke in 2012 that left him with partial paralysis and relying on a wheelchair for mobility. Mr. Curry first made his way to the London stage in the late 1960s with the hippie-culture celebration “Hair” and seemed to cling to the show’s risk-taking spirit over a five-decade career.

His more than 30 film roles — in addition to the cross-dressing Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter in 1975’s “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” — included the shifty butler in the board game-inspired “Clue” (1985) and a hapless concierge in the slapstick comedy “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992). On Broadway, he received Tony Award nominations for portraying the musical prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in “Amadeus” (1980), a swashbuckling past-his-prime matinee idol in “My Favorite Year” (1992) and King Arthur in the medieval farce “Spamalot” (2005), written by Monty Python alumnus Eric Idle. Mr. Curry was not an actor who dissolved into a part. Instead, his roles most often became filtered through his distinctive mien: an elastic and slightly craggy grin and expressive high-arched eyebrows — “a clown’s face,” he ventured — and variations of English accents from endearing to menacing. He was once described in a film blog as both a performer and a mood. “I play glorious misfits,” he said.

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Kalshi and the Weather Co. join forces on climate trades

Kalshi says it is looking to broaden its fast-growing weather-predictions markets with meteorological know-how from the Weather Co., which is now verifying outcomes on climate trades. The companies said they want to explore new weather markets for sporting events, for example, citing local ski conditions and marathon race days. Consumers use Kalshi to trade on predictions ranging from what the highest temperature will be in Los Angeles on a given day to whether 2026 will be the hottest year ever. The platform says it chose the Weather Co. because it is one of the most trusted meteorological brands. Kalshi says its weather vertical is expected to reach $1.1 billion in trading volume this year as users put money on climate trends. The company said its weather markets reached $564 million in volume in 2026 as of July, and surpassed the 2025 total in March. The total volume for weather and climate markets on Kalshi has grown 500% year over year, the company said.

Weather predictions can also provide useful insights for businesses hedging on weather events, Kalshi said, including logistics firms, farms and ice-cream shops. “Weather is a quintessential prediction-market category,” said Will Brackett, head of partnerships at Kalshi. “It affects people every day, from the decisions you make about your commute to work to businesses and policymakers.” In turn, the Weather Co., which operates weather.com and the Weather Channel app, is now using Kalshi’s probability data where relevant on its app and website, displaying the trades to give its users a snapshot of how markets are pricing weather risk. “Our priority is ensuring Kalshi’s settlements rest on objective, scientifically validated atmospheric data,” said James Belanger, vice president of meteorology at the Weather Co. Kalshi recently announced another partnership with Cantor Fitzgerald. The investment bank said it would arrange block trades on everything from weather forecasts to iPhone sales through the predictions market. Weather trading has drawn attention—both good and bad—as it attracts more users. Prediction markets might actually be the best source to gauge the forecast, Patrick Brown, head of climate analytics at Interactive Brokers, said in a report. Meanwhile, Kalshi competitor Polymarket is being scrutinized for offering bets on disasters such as wildfires. Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, has a data partnership with Polymarket.

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Public health advocates are so desperate for help against conspiracies they’ve turned to the place you’d least expect

Last month’s Senate grilling of Dr. Anthony Fauci, if viewed by an audience that had not been subjected to years of propaganda, would be staggeringly strange. There were hissing accusations of lies, corruption, and megalomania; comparisons to sadistic Nazi scientists; and statements, as if of undisputed fact, that Fauci killed millions of people. The nation’s most powerful Republicans, without any significant pushback, joined forces to shout down and criminally pursue the face of the COVID pandemic’s health authority based on wild, speculative, and facile conspiracy theories. It all prompted a kind of deeply existential question: If this is how we now treat a onetime pandemic hero, what will happen the next time we face a similar public health crisis?

Public health officials say with the rise of conspiracy thinking at the highest echelons of our national government, the next pandemic response could be so much worse. But they did have one potentially innovative and surprising, if disconcerting, solution to our national public health information crisis: A.I. has the potential to help stave off a conspiratorial catastrophe during the next pandemic. Given everything that’s happened with our public health leadership since Donald Trump returned to power, most public health professionals Slate spoke with took a dim view of our possible responses to a future crisis. After a summer of foodborne illness crises, it’s clear our public health officials are struggling to handle basic public health. Indeed, they seem to be taking us backward: Just last week, it was reported that school vaccination rates have hit a new record low. But several experts, prodded for any note of optimism they could find, offered hope from artificial intelligence. Admittedly, looking to A.I. for rescue is usually an eye-roll-worthy impulse. And coming from the field of disinformation in particular, A.I. is a Pandora’s box of yet-to-be-imagined evils. Generative A.I. certainly has the potential to worsen pandemic conspiracy theories by equipping them with highly convincing fabricated evidence. But in this case, the desperation of the situation might just call for public health advocates leaning into the dangerous new technology.

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Florida's Angie Nixon and the power of pink

In all the postmortems and analyses that have appeared since State Representative Angie Nixon’s decisive win over Alexander Vindman in the Democratic Senate primary in Florida last week — in all the meditations on what this means for progressives and Democratic Socialists and what it may say about the Sunshine State as well as the political state of the country — one factor has rarely come up. The pink. Not just any old pink: a particularly bright shade of pink sometimes referred to as fuchsia and sometimes hot pink but most akin, in fact, to the color Elsa Schiaparelli christened “shocking pink.” (An awfully apropos bit of nomenclature, given the reaction to Nixon’s win.) And while that pink may seem an almost irrelevant detail in a hard-fought political race, it played a very real role in Nixon’s campaign — and possibly her victory. As she gears up for the general election in November, it’s worth considering how.

Nixon has been wearing pink since she first ran for office in 2020, but the color became synonymous with her, at least in the national consciousness, in late April when she marched down the State Capitol floor in a fuchsia jumpsuit with a hot pink megaphone to protest Florida gerrymandering. Though dismissed by some as a stunt, the picture was so powerful that it became practically shorthand for Nixon’s politics — and willingness to take on the establishment. From then on, it was essentially a pinkathon. Nixon’s campaign bus? Shocking pink. Her lawn signs and bumper stickers? Shocking pink. Her sneakers? Pink Skechers. The jacket and shirt she wore in a “fit check” video after her opponent’s wife, Rachel Vindman, appeared to imply that Nixon’s clothes were not “professional” enough, a comment that invited so much backlash that Vindman eventually deleted it and apologized? Pink and pink. (Each, Nixon noted, from Goodwill and costing $6.99 and $4.99, respectively). Turns out whining about “professional” was missing the point. By wearing pink so consistently throughout the campaign, it became impossible to think about the color without thinking about Nixon.

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Lead Stories

Mike Miles expects HISD’s state takeover to end after this school year

Houston ISD’s state takeover could end after the 2026-27 school year, state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles said Tuesday. Miles, appointed as superintendent by the state in June 2023, said he believes the district has nearly met all the criteria needed to end the state takeover. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath is expected to decide whether to begin the transition back to local control in June 2027. Miles' comments echo what Morath told reporters in August: that he expected the takeover to end “relatively soon.” “We always wanted to work quickly to get out of the intervention strategy,” Miles said on a Hello Houston radio appearance. “I think the official end may be the end of this school year, and then the commissioner will determine what sort of transition period there will be.”

To exit the state takeover, HISD must improve three areas: accountability ratings, board governance and special education compliance. Since the intervention began in June 2023, HISD’s number of D- and F-rated schools has dropped from 121 to 13. HISD students have since seen improved passing rates in almost every STAAR tested grade and subject. But many high schools have also seen ratings improve, in part, due to enrolling students in online college-prep courses — courses which the state has since discredited. Miles said HISD enrolled students in the courses to keep them from taking remedial courses in college, not to boost ratings. He said the district was not alone in the widespread use of college-prep courses statewide. "We're using what is allowed in our high schools to help kids so that they don't have to take remedial courses in college, and almost every high school in the state is using it," Miles said. Miles told the radio program that the district still had “some work to do” to improve special education compliance before ending the takeover. In the 2026-27 school year, the district also began to consolidate some special education services, which has drawn both state scrutiny and a federal investigation. While the district could begin its transition out of the state takeover after the 2026-27 school year, Miles has a contract for four more years until 2030. On the first day of school, Miles did not commit to staying through the transition to an elected board, saying "anything can happen." “The new school board — when that happens — they’ll want their own superintendent, I think,” Miles said Tuesday. HISD's state-appointed board of managers recently approved their annual evaluation and undisclosed bonus for Miles. He is eligible for up to $231,000 in addition to his base pay of $462,000.

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The death of government transparency in Texas

Last fall, Texas A&M University was in the midst of a firestorm. State Representative Brian Harrison of Midlothian, a brash right-wing social media power user, had posted a video to X that a student had recorded of a professor discussing gender identity during a lecture. Harrison included a letter to Governor Greg Abbott demanding that she and university President Mark Welsh be immediately fired. Within two weeks, the professor and Welsh had been pushed out, and Texas A&M, which had cycled through four presidents in five years, was once again in search of a leader. With a colleague at The Texas Tribune, I set out to understand how the flagship public university in a system that educates 175,000 students across twelve campuses had reached such a point. We started by filing public-information requests for records from the school’s regents, chancellor, and other top officials, seeking texts and emails, as well as memos, calendars, and voicemails—all of which are supposed to be accessible to the public. We soon confirmed that system leaders had been talking extensively. But many crucial messages that we knew existed were nowhere to be found.

In one instance, we obtained a thread of texts among a few of the regents that referenced other messages between Abbott and Jay Graham, the vice chair of the board, about Harrison’s post. But our probe for those records yielded nothing. University staff told us that they could “only produce records that exist as of the date of the request.” It seemed that everyone involved had deleted their copies of the conversation. Eventually, a top official with the Texas A&M system provided us with clarity; they said the regents, wary of public-information requests, were accustomed to using a work-around: “Read it and delete it.” Though destroying public records before the mandatory retention period expires can be a crime under state law, enforcement is rare, leaving officials free to routinely violate the foundation of the once robust Texas Public Information Act. A generation ago, our lawmakers, journalists, and engaged citizens considered transparency and openness to be bedrock principles of our state’s government. Laws enacted in the seventies secured the public’s right to know how state officials wield their authority. For decades these laws had served as a point of state pride: Texas boasted of offering some of the most transparency-friendly rules in the United States. The TPIA spells out its foundational philosophy in the preamble: “The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.” These transparency laws led to revelations of some of the worst cases of malfeasance in the state. They also prompted the creation of regulations that have benefited taxpayers. After the Austin American-Statesman used over one hundred records requests to uncover more than 450 unreported child sex abuse incidents across Texas day care facilities, legislators passed a slate of new laws regulating the industry. And after the Houston Chronicle filed three hundred public-information requests and found that the Texas Education Agency had pushed districts not to identify students with disabilities, denying children services they were legally entitled to receive, the U.S. Department of Education took federal action, and the Legislature tightened its policies. But over the past two decades, governmental bodies, with the help of the courts, have degraded Texas’s public-transparency apparatus piece by piece, nearly hollowing it out.

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Three takeaways from Bill Gates’s 5,784-word warning on AI: ‘There is no plan’

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates issued a stark warning about AI’s risks to employment and the human condition, saying that companies were barreling ahead with the technology with no larger plan for the massive upheaval it would cause. “Even under the best circumstances, the transition to this new AI era will be one of the most turbulent times in human history,” he wrote in a 12-page essay published to his personal website Wednesday. “Right now, we are not preparing for it. I don’t see evidence that leaders, experts and communities are confronting the challenges adequately.” The message is more sober than Gates’s 2023 essay on AI, when he wrote he was as excited about this revolution as the internet and PC rollouts. Though Wednesday’s missive highlighted AI’s immense potential for good—citing developments in energy, medical care and agriculture—he stressed how badly things could go if the transition is mismanaged. “There is no plan to ease the entry into the AI era,” he wrote, calling for more regulation of the technology.

Here are three of his main points: AI will hit both white- and blue-collar jobs quickly. Much of his essay focused on jobs, noting that entry- and midlevel jobs are most at risk of being eliminated. He argued that AI will soon also affect blue-collar work, and the breadth and speed make it different from other workplace transitions. While the move from agriculture to office work took generations, sectors like law, customer service, software and manufacturing will feel AI’s impact over the course of a decade. When AI can produce error-free work, “it will be able to function on its own without a human checking in on it, and companies will have every economic incentive to let it,” Gates wrote. A society with many more jobless people will need a stronger social safety net, he said. When factories closed, many locals saw more opioid deaths: “Imagine similar pressures on both white-collar and blue-collar workers nationwide.” Critical thinking is more important than ever—and at risk. Gates stressed the risk of cyberattacks on the grid, hospitals and banks. Fraud and surveillance will be widespread. AI will also enable governments to use deadly force without a human’s input, Gates wrote.

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‘Honeymoon’s over’: Warsh under pressure as Fed weighs raising rates

Three years before taking over as chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kevin M. Warsh recounted an exchange he once had with a hero of his, Paul A. Volcker, the celebrated central banker. Mr. Volcker, who navigated the Fed through one of the worst bouts of inflation in the 1970s and 1980s, told Mr. Warsh, then a governor, that the central bank’s job boiled down to two primary responsibilities. The first was getting interest rates “about right.” The second was to “make sure you look like you know what you’re doing.” Those duties are top of mind as Mr. Warsh prepares for his first address as chairman to the world’s leading economic policymakers in Jackson, Wyo. His speech, scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. Eastern, is the biggest draw of the three-day conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

It will offer Mr. Warsh the most powerful perch yet to articulate his own framework for thinking about the economy, the policy choices in front of the Fed as it contends with elevated inflation and how he is assessing seismic changes — such as new sources of productivity gains from artificial intelligence — that could alter the country’s growth prospects in the years ahead. Those details have been intentionally sparse, reflecting Mr. Warsh’s inclination to guard his preferences. One of the only things that Mr. Warsh has made unequivocally clear is that he is committed to getting inflation down after five years of the central bank’s overshooting its 2 percent target. And even then, he has spoken only obliquely about the possibility of raising rates to get there. The lack of specifics on where Mr. Warsh stands on a number of fundamental issues has caused confusion both inside and outside the Fed, overshadowing his broader ambitions to enact sweeping change at the institution. Resolving this does not require Mr. Warsh to provide specific guidance about the Fed’s policy moves in September and beyond, as he is staunchly opposed to doing. But a slight change of tack is required to begin to reset the narrative after a rocky start. “You won’t accomplish anything if you are unwilling to tell people how you think the economy works,” said Anil Kashyap, an economist at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. “You have to have a mechanism that you think explains why if you’re going to do something differently, it’s going to turn out better. And that means you need to pick a lane on various issues.” “The honeymoon’s over,” Mr. Kashyap added.

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State Stories

Greg Abbott has ‘serious doubts’ ICE agent in Texas jail is a fugitive

Gov. Greg Abbott has “serious doubts” that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of shooting a man in Minneapolis is a fugitive whom he is legally bound to return to Minnesota, as officials there have requested, according to court filings in the case. The officer, Christian Castro, was arrested in Texas and is being held in Cameron County. He could be released from jail as soon as Wednesday under Texas law, which sets a 90-day limit on the detention of fugitives awaiting extradition. Minnesota officials last week sued to force Abbott to sign his extradition papers before then. A judge is hearing arguments in the case Tuesday. The Republican governor said in court filings this week that Castro appears to have been ordered by the federal government to return to Harlingen, where he lives and is usually stationed, after the January shooting. Castro was sent to Minneapolis during President Donald Trump’s deportation surge there.

Abbott said he directed the secretary of state last month to investigate whether Castro qualifies as a fugitive under the law. The governor says he is waiting on the findings before deciding whether to authorize the extradition — which Minnesota officials sought months ago. “While the Governor has serious doubts that Mr. Castro qualifies as a fugitive, the Governor has not yet received a report from the Secretary and so has not made a decision concerning Minnesota’s request,” the court filings say. “Minnesota rushed to file this lawsuit, claiming (incredibly) that an ICE agent subject to ongoing federal investigations — and who never bothered to post bond — was somehow a flight risk.” At a press conference last week, Abbott said he wouldn’t respond to Minnesota's request "at all" until officials there admitted fault in a series of unrelated fraud cases involving government programs. Those cases do not involve Texas. Minnesota says the extradition matter is pressing. The state is seeking a temporary restraining order to keep Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino from releasing Castro until Minnesota authorities have him in custody.

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Medicaid and SNAP enrollment delays in Texas

New data from the state's Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) show that Texas families are facing growing delays as they wait for the state to process their applications for Medicaid health insurance and SNAP food assistance. The data show an increase from 2,000 delayed Medicaid applications in January to 183,000 in July. "Texas families should not have to delay health care because the state can't process their Medicaid applications on time," said Diana Forester, Director of Health Policy at Texans Care for Children. "We urge state leaders to step up for kids who are home sick from school and pregnant women who need prenatal care."

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Gina Hinojosa calls Tarrant County ‘ground zero’ in fight for the American dream

Gina Hinojosa outlined her vision for Texans to reclaim the American Dream to over 300 people during her rally in Fort Worth on Tuesday. The Democratic nominee for governor spoke about her plans to reform the public education system, make healthcare and electricity more affordable and combat data centers. During the 2022 midterm elections, Gov. Greg Abbott won Tarrant County with just over 51% of votes. Hinojosa called Tarrant County “ground zero” for this election. “The whole world is watching Tarrant County,” Hinojosa said. The county’s voting patterns have long been seen as a indicator of what will happen in Texas and national elections.

Taylor Eowers is a public school teacher with a son who has special needs. Eowers said his family is probably about to get kicked off of Medicare. “A candidate who can bring both public education and children’s healthcare into the mix has 100% got my vote,” Eowers said. Fort Worth ISD is one of eight school districts across the state that has been taken over by the Texas Education Agency due to consistent failing accountability ratings. “We need to include parents, include the community as part of the solution when our schools are struggling,” Hinojosa said, adding that she is against the state taking over public schools. Hinojosa said school districts face challenges due to underfunding, focusing on testing and the “teacher exodus” that has happened under Abbott. In the first three months following the state takeover, nearly 800 teachers resigned from Fort Worth ISD. “We will save Texas schools because there can be no American dream without strong public schools,” Hinojosa said.

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Tensions flare at Fort Worth City Council meeting over $10B data center

New details have been announced about Fort Worth’s proposed $10 billion data center project — including its developer — after a tense meeting drew both ire and support for the project. At its meeting on Aug. 25, the Fort Worth City Council approved an amended site plan for a data center project in the city’s southeast edge, near Forest Hill and Everman. Fort Worth-based energy consortium Black Mountain has been attached to the data center, but on Tuesday, a representative from the Virginia-based data center developer EdgeConneX announced that the company is the developer and operator. “We’re not a crypto-mining operation, and we’re not a speculative developer looking to ride the data center wave,” Todd Workman, a representative from EdgeConneX, told council members.

Workman said that EdgeConneX has started outreach efforts to get local students involved with careers at the data center. A council vote on the plan was postponed after residents — and some City Council members — expressed confusion and hesitation over the plans for the development. Zoning cases for the land were initially approved by the City Council in 2025. The site plan that was approved on Tuesday includes four buildings, plus a substation that would only power the data center. Throughout the year, just about any meeting regarding data centers in Fort Worth has drawn hours-long public comments from residents and activist groups, and attention from state representatives and candidates for statewide office. That was still the case on Tuesday, as dozens of people came to speak against the data center. “I think we’re moving too fast,” said Sue Weston, the owner of the historic Weston Gardens. The data center’s footprint is adjacent to her property. Weston told the city she does not believe enough environmental assessments on the data center have been completed.

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Dallas caps property tax rate, bucking hikes in other Texas cities

While other Texas cities have decided to increase taxes to balance their books, Dallas officials aren’t going to do that. The City Council voted 8-6 to cap the rate at 69.78 cents per $100 of taxable value. They agreed with City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert’s budget recommendation, indicating officials could seek deeper cuts. Dallas has pursued tax rate cuts for 11 years straight, forgoing more than $200 million in revenue. Tolbert’s $5.6 billion proposal offers a slight 0.10 cent decrease to its current rate, inspiring robust debate about whether it was enough or even necessary. The final budget will be adopted Sept. 16.

Council members debated whether to increase or lower the cap for more than an hour. Some said a lower property tax rate helps residents and makes the city more competitive to lure businesses. But several have pushed back saying a cut in the city’s tax collections also means neighborhood services will need to be pruned. Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement that the council’s vote Tuesday showed “sound fiscal discipline and a serious commitment to keeping Dallas competitive, pro-growth and affordable compared with other major Texas cities.” Mayor Pro Tem Jaime Resendez and council members Laura Cadena, Adam Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon, Cara Mendelsohn and Paul Ridley voted against the cap. Council member Bill Roth was absent when the vote was taken. Tuesday’s move makes Dallas an outlier among major Texas cities. Austin, San Antonio and Fort Worth have either approved or proposed raising their property tax rates. Houston is keeping its property tax rate flat.

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Anthropic may make another huge footprint outside Austin

Fresh off its huge data center lease in Milam County northeast of Austin, Silicon Valley-based Anthropic PBC is in talks to occupy a gargantuan data center development on the east side in Bastrop County. While no agreement has been finalized, the artificial intelligence company has been working with Washington, D.C.-based BlackChamber Partners LLC and Dallas-based Pacifico Energy LLC on what's been described as a 2,842-acre gas-fired electric generation facility to support a major data center development in the Cedar Creek area, several sources told ABJ. Public documents indicate that at full buildout the power plant would deliver 710 megawatts of "site-rated redundant power using simple cycle natural gas turbines" that will support 490 megawatts of informational technology load.

Translation: A roughly 500-megawatt data center is in the works. Details aren't made public, but for perspective, such data centers often measure in the millions of square feet. Anthropic is largely known for its language learning model called Claude. It recently signed what could amount to a $16.1 billion data center lease at Riot Platforms Inc.'s campus in Milam County near the former Alcoa Corp. plant. BlackChamber and Pacifico last week pulled a tax abatement request filed with Bastrop County. They withdrew another request for property tax abatements from the Bastrop Independent School District through the Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act, or JETI. The decision to pull those applications was led by Anthropic, which cited a desire not to pull money from the local community, sources said. The company is said to be working with local officials on a list of community priorities to partner on ahead of potentially leasing the property. The project is located at 382 Earl Callahan Road.

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Ross Fire explodes to 50,000 acres in Palo Pinto County; ‘We’re throwing everything at this’

A wildfire that broke out Monday along Highway 180 near R.D. Bell Road in Palo Pinto County, known as "Ross Fire," has grown to 50,000 acres with 12% containment as of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Highway 180 and Highway 254 are closed near the scene as crews battled the flames. Officials said spot fires are popping up about a mile north of the fire. Palo Pinto ESD 1 said the fire grew to over 18,000 acres in just 12 hours, and by 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, had grown to over 50,000 acres. Additional air assets arrived on scene Tuesday morning to assist the over 100 firefighters already on the scene to battle the blaze.

At least five structures are known to have been destroyed by the Ross Fire. Officials said additional damage assessments are expected to be conducted Tuesday. Firefighters have been working throughout the night to protect structures from the raging fire, Danny Watkins, chief of the Palo Pinto County Emergency Services District, said in a video posted to Facebook. "The primary objective for the day is structural protection because of the fire conditions and the fuel load; we're going to engage where we can, but the homes are the first priority," Watkins said. "The fuel load and the weather conditions, it's kind of been the perfect storm where we just haven't been able to contain it. We're doing everything we can; we're throwing everything at this and still having minimal effect." The city of Graford is on high alert due to the fire, according to Palo Pinto officials. Graford ISD and Perrin-Whitt CISD have canceled school due to the fire, officials said.

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SB 12 — ‘the drag ban’ — again ruled unconstitutional

Texas’ drag ban — Senate Bill 12 passed in the 2023 Texas Legislature — has once again been ruled unconstitutional, according to numerous reports. A federal judge in Houston ruled Tuesday, Aug. 25 — for the second time — that Senate Bill 12, the so-called Texas drag ban which came out of the 2023 legislative session, is unconstitutional. Today’s ruling once against pauses enforcement of the law, which had gone into effect in March. U.S. District Judge David Hittner of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found that the ban is an unlawful restriction on speech that violates the First Amendment. He also issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of the law.

Brian Klosterboer, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas which represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said in a statement that Hittner’s ruling on Tuesday “confirms that the Legislature’s attempt to ban drag performances was unconstitutional from start to finish. “Drag has a rich history as a refuge of joy and liberation for countless Texans, and it’s not going anywhere,” Klosterboer continued. “This law stifled free expression across our state and made people afraid to engage in or attend drag shows and other performances. But all Texans — no matter our gender or background — are guaranteed the right to free expression. “We celebrate this victory and remain committed to stopping state officials from targeting LGBTQIA+ Texans and making our state less free and fair,” he said. SB 12, passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023, was part of a wave of “drag ban” laws that swept across the country. The Texas law prohibited “sexually oriented performances” on public property or in the presence of minors under the age of 18. It allowed for businesses hosting such shows to be fined $10,000 and for performers in those shows to be charged with misdemeanor offenses.

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Ex-Democratic Texas rep turned Republican anti-trans activist appointed judge in Houston

After a whirlwind few years that saw her anger Democrats, switch parties, get appointed to a state prison board and join the American chapter of an international anti-transgender group, former Texas state representative Shawn Thierry has a new gig: Houston judge. On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he had appointed Thierry as judge of the 515th Harris County Judicial District Court. Thierry's appointment is effective Sept. 1, with her term expiring Dec. 31, 2028. The 515th District Court was one of five new courts created last legislative session to address a backlog of civil court cases. "I look forward to serving on the bench with integrity, fairness, and respect for the rule of law," Thierry wrote in a statement on X.

Abbott's office noted in a press release that Thierry currently serves on the Texas Juvenile Justice Board, which Abbott appointed her to in 2025. She is a graduate of Howard University and holds a JD from Thurgood Marshall School of Law and, the press release notes among her many distinctions, "a former volunteer with the Houston Food Bank." But Abbott's office did not mention some of Thierry's more recent work. Thierry was originally elected as a Democrat in 2017 to represent Texas House District 146, which includes Houston's historically Black Sunnyside neighborhood, replacing outgoing Rep. Borris Miles, who now serves in the Texas Senate. Thierry mostly flew under the radar until the 2023 legislative session, when she broke ranks with her party to vote for several bills opposed by LGBTQ+ advocates and allies. Thierry was one of 12 Democrats to vote for a bill that would have taken books deemed sexually explicit out of Texas schools. She also voted to ban transgender athletes from competing on college teams that align with their gender identity.

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More than 500,000 people across Central Texas don’t have enough food to eat

Texas has the highest population battling food insecurity in the country, with over 6 million residents in the state struggling to access food consistently throughout the year. That’s about 1 in 5 households, according to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks. Central Texas’s food insecurity rate decreased after 2020, but has increased each year since 2021. In 2024, just over 17% of the population in the region—more than 500,000 people—didn’t have enough to eat and didn’t know where their next meal would come from. Experts say a lack of access to enough food can lead to negative impacts on physical and mental health and affect other parts of life, from work and school to relationships.

Every year, Feeding Texas releases a Map the Meal Gap study to show food insecurity levels in counties across the country, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The nonprofit uses data like unemployment numbers, cost of living, access to nearby grocery stores and more to measure food insecurity. The 2026 report released this summer highlighted food insecurity from two years prior. In Central Texas, the food insecurity rate in 2024 varied by county, with Williamson County at the low end showing 14.6% of its population dealt with food insecurity, while Caldwell County had the highest at 19.9%. Many households who do deal with food insecurity do not qualify for federal food assistance programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In Texas, about 47% of the population that is food insecure does not meet eligibility requirements for SNAP, whether that’s because a household’s income is higher than the threshold for the program or for other reasons. In Central Texas, more than 40% of those facing food insecurity do not qualify for SNAP, but that figure does vary by county. Broken down by demographics, 34% of the region’s food insecure population is Black, 23% is Hispanic and 12% is white. Data on Asian Americans and Native Americans was not available.

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What Texas’ childcare cuts could mean for Dallas families on the waitlist

Texas wants Dallas County to provide childcare support to 1,604 fewer children per day, which could keep families on the waitlist longer. The Texas Workforce Commission set Dallas County’s target at 11,516 children served per day for the 2027 Board Contract Year. That is down from the 13,120 target the agency approved for the current contract year. The number is a target for the average number of children served each day. It is not a confirmed count of individual children who will lose care or an annual count of families receiving help.

ChildCareGroup, which manages the Child Care Financial Scholarship program for Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, has not received formal guidance on final service levels for the coming program year, CEO Tori Mannes said. But Mannes said there are no plans to remove current scholarship recipients from the program. As children leave because a parent no longer needs care or no longer meets eligibility requirements, fewer children will be enrolled from the waiting list, she said. In an Aug. 11 discussion paper, TWC reported it updated the current-year targets effective with the July performance report to give local workforce boards a way to gradually reduce enrollment before the new contract year. In June, TWC approved ending a staff-retention strategy after agency staff said it could not show whether the program reduced turnover. The commission also ended a planned $25 million childcare-expansion initiative that had not yet been awarded. Staff said the money should instead support more children amid long waitlists. In July, the commission redirected another $29.76 million in quality funds not needed to meet state quality earmarks into direct care.

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Grapevine-Colleyville school board drops effort to keep legal fees hidden from public

The Grapevine-Colleyville school board voted last night to dismiss three lawsuits filed against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that aimed to block the release of records that district parents have long demanded be made public. All three lawsuits were related to invoices for legal fees the school district paid to attorney Tim Davis and the firms he worked for while he served as the school board’s counsel. In 2024 and 2025, Rachel Wall, a Grapevine-Colleyville parent, requested the unredacted invoices from the district under the Texas Public Information Act. The Star-Telegram did the same in 2025. The school board, represented by Davis, initially sought to withhold those records, arguing they were protected by attorney-client privilege. The Texas Attorney General’s Office, however, ruled that fee details were not privileged and ordered the district to release the invoices.

The board then sued Paxton to keep the invoices from becoming public. As reported in June, there had been little movement in those cases. Davis parted ways with Grapevine-Colleyville earlier this summer, leading to speculation that the school board would abandon its legal fight to withhold the unredacted invoices. In July, a spokesperson for the school district said the school board was in the process of reviewing the documents. All along, Wall has argued that taxpayers are entitled to see how district money is being spent in the name of transparency. She said Grapevine-Colleyville paid Davis and his firms upwards of $600,000 over the course of four years. On Monday, the school board passed three motions to dismiss the lawsuits. In each instance, the vote was 6-1, with Trustee Shannon Braun the lone dissenting vote. There was no public discussion prior to the votes. School board president Dalia Begin did not immediately respond to a text message requesting comment on the board’s change of heart regarding the invoices. Braun did not immediately respond to a voice message asking for insight into her reasons for opposing the motions. The Keller school board, which Davis also represented, filed a similar lawsuit against Paxton last year to block the release of unredacted legal invoices. A spokesperson for Keller did not immediately respond when asked if the board had considered abandoning its legal challenge.

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The NBA investigated a team employee's sexual misconduct claim. Did they talk to her?

According to Joshua Primo’s therapist, the San Antonio Spurs rookie flashed his penis nine times during their private sessions. Though she said she reported her claims to Spurs management, the team didn’t issue any consequences until cutting him months after they ended her employment as the team’s performance psychologist. That’s what Dr. Hillary Cauthen alleged in her November 3, 2022, lawsuit against Primo and the team, spurring the National Basketball Association to launch an investigation. The league’s inquiry, ironically, led commissioner Adam Silver to compliment her former employer. Silver told the press that the Spurs—who publicly disputed Cauthen’s “accuracy of facts, details and timeline” before reaching a settlement—“handled the situation in a very responsible way.” But, he also acknowledged that the league was pursuing “safeguards” to ensure situations like Cauthen wouldn’t happen again.

Nearly a year after Cauthen’s lawsuit, the NBA suspended Primo for four games for “exposing himself to women” after finishing a probe that “consulted with relevant experts.” eyeblack learned that according to Cauthen’s attorney, the NBA’s decision was news to her. Literally. Tony Buzbee, the lawyer who represented Cauthen in her case against the Spurs, told eyeblack that NBA never contacted her about joining its probe, nor did Silver or any official inform her about those promised safeguards. “The league never even asked to speak to her,” said Buzbee. “We made her available, [the NBA] never responded.” Buzbee’s claim, if true, marked the second time in the last three years that the NBA was publicly criticized for ending an investigation without interviewing the woman who made the complaint. Buzbee cited Cauthen’s press conference announcing the suit, where she articulated her desire to “protect those that suffer in silence” and “help organizations develop a culture of care,” as a clear example of her desire to participate. “Maybe, if they are performing an investigation, and I’ve stated publicly that my client is available to speak, they should make an effort to reach out?,” Buzbee said.

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Dr. Summer Rose: 5 tips to help parents recognize if their student is struggling during back to school season

(Dr. Summer Rose is a clinical psychologist and CEO of Communities In Schools of the Dallas Region.) Kids are back in school, and as that first day excitement fades and schedules become routine, parents and teachers may begin noticing early signs that a student is struggling. Maybe they're suddenly reluctant to go to school, their grades or attendance begin slipping, their behavior changes, or they start withdrawing from friends and activities. Those changes can be easy to chalk up to an adjustment period, but they can also be critical clues that something more serious is happening.

One bad grade or bad morning is not reason for concern, Dr. Rose says. Look out for patterns that are cause for concern. Be curious before you become punitive. Dr. Rose says while it's easy to take technology away when grades slip, dig deeper to see if there's larger issue at play. Don't forget about the adjustment period. During back to school season, kids are just getting back into a strict routine. If your student still isn't adjusting well after a few months, Dr. Rose says it's worth having a conversation with them about underlying stressors. It's normal for students to experience summer learning loss, and the first month of school is usually the time to "catch-up." Dr. Rose says teachers should monitor students' progress throughout that first month, and let parents know if their student may require extra support. Teachers are a great resource into how your child is doing in the classroom. Some students at home present themselves to be on top of their game, but that may not be the reality for them in the classroom. Check in with educators on your students' progress these first few months.

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National Stories

Dolly Parton, country music superstar whose songs spoke to millions, dies at 80

Dolly Parton, a rhinestone-studded, rags-to-riches daughter of Appalachia who for six decades ruled country music — and much of pop culture — with an outsize personality and down-home wit that enshrined her as one of America’s most cherished originals, died on Tuesday in Nashville. She was 80. Her death was announced by her family. A spokesman said that she died after a brief battle with cancer and that she had been admitted to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville on Friday. Concerns about Ms. Parton’s health arose last year when she postponed a Las Vegas residency, and intensified to the point that she took to social media in October to announce, “I ain’t dead yet.” This May, she canceled the residency but said that she had responded well to treatment after her immune and digestive systems had, as she put it, “got all out of whack” in recent years.

From her hardscrabble beginnings to glittering stardom, Ms. Parton’s life was the stuff of make-believe. With her voluptuous figure, sparkly stage costumes and blond bouffant wigs, she was likened by the writer Chet Flippo to the Big Rock Candy Mountain, the Depression-era symbol of abundance. Her songs spoke to millions, confronting privation and loss even as they radiated possibility and hope. She was, quintessentially, a uniter of people. In 2019, The New York Times ran a story with the headline “Is There Anything We Can All Agree On? Yes: Dolly Parton.” Ms. Parton cannily exploited — and transcended — rural stereotypes and kitsch to fashion a folksy chic entirely her own. (“A country girl’s idea of glam,” she called it in the song “Backwoods Barbie.”) In the process, she became an international celebrity who headlined stadium tours, starred in Hollywood movies, built a business empire and appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone. Her at times girlish soprano notwithstanding, she was anything but the “dumb blonde” invoked in the title of her 1966 single. “I’ve created this and played it up — the makeup, the whole persona,” Ms. Parton said, alluding to her plastic surgeries as well as her colloquial “Dollyisms” in a 2002 interview with The Times.

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Trump’s pick for open House seat in Kentucky scrubs president from campaign website

President Trump’s pick to replace Republican Rep. Andy Barr (Ky.) in the House has completely scrubbed the president from his campaign website. Former state Sen. Ralph Alvarado’s (R) campaign website no longer features an image of the candidate next to Trump with them both giving a thumbs-up and shifted from branding himself as a national leader in the “America First” movement to an “independent” focused on healthcare. The scrub of his website was first reported by NBC. Alvarado and the White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment explaining the change.

An archived version of Alvarado’s website says he “was one of President Trump’s earliest supporters, and now he’s stepping up to fight alongside him in Washington to fire up the economy, secure our border, and stop the woke agenda.” It touted the former state senator as the only Latino to speak in support of Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Now statements on the website focus on healthcare and lowering costs. “Healthcare isn’t a talking point to me — it’s been my life’s work. In Congress, I’ll work with both parties to fight for affordable healthcare, lower costs, and practical solutions that help Kentucky families,” a quote from Alvarado on the campaign website’s landing page says. His statement comes as healthcare premiums increased after lawmakers decided not to renew Affordable Care Act subsidies and as the Trump administration pushes changes to the vaccine schedule for school-age children. Democrats say Alvarado’s shift in rhetoric shows that he’s “two-faced.” “He is a two-faced, corrupt politician who has shown he is willing to say anything to deceive Central Kentuckians just to try and get elected,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Eli Cousin told The Hill. “Alvarado scrubbing his website to try and paper over his real record is just the latest sign that he is feeling the heat and knows that this race is a true toss up,” Cousin added. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the seat vacated by Barr as “likely Republican.”

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FEMA crew broke law by skipping homes with Trump signs, federal watchdog says

A crew of Federal Emergency Management Agency staffers working on the response to Hurricane Milton in 2024 violated the law and agency policy by skipping nearly a dozen homes displaying signs supporting then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, a federal watchdog said Tuesday. The new report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General found that the decision by a crew with the agency’s Disaster Survivor Assistance program “eroded public trust in FEMA’s ability to treat everyone impartially, offer unbiased and consistent assistance, and ensure equal access to resources and tools.”

Back-to-back hurricanes hit Florida within two weeks of each other in late September and early October 2024, prompting emergency declarations and federal assistance. FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance crews canvassed 744,288 homes and other sites in response, according the report, and did not contact “555,374 locations for reasons such as private property signs or safety concerns.” During FEMA’s hurricane response, which was unfolding during the last few weeks of the pivotal election, a FEMA crew lead instructed team members to avoid homes with Trump signs due to safety concerns. The same crew bypassed those 11 homes in Florida, according to survey notes obtained by the inspector general’s office. At the time, the crew leader did not feel safe given the heightened tension and “was looking for ways to define safety. People were not getting good guidance, so she made her own way,” said a former senior FEMA official with direct knowledge of the situation. After several FEMA workers filed a complaint, the agency started its own investigation and officials referred the complaint to the Office of Special Counsel and DHS’s inspector general office.

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Pennsylvania reports first 2 US measles deaths in 2026

Two unvaccinated Pennsylvania residents have died after being infected with measles, the first U.S. deaths this year related to the contagious virus. State health officials announced the deaths Tuesday. They did not reveal any details about the people who died, other than that they lived in Lancaster County, west of Philadelphia. “My deepest sympathies are with the loved ones who are facing this unimaginable loss,” said state Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen. “Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness.” The U.S. has now seen five measles-associated deaths in the last two years — more than the combined total of reported deaths over the previous three decades — and is enduring its worst year for measles since 1991.

With 2,777 cases as of Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year already has surpassed 2025’s measles count. In November, international health officials will meet to determine if the U.S. and Mexico have lost their measles-free status. The U.S. eliminated local measles spread in 2000 by maintaining high vaccination rates, which have fallen in recent years to below the 95% coverage needed to prevent outbreaks. The measles surge has coincided with moves by President Donald Trump’s administration to scale back childhood vaccinations, based on concerns — unfounded, according to scientific studies — about vaccine safety. Trump earlier this month signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations. He also advocated separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different shots, and administering all childhood immunizations at separate appointments whenever possible. Doctors have raised concerns that Trump and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are stoking confusion and hesitancy.

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In headache for Republicans, second Dan Sullivan advances in Alaska Senate race

A candidate with the same name as Alaska’s incumbent U.S. senator advanced Tuesday to the general election in what will be one of the most closely watched races in the country this fall. Dan J. Sullivan, who goes by Dan Sullivan, was among the top four finishers after the Aug. 18 primary and moved on to the November matchup, which is a ranked choice contest. The incumbent, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, and Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola also have advanced. The challenger Sullivan, a retired teacher from the island community of Petersburg, sued for a spot on the ballot and succeeded after a judge invalidated a decision by a top state elections official who said he had filed his candidacy with an intent to confuse voters.

The allegation was driven by claims raised by the senator and his GOP allies. The state Supreme Court ultimately ordered Dan J. Sullivan eligible for the ballot. While the challenger sought to appear on the ballot as Republican Dan J. Sullivan, the Division of Elections listed him as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation. The senator was listed as Dan S. Sullivan, Republican and incumbent. A call seeking comment from the challenger was not immediately returned Tuesday, and emails to campaign staff for the senator also were not immediately returned. President Donald Trump endorsed Sen. Sullivan for reelection and called the other Sullivan’s candidacy an attempt to trick voters. Dan J. Sullivan criticized the incumbent for embracing Trump’s endorsement and said the president was “more interested in raising tariffs on our allies than in lowering the cost of groceries, housing and energy.” It was too early to determine who would fill the fourth and final slot in the Senate general election race. The Senate race was one of three major contests on Alaska’s primary ballot, which also featured races for the state’s lone U.S. House seat and governor.

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MAGA influencer outed as a Pentagon employee in bizarre turn after botching ‘scoop’ from State Dept.

Jennica Pounds, who is more well-known as MAGA influencer DataRepublican on social media, was outed as a special government employee of the Department of Defense Monday. Pounds’s Pentagon employment came to light after a bizarre incident in which she claimed she was being “set up” by the deep state — but it was revealed she merely botched a “scoop” she was being handed by a State Department official. Up until June, Pounds was a member of the credentialed Pentagon press corps. She had not disclosed her new gig with the Pentagon.

The story began to blow open on Friday, Aug. 21, when the X account for the far-right outlet AF Post wrote, “Jennica Pounds, aka Data Republican, a Department of War employee, alleges that Undersecretary of State Sarah Rogers is attempting to ‘entrap’ Pounds by providing her with information to ‘leak’ under the guise of offering her a ‘scoop.'” Per AF Post, Pounds also believed the “Deep State” — or Rogers — was “trying to set her up to commit a crime, in this case claiming Rogers is trying to entice her to leak sensitive information.” “It’s not okay when the Deep State sets you up to commit a crime,” Pounds wrote in a now-deleted thread. “I have never been more angry in my life.” On Monday, AP Pentagon reporter Konstantin Toropin posted on X, “The Pentagon confirms – ‘Ms. Pounds serves at the Department of War as a Special Government Employee.'”

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Trump nabs crucial primary wins in South Carolina, Oklahoma

President Trump notched two critical wins in South Carolina and Oklahoma on Tuesday, with Sen. Darline Graham (S.C.) and former state Sen. Mike Mazzei (Okla.) clinching the GOP nominations in their respective primary runoff races. The Republican contests for South Carolina Senate and Oklahoma governor served as another key test of the president’s influence in the GOP as several of his gubernatorial and House picks have fallen short in their primaries this cycle. Graham defeated Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) by nearly 5 percentage points while Mazzei eked out Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond by about half a point, according to Decision Desk HQ. Graham, who was appointed to serve the remainder of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.), term in the upper chamber, faced growing questions around her lack of political experience after a gaffe on the debate stage last week.

But Trump’s endorsement carried both her and Mazzei across the finish line, underscoring the president’s firm grip on the party in key contests ahead of the November midterms. Trump had ripped Mazzei’s opponent in the days ahead of Tuesday’s contest. Graham pulled it off in South Carolina — helping Trump avoid an embarrassing primary loss. Trump threw his political weight behind the incumbent and visited the state last week to rally alongside Graham. His super PAC MAGA Inc. also invested $827,000 in the contest, marking the group’s largest investment so far this election cycle. Graham’s win is particularly notable given the president’s initial gubernatorial pick — South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R) — lost. He had also backed Attorney General Alan Wilson in the race, but the outcome prompted questions about whether South Carolina Republicans would buck the president’s endorsee again. Trump came out on top in a tight Oklahoma governor’s GOP runoff with Mazzei’s victory over Drummond. Drummond narrowly led Mazzei in the initial June primary runoff. The race took a nasty turn, with Mazzei releasing a drug test this week after public pressure from Drummond, who did the same. In the days ahead of the runoff, Trump also hammered the attorney general, calling him a “fake Republican.” Drummond, a rancher, opposed a Trump-backed aluminum plant in the state and in recent days has slammed the president’s decision to import beef and tariff Canadian goods.

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Lead Stories

Supreme Court allows Trump to pursue mail voting limits, for now

A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with plans to restrict mail-in voting before the midterm elections. In an emergency opinion, the justices said President Trump could proceed with implementing an executive order he had signed, which directed the U.S. Postal Service to help decide which voters should receive mail-in ballots. Under the executive order, the Department of Homeland Security will also create lists of U.S. citizens that the administration believes could be used to monitor voter rolls for noncitizens. The decision means the administration can move ahead with planning for restricting the use of mail ballots even as a lower court continues to weigh the legality of Mr. Trump’s executive order. But with a little more than two months until Election Day — and considerably less time before early voting begins in many states — it remains unclear whether the White House’s rules will be in effect for a midterm election in which control of both chambers is at stake.

Additional legal action is a near certainty with the plan’s fate not yet final. A separate injunction by the same lower court complicates matters. That court action prevents the postal service from implementing some parts of the executive order. That case could also soon be headed to the justices. Monday’s order from the Supreme Court was unsigned, as is typical in such emergency rulings. The majority wrote that it agreed with the government’s argument that it should be able to move forward with its plans, finding that the Trump administration was “likely to suffer irreparable harm” unless the justices lifted a freeze that had been imposed by lower courts. The three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warning that the majority “needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the upcoming midterm elections.” The majority said the states that challenged the president’s order could not demonstrate that they were sufficiently harmed by voting rules that had not yet taken effect. The justices cautioned that their order was preliminary and not a final decision about whether the administration’s order “will necessarily be lawful” once the plans are complete. “On that score, time will tell,” the majority said in the 10-page, unsigned order. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has been receptive to some, but not all, of the administration’s broad claims of executive power. In this case, the majority said that the provision of Mr. Trump’s order that required creating lists of U.S. citizens was “an internal directive from the president to a subordinate” and so far imposed no obligations on the states.

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Can counties stop data centers? Ken Paxton won’t say.

Attorney General Ken Paxton has called data centers a “complicated issue” that should be decided “by local communities.” But when two rural counties asked his office early this year if they could halt local data center construction, it was not quick to weigh in. Six months later, it still hasn’t. The attorney general’s office had 180 days to issue a legal opinion or delay the matter, according to state law. The office wrote to Hood County Attorney Matt Mills on Monday notifying him it would "need more time to review the law, complete our analysis, and finalize the opinion." “I predicted long ago that I wouldn't hear back until after the election in November,” Mills said.

Paxton, who is running for the U.S. Senate, on Monday rolled out a campaign proposal that endorses new rules on where data centers can be built and calls for prohibiting Chinese technology from being used in them. He is the latest candidate to wade into the data center fracas, joining other GOP candidates who have sought to quell a brewing backlash among rural voters. But Paxton's plan is silent on one of the biggest questions fueling the data center debate in Texas, the ability that counties have to do anything about the centers cropping up across the state. Paxton’s Democratic opponent, state Rep. James Talarico, has called for them to be given the power to keep data centers out. His four-part plan includes federal legislation to hold data center companies criminally liable if they empower AI chatbots that could be harmful to children and backs a federal proposal to cut regulations to speed up power so new data centers don’t raise electricity costs.

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Farmers struggle to get basic services from depleted Agriculture Dept.

Mary and Zachariah Ben, farmers in New Mexico, believed they were on the verge of buying the property of their dreams last fall: 47 acres, with enough cropland to grow heirloom corn and a processing facility to expand their organic baby food business. But the low-interest loan they secured from the Agriculture Department to make the purchase in Aztec, N.M., was on hold for months, first during the government shutdown that lasted until mid-November and then as federal workers left the agency in droves. Only half a dozen loan specialists who could help process their claims remained in the entire state, the couple learned, leaving them in limbo indefinitely and the seller impatient to know whether the agreement would ever go through. Zachariah Ben, who along with his children is a member of the Navajo Nation, ultimately turned to private lenders instead, and the family absorbed more than $200,000 in interest as a result. “At least we got the land because we could have also lost that, and we would have if we had to wait” on the Agriculture Department, Mary Ben said.

The experience of the Bens, whose aim of providing organic and shelf-stable options for young children appears to align with some of the Trump administration’s stated goals, is not unique. Across the country, farmers and rural residents describe struggling to obtain the basic services the Agriculture Department is meant to offer, including loans and grants, technical assistance and financing for housing and utilities. Sharp attrition under the Trump administration, largely through voluntary resignations and dismissals by the Department of Government Efficiency, have left many of the Agriculture Department’s local offices with skeletal staffing — and, in some counties, with no one at all. The ripple effects of the Agriculture Department’s depleted work force illustrate how the Trump administration’s mission of shrinking the federal bureaucracy has undercut a competing priority: delivering for farmers, a core political constituency. Strained government resources also risk posing additional challenges for a farm economy that administration officials have described as “dire,” increasing barriers to entry for new farmers who need more assistance, impeding assistance to producers already facing tough economic conditions, and hampering basic services and government aid in the most remote and poorest places. “All these practical things that make the wheels go around in a community were facilitated by U.S.D.A., and it was with staff who knew how to navigate and had the trust of the local community,” Senator Peter Welch of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Senate subcommittee on rural development, said in an interview. “It’s something that was working, was working well, and was very cost-efficient. And now it is being demolished.”

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A relentless heat dome is expanding from Texas to California, challenging records

The states of Texas and Oklahoma are no strangers to extreme heat during summer. So when temperature records are being challenged in these notoriously hot places, it catches a meteorologist’s attention. On Monday, Dallas tied its hottest overall day on record, with an average temperature of 97.5 degrees Fahrenheit. It reached a blistering 109 degrees during the day after a low of just 86 degrees. By the time August is said and done, high temperatures in Dallas may end up reaching or exceeding 100 degrees on 27 out of a possible 31 days — just one day shy of the record, set in 2011. And the heat dome that has produced these extremes is showing no signs of letting up — at least not until early September. “Check on your Texan friends,” Dallas-based meteorologist Pete Delkus wrote Monday on X, while sharing a chart that showed triple-digit temperatures predicted for another two weeks straight.

In Oklahoma City, where it soared to a daily-record-tying 108 degrees on Monday, temperatures have reached the century mark on 18 days this month. The August record of 20 days, set in 2011, is within reach. Meanwhile, near Chickasha, Oklahoma, about 35 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, it reached 115 degrees, making it the regional epicenter of Monday’s heat. Through the end of August, about 98 million people across the United States — mostly from the Southwest to the southern Plains and Texas — could face major or extreme risks for heat-related impacts, according to NOAA’s HeatRisk. At those potentially dangerous heat levels, people without access to effective cooling or hydration are particularly vulnerable. In the days ahead, the core of the heat will shift farther west, becoming centered over New Mexico, Arizona and Southern California, where numerous temperature records are expected. Continuing a pattern seen with most heat domes this summer, nights will bring little or no relief from the day’s extreme heat — and the number of overnight low temperature records are expected to outnumber daytime high temperature records. “It will probably not drop below 70 degrees almost anywhere in Southern California at any point for several consecutive days,” said Swain, when discussing the potential for “record-shattering” overnight warmth.

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State Stories

Dallas to pay nearly $2 million on security for Republican midterm convention

Dallas will pay an estimated $1.8 million for police officers to provide security at the midterm Republican convention in September, city leaders were told Monday. Large conventions, not to mention ones that feature the president, generally require a police presence that can drive up overtime pay costs for the city, which is facing an overall $30 million budget shortfall. Kevin Oden, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Crisis Response, told the city council’s finance committee the Department of Transportation and Public Works is expected to spend $14,000 for the event. There’s no cost estimate yet for Dallas Fire-Rescue.

“Our focus between now and Sept. 9 is to continue doing that planning work everyday, make sure the city is prepared, whittle down our costs to get exactly what we know this thing’s going to be and then seek reimbursement or grant opportunities,” Oden said. Cost estimates are changing by the day as planning continues, Oden said. The estimate comes as overtime pay for Dallas police is projected to hit $2.7 million over budget for fiscal year 2026. Dallas police work to secure events whether they get reimbursed or not. For example, the city does get regular and overtime pay reimbursement for security when leaders of Congress are in town. That's not historically been the case for people protected by the Secret Service, Assistant Chief Mark Villarreal said during a city council briefing earlier this month. "As far as Secret Service protectees, never in the history have we ever received any type of reimbursement from the Secret Service," Villarreal said. At Monday's meeting, City Council member Chad West raised concerns with the costs related to the upcoming event. “I very much think we need to welcome this convention to the city just like we do all conventions,” West said. “But I do have real concerns on nonpayment given what has happened across the country for similar events.” The convention will take place at American Airlines Center on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 — just a few months before midterm elections. Republicans hope to rally voters as they fight to hold onto their slim majority in Congress. But they face challenges. President Donald Trump’s approval rating is at 33%, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. That will likely affect Trump’s ability to get votes for Republican Congress members during the Nov. 3 elections. The President’s party also historically loses seats in Congress during the midterms.

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Buc-ee’s CEO signals expansion shift away from blue states that ‘don’t appreciate’ chain

Buc-ee’s CEO suggested recently that the Texas-based travel center chain may be done looking into blue districts, saying some communities do not appreciate what the company brings while conservative states offer business-friendly and family-oriented values. Arch "Beaver" Aplin III, the company’s president and co-founder, made the comments during the grand opening of Buc-ee’s newest location in Benton, Arkansas on August 17. The chain is known for its expansive gas stations, famously clean restrooms and in-house food offerings. "We have a lot of opportunities. We're growing. We're building in a lot of places. But when you find a conservative business-friendly state with a phenomenal workforce, it makes a difference," Aplin said.

Aplin criticized states that he said do not appreciate what Buc-ee’s brings to their communities, suggesting the company would rather focus its expansion efforts elsewhere. "I'm starting to realize life's too short to try to build in places that people don't appreciate what you're bringing, versus a place like this where people do appreciate what you are building," he said. Conservative states typically promote business-friendly and family-oriented policies that align with Buc-ee’s values, Aplin said. "That leadership, that concept, that idea of conservative, business-friendly, family-oriented concept works so much better if it trickles down from the very leadership from the top at the governor's office, at the congressman, at senator, at the mayor, the representatives," he said. Aplin pointed to Benton as an example of the approach, saying the city’s business-friendly environment helped pave the way for Buc-ee’s newest location. "What we found when we got here into Benton was a business-friendly town," he said.

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Texas Gov Greg Abbott releases end-of-summer playlist, raises eyebrows

Around this time each year, there's often a debate over the "song of the summer." In 2026, Gov. Greg Abbott has thrown his hat in the ring. Abbott released an end-of-summer playlist on Friday, playing into the debate with the caption "Texas is the song of every season." The playlist features 16 songs with Texas-themed titles. The first is Ella Langley's smash-hit "Choosin' Texas," which is many people's "song of the summer" and has spent 19 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Beyond that, the selection includes a mix of modern hits and classics like George Strait's "Amarillo by Morning" and Marty Robbins' "El Paso."

It also includes North Texas artists like Fort Worth singer Leon Bridges, whose collaboration with Khruangbin "Texas Sun" made the cut alongside Dallas rapper BigXThaPlug's "Texas." The inclusion of BigX raised eyebrows on social media with several commenting to express skepticism that the governor listens to his music. "I’m 100% sure that Abbott is not jamming to Bigxthaplug but that’s ok," one commenter wrote. Some commenters shared songs they thought should have been on the list, while others suspected artificial intelligence was used to make it. "Hey AI make me list of songs that have Texas in the title so I can seem like common folk for election season," one commenter wrote. The playlist recalls the musical selections regularly released by former President Barack Obama since his final years in office. Abbott's summer playlist arrives in the midst of his re-election campaign for governor. The Republican is facing off against Democrat state Rep. Gina Hinojosa this fall. The Hinojosa campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Council Member Paige Ellis falls short of signatures needed to secure place on ballot

Austin City Council Member Paige Ellis’ petition to run for a third term was rejected by the city clerk, according to the city of Austin. The council member did not secure enough signatures. Austin City Council members can serve two consecutive terms. To run for a third, council members need to get a certain portion of eligible voters in their district to sign off. Those signatures are then filed with the clerk for verification. If the clerk finds there are enough valid signatures, the candidate is put on the ballot. In a statement provided to KXAN by Ellis’ campaign, she expressed gratitude to her team and constituents, while also making note of milestones during her tenure, such as the 2020 Active Mobility bond for improving sidewalks and bike lanes, as well as an effort to place a dog park in Circle C.

“Over the past six months, my campaign ran an exhaustive signature collection drive, where I personally knocked on thousands of doors, visiting all kinds of voters through all kinds of Texas weather,” Ellis’ statement to KXAN stated. “I feel so fortunate that our community has repeatedly and warmly welcomed me into their homes, our parks, our restaurants, and so many other places.” Ellis believed she had the necessary signatures from 5% of qualified voters in her district that would have moved her petition forward and kept her run for a third term alive. “Our campaign verified our petition against two voter files before submission, and our internal count showed a healthy cushion above the 3,044 signatures required,” the statement said. “Tonight, we have been informed by the City Clerk’s office that the petition fell 62 signatures short.” The campaign noted that Ellis respected and accepted the city clerk’s result, and would be working to understand what happened that lead to the number of signatures falling short of the minimum number needed. “On behalf of me and my entire team, it has been an honor to serve the people of Southwest Austin, and I look forward to continuing to connect with this city in new capacities, whatever those may be,” Ellis said in the statement.

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Patients face long-term consequences after JPS Health Network outage

A network outage due to detected “suspicious activity” at the John Peter Smith Hospital system lasted almost two weeks, and some patients are facing lasting consequences. JPS Health Network continued to operate under a “controlled network downtime” that started on Aug. 3, the hospital communicated through social media. While the health system’s hospital, clinics and other locations remained open, online services and phone lines were affected. Under the controlled network downtime, doctors, nurses and other staff used established manual procedures to provide care while technology systems were unavailable.

Many people on social media expressed frustration over not being able to access charting portals, scheduling, prescriptions and other critical care. Some also said the outage was affecting payroll for care providers. Other concerns reported on social media involved not being able to get prescribed critical medication without an original paper copy of the prescription. While the hospital did not directly communicate that, many community members said they learned that only after arriving at the pharmacy to receive their medications. JPS also takes care of inmates’ medical needs at the Tarrant County Jail. When asked about delays inmates might have faced during the outage, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said that is something JPS has to answer. It is unclear how much financial impact the outage had and the long-lasting impacts. While JPS’ core network was reported to be restored on Friday, Aug. 14, some social media users reported not being able to access online charts. JPS has said that patients should be able to log into MyChart as of Aug. 16.

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Texas screwworm outbreak: U.S. reopens border to Mexican cattle

As the U.S. begins reopening its southern border to cattle from Mexico, the flesh-eating parasite that caused the closure more than a year ago has not been eradicated — and there still isn’t an adequate supply of the sterile flies needed to stop it. The opening Monday of a cattle port in Arizona, an attempt by the Trump administration to reduce record-high consumer beef prices, comes as both the United States and Mexico are still fighting the spread of New World screwworm. “We have enough to slow it, not to eradicate it,” said Adm. Michael Schmoyer, director of the New World Screwworm Directorate, a unit within the U.S. Department of of Agriculture created to coordinate the federal response to the flesh-eating larvae that can infest and kill cattle and other animals.

The directorate’s challenge is simple math. During the last major outbreak in the mid-1960s, about 500 million sterile flies were released each week to prevent the screwworm fly from maintaining a self-sustaining population. Since the current outbreak began in early June with the first confirmed case in Zavala County, only about 700 million sterile flies had been released by Aug. 12, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. As of Sunday, the U.S. had 46 cases — all but one in Texas — with two cases active in Terrell and Val Verde counties. The last confirmed new case was reported Aug. 16, also in Texas. In Mexico, screwworm is still spreading, with 82 active cases in the state of Chihuahua as of Aug. 18. Monday’s reopening of a crossing in Douglas, Ariz., comes as the USDA says the spread has slowed enough to allow imports to the U.S. market, where consumers have seen beef prices jump 12% from a year ago. The price increases come as supply has declined because of a U.S. cattle herd that has been shrinking for five years and now is the smallest in decades.

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Tarrant County meeting arrests raise First Amendment concerns

Individual rights experts and political scientists are raising questions about the Tarrant County Commissioners Court decorum policy that led to the arrest of two people. Former state Rep. Lon Burnam of Fort Worth was carried out of the Aug. 4 court meeting by sheriff’s deputies after he picked up the microphone during his allotted one minute. EJ Carrion of Fort Worth was kicked out of the meeting for cursing and then arrested a week later on a warrant issued by the county. Notably, both had been kicked out of a Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting once already this year. Both were released on a personal recognizance bond within a day of being booked into the county jail system. They are also facing criminal charges that could mean up to 18 months in jail and $6,000 in fines.

The charges are hindering proceedings by disorderly conduct, a Class A misdemeanor, and disrupting a meeting or procession, a Class B misdemeanor. Brennen VanderVeen, an attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said he believes there are unconstitutional provisions within the county’s decorum policy. The Philadelphia-based foundation was founded as a non-partisan group and has challenged both Democrats and Republicans on First Amendment issues across the country. The Tarrant County decorum policy prohibits personal attacks, impertinent, profane, obscene, or slanderous remarks as well as threatening, disruptive or unruly behavior. Leah Nesbitt, a spokesperson for County Judge Tim O’Hare, said the policy exists to allow as many voices as possible to be heard at meetings in an orderly manner. She pointed to the fact that every large county in Texas has a decorum policy, and many of them are stricter than Tarrant County’s. “These rules do not silence passionate or critical voices. Maintaining order is necessary to serve all constituents efficiently and effectively,” Nesbitt said.

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Wayne Dolcefino returns to Houston radio on KSEV

Former investigative reporter and media consultant Wayne Dolcefino is returning to his radio roots with a new morning role on conservative talk station KSEV-AM (700). The longtime television reporter will join radio host Craig Collins weekdays from 7 to 9 a.m. to talk about politics, culture and Texas news, according to an Aug. 18 announcement from the station owned by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

The new program, "KSEV Mornings with Craig Collins and Wayne Dolcefino," will replace Chris Salcedo's morning show as Salcedo leaves the station after 14 years. For Dolcefino, the role marks a return to radio after a career that made him one of Houston's best-known investigative reporters and, more recently, a media and political consultant. "I'm doing this because I enjoy doing it," Dolcefino said. "There's a lot of things I want to get off my chest, and you never make money in radio. You just do it because you like talking to folks, so that's what I'm doing." Dolcefino started his journalism career in radio after leaving the University of Texas to take a full-time job at a radio station in Austin. He later moved to Houston to work at KTRH-AM (740). The award-winning journalist is best known for his nearly 27 years at ABC13, where he covered local corruption and public spending. During his broadcasting career, Dolcefino received 30 Emmy Awards. Dolcefino said he returned to radio in recent years by filling in on Salcedo's KSEV morning show. Dolcefino said he hopes to talk more about politics on the conservative show, as well as "the change that's happening in Texas, and how we fight it." "I'm doing it to because I think it's trying to use whatever voice I have, personality, to show people that they've got they've got an important choice to make about where we're going," Dolcefino said. "I call it a fun thing because I started in radio," Dolcefino said. "That was kind of my first love. Still love it actually."

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Evan Mintz: Talarico is trying to win moderate voters. Why isn’t Paxton?

(Evan Mintz is the editor of opinion and community engagement for the Houston Chronicle.) The impossible happened last week in Texas politics, or at least the improbable: The Cook Political Report rated the Senate race between Democratic state Rep. James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton as a toss-up. Texas Republicans have won every statewide race since 1994, so, much like Cabo Verde in the World Cup, even a tie can feel like a win to the long-suffering Democrats. Cook's assessment of the race relies on polls that show the candidates running tied, but it also points to Paxton’s “personal and ethical vulnerabilities.” Not many GOP candidates were impeached by their fellow Republicans due to rampant corruption.

At the same time, Cook's Jessica Taylor notes that Talarico can be “appealing to disaffected Republicans.” That’s not by accident. The “soft-spoken Seminary student,” as Taylor describes him, has made earnest efforts to distinguish himself from the national Democratic brand, reach across the aisle and expand his electoral coalition. For example, Talarico has been criticizing the Biden administration’s failure to secure the border since before the primary election. “If we don't keep people safe, the government has failed in its most basic function,” he told the Houston Chronicle editorial board at the time. Putting space between himself and the unpopular former president may have been a risky gambit during the partisan primary, but it’s paying off in the general election. Talarico even went out of his way to applaud President Trump for supporting a gas tax holiday to deal with high prices at the pump — a bad policy, but smart politics for a Democrat in a red state. To put it bluntly, Talarico has tried very hard to present himself as the more moderate choice in this race. It has been working. Polls regularly show that Talarico has an overwhelming advantage with independent voters. So what about Paxton? For decades, Texas Republicans just had to show up to win a statewide race in November. The electoral math was easy — Texas had more Republican voters than Democratic. But with a tight race, Paxton might benefit from trying to moderate on the issues and expand his coalition beyond the hard-right base that delivered his primary victory over Cornyn.

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5-year-old boy and father will be deported after ICE arrest on way to Austin soccer game

Victor Martinez Nieto, the father of 5-year-old Liam Tadeo, has chosen to be deported to Mexico with his son, rather than risk the child being separated from his family by immigration officials, according to their lawyer. The father and son were pulled over and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in North Austin on Aug. 16, while on their way to a children's Sunday soccer game. The pair’s detention was captured on video. It sparked calls from Congressman Greg Casar, D-Austin, and others for Liam’s release and the closure of the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, where the two have been since their arrest. But Martinez Nieto’s lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, says her client has decided to return to Mexico with Liam, rather than risk losing custody of his son.

“Victor, facing the possibility that he will be separated from Liam, ... is deciding to depart voluntarily with his son because the alternative is that Liam could be placed into [Office of Refugee Resettlement] custody as an unaccompanied child,” she said. “Children can be held in this system for months or even years at a time. It's a really bad experience for children and the family is just not willing to risk Liam being held alone,” she said. In a public statement shared with KXAN News last week, the Department of Homeland Security said, “Parents have a choice if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administrations’ immigration enforcement." Lincoln-Goldfinch says that Liam’s family in Austin, including his mother, was not given the option of having Liam released into their custody. She said Liam’s mother, who lives in Austin, is figuring out how to reunite with her son. “In a heartbeat, she lost both her husband and her child. And her number one main priority is her son and his well being,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said. KUT News has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on these developments.

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Trump's border wall may bring down a 110-year-old church in West Texas,

Out in Far West Texas, a heavy bronze bell once tolled, calling congregants from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border to worship at a small adobe church. The bell and the Catholic church in Ruidosa are hallmarks of an era when Mexican and American border communities lived as one. But nearly three generations ago, parishioners moved away from the tiny town. One of the church’s twin towers toppled. The bell disappeared. Local volunteers have begun restoring the church, El Corazón Sagrado de la Iglesia de Jesús. They view it as one of the last vestiges of a shared history along a southwestern landscape that is as Indigenous, Spanish and Mexican as it is American. Fortifying its walls and twin towers means that perhaps the bell could ring again.

Now their work faces a new danger: President Trump’s border wall. The church is one of dozens of historical sites across the Southwest threatened by the construction. In Arizona, portions of a 1,000-year-old etching in the earth have been bulldozed. In Texas, work is endangering ancient cave murals and landmarks on the Underground Railroad. “If you value a people’s worth and contributions, then you preserve their history in textbooks and curriculums,” the historian Trinidad Gonzales said. “You would preserve these physical markers.” Trump administration officials say the wall will go up yards away from the church and help deter violent drug traffickers in one of the most remote parts of the Chihuahuan desert. Preservationists, though, warn that the relentless vibrations of the construction threaten the church’s fragile structural integrity. To historians and border residents, the administration’s construction plans, alongside a campaign to deport thousands of immigrants, amount to uprooting centuries of Mexican and Latino American history and presence. The 110-year journey of the church and its bell is a story of displacement and migration, of being lost and improbably found, and of artists, historians and community residents who have gone to great lengths to bake and haul adobe bricks, bail the bell out of a Marfa jail and reclaim a piece of lost past.

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Rep. Al Green wants to impeach Trump — again

Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas is trying to impeach President Donald Trump, even though the lame-duck lawmaker knows he doesn’t have the votes. Green, who lost his primary runoff in May, cited immigration agents’ fatal shootings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in his 27-page resolution to impeach the president for high crimes and misdemeanors. “He is abusing the powers of the presidency by operating United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as his vicious, quota-driven, unaccountable paramilitary police forces, transgressing with anonymity and secrecy, assaulting people, committing and covering up unjustified killings of civilians,” Green’s articles of impeachment state.

Green has attempted to impeach Trump multiple times in both of the president’s terms, including three times last year for what the congressman said was Trump undermining judicial independence, over the war with Iran and for accusing several Democratic lawmakers of behavior the president said was punishable by death. The White House scoffed at Green’s attempt. “The brave men and women of ICE and CBP put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists,” said White House spokesperson Lauren Bis, “Al Green should be thanking President Trump and our law enforcement for delivering the largest decrease in violent crime in American history.” The House impeached Trump twice in his first term: in 2019 for withholding military aid for Ukraine and in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The Senate voted to acquit him both times. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a CNBC summit in June that impeaching Trump wasn’t a focus for his party if Democrats take the majority after the midterms.

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Sarah Silva: I'm a New Mexico lawmaker. Project Jupiter developers should leave

(Sarah Silva, a Democrat, represents District 53 in the New Mexico House of Representatives, which includes Chaparral, the east side of Las Cruces and White Sands Missile Range.) I’m serious. As an early supporter of this project because of the jobs and infrastructure it promised, I’m fed up with the dishonesty, broken promises and threats. The final straw for me is Oracle’s recent suggestion that it may try to connect Project Jupiter to the El Paso Electric grid. A company official first suggested this publicly in June and spun it as a good thing for us. (It is not). Then, last month at a meeting of the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners, Oracle Executive Vice President Mahesh Thiagarajan was asked what would happen if the state rejected Project Jupiter’s proposal to power its data centers with fuel cells. I’ve formally opposed that plan because it would emit more than 10 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. That is too much.

Thiagarajan said the grid was the only other option. When one county commissioner pushed back, Thiagarajan said there is no other way to power the data centers. If neither was acceptable, he suggested the developers might abandon the project. That came days after I met with Thiagarajan and asked him to come up with a new power plan that includes renewable energy. He agreed to consider it. Instead of getting back to me, he delivered his ultimatum to the county commission. Connecting to the grid would break a promise that Oracle and Stack Infrastructure, the primary developers of Project Jupiter, promote on the project’s website: “Powered by its own independent energy system, Project Jupiter will protect local ratepayers,” the pledge states. I believe connecting to the grid would also violate Project Jupiter’s legal agreements with the county. To protect you from paying higher utility rates, county commissioners included language requiring Project Jupiter to “power itself with an onsite microgrid” instead of connecting to El Paso Electric’s system so that it “will not impact existing customers’ power reliability or costs.” Connecting to our grid creates the unacceptable risk that you will end up paying for the electricity to run data centers for billionaires.

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Wife of Army sergeant at Fort Bliss is deported to Honduras

The wife of an active-duty U.S. soldier was deported Monday to her native Honduras, according to her family and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo is at least the seventh spouse or parent of an active-duty U.S. military service member to be deported under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. The Associated Press has found more than 50 cases in which immediate family members of U.S. troops were placed in federal immigration detention after the Trump administration rolled back protections for military families. In some instances, DHS has released military spouses following media attention and advocacy by congressional leaders. Villafranca-Trejo’s husband, Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez, said he has been struggling to manage his military duties since she was detained July 11 outside a Walmart near Fort Bliss, Texas, where he is stationed.

Since then, he’s had to care for their 6-year-old daughter without his wife’s help. Instead of training in the mornings, he takes his daughter to first grade, and he said he has already had to postpone a planned assignment at another base. “I don’t know if I will be able to continue with this,” Turcios Juarez told AP of his Army career. “I have to make a plan to make sure I can still fulfill my military responsibilities — but also take care of my family.” DHS confirmed Villafranca-Trejo’s deportation, saying she had “received due process.” Villafranca-Trejo, who has no known criminal record and entered the U.S. in 2016 at age 18, was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in 2017 after failing to appear at a hearing, according to DHS. Villafranca-Trejo’s husband said she had not received a notice for the hearing she missed and did not realize she had been ordered deported until they went to apply for her green card after marrying in 2022. Originally from Honduras, Turcios Juarez became a U.S. citizen in 2024 after enlisting two years earlier.

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National Stories

Trump-backed candidates have lost 10 primaries. South Carolina is the next test.

The next big test of President Donald Trump’s now-strained endorsement power takes place Tuesday in South Carolina, where Republicans are voting in a runoff to elect a Senate nominee after the sudden death of Lindsey Graham. Trump backed Sen. Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister, for a full six-year term after the state’s GOP governor appointed her to temporarily fill the role shortly after Graham’s death last month. She faces Rep. Ralph Norman, a longtime conservative firebrand in the state and a House Freedom Caucus member whose campaign has shown signs of momentum despite the president’s support for Graham.

Unlike in the state’s gubernatorial primary in June — when Trump initially endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who ultimately failed to gain traction with a majority of GOP voters — this time, the president is motivated to get his candidate over the finish line. He wants to mitigate his recent shaky endorsement record after his candidates suffered losses in at least 10 primary races this year, including high-profile defeats in Iowa, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Wyoming. “I think she’s great. I asked her to do it. I got her into this whole thing,” Trump said Monday night during a tele-rally for Graham, letting out a small chuckle. “I have to make sure she gets in, because there will be nobody better.” In June, Trump issued a last-minute dual endorsement of both Evette and her runoff opponent, Attorney General Alan Wilson, who won the primary election. Trump did not visit South Carolina to try to boost Evette. This time, Trump did visit the state, traveling on Friday to campaign in a primary for a seat that is widely expected to remain safely red this fall. His aligned super PAC, MAGA Inc., also doled out more than $825,000 over the weekend for get-out-the vote calls and texts on Graham’s behalf — marking the first time this year his political operation has deployed its large reserves of cash. The travel and spending reflected the Trump team’s concern about notching a win in a primary runoff they expected would be close.

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A third of web pages published since ChatGPT launched were written by AI, study finds

Over one-third of web pages published after the release of ChatGPT show signs of being written by AI, according to a new study from Pew Research released on Thursday. The report corroborates other studies that detail how much of the web’s newer web pages are now either written by or “substantially edited” by AI, the firm says. It also arrives shortly after internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare reported that bot web traffic had overtaken human web traffic — a milestone that was reached sooner than the company had estimated. Pew’s data, however, is focused not on who or what is browsing the web, but on what is being browsed. And apparently, much of it is bots reading web pages written by other bots.

To compile the report, Pew said it used the Common Crawl web archive to collect nearly half a million English-language web pages from the past five or so years, starting a couple of years before ChatGPT’s November 2022 release. Pew then used Open Pangram’s technology to detect how many were likely written or heavily edited by AI. In a random sample of 10,000 web pages collected in July 2026, around 10% showed “significant signs of AI authorship,” Pew said. However, Pew pointed out that a random sample like this would inevitably include older web pages — ones published before AI writing tools even existed, and therefore couldn’t have been AI written. To get a better sense of how much of the web is now being written by AI, Pew filtered out the older web pages and focused only on those published after the release of ChatGPT. In this same snapshot with the older pages removed, signs of AI authorship were found in over one-third (35%) of the pages. Drilling down into domains themselves, Pew found that URLs with a .com domain showed signs of AI authorship at around 10x the rate of a .edu or .gov domain (both of which were around 1% AI authored). In addition, .org domains had only a 4.6% rate of AI authorship. Of course, this analysis is not perfect. Pangram, like other AI-detection tools, can misclassify pages as AI written when they weren’t. But at scale, the data is likely at least directionally correct. In addition, Pew found that other supposed tells of AI authorship had also increased over the years, like the use of em dashes, Oxford commas, and phrasing like “it’s not X, it’s Y,” among other things.

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Paramount-WB Deal could cost LA 4,500 film and TV jobs and $2.8 billion, study finds

The Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger could result in the loss of nearly 4,500 film and TV jobs in Los Angeles County over the next three years when the two companies combine their operations, according to a new analysis by CVL Economics and the Department of Economic Opportunity exclusively obtained by TheWrap. The report also estimates that a total of 10,360 “job years” could be at risk, including 2,661 indirect jobs at small businesses that support production — such as prop houses, printers, transportation companies and other vendors — and 3,204 induced jobs that exist because film and TV workers spend money in the local economy — including restaurants, retailers and service providers. A “job year” is defined as one job sustained for one year and measures the total volume of work that could disappear over time. For example, one job lasting three years equals three job years.

Overall, the economic impact of losing these jobs would be $1.26 billion in wages, $2.78 billion in economic value, $4.06 billion in total business output and $547 million in tax revenue, including $78.6 million in local taxes — most of which (63%) comes from property taxes. Los Angeles County’s creative economy supports more than 312,000 workers, including approximately 171,155 entertainment sector jobs. The direct jobs at risk account for nearly 9% of the 52,016 film and TV jobs California has already lost since 2022 — and almost all those losses (99.6%) occurred in Los Angeles County. CVL and DEO said the losses would occur due to slate consolidation that would result in fewer buyers and fewer greenlights and reduce the overall number of unscripted/talk shows and related opportunities for Los Angeles–based crews. They also warned that about 895 creators hold exclusive deals with the two companies and that if development shrinks, these creators and their crews will lose work. If the two companies merge, the decisions they make about where to film their shows could dramatically affect how much production stays in California, CVL and DEO said. The high cost of living in L.A. County and California, combined with stronger incentives out of state and abroad, also contribute to work shifting out of the state and country.

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Tornado Alley’s on the move and creating new risk concerns, modeler says

The peak of tornado season may be behind us, but the eastward expansion of what has been traditionally known as Tornado Alley into more populated areas may continue raising insurance risk for some time. Record tornado activity in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin this year drove elevated claims and increasing risk because of population exposure. Increased losses in new areas weren’t from raw tornado counts across the U.S., but from increased risk exposure, according to one industry catastrophe modeler. Illinois led all states in tornado activity in this year, with 220 confirmed tornadoes through the end of July. Indiana and Wisconsin also set record-high numbers.

Weather experts say the tornado alley shift — beyond areas like Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas — is due to a warming climate that helps transport warmer and more-humid air farther north and east than in the past. Illinois saw its third distinct spike in five years, and the year’s volume already exceeds 2024 and 2025 combined, with average severity up by a factor of four since 2022, according to Verisk. The 2026 Illinois surge has been concentrated, driven mainly by occurrences in June and July, and by strikes in Cook, Kankakee and Coles counties. Kankakee saw unusually high severity with a $104,000 average estimate, according to Verisk data. Wisconsin experienced an even sharper spike, up 672% year-over-year, but that spike is due largely to a single concentrated event in Winnebago County in July the data show. “The Tornado Alley’s kind of expanding or shifting a bit eastward, and so I think as we think about that from an insurance perspective and think about ‘What does that mean for insurers,’ I think one of the largest concerns is there’s a lot more population as you move eastward,” said Tory Farney, vice president of Verisk Weather Solutions. Their data show the numbers of tornadoes aren’t going up, but the losses have tended to be worse when they strike.

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White House crops Natalie Harp out of Grand Prix content

As we’ve learned in recent weeks, Natalie Harp rarely leaves the president’s side, and Sunday’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix was no exception. What was odd was that even though Harp was clearly among the president’s entourage, she was mostly invisible in the White House social media coverage of the race. The administration has been trying to do damage control as public scrutiny over the relationship between the president and Harp intensifies, and it seems that not even an appearance by the reclusive first lady or mountains of media intrigue can convince her to leave his side for any length of time.

In broadcasts of the event, Harp was clearly visible among Trump’s guests. In the president’s suite she was spotted standing behind and to the right of Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, who has reportedly found herself at odds with Harp over her increasingly controversial relationship with her husband. Shocking. Someone in the press office, it seems, is trying to lower the temperature. A clip of Trump waving the starting flag for the IndyCar race held on the National Mall on Sunday was oddly cropped. Half of the Fox Sports logo was missing, the first lady had an arm almost entirely cut out of the frame. Zoom out and the full picture shows Harp hovering just beyond the first lady’s shoulder. Cameras also captured the first lady standing up and leaving her suite shortly after Harp arrived and approached the president, lingering behind him as he spoke to another guest. Harp, a 35 year aide to the president, has over the last few years become one of the most powerful — if least known — figures within Trump’s inner circle. She shares control of his social media, is his confidant and informant, travels with him virtually everywhere, and acts as a gatekeeper for his time and attention. Her status as a background character in the attention-hungry MAGA universe ended this summer, as reports emerged of the deep — passionate to the point of concern — devotion that she holds for the president. ‘Last week, The Daily Beast and Michael Wolff published two letters written by Harp and reportedly left in the president’s personal quarters — alarming the Secret Service.

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Iran vows to retaliate after US widens sanctions

Iran pledged to fight back against expanded U.S. sanctions aimed at isolating its economy, expressing confidence that major trading partners would resist Washington's pressure campaign. Almost six ?months into a conflict the U.S. has struggled to resolve, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the measures on Monday but stopped short of the most punishing sanctions. While he said countries that continued trading with Iran risked being forced out of the dollar-based financial system, he declined to give a timeline or identify which may be targeted, saying he would give them time to comply with the new directive.

"Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?" he said when asked why the ?measures had not gone further. The Treasury Department did announce new sanctions on 60 individuals, entities and vessels, but the list did not feature any of the Chinese financial institutions suspected of facilitating ?Iran's oil trade. "We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions," Bessent said in response to a question ?about Chinese banks. China has been the biggest buyer of Iranian oil for several years, although the U.S. blockade of Iran's ports has cut Iranian oil flows to China since Washington renewed it in mid-July. Experts say Washington is ?wary of Chinese retaliation for any sanctions on its banks ahead of expected talks next month between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with any curbs on China's exports of critical minerals especially sensitive. China ?said on Tuesday that its cooperation with Iran is conducted within the framework of international law and should not be interfered with or disrupted. Oil prices fell for a second day as traders brushed off the impact of the sanctions, although market participants remained wary of Iran's continued ability to disrupt shipping.

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GLP-1 boom could reshape restaurant bars as diners cut back on alcohol

The rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs could be changing more than what Americans put on their plates, as restaurants increasingly look to wellness drinks and other alternatives to traditional alcoholic beverages. The National Restaurant Association's new 2026 Restaurant Beverage Trends report found growing interest in a wider range of drink choices, particularly among younger consumers, as restaurants experiment with everything from wellness and energy drinks to smoothies, lemonades and alcohol-free cocktails. Chad Moutray, chief economist at the Washington, D.C.-based National Restaurant Association, told Fox News Digital that the growing use of GLP-1 medications is one of several health trends restaurant operators are watching.

The report, which was conducted by the National Restaurant Association and is based on surveys of consumers and restaurant operators across the country, found that health is already influencing some Americans' decisions about alcohol. Among adults surveyed who said they don't drink alcohol, 25% cited health reasons. That figure climbed to 34% among Gen Z nondrinkers. Several trends are converging as younger consumers become more health-conscious and GLP-1 medications become more widely used, Moutray said. "I think you're seeing a lot younger folks who are, in general, wanting to be healthier. You have the Make America Healthy Again movement, which is also driving some of this trend," he said. "You have people drinking energy drinks and health drinks and all those things. And then you add to that the GLP-1 notion, where if you're taking one of those drugs and your appetite is more suppressed, you're not going to drink as much alcohol." Restaurants are already preparing to broaden their drink selections.

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Democrats hash out trans rights message in Massachusetts debate

Democrats have another chance to test their messaging about transgender rights that the party has struggled to make plain. Two Democrats vying for the party’s Massachusetts Senate seat will face off Thursday in their final debate before the state’s Sept. 1 primary. Laws banning transgender women from participating in female sports surfaced as a key difference between Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Seth Moulton in their debate earlier this month and led to a contentious exchange. The events represent one of few opportunities for national Democrats to publicly debate an issue Republicans have spent tens of millions of dollars attacking their support in the past several election cycles.

Markey is looking to question Moulton’s commitment to trans rights given his post-2024 election stance that Democrats’ support of trans athletes was out of touch with voters. Moulton at the time cited not wanting his daughters “getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete.” Gallup polling after that election found that 69 percent of U.S. adults — including about four in 10 Democrats — believe that transgender athletes should only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth sex. Still, Moulton in the Aug. 3 debate apologized for those comments and tried to defend his LGBTQ+ record. Lanae Erickson, senior vice president at center-left think tank Third Way, said part of the reason Republicans’ attacks have landed so well is “because Democrats were afraid to talk about” it. “At this point, every person in America has a viewpoint on transgender participation in sports. It’s incumbent on Democrats to be able to speak about this issue authentically and not evade it,” Erickson said. “In a way that opposes blanket bans, but leaves room for people to have questions about the rules.”

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Lead Stories

For Republicans, Dallas convention is both rally and rescue mission

President Donald Trump's Republican Party is increasingly viewing its first-of-a-kind midterm convention in Dallas next month as crucial to regaining momentum at a time when opinion polls show voter frustration over the economy and the Iran war, according to party officials, donors and ?convention planners. When Republicans announced the convention earlier this year, some strategists dismissed it as a distraction as campaigns entered the final stretch. They questioned the need for a national gathering with no ?official party business. Now, after months of negative headlines tied to the war and rising living costs, party officials see the September 9-10 gathering as their best opportunity to rally voters behind Trump's agenda as Democrats mount a serious challenge to Republican control of both houses of Congress in the November 3 election. Some Republicans, however, remain skeptical it can meaningfully shift voter sentiment.

The party officials said the event offers a platform to refocus voters on Trump's tax cuts, immigration policies and other achievements. Organizers plan to spotlight Americans they ?say have benefited from those policies while portraying the Democratic Party as increasingly dominated by socialist ideas and activists, according to a source familiar with the planning. The party plans to put Trump at the ?center of the convention, a tactic some strategists warn could backfire by drawing attention to a president with a low approval rating who has repeatedly urged Americans to ?endure the economic costs of the Iran war. Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said the convention would rally voters behind Trump's agenda, including efforts to lower drug prices, cut taxes and secure the southern border with Mexico. "President ?Trump turns out voters like no other candidate, and this convention will provide the momentum needed to expand our majorities in November," Baldassarre said in a statement. It remains unclear which congressional candidates will speak ?during the two-day event. Advisers to three campaigns in competitive districts told Reuters they had yet to be informed whether their candidates would be offered speaking slots. Reuters contacted representatives for Republican candidates in 37 competitive U.S. House races and eight closely contested U.S. Senate races to ask whether they planned to attend the convention and deliver a speech.

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Texas conservatives are ‘breaking rank’ and pledging to vote Democrat

Twyla Lowry plans to do something this November she could not have imagined doing even a few months ago: She’s going to vote for a Democrat. That would be Gina Hinojosa, running to prevent Republican Greg Abbott from winning a record fourth term as governor. Hinojosa, 52, has a fairly standard platform of Democratic issues — end state school vouchers, and lower health care, grocery and utility costs. She has even promised to send every Texan $1,500 from the state rainy day fund. But for Lowry, a retired social worker and special education teacher in this Central Texas city of about 100,000, all that matters is that Hinojosa wants to impose a moratorium on data center projects and Abbott doesn’t. “He’s pushing for them. Everything’s so shady,” said Lowry, 56, who had voted for Abbott all three times.

Lowry, a conservative Christian and lifelong Republican, said she’s not switching parties. In fact, she plans to vote for Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in his race for U.S. Senate. But her willingness to split her ticket for even one race is a sign the Texas political landscape — at least this cycle — is scrambling in unprecedented ways that could result in surprising statewide wins for the Democratic Party. A recent Fox News poll showed Hinojosa, a lawyer and state legislator based in Austin, within a point of Abbott, a sign of weakness in a state where the GOP usually boasts a nine- to 12-point advantage. This week, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted the governor’s race from “solid” to “likely” Republican. The picture in the U.S. Senate race to replace John Cornyn is even tighter, according to Cook, which lists the contest as a “toss up” between Paxton and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. This wouldn’t be the first time polls have given Democrats reason to hope for an upset, only to be disappointed on Election Day. And Texas Republicans have shown a reluctance to split tickets over the past several decades. Republicans control the levers of power in Texas, and a Democrat hasn’t won statewide office since 1994. Texas last elected a Democratic governor in 1990 (Ann Richards) and a Democratic senator in 1988 (Lloyd Bentsen). But now some conservatives and right-leaning independents say they plan to vote Democrat in protest, dissatisfied with how the GOP is handling issues such as data centers, water, electricity, schools and the economy.

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Can Texas trust its water planning process? Report calls for changes

Earlier this year, officials in Corpus Christi warned the city was months away from a water emergency. Supply levels had dropped to the point that officials were making hurried plans to implement surcharges and water use reductions that would have impacted roughly 500,000 people and the energy industry in the region. Flooding rain earlier this summer brought relief, for now. But the way the situation played out is raising questions about the state’s water planning process. A new report from nonprofit Texas 2036 is now calling for changes in the process. Jeremy Mazur, Director of Infrastructure and Natural Resources Policy at Texas 2036 will discuss the report Monday at a field hearing of the Texas House Natural Resources Committee. He noted that the state’s water planning process was created nearly 30 years ago. Mazur describes it as a “bottom-up process.”

“Regions across the state identify long-term water supply needs, available supplies, and potential water shortages, but also recommend the water supply strategies and projects such as reservoirs and desalination facilities needed to meet those anticipated shortages,” Mazur explained. The regional plans are rolled into the state water plan prepared by the Texas Water Development Board. The report says the long-term planning process did not project the shortage that pushed Corpus Christi to the verge of a water emergency. Mazur said the data used in the process needs to be reevaluated to reflect current conditions. “I think one of the big factors is that these plans focus on what’s called the drought of record, which is a historic long-term drought,” Mazur said. He noted that the Coastal Bend region that includes Corpus Christi endured several droughts of record in the decades since the water planning process was created. “This radically affected the water supply projections within the plans. And so the water supply projections in the earlier plans were projected a lot more water availability than what actually happened to be the case when the drought from this year, which they suspect to be historic and very severe, really decimated the available water supplies in the region,” Mazur said. The report recommends ways for the Legislature and the Texas Water Development Board to strengthen the planning process, including stress testing for worse droughts and better data verification. “The lessons learned from our report is not that the plans or the planning process is bad, but it can certainly be perfected with better data and better planning objectives to better identify what we need to do to build the water infrastructure for a drought-prone and growing state,” Mazur said.

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Homeland Security made a big claim about noncitizen voting. Now it can’t prove it.

A month after the Trump administration declared without evidence that thousands of noncitizens had illegally registered to vote in Nevada, officials with the Department of Homeland Security were unable to substantiate the claim. The administration claimed to have identified 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in four states, including an exact number of 15,903 in Nevada. But during a meeting last week with state election administrators, Homeland Security officials said they had identified just 185 potential noncitizens in the state so far, according to emails as well as recordings of the meeting obtained by The New York Times. The federal officials said they were still considering 14,000 names for further review, according to one of the emails. In the virtual meeting, federal officials told Nevada that the nearly 16,000 they had originally identified represented “the ceiling” of potential noncitizens.

But the list the Homeland Security Department shared with Nevada is incomplete — it doesn’t even include names — and is nearly impossible to verify, according to files released by the secretary of state’s office. Nevada officials have requested more information, but the department has not yet offered it. Unproven claims that large numbers of noncitizens have voted in elections have been at the core of President Trump’s political message and central to his justification to enact the SAVE America Act, which would require people to show proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Democrats and voting-rights advocates say the legislation is aimed at tipping the scales in this year’s midterm elections for Republicans, in part by making it more difficult for some eligible Americans to cast ballots, notably younger voters and people of color, who tend to vote for Democrats. To determine that the Department of Homeland Security had not verified Mr. Trump’s accusations, The Times examined 16 emails as well as recordings of a video call obtained from the Nevada secretary of state’s office through a public records request. At the time of Mr. Trump’s accusation, the department specified that it had found noncitizen voters registered in four states: Nevada, California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “We are releasing the results of a stunning investigation by the Department of Homeland Security,” Mr. Trump said, implying falsely that the government had found solid evidence.

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State Stories

John Moritz: Talarico’s age-old problem: Young voters may not decide Texas race

As he sought to perfect his messaging ahead of entering the race for the U.S. Senate in the summer of 2025, Democrat James Talarico began road-testing a line that still finds its way into nearly every stump speech and cable news appearance more than one year later. "The biggest divide in our politics is not left vs. right," Talarico has told audiences from Amarillo to Edinburg, "it’s top vs. bottom." It's catchy, memorable and designed to cast the Democrat as an ally of everyday Texans while suggesting his adversaries are in bed with billionaires. And it's also incomplete. Largely overlooked inside the charts and crosstabs that explain polling results in the U.S. Senate matchup between Talarico and Republican nominee Ken Paxton is the yawning gap that divides young and older voters. Put simply, Talarico decisively leads among voters ages 18 to 49, while Paxton rules among those who are eligible for senior discounts.

In short, the election is very much old vs. young. And as counterintuitive as it might sound, that should worry Talarico and his strategists over the next 10 weeks leading to the Nov. 3 election. Here's why: In the 2018 midterm election, which was the best election cycle Democrats have seen this century, 56% of the votes cast were by Texans 50 and older. The rest were from voters in their 40s and younger, according to stats compiled by Texas political data analyst Derek Ryan. That trend grew even worse for younger voters in the midterms four years later. In 2022, voters 49 and younger accounted for just 41% of total Texas turnout. Much of the horse-race speculation in the matchup between Talarico and Paxton has fixated on whether the Democrat has done enough to energize Black voters or whether the Republican can make the same inroads among Latinos as Donald Trump did two years ago. If you're a Democrat, you like what you're seeing in polling. Many surveys have shown Talarico performing as much as 20 percentage points better this summer than Democratic Senate nominee Colin Allred was polling in 2024. Talarico is also outpolling Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' performance from this time two years ago. Harris and Allred are Black, and virtually no one in 2024 was sounding the alarm that Black Texans were falling out of favor with the Democrats.

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Texas oil and gas regulators will no longer have to accept public comment at open meetings

The three elected officials who regulate the oil and gas industry in Texas hold an open meeting each month in Austin to vote on matters from pipeline violations to permit renewals. Members of the public can register to speak for up to three minutes at the end of each meeting. People often travel hundreds of miles from South Texas, the Permian Basin and the Gulf Coast for the opportunity to speak directly to the officials who have the final say in oil and gas regulation in Texas. The commission does not accept public comment over the phone during these meetings. This week the commissioners adopted a new public participation policy by a 2-1 vote. The new policy will remove the public comment agenda item at monthly meetings. Going forward, commissioners can individually request a public comment agenda item. If no commissioner makes a request, there will be no guaranteed public comment.

The new policy includes other changes, including more frequent “listening sessions” where residents can bring issues to commission staff. However, the commissioners do not attend these sessions. The new policy was not circulated to the public before Commissioner Wayne Christian introduced it Tuesday. It appeared that the other two commissioners had not read it beforehand, as they quickly paged through a printout while sitting on the dais. The policy was not read into the record prior to a vote. Commissioner Christi Craddick voted against the new policy, saying she thought people should have the opportunity to speak at open meetings. The motion carried with votes from Commissioners Christian and Jim Wright. Virginia Palacios, executive director of the nonprofit watchdog Commission Shift, has provided public comment at almost every open meeting since 2021. Palacios registered to give comment on the proposed policy, but the commissioners did not call on her. She spoke during the general comment period after the commissioners’ vote. “You just approved an agenda item on public participation without allowing public participation,” Palacios said. Craddick cut in to remind her that public comment cannot address items that were already posted and voted on. “You are not to speak about things that were posted,” she said. “I wanted to point out the irony,” Palacios responded.

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Suit says FCC targeted Houston's ABC13 over James Talarico interview

When ABC took the rare step of suing the Federal Communications Commission over the early review of its broadcast licenses, it thrust Houston's ABC affiliate, KTRK/ABC13, into the spotlight. In its lawsuit, filed in federal court last Tuesday, the TV giant says the Trump Administration’s review of eight ABC-owned local news stations is unconstitutional under the First Amendment. ABC also says the FCC repeatedly singled out ABC13 as part of its probe, including demanding thousands of pages of documents on the local station's hiring practices and internal communications. The FCC scrutinized activities at ABC13 far beyond any other ABC-owned station, according to the lawsuit. The FCC’s scrutiny has included ABC13’s decision to air an interview from “The View” with State Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat running for Senate in Texas against Republican Ken Paxton.

“It is noteworthy that many stations in KTRK’s market aired interviews with select candidates prior to the recent primary election without provoking any apparent interest or inquiries from the Commission,” ABC13 wrote in a May FCC filing defending its decision to air the interview. KTRK News Director Keaton Fuchs referred questions to a spokesperson for ABC’s parent company, Disney, who declined to comment. In FCC filings this spring, ABC13 claimed to be the leading station by audience share in the Houston media market. "Suing the government is always a dangerous thing," Jim Speta, a telecommunications law professor at Northwestern University, said. "Given that ABC has made that decision, it seems to me that it has decided to stand up and fight." ABC’s suit asks Judge Loren AliKhan of the District Court in the District of Columbia to halt early license reviews initiated by the FCC, saying they pose an "existential threat" to the company. "The Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts," the lawsuit claims. In a statement, the FCC described ABC’s lawsuit as an attempt by Disney to halt an investigation into diversity, equity and inclusion practices the agency says may be discriminatory.

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Exxon turns to automated drilling in the Permian in push for higher oil output

In rural west Texas where oil rigs and pump jacks dot the sparse flat ?landscape, an ExxonMobil contractor sits in a small office on a drilling rig, using controls on a screen to operate robotic ?machinery and move tall steel pipes weighing roughly 2,000 pounds. This work would usually require human overseers standing on the rig floor, the most common location for accidents on a rig.

Exxon, the largest oil producer by volume in the U.S., operates more than 30 drilling rigs in the Permian Basin, two of which are automated rigs with robotic equipment. By 2028, the company ?aims to transition half of its fleet to automated rigs to reduce the need for workers to perform potentially dangerous work and increase ?efficiency to drill wells faster, an executive told Reuters. The Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, the biggest U.S. ?oilfield, revolutionized energy markets two decades ago when development of the shale basin turned the U.S. into one of the leading oil-producing countries. But the relatively ?quick decline rate of shale wells has prompted drillers to develop more technologies to extract the oil. Some in the industry are also concerned about when the ?Permian's production could begin to decline. Exxon plans to grow its Permian production by almost 40% to 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030. By contrast, rival oil major Chevron plans to hold production steady at about 1 million boepd, focusing instead on free cash flow.

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The Texas activist putting the Ten Commandments back into American classrooms

The vault lies inside a grassy hill, next to the rolling Texas prairie. In the windowless room, climate controls ensure the humidity remains constant, while a suppression system stands ready to snuff out fires. A bulletproof steel door guards the contents. One recent August afternoon, a burly security guard pried it open, and David Barton, a sprightly 72-year-old conservative political activist, strolled inside to his prized collection: tens of thousands of founding-era American documents and artifacts he values at millions of dollars. Barton darted among glass cases and rattled off the highlights of his trove: a Revolutionary War-era shot flask, a 1795 handwritten prayer proclamation from Samuel Adams, and what he says is a lock of George Washington’s hair. A former math and science teacher with no academic training as a historian, Barton has used this vast collection to position himself as the intellectual architect of a movement advancing a conservative agenda in policy and education. “I own the stuff,” Barton said. “So I know more about this history than most of the professors.”

Writing books and speaking in state legislatures, he champions a controversial narrative: that America’s founders established a Christian republic and wanted the church to influence the state. The “separation of church and state,” he argues, is a myth. Now, bolstered by a favorable political climate and Supreme Court rulings, Barton’s stature is rising. He and his nonprofit have helped facilitate legislation in more than a dozen states to mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. He also helped craft social-studies curricula for the nation’s second-largest statewide public-school system, advises hundreds of state lawmakers, and helped the White House plan exhibits for America’s 250th anniversary. “David is one of the most impactful individuals in the faith arena that I have ever met,” said former U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, of Virginia. “When David speaks, people really are going to listen because they know most of the time he’s going to be right.” Many historians and academics accuse him of twisting history to fit his agenda. “He is a very accomplished collector, but that does not make one an expert, a scholar, or historian, no more than collecting stamps would make me a postal worker,” said Mark A. Chancey, a professor of religious studies at Southern Methodist University. In 1988, he founded WallBuilders, named for a biblical passage in which the Jewish people rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. The goal: teach the public that America was “overwhelmingly rooted in Christian ideology.” He quit his job and spent more than a decade crisscrossing the country with his family in a 15-passenger van, visiting churches, civic clubs and military bases to propagate his theory, while home schooling their three children. “We called it van school,” his wife, Cheryl, said.

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Tony Buzbee buys $15.5 million Houston mansion just to tear it down

Prominent trial attorney Tony Buzbee is expanding his River Oaks footprint after buying a mansion listed for $15.5 million in one of Houston’s priciest purchases in July. Buzbee wasn’t drawn to the 15,000-square-foot mansion for its design. Instead, he plans to demolish the entire structure at 1708 River Oaks and donate the materials, worth about $4 million, to Habitat Humanity, Buzbee said in an email. “I’ve never liked that house and over the years have made several attempts to acquire it,” Buzbee said. The former mayoral candidate already owned a 12,000-square-foot home next door at 1722 River Oaks. Buzbee listed that property for sale at $27.5 million in 2022, but eventually pulled it from the market in 2024, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.

“I never wanted to leave the street. I love this house,” he said of his current home. “We just wanted more space.” Now Buzbee and wife, Frances, plan to combine both parcels into a single 2-acre compound, he said. They hope to build an English garden and pool house in the place of the demolished home. “More green space is always good,” he said. Buzbee’s new property wasn’t the only high-profile luxury purchase in July. One of the most expensive homes to hit the market in Texas this year, 603 W Friar Tuck, also sold last month. Originally listed for $14 million, the Memorial-area estate was owned by Houston surgeon Richard J. Andrassy, a professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, the Chronicle previously reported. The asking price was later slashed to $6.15 million, according to HAR.

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What Texas' surging wealth, new Dallas hub mean for Goldman Sachs in Lone Star State

There's perhaps no greater symbol of how far Dallas has come as a financial center and the wave of wealth that has flowed to the region than the new Goldman Sachs building rising on Field Street next door to Victory Park. The 800,000-square-foot building, located on 3 acres on the southeast corner of the North End development, represents a roughly $700 million investment by New York-based Goldman in North Texas. Expected to open in 2028, the campus will serve as a regional base for the financial giant, housing more than 5,000 employees across a wide range of functions and roles. While Dallas-Fort Worth's ascendance as a financial hotspot was already well underway, many financial and commercial real estate insiders point to Goldman's decision in 2022 to build a hub in Dallas as a tipping point. The campus broke ground the following year, before the "Y'all Street" term was a part of the daily vernacular.

Since that time, the Texas Stock Exchange was formed and launched, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq set up local arms and other financial behemoths like Scotiabank followed Goldman's lead by setting up a regional headquarters. Morgan Stanley could be next. For Scott Mueller, managing director and head of private wealth management for the Southwest region at Goldman, the wealth wave the region has experienced has exceeded everyone's expectations, save for maybe Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. "He was very bullish," Mueller said of the mayor. "But I think the way things have played out has really been remarkable, and it's a little bit of lightning in a bottle, right? There's changes that happen like this around the world or around our nation every so often and it so happens that one of them is happening here in Dallas and in North Texas right now." Mueller worked at Goldman for years before serving a stint as Oklahoma's secretary of commerce and workforce development. He returned to Goldman in 2022. In his role, he oversees a seven-state region that includes Texas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, part of Arkansas and part of Louisiana.

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Barratry or lawful marketing? Loncar Lyon Jenkins’ civil trial begins

An unknown number lit up Barry Marshall’s phone two days after a driver crashed into his pickup truck near Stephenville. After Marshall answered the sixth call, a man offered to refer him to Loncar Lyon Jenkins attorneys to handle the case. A contract with the firm, owned by Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins and former state Sen. Ted Lyon, was in his inbox minutes later. In a lawsuit filed last year Marshall alleges he never asked to be contacted by the law firm or a lead generator after his April 2024 crash, accusing them of a type of unlawful solicitation that is rampant across Texas. An attorney representing Loncar Lyon Jenkins alleged Marshall clicked an online link to invite the referral, making the contact perfectly legal. A jury in Erath County this week will weigh whether the law firm and its middleman crossed the line in a rare civil trial concerning how prominent personal injury lawyers find clients.

It’s illegal for attorneys or their intermediaries to initiate contact with crash victims within 31 days of an accident to drum up business. But law firms are permitted to use lead generators to refer clients who are seeking legal help — as long as they are not making the first move. Social media has fueled a new climate where lead generators are increasingly using deceitful tactics indistinguishable from unlawful solicitation, causing law firms to get tangled in allegations of barratry, said Waco personal injury attorney Vic Feazell. “They’re cyber ambulance chasers,” Feazell said in general about barratry. “It gets worse every day and it's bad not only for the legal consumer but it's bad for the legal profession.” Barratry is so widespread lawmakers last year upped the civil penalty from $10,000 to $50,000. But cases can be difficult to prove, and defendants look to cut their losses, so lawsuits are usually dropped or settled before getting to a jury. Barratry is also a criminal offense in Texas, but prosecutors rarely pursue charges, leaving allegations to be litigated in civil lawsuits if at all.

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Texas Space Summit in San Antonio postponed until 2027

Organizers have scrubbed Texas’ first-ever space summit just a few months before it was to occur in San Antonio. The conference on the state’s booming commercial space business had been set for Sept. 21-23 at the Henry B. González Convention Center, but it was pushed to sometime in 2027. Jeff Webster, president and CEO of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, said he made the call earlier this summer. The chamber is hosting the event. “I thought we’d have good, but I wanted kick-ass,” he said. “So, we decided to give ourselves more breathing room and extended time.” The Texas Space Summit will happen in San Antonio next year, he said, but no dates have been set.

“I wanted this to be such an out of the park, great experience, and we had great momentum,” he said. “We had great speakers lined up, but it wasn’t to where I wanted it to be. “I think we quasi-rushed it because we really gave ourselves a year to really work up to it.” Webster said the Texas Space Commission and the space companies were good with the delay. “SpaceX was in the middle of their IPO and Blue Origin had stuff going on, and NASA had Artemis,” he said. “The industry people and the suppliers— it’s been a crazy year for them — so, I think we actually end up providing plenty of time for them to breathe.” Planning for the summit began last summer. The space commission committed to holding it in San Antonio after the chamber offered to host the event. Space commission Chair Gwen Griffin, San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and Webster held a news conference at Brooks in November 2025 to announce the summit. At the time, the event was expected to attract more than 2,000 attendees with a budget of between $1.1 million and $2.1 million. Now the budget is closer to the lower amount, Webster said.

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Writer sues Taylor Sheridan, claims 'Yellowstone' was built from her rejected pitch

Writer and entertainment journalist Lauren Salkin filed a federal copyright lawsuit accusing "Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan and a long list of studios and producers of building the hit series from a television project she pitched to his representatives years before it premiered. The suit, filed Aug. 21 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, names Sheridan, Paramount, 101 Studios, Elevate Entertainment and others as defendants, according to the complaint. According to the complaint, Salkin spent more than a decade developing "Sovereign Nation," a drama about tribal governance, casino politics and a fight over reservation land. By late 2016, she had a completed pilot script, show bible and pitch deck, along with a commitment from director Rodrigo García, and had filed materials with the U.S. Copyright Office, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that Salkin's agent and manager submitted those materials to Sheridan's management company, Elevate Entertainment, in late 2016 and January 2017. On Feb. 1, 2017, Elevate responded in writing that Sheridan "thanks you very much for your interest" but was "unavailable for TV projects," the complaint says. Paramount announced "Yellowstone" as its first scripted series roughly three months later, and the show premiered on the Paramount Network in June 2018. Salkin's suit argues the shows share "specific expressive choices," including a tribal casino serving as the center of political power in both stories, a confrontation staged in a tribal chairman's casino office over expanding development beyond reservation land, and shared reliance on trust-land status, an absence of zoning restrictions and a 99-year lease as the mechanism driving that expansion. The complaint also alleges that Salkin's pitch deck, submitted before "Yellowstone" was announced, proposed actors Danny Huston and Gil Birmingham for roles built around casino politics and land development. Both actors were later cast in "Yellowstone" in what the lawsuit calls "materially parallel structural roles."

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Texas governor's summer playlist includes unfortunate error

What's your song of the summer? Your bop of bops? Could it be the classic record "Texas Sun Krugbhagin"? That's apparently what Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has at the top of his Spotify Repeat Rewind playlist right now, even if there are like three things wrong with writing "Texas Sun Krugbhagin." The leader of the Lone Star State posted what he's calling his "2026 Summer Playlist" on Friday afternoon, claiming that "Texas is the song of every season." Whatever that means. Anyway, it's a real playlist you can find if you click through Abbott's Facebook linktree. It's 19 songs, most with "Texas" in the title, which totally doesn't mean anyone was Google searching "songs with Texas in the title."

The playlist is mostly country flavored, spanning from the 1959 Marty Robbins classic "El Paso" to current No. 1 song that will never die, "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley. Because country music is all people listen to here I guess, right? But there are a few non-country songs on the list, including "Texas" (duh) by BigXthaPlug, the Dallas rapper who was just charged with driving while intoxicated, marijuana possession of less than two ounces and unlawful possession of a firearm. The presence of his "Texas" on the playlist leads one to wonder if Abbott also pours drank inside his lemonade until it looks like a Pepsi. But let's go back to "Texas Sun Krugbhagin," which is actually supposed to be "Texas Sun" by the Houston band Khruangbin and Atlanta singer Leon Bridges. It's honestly incredible that Khruangbin became Krugbhagin in the Facebook post. Not sure how that could've even happened. Anyway, that's a good song, but we should note President Barack Obama already included it on his 2020 summer playlist.

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National Stories

Nvidia is spending $6 billion to build a powerful U.S. alternative to Chinese AI

Nvidia is planning to use a $6 billion deal it struck this week to build one of the world’s most powerful open-weight AI models, one that would compete with Chinese heavyweights like DeepSeek and Kimi K3, according to people familiar with the matter. The chip giant’s licensing deal with the AI startup Poolside is also set to present a direct challenge to frontier U.S. AI companies including OpenAI and Anthropic, since open-weight models are generally far cheaper to operate and allow easy customization. Although Nvidia counts big labs like OpenAI and Anthropic as some of its closest partners, the move reflects Chief Executive Jensen Huang’s efforts to position Nvidia for success in multiple AI battlegrounds simultaneously, ensuring the company is able to hold on to its dominant market position.

Poolside, which was founded in 2023 by Eiso Kant, a software developer, and Jason Warner, the former chief technology officer of GitHub, sent a letter to shareholders Thursday announcing a dramatic restructuring of its business. Nvidia will invest $1 billion in the company at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion, and more significantly, will pay $6 billion to license Poolside’s technology and hire the bulk of its engineers, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Poolside’s founders wrote that the Nvidia deal was meant to secure a future where artificial general intelligence, or humanlike computer reasoning, “would not be a closed technology controlled by few but one built by many out in the open.” The startup’s leadership—including Kant, Warner and operations executive Margarida Garcia—won’t join Nvidia and will continue working on unspecified research projects. The deal was first reported by Newcomer, an independent tech newsletter. More than 100 Poolside employees, including engineers, will join Nvidia and will work on the chip-designer’s Nemotron project—an effort to develop open-weight models that Nvidia debuted in 2023—according to people familiar with the matter. The Poolside engineers will help improve Nemotron’s largest and most sophisticated models under development, these people said.

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‘The writing on the wall’: Trump’s staff departs ahead of possible turmoil

President Donald Trump heads into the second half of his term with key vacancies among his senior White House staff. That means whoever comes off the bench must contend with the possibility of a Democratic-controlled Congress, a slew of subpoenas, a lingering war in the Middle East and an open Republican presidential primary. James Braid, the top liaison to Congress, this week announced his exit. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she would depart the week before. Replacements for either have not been announced. President Donald Trump heads into the second half of his term with key vacancies among his senior White House staff. That means whoever comes off the bench must contend with the possibility of a Democratic-controlled Congress, a slew of subpoenas, a lingering war in the Middle East and an open Republican presidential primary. James Braid, the top liaison to Congress, this week announced his exit. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she would depart the week before. Replacements for either have not been announced. Though it’s not unusual for staff to depart around the midterms, Trump’s desire to run the country through a handful of close, fiercely loyal aides means each loss is more impactful than in a White House where power and responsibility are more diffuse. These departures don’t guarantee a tougher road for the administration, but they inject a dose of uncertainty at an already tenuous time, when the president is facing a slew of challenges — both foreign and domestic.

“I think people are seeing the writing on the wall and thinking Republicans probably aren’t going to have the House, might not have the Senate either, and things are going to be stalled,” said an official who served in Trump’s first term, who like others in this article was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “People are thinking, ‘what are my post administration business prospects? Is it worth taking these hits every single day, being part of these battles, and how does that hurt my prospects when I go to the private sector?’” the person said. The president is also losing two key legal hands as he girds for an onslaught of congressional oversight and potential litigation if Democrats take control on the Hill. Trump announced Friday that his pardon attorney and longtime ally Ed Martin would leave for the private sector, coming on the heels of a similar announcement regarding White House counsel Dave Warrington.

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Sullivan endorses Sullivan against Sullivan in Alaska

Three Dan Sullivans are wading in on Alaska’s Senate race but only one Dan Sullivan has earned the support of a former lawmaker with his namesake. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R-Alaska) was endorsed by former Anchorage Mayor Dan A. Sullivan (R) last Tuesday as he prepares to face off against Dan J. Sullivan and Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) in November. “As the OG Dan Sullivan, I urge Alaskans to vote for Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan. He’s been great for Alaska,” the former mayor of Anchorage wrote in a Facebook post last week. The post comes after Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign faced legal challenges, as Dan S. Sullivan and the National Republican Senatorial Committee accused him of launching a Senate bid to create confusion for voters seeking to elect the incumbent lawmaker.

Carol Beecher, a registered Republican and the director of the Alaska Division of Elections, attempted to remove Dan J. Sullivan from the primary ballot and disqualify his campaign, citing his logo’s similarities to the incumbent senator’s. However, Dan J. Sullivan challenged the measure in court, and in June, Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ruled that Dan J. Sullivan could remain on the ballot for the state’s primary on Aug. 18. Republicans Dan J. Sullivan and Dan S. Sullivan advanced to Alaska’s general nonpartisan election in November alongside Democrat Peltola (Alaska), who Dan. J. Sullivan has said he voted for twice in previous elections. The race is considered a toss-up by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report while Decision Desk HQ has Peltola favored to win due to her past success in statewide races and status as a moderate Democrat who hires Republican staffers on the Hill. Some Republicans have accused Dan J. Sullivan of being a Democratic plant and entering the race to siphon votes away from the incumbent senator with the same name. Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, has denied those accusations.

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Man arrested by US immigration agents as son waits return from USS Lincoln

When Luis Manuel Aviles was arrested by immigration authorities, his son was entering his ninth month on the USS Abraham Lincoln with the Navy — a vessel that set a U.S. military record for uninterrupted time at sea, stirring concerns about supply shortages and deteriorating mental health among soldiers. Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, was arrested after leaving his house to take his car to the mechanic, according to his wife, Argelia Aviles. She said her husband, a handyman in Key West, Florida, has a permit to work in the United States. Originally from Nicaragua, he has lived in the U.S. for 19 years. “He dedicates himself only to work so he can put food on the table at home. He is a good father. He loves his children with all his soul,” said Argelia, 47.

Aviles’ arrest comes as the Trump administration rolls back immigration protections for military families to pursue its mass deportation agenda, detaining at least dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops. At least six family members have been deported and one self-deported, the AP found in the first accounting of such detentions, which the government does not track. One spouse, the wife of a U.S. soldier who spent more than a month in federal immigration detention, was removed from a deportation flight to Brazil after the AP’s reporting. One of the military’s most highly advertised immigration benefits is “military parole-in-place,” which allows the spouses, children and parents of active-duty service members and veterans to obtain legal immigration status from within the country. Not everyone qualifies: those who overstayed visas or who already applied for legal status at the border, for example.

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Baby Boomers are smoking more pot. Their neighbors are fuming.

Senior citizens are at a record high for getting high. For Fiorella Terenzi, it’s been…not cool, man. The 64-year-old astrophysicist started to notice wafts of marijuana coming into her home from a nearby unit in her Miami-area high rise. Her neighbors, a married couple in their 70s, told her it was medical marijuana used in small amounts. Terenzi wasn’t buying it. She set out to stop the fumes. To argue her case, she held a piece of toilet paper by the crack in their front door to test the skunky draft and found it strong enough to make the tissue “wave like a flag.” She placed multiple calls to police but said officers were reluctant to knock on the couple’s door late at night. She had intense conversations with the neighbors that felt straight out of high school.

“It was actually always that kind of smirk,” Terenzi said. “Like, ‘Oh, come on. If you’re stoned, it’s cool.’” Seniors are among the fastest-growing demographics for marijuana use in the U.S., taking the drug to manage pain, fall asleep and have fun. But it’s not all bliss. Tensions are rising as the scent perfumes senior centers and retirement communities. Some elderly adults blame secondhand pot smoke for a host of medical problems, from depression to headaches to breathing issues. There are social pressures, too, with a number of baby boomers saying their peers make them feel like narcs and nerds if they complain. About 10% of respondents to a recent study of marijuana use by seniors in New York said they use cannabis to “fit in,” said Joseph Palamar, a professor at NYU Langone Medical Center who co-wrote the report. “If Edna is the one that has the gummies, then it might be like, ‘Oh, I want to be cool like Edna. I don’t really want it, I’m scared, but she’s the cool one and I feel like I have to try it now,’” Palamar said. Many senior pot smokers are loud and proud. San Antonio grandmother Sandra Bomar, 63, who goes by “Stoner Granny” online, posts pot memes on Facebook to her like-minded community. One recent item features a doctor in a white coat and the line, “In my professional opinion, you should smoke a fatty.”

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Democrats are on the verge of picking another 80-year-old

Ed Markey’s campaign knows he is old. He is the oldest senator Massachusetts has ever had and the oldest Senate Democrat seeking reelection in the midterms. He has served in Congress since before his primary challenger, 47-year-old Rep. Seth Moulton, was even born. So at a rally earlier this month, his allies don’t try to hide the fact that Markey is an 80-year-old man, nor can they. Rather, they paint his age as battle-hardened experience, in a move that would have made Ronald Reagan proud. “You tell me a time that’s more important for us to have someone in Washington … that knows the issues, knows every relationship down there, and has the experience to fight the fight,” says Massachusetts state Sen. Michael Moore before a crowd of young families, even younger students and a handful of senior citizens in this post-industrial college town.

Moore’s talking points, along with the claps and cheers coming from the crowd, feel off-key at this moment in American politics. More than ever before, people are frustrated with the notion that Washington is ruled by aging politicians, including those who struggle to do their jobs amid declining health. The monthslong absence of Mitch McConnell, the 84-year-old former Senate GOP leader still recovering from a fall and hospitalization, is only the latest reminder. And, of course, there are the six lawmakers who have died in the current Congress. Democrats, it seems, should be particularly hostile to returning their old leaders to power. This is a party still traumatized by Joe Biden’s presidency — the questions about his mental faculties, his frailty in public and the collapse of his 2024 presidential campaign after his debacle of a debate with Donald Trump (himself now an 80-year-old). The party establishment also appears to be facing its own tea party uprising, with growing calls for generational change: Seven Democratic House incumbents have lost primaries so far, six to candidates who are younger. But much of the party’s insurgent energy is coming from the left — and that might be what saves Markey. Unlike other long-serving Democrats who have been felled by democratic socialists, Markey is a progressive facing a more moderate rival.

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California cancels talks with Paramount over Warner Bros. merger

California’s attorney general has canceled a meeting with representatives of Paramount that was scheduled for Monday to begin discussing a settlement of the state’s lawsuit seeking to block Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Rob Bonta, the attorney general, called off the meeting late Sunday, accusing Paramount of acting in bad faith. In a statement to The Times, Mr. Bonta accused Paramount of leaking details of a meeting the parties held on Friday. “Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,” Mr. Bonta said in the statement. “As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again.”

A spokeswoman for Paramount did not have immediate comment on Monday morning. The Monday meeting was supposed to be preliminary, and there was never any assurance that it would lead to meaningful negotiations toward a settlement. But the possibility that the two sides could begin moving toward an agreement was seen as something of a breakthrough after Paramount threatened to leave California and Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed a preference for settling the case. Paramount’s proposed $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros. would create a media giant, combining two major movie studios, multiple streaming services and the news outlets CNN and CBS News. The company, headquartered in Hollywood, would also be a major employer in Los Angeles. Last month, California led a group of 12 state attorneys general in suing to block the deal, arguing it would create a company with outsize market power in cable television and movie studios. Mr. Bonta had previously said he would be willing to accept only structural remedies to resolve the lawsuit, which would typically mean requiring the companies to sell off parts of the combined business. Executives are often reluctant to hive off parts of a newly merged company because they have already made financial assumptions about the combined operations.

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Lead Stories

As Flock battles public scrutiny, other police surveillance companies see an opening

Dozens of people crammed into a conference room for a gathering at a public library in Washington, D.C. The topic? Automated license plate readers, such as the ones sold by Flock Safety, a company facing major backlash from residents in communities across the country who find themselves deeply unsettled by privacy concerns. On Monday, members of DeFlock DC, a grassroots group dedicated to ending all contracts between the Metropolitan Police Department and Flock, explained to the group how these controversial cameras work and where they are located throughout the city. But as Loreal Hawk, a member of DeFlock DC, told the group gathered, automated license plate readers are neither new nor unique to Flock. Competitors such as Axon, Motorola Solutions and Verkada, offer similar products to law enforcement agencies, and have for years.

Flock has been the target of much of the public's ire, but its rivals have largely avoided it. Now, some of those competitors are trying to cash in on Flock's fall from grace. More than 130,000 automated license-plate readers, or ALPR's, can be found in cities and towns across the country, according to the crowdsourced database DeFlock.org. The cameras take images of the backs of cars. Law enforcement has increasingly turned to this tool to help solve crime. "The Flock ALPR technology has captured the public's attention" and spurred a realization that "maybe we don't want to be surveilled all the time," said Andrew Ferguson, a law professor at George Washington University. But now, he said, Flock is the one that has "the target put on its back." Flock CEO Garrett Langley regularly posts on social media extolling the benefits of his company's tech, often noting that communities are safer because of it. Flock was credited with helping to track the suspect in last year's Brown University shooting, which killed two students and injured nine other people. License plate readers are only one piece of a growing police surveillance industry. Many law enforcement agencies use integrated tools such as facial recognition, gunshot detectors, predictive policing, drones and real-time crime centers that pull all this information into one central hub used by investigators. Ferguson, who is also the author of Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance, says in his view, those integrated systems raise far more red flags for privacy than license plate readers alone. Yet, they've drawn almost no large-scale public protest.

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Greg Abbott asks DOJ to investigate Muslim airport accommodations

passengers at Texas’ biggest airports, requesting on Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the matter. “Airports can no more offer Muslim-only bathroom spaces than they can maintain white-only bathrooms,” Abbott wrote to Justice officials. “Your office has authority to investigate and put a stop to these discriminatory practices.” Abbott threatened last week to pull state funding from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston over their ablution stations, saying they amounted to religious discrimination.

The stations are used by Muslim passengers who perform ritual washings before their daily prayers. Abbott also asked the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to review the facilities and “take appropriate corrective action.” DFW Airport responded by canceling a plan to install additional washing facilities. The plan had created an uproar among conservatives online and was seized by Abbott and other Republicans who have been campaigning against Sharia law, accusing Muslim groups of having ties to terrorists and entertaining right-wing conspiracies of an Islamic takeover. “Ten Commandments = good. Muslim foot washing rituals = bad. Next question,” U.S. House Rep. Brandon Gill of Flower Mound wrote on social media after Abbott’s initial letter. IAH Airport has had the stations in place since 2024. DFW Airport appears to have had them since 2019.

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US and Canada fall deeper into a trade war with new tariffs

The United States and Canada, historic allies along an undefended border, fell deeper into a trade war Saturday marked by angry recriminations and new tariffs that are expected to raise prices for products in both countries. Each side blamed the other for the collapse of negotiations in Washington late Friday, leading the U.S. to impose 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods and Canada setting Sept. 8 as the start of its retaliatory penalties. President Donald Trump’s import taxes will hit about 5% of what Canada ships to the United States every year, ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors. Prime Minister Carney said Ottawa would respond with targeted tariff protection for industries exposed to the new U.S. duties, including some steel products. He also mentioned the dairy, appliance, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics sectors.

No further talks were planned. Whatever the eventual outcome, a loss of trust seems one of the earliest casualties. Carney accused Washington of using “economic integration as a weapon” and said “its signature was written in pencil.” Resorting to the language of battle, he said his country had been “attacked” by the new American tariffs. “You’re at war when you get attacked,” he said, adding that Canada had the reserves, resilience and plan to respond. But to Trump’s chief trade negotiator, Jamieson Greer, the U.S. was compelled to act after a year of retaliation by its longtime partner. “We’ve said enough, and so we’ve taken countermeasures. Our interest is in protecting American workers and protecting American supply chains,” the U.S. trade representative told “Fox & Friends Weekend.” Carney said Canada had been willing to drop remaining retaliatory tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos if the U.S. substantially lowered its own, and to encourage provinces to restore U.S. alcohol sales. But he said Washington’s final demands went too far. “They asked too much and offered too little,” Carney said.

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Jeffries and Kushner meet privately as midterm attacks fly

Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, met privately in recent weeks with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and top outside adviser, and discussed potential areas of common ground, according to five people with knowledge of the meeting. The rare engagement was held in a private space in New York City, offered up by a mutual friend of the two men, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting and a third who was briefed on it. They and others were granted anonymity to discuss a meeting about which they were not authorized to speak publicly. Through aides, neither man would comment on the session, which was described by one person with knowledge of it as a broad conversation on a range of topics. Still, its timing underscored that those around Mr. Trump were well aware of the likelihood of a Democratic-led House, and trying to foster as much of a working relationship as possible before any change.

Mr. Jeffries is in line to be the speaker, were Democrats to win the majority. Democrats and the president have been savaging each other on the campaign trail with increasing fury as the midterm elections approach, and as Republicans are fighting to retain their thin House and Senate majorities. Mr. Trump has called Mr. Jeffries a “thug,” and at a May campaign event referred to him as a “low IQ” person who had inspired him to deride Democrats as the “Dumocrats.” Mr. Jeffries routinely suggests that Mr. Trump is not only extreme but corrupt, vowing that Democrats would “hold the crooks accountable” if they won control. The private get-together was described by one of the people as a catch-up for Mr. Kushner and Mr. Jeffries. The two men have stayed in touch since they worked together on a criminal justice bill midway through Mr. Trump’s first term. During the recent meeting, the pair discussed housing, immigration and the high cost of living as potential areas of common ground. Mr. Kushner suggested that Mr. Jeffries should meet with the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, two people with knowledge of the meeting said. The likelihood of any compromises between the White House and Democrats on those issues seems remote. Mr. Trump this year refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill in part because he said it was “Warren centric,” referring to Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, its top Democratic champion. And he has repeatedly expressed openness to a deal with Democrats on immigration, only to back away from any such agreement. He successfully lobbied Republicans to abandon a bipartisan border security bill in 2024. White House officials and an aide to Mr. Kushner did not respond to messages seeking comment.

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GOP lawmakers criticize Trump’s beef import plan amid blowback from ranchers

House and Senate Republicans on Friday criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend tariffs on ground beef imports, with lawmakers from agricultural states decrying the impact Trump’s decision will have on farmers. Nebraska’s GOP senators, Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, said in separate posts on X that Trump’s decision was unwise. “I’m extremely disappointed by this decision from the White House,” Fischer wrote. “We all want lower grocery prices, but as I’ve said for months, we cannot do it at the expense of American producers. Flooding the market with foreign beef hurts our livestock industry.” Ricketts wrote: “I appreciate the Administration’s work to lower grocery prices. Short term policy shifts do not equal long term solutions. Flooding the market with lower quality beef compromises Nebraska farmers and ranchers.”

The president announced Friday on Truth Social that “the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff. We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices.” Trump did not say which companies that import beef had agreed to this commitment or what countries would supply the meat. Explaining his decision, the president pledged that this deal “will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again.” Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., also cited the hardships American cattle farmers would face as a result of the president’s decision and referred to conversations he’s had with Trump about this issue. “The President’s heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people, and beef prices have been impacted by the Mexican screwworm,” Sheehy wrote on X. “But the reality is this action will make it more difficult for American ranchers to rebuild our herd and bring prices down for the American people. And most importantly, this will harm our ranching families who feed the nation.”

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State Stories

Immigration enforcement adding to workforce shortages in Texas restaurants, report finds

A new report from the Texas Restaurant Association finds that immigration enforcement is contributing to ongoing workforce shortages facing restaurants across Texas. The association surveyed about 50 restaurant operators across the state for its latest report. According to the research, 36% of operators said they have lost employees because of immigration enforcement, while 28% said they are seeing fewer job applicants or fewer people accepting job offers. The report also found that some restaurants are seeing a decline in customer traffic because people are afraid to be out in public.

Kelsey Erickson Streufert, Chief Public Affairs Officer for the Texas Restaurant Association, told KVUE that the findings show the issue is affecting a significant portion of the industry. “Those are pretty significant numbers,” Streufert said. “That tells us that a really sizable portion of Texas restaurants are feeling one or more impacts because of our immigration enforcement activities.” Streufert said about 20% of the restaurant workforce is foreign-born, many of whom have work authorization. “Immigrants are really critical at every stage of our food pipeline,” Streufert said. “Food costs, as I mentioned, have already gone up 35% since the COVID-19 pandemic. And we've got a study that shows they're going to go up an additional 14.5% if we stick to our current immigration policy playbook.” At L’Oca d’Oro in Austin, co-owner Adam Orman said the restaurant industry has faced significant challenges over the years. Orman has worked in the restaurant industry for nearly 30 years, including through the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. “I've seen restaurants deal with a lot of adversity,” Orman said. Now, he said immigration enforcement is creating another challenge for restaurants. “More than half of our employees have been impacted by immigration enforcement over the last year and a half,” Orman said.

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Pressure increases for Texas to allow treated drilling waste into rivers and rangeland

Elected officials and industry leaders warn that Texas is at the “precipice” of running out of underground space to dispose of the nearly 1 billion gallons of wastewater that oil and gas production generates every day in the Permian Basin. The toxic wastewater, known as produced water, is usually injected underground into disposal wells. But these wells have increased underground pressure, triggering earthquakes and blowouts. Instead of underground injection, the oil industry is now seeking alternatives to treat and reuse produced water. Industry experts made clear last week, at a legislative hearing in Austin and a conference in Midland, that a lack of disposal space could soon constrain oil production in the Permian Basin.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is developing two permitting programs for re-using treated produced water. The agency began accepting permit applications to discharge the treated wastewater into rivers in 2024 but has yet to issue any permits. The agency released a proposed rule earlier this year to allow treated produced water to be applied on land for irrigation or rangeland restoration. In public testimony last week, Commissioner Jim Wright of the Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas, emphasized the urgency of providing alternatives to disposal wells. “Continued delay could restrict oil and gas development across the Permian Basin,” he said during a Texas Senate hearing. “I respectfully urge TCEQ to finalize and issue workable permits as soon as possible.” While political pressure mounts on the TCEQ to issue permits, pilot projects using treated produced water are ongoing. Researchers are still gathering data to publish more peer-reviewed papers that will inform the permitting programs.

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‘A life well lived’: Funeral service for U.S. Rep. Kay Granger held in Fort Worth

U.S. Rep. Kay Granger’s legacy as a leader in North Texas and Washington was honored at a Saturday funeral service. The pews of First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth were filled with family, friends and former colleagues as Rev. Danny Tenney delivered a homily outlining the congresswoman’s life’s work — her impact as a teacher who would eventually rise in the ranks of Congress, breaking barriers along the way. “Let us celebrate a life well-lived,” Tenney said, leading guests in prayer. “Let us celebrate a life now lived in perpetual presence.” Granger died peacefully, surrounded by family members, on Aug. 2 following an “aggressive late battle with Alzheimer’s,” according to her obituary.

Her casket sat at the front of the church, draped with an American flag. An organist played “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” during a processional at the start of the ceremony. Granger, remembered as tough but fair, joined Congress in 1997, representing Texas’ 12th Congressional District. She held the office for nearly three decades, climbing the ranks in Washington to eventually become the chairwoman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. She was the first Republican woman to hold the leadership role — adding to her accolades of serving as Fort Worth’s first female mayor and the first Republican woman to represent Texas in the U.S. House. Much of her time in Congress was marked by her focus on the defense industry and Fort Worth, including her work around the Central City Flood Control Project, often called the Panther Island project. Granger announced she wouldn’t seek re-election in November 2023. Near the end of her time in office, it was reported that she was experiencing health challenges.

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Travis County DA's Office announces new indictment against former Texas Lottery Commission, former executive director

The Travis County District Attorney's Office has announced a new indictment against the entity formerly known as the Texas Lottery Commission and its former executive director, Gary Grief, for abuse of official capacity. Back in April, Grief was indicted by a Travis County grand jury, but the charges were dropped three days later. However, shortly after that, a grand jury again indicted Grief and the commission, alleging intentional misuse government of resources, "including property, services, personnel, or assets in their custody." The initial indictment against Grief stated that the misuse involved the Lotto Texas drawing on April 22, 2023.

The DA's office said, "The Texas Government Code required the Commission and the Executive Director to promote and ensure integrity, security, honesty, and fairness in the operation and administration of the lottery." The office added that the commission's alleged conduct was authorized by Grief. In February 2026, the Public Integrity & Complex Crimes Division of the DA’s office received the case from the Texas Department of Public Safety for review. On Friday, Aug. 21, the DA's office said the second April 2026 indictment wasn't public until Grief appeared in court on Aug. 21. Grief was never arrested and instead appeared in court on summons, so the indictment was effectively sealed. "Our office will hold accountable powerful actors who violate our state laws,” Travis County District Attorney José Garza said. "We thank the grand jury members who heard the evidence and the law and decided that their conduct was unlawful."

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Texas juvenile prisons were on 'full lockdown' for days after officer's assault, state says

Youth prisons across Texas were on lockdown for several days beginning last week, according to an email sent to families and guardians of children in Texas Juvenile Justice Department custody. That was because of an “exceptionally brutal” assault by youth on a correctional staffer and another at a halfway house, TJJD Executive Director Shandra Carter told board members at their meeting Friday. “I want to be unequivocally clear: this is not punishment, and inherently it is not a violation of youth rights,” Carter told board members.

Carter said an officer she referred to as “JCO Hernandez,” a woman, was hospitalized after an assault by a boy at the Gainesville State Juvenile Correctional Facility. The boy was sent to TJJD after violating probation for stealing his mother’s gun, Carter said. He had been at the facility for two weeks. Carter said the incident occurred on a Friday but didn’t specify when. There was nothing in his record that indicated he was a high risk or highly violent youth, Carter said. The boy was moved to a maximum security unit in Mart, near Waco, and will remain there. JCO Hernandez has been discharged from the hospital, Carter said. “It’s evident that the youth in TJJD, and in our county detention facilities, are becoming more violent and more aggressive,” said board chairman Manny Ramirez, who is also a Tarrant County commissioner. All five TJJD secure facilities are under “lockdown, shutdown and slowdown” procedures on an individual dorm basis, Carter said, with the “lockdown” phase being the most strict and the “slowdown” phase being the least strict.

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Data centers want to be sustainable, panelists say. Transparency also in demand

University of Texas at Arlington computer science and engineering assistant professor Mohammad Atiqul Islam has observed misinformation spread about data centers, particularly about how the supercomputer hubs work and their technology. That’s why he wants to see more transparency from those representing the data center industry, including details on their impact on natural resources. “It is bringing a lot of economic activity” to Texas, Islam said of the industry. “We want to have that, but we have to think about what are the consequences of having data centers.”

This was one of the points Islam joined other panelists in making at Thursday’s event, Informed Discussion: Data Centers in Fort Worth, hosted by the Fort Worth Report and moderated by local government editor Scott Nishimura. TCU Ralph Lowe Energy Institute executive director Nikki Morris and journalist and Concept Elemental founder Jennifer Warren joined Islam as panelists. They each answered questions about data center demand, the state’s economy, the electric grid, and pushback from residents and local governments as interest in the topic booms in North Texas. Texas houses 26 gigawatts of existing and under-construction data center power capacity, according to a report from Fort Worth Inc. Morris referred to this power demand as “in the queue” — projects pending connection to the state’s electric grid. She said those numbers are tentative. “Under half of those projects will ever be connected,” Morris said. “They’re not going to be connected tomorrow.” While a pause is needed to assess those demands, Morris reassured attendees that Texas is successful when it comes to providing substantial infrastructure, energy sources and land to meet those demands.

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Five-year-old picked up by ICE in Austin, sent to Dilley detention center alongside dad

A five-year-old boy and his father were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Austin on Sunday, Aug. 16, according to a GoFundMe post from the family. “My son is only five years old; he was supposed to start kindergarten this week, and instead he is being held in an immigration detention center. He should be in school, playing soccer and at home with his family. I am asking ICE to release Liam and his father immediately so that our family can be together again,” Liam’s mother said in a statement posted by FWD.us.

Patricia Resendiz said in the GoFundMe that she is the aunt of Liam. She wrote the boy, Liam Tadeo, is being held at the Dilley processing center alongside his dad. That facility is near San Antonio, and advocates have previously called for its closure. It’s the same location where another five-year-old boy, also named Liam (Conejo Ramos), was sent after he and his father were detained in Minnesota. That case sparked significant outcry nationwide. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson confirmed ICE arrested Victor Martinez Nieto, the father, during a traffic stop in Austin. He is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. DHS said ICE has arrested the man before, in late 2025 in Hutto. “He accepted voluntary departure and was removed from the country on February 12, 2026. Martinez Nieto illegally reentered the country at an unknown time and place after being removed,” the DHS spokesperson said.

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Hurricanes routinely threaten the Texas coast. But mass evacuations pose risks of their own

Maya Hart’s hand stung as she gripped her Dodge Ram’s stick shift. She winced in pain and slammed on the brakes — a routine the 45-year-old mother had mastered in the 24 hours since she and her family began driving north from Galveston Island. She looked in the rearview mirror to steal a glance at her daughters and grandson, who sat baking in the Texas heat in a car of their own. It was mid-September 2005 and Hurricane Rita was rapidly closing in on the Texas coast. A barrage of alarming news reports, paired with a dearth of directives from disaster management agencies, had created a wave of collective terror. Rita was already the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico, known for supercharging hurricanes with its warm, flat waters. Nobody wanted to suffer a repeat of Hurricane Katrina, which had ravaged the Gulf Coast just weeks before.

“It was all the hype on television,” Hart, now 65, told Public Health Watch. “Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive, this doomsday scenario. People were panicking, thinking of Katrina. The roads just swelled up.” Hart didn’t know it at the time, but she was caught in one of the largest — and arguably worst-executed — mass evacuations in American history. In a span of four days, more than 3.5 million Southeast Texas residents swarmed the roads, creating bumper-to-bumper traffic that spanned miles, clogging highways and city streets. Even inland communities north of Houston had begun evacuating in fear of a far-reaching storm, leaving residents from the most hurricane-vulnerable communities like Galveston stuck behind a growing tide of cars. As the hours passed, stalled drivers began to worry that the storm would hit them then and there, with nowhere to go and no shelter to seek. Others ran out of gas, food and water, leaving them exposed to the suffocating Texas elements. Tensions rose and some people began fighting. Many suffered — and even died — from heat-stroke and dehydration. A bus carrying residents of a nursing home caught fire and exploded, killing 24 of its elderly passengers. In total, 107 people died during Hurricane Rita’s evacuation, far more than the six Texans killed by the actual storm.

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Texas court reduces Alex Jones' payment to Sandy Hook families to $1.5 million

A Texas appeals court drastically reduced the amount of money Austin-based conspiracy theorist Alex Jones owes to victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The Third Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the $50 million previously awarded to two Connecticut families targeted by Jones' Infowars platform was an overstep, reducing the amount owed to $1.5 million between the two parties. Jones consistently called the 2012 shooting that left 20 schoolchildren and six adults dead a hoax. He repeatedly called families "crisis actors" on his Infowars platform and Jones' supporters harassed Sandy Hook families for years. Jones later said a "form of psychosis" led him to push the narrative that the shooting was a ploy by the government to restrict gun rights.

The families successfully sued Jones for defamation in 2022 and he filed for bankruptcy shortly after. A Connecticut judge also sided with families, ordering Jones pay $1.4 billion in damages. Friday's ruling in Texas does not impact the Connecticut case. The ruling ends a back-and-forth over legal damages in Texas courts for now. Jones has been repeatedly knocked by a bankruptcy court in Houston and a Travis County court for failing to provide evidence throughout the proceedings, and families successfully pleaded the Travis County judge award more than Texas' $750,000 cap on damages in 2023. The Third Court's ruling Friday said that plaintiffs didn't prove their damages should exceed the state's cap on damages, reducing the money owed to $750,000 to each family. Jones' assets — including his Infowars platform — have been tied up in his bankruptcy case for years. A court ordered Jones shut down Infowars in May. The satirical publication The Onion effectively took over the brand to parody Jones last month after years of trying to acquire the brand. Onion CEO Ben Collins told KUT's Austin Signal the goal of the takeover was to mock Jones' brand of brash misinformation and provide some money to Sandy Hook families.

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Shut out of special education, this Texas family is fighting back

In March 2020, Courtney and Spencer Morey moved to Aledo, Texas, a rapidly expanding suburb of Fort Worth, because of the stellar reputation of its schools. But about three years later, when their daughter Annie, who has Down syndrome, was supposed to start preschool, she was denied the education that is guaranteed to her by law under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), even though no one from the school had ever met her. I met the Moreys on an unusually warm afternoon last spring. Dressed in white shorts, a sleeveless red sweater, and modest jewelry, Courtney waved me into her well-air-conditioned SUV, and she and I drove to pick up Annie from KinderFrogs, an early-intervention program for children with disabilities on the campus of nearby Texas Christian University. Annie has attended KinderFrogs ever since the district’s requirements for an assessment of her special-education needs—including an IQ test—prevented her from enrolling in its preschool program. When we reached the Texas Christian University campus, Courtney pulled up to KinderFrogs’ beige stone building, where children sat cross-legged outside on a shaded patio as teachers helped them gather their oversize backpacks.

As Courtney tried to coax a few more bites of ice cream into Annie’s mouth before it turned to soup, she told me that Annie was born with a heart defect that required complicated surgery when she was 4 months old. She went into cardiac arrest during the surgery and was without oxygen for 52 minutes. Afterward, she spent nine days on the highest form of life support. “The doctors didn’t expect her to live,” Courtney told me, fear still catching in her throat. The memory of those traumatic early weeks of Annie’s life are why the family has brought a case against the Aledo Independent School District. “Annie didn’t fight so hard to live so some school district could limit her potential,” Courtney explained. Although they had moved to Aledo because of the good reputation of its schools, Courtney and Spencer were later warned about the district’s approach to special education. “We started to hear from other parents who had gone before us,” Courtney said. Most of them were unsuccessful at getting their children with disabilities into mainstream classrooms. “Inclusion was what we wanted for Annie,” Courtney said, meaning that they wanted their daughter to learn in a general-education setting rather than a segregated, special-education classroom. But the Moreys knew that first they would need to work with teachers and school administrators to write an Individualized Education Program, or IEP, for Annie. The IEP would be based on an evaluation of Annie’s development and provide a plan for the support and accommodation that she would need in order to learn alongside the other students in a mainstream classroom.

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City Stories

Residents question if La Marque mayor should remain in office after indecent exposure allegations

La Marque Mayor Keith Bell was arrested Friday after the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office said he was seen exposing himself inside an office building in Angleton. The sheriff’s office said that around 9:30 a.m. on August 21, someone walked into the lobby area of the building and saw bell “with his genitalia out self-gratifying in an office chair.” Bell, 53, was booked into the Brazoria County Detention Center on an Incident Exposure charge. He bonded out Saturday, according to jail records. The arrest has prompted questions among some La Marque residents about whether Bell should remain in office. Bell also serves as the city’s emergency management director and is a local pastor.

“It’s just crazy hearing about it,” La Marque resident Trina Jackson said. “I have kids. And I wouldn’t want my kids to see that or anybody else’s kids, but like I said, it’s unfortunate.” La Marque resident L’Tanya Ivory added, “We look up to you. You’re in this position and you do something like that. Do that at home.” The possibility of a recall election is one potential next step, according to KHOU 11 political analyst Brandon Rottinghaus. “The likely provision here is that the mayor is going to be subject to a recall election, because voters are likely pretty unhappy about this,” Rottinghaus said. Rottinghaus said the La Marque city charter allows any citizen to initiate a recall by gathering signatures on a petition. “What it says is that if 51 percent of voters from the prior election have certified that they think that mayor should be removed, then that process can move forward. That election will go to voters, and voters will have to decide if they think the mayor should be removed or not,” Rottinghaus said.

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What’s with the 6th Street billboard calling out Alamo Drafthouse?

Love it or hate it, the change in how to order food at Alamo Drafthouse movie theatres is a hot topic. Hot enough that celebrities, fans and film critics have addressed it, and a billboard went up near downtown Austin. Yes, a billboard. In mid-July, a billboard reading “MAKE DRAFTHOUSE GREAT AGAIN BAN SMARTPHONE ORDERING” went up on West Sixth Street near Winflo Drive.

Earlier this year, Austin-based movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse replaced its pen-and-paper food ordering system with a mobile-based system. The change drew criticism from staff and movie-goers alike, as well as celebrities and film critics. In January, before the change even rolled out, Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) President Jon Partridge called it “a gross self-inflicted wound.” Former Austinite and “Lord of The Rings” star Elijah Wood posted about the system change on X in June, calling the food ordering experience “truly awful.” As much criticism as the move has drawn, some folks don’t mind the change and have even gone as far as defending it. During a KXAN editorial meeting discussing it, at least two people said they liked the mobile ordering system. One Reddit user posted in the Alamo Drafthouse SubReddit that the change “has not had a negative impact on the movie experience.” But the billboard doesn’t just call out Alamo Drafthouse. It rotates through three different messages at once, and the messages are changed out pretty frequently. The billboard rotates through different messages, each marked with the Howdy.com branding. But what is Howdy.com, and who’s deciding what messaging goes up?

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National Stories

Trump’s visa ban on 75 countries struck down by federal judge

The Trump administration must resume processing visas for people from 75 countries that the government deemed likely to become a “public charge,” a federal judge in New York ruled Friday, curbing one of the latest efforts to restrict legal immigration pathways to the United States. The halt to visa processing began in January, affecting dozens of countries in every corner of the globe. It was meant to limit visas for people the government said would probably rely on public benefits for their basic needs, long a complaint from President Donald Trump. But U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, an appointee of President Joe Biden, ruled that the policy “represents a direct abrogation” of consular officers’ exclusive, congressionally granted authority to determine if someone is eligible for a visa.

Vargas also said the nationality-based visa ban, which applied to all nationals of the 75 countries no matter their income or economic status, ignores antidiscrimination protections in federal immigration law. Vargas’s order came in response to a lawsuit from two nonprofit groups and 11 individuals: six people whose family members’ visa applications had been rejected under the freeze, and another five who had filed work-related petitions to come to the United States. Amaha Kassa, executive director of African Communities Together, one of the groups that sued, welcomed the ruling against a policy that he said lacked solid evidence or rationale. “The decision on whether [someone should] receive a visa should be an individual decision,” he said. “It shouldn’t be based on profiling on stereotypes of certain countries.” The State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and it was not clear if or how soon visa processing would resume. The January policy did not affect visas that had already been issued. Nor did it apply to nonimmigrant visas, such as those granted to students and tourists, but otherwise prevented consular officers from issuing visas on work or family grounds.

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IndyCars to race through the capital for Freedom 250 event

Public roadways in Washington, DC, have been converted into an IndyCar speedway for an event hosted by Freedom 250, a nonprofit backed by President Donald Trump. It took an extensive, two-month process to erect safety barriers and viewing areas along the track, which drivers will navigate at speeds up to 180 miles per hour. The race is the latest in a series of marquee events celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary. The events have dovetailed with Trump’s efforts to remake Washington, DC, through major construction projects at the White House and across the capital.

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Trump discloses 1,000 stock trades in June

President Trump’s investment accounts continued to actively trade individual stocks in June, revealing they made more than 1,000 transactions, according to his latest government disclosure. The White House said Saturday that the president has no role in the trading, which it said is handled by independent managers that use computer models that automatically replicate stock indexes. There were more than 550 purchases and more than 450 sales revealed in the latest filing released Saturday. Among the largest stock trades were purchases of at least $1 million worth of each Berkshire Hathaway, Visa and Mastercard. These are all companies that the Trump accounts have previously traded.

Those purchases were made on June 18, the same day his accounts sold more than $1 million worth of Meta Platforms and Motorola. That was a day after the president signed an interim peace deal in Versailles, France, to end the conflict with Iran. Trump’s accounts have been active buyers and sellers of individual stocks he returned to the White House, raising concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest. He made big bets on tech stocks in the first quarter, though some of his biggest investments in June were financial institutions. Earlier this year, a 900-page filing revealed the accounts had made more than 21,000 trades last year. Trump made more than $2 billion in 2025, largely from his investments in crypto ventures. The investment accounts are in a revocable trust overseen by Donald Trump Jr. “Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence, or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in an email. “All investment decisions are made entirely by independent managers.”

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USPS publishes rule to restrict mail voting if courts lift injunctions

The U.S. Postal Service published a 95-page final rule late Friday that would stop delivering mail ballots in states that refuse to share voter registration data with the federal government, but the rule cannot take effect unless courts lift existing injunctions blocking it. The Nov. 3 midterm elections are now less than three months away. The rule, which will be formally published Aug. 26, requires states to provide USPS with the names and barcodes tied to their mail-in ballots for federal elections. Under the rule, USPS would review every ballot envelope for compliance and would not deliver ballots in states that do not comply.

USPS said it is issuing the final rule now so it could take “immediate effect” if courts lift the injunctions currently blocking it. The agency said it "will not take actions to implement the rule specifically for the 2026 election" unless injunctions are lifted. The rule carries out a March 2026 executive order signed by President Donald Trump. Courts have largely blocked the order this summer. Last week, a federal judge in Boston issued a preliminary injunction blocking USPS from implementing the order for the November midterms, finding the executive branch “has no authority to regulate elections” and that the order was causing “irreparable harm” to voters. A separate ruling has blocked the order in about two dozen states. The Supreme Court is reviewing the issue and will decide whether the Postal Service can put in place the new restrictions on mail-in voting. Trump signed the executive order after years of pushing unsubstantiated claims that mail-in voting enabled widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

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Forget Mar-a-Lago Face. The real symbol of right-wing politics is the cinched waist.

On a warm evening in May, Lauren Sánchez Bezos walked the red carpet at New York’s legendary Met Gala wearing a sculpted, midnight-blue satin gown with a plunging neckline. The dress code for the party was “Fashion Is Art,” and Sánchez Bezos and her designer, Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry, drew inspiration from the museum’s famous John Singer Sargent portrait “Madame X,” a 19th-century painting of an American socialite posing in a sultry black gown. The painting had at one point sparked scandal for the form-fitting sexiness and bejeweled straps of its dress, and Sánchez Bezos suggested Roseberry take it up a notch: “Let’s do a waist,” she told him. Roseberry complied — snugly binding her abdomen in a corseted style that visibly laced up her back. The cinched waist looked familiar on Sánchez Bezos, harkening back to the many outfits she wore during her extravagant Venice nuptials in June 2025, including a tight-laced, corseted wedding gown that could have been pulled straight from the Victorian era in which the real Madame X resided.

And she is hardly alone. “The tiny, tortured waist has returned as a bodily preoccupation,” The New York Times reported last fall, “ready to eclipse voluminous breasts and buttocks as areas of obsession, manipulation, distortion and angst.” But the waist is not simply a matter of fashion. It is, increasingly, a statement of values. We’ve reverted “to a sense of what a woman should wear and look like that is restrictive,” historian Stephanie Coontz, who has studied the prevalence of the hourglass shape in modern culture, told me. The idea is that clothing should “show off your body and your fertility and your sexuality more than anything else about your personality.” For powerful women on the right, the uniform has become severe, as exemplified by the nipped-waist dresses worn by Kimberly Guilfoyle and Ivanka, Lara and Melania Trump. This trend is, in fact, an old story. Fashion, like politics, is cyclical, and in periods of conservatism, the cinched waist tends to reign. It has previously been correlated not only with patriarchy and threats to women’s rights but also with rising authoritarianism. Since the start of the second Trump administration, there has been a lot of chatter about “Mar-a-Lago face” — the artificially enhanced lips, chins and cheeks common among MAGA women.

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Anthropic market debut could break SpaceX IPO record: media

The market debut of artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic, a chief rival to OpenAI, could break the record set by SpaceX, US media have reported. Elon Musk's space company went public in June at a value of $1.77 trillion and raised $85.7 billion in its blockbuster initial public offering, the largest in history. Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI models, "expects to match or beat the size" of SpaceX's deal, according to Bloomberg. The company's bankers have told potential investors it could seek to raise "more than $100 billion" in its IPO, which could put the company's value at $2 trillion, The New York Times reported Friday, citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the talks.

That would more than double the five-year-old company's previous valuation at $965 billion, reached in its last funding round in June. Only a handful of companies including Apple, Microsoft and chip maker Nvidia have surpassed the $2 trillion mark. Anthropic declined AFP's request for comment. After filing to go public in June, the company could reveal its public offering prospectus in the coming weeks, the Times reported, with shares possibly listed in the autumn. Anthropic could then beat OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, to market. That company is hoping to list its shares in 2027. Founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei and other former executives at OpenAI, Anthropic has positioned itself as a safety-focused alternative in the AI race. Claude Code, its coding assistant for developers, has become one of its most popular products, helping push its projected annual revenue to $47 billion.

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Lead Stories

Elon Musk is expected to point his money machine at Texas politics

Elon Musk is expected to spend big to boost Republicans in the midterms this November, according to Trump officials briefed on the matter. The precise amount could change, but the officials expect Musk to spend around $100 million to $200 million with a focus on voter turnout in key races, including Texas, where the fate of Republican nominee Ken Paxton could determine which party controls the US Senate. The planned cash injection—or any in-kind contribution relating to voter turnout—would be a boon for Paxton, who has been vastly outraised in contributions. According to the latest FEC filings, James Talarico had raised roughly $69 million compared to Paxton's $9 million. While an endorsement from President Donald Trump carried him to victory, Paxton lagged behind in contributions throughout a bruising primary against Senator John Cornyn that resurfaced past scandals, and has fared little better since becoming the nominee.

To date, neither of the two largest national GOP entities have committed to spend on Paxton. The Senate Leadership Fund is run by allies of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who supported Cornyn, while MAGA Inc has not released its spending plans. Democrats in close races have generally outraised their Republican counterparts this cycle, so Paxton is not unique in being behind in fundraising. Numerous candidates are relying on national party committees and outside groups to make up the difference. Musk’s projected spend adds to the Republican National Committee’s $128 million war chest, while the Democratic National Committee is $2 million in debt. The two main GOP super PACs for House and Senate races have $380 million, compared to Democrats’ $116 million. MAGA Inc has about $400 million on hand; there is no Democratic equivalent. A spokesperson for America PAC declined to comment on the group’s spending plans. The New York Times earlier reported that Musk had authorized his PAC to spend at least $100 million for the 2026 midterms. But Musk's track record in setting up voter turnout operations has been mixed.

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How a failed project could help solve the world’s biggest energy need

The sci-fi-worthy machine soaring 120 feet tall in the hills outside Lynchburg had been all but left for dead — a $400 million experiment that collapsed as the energy economy shifted and the financial prospects for next-generation nuclear technology soured. The faux eight-story reactor in Lynchburg, built to mimic a nuclear plant but run on electricity so engineers can safely monitor and tinker with it, languished a decade unused on a Liberty University engineering campus. Now, with the AI build out exploding across the country, a pair of engineering wizards with a nuclear start-up and SpaceX pedigree see in it a lucrative solution to one of the country’s most vexing challenges: powering the proliferation of data centers. They are betting that they can leverage a forgotten test facility started in 2009 as a launchpad to build the small, more nimble nuclear reactors that the industry has been promising for decades could create cheap, reliable energy.

Billions have been spent developing such reactor designs since the 1960s. Not a single one of them is operating in the U.S. commercial market. Plenty of experts predict this will be yet another nuclear flop done in by spiraling costs, community safety concerns and engineering glitches. “We are now living in about the fifth supposed ‘nuclear renaissance’ in the U.S.,” said David Schlissel, a longtime nuclear consultant to consumer and environmental groups. “The industry keeps claiming they have new designs that will be cheaper and faster to build. It keeps turning out not to be true.” But in the frenzy to find power, plans for futuristic technologies that were abandoned years ago are on the ascent. Investment capital is flooding in. Deals are being inked. Silicon Valley is promising big paydays for whatever start-ups can solve their immense challenge of finding enough energy to feed modern data centers. “We’re standing on the shoulders of giants here, right?” Ben Kellie, the former SpaceX engineer from Alaska who co-founded Applied Atomics, said inside the Lynchburg facility housing the small-reactor project, known as mPower. “We’re starting with something that had $400 million in investment put into it, and significant time and effort. That’s a leg up.” One of the other two co-founders, Paul Keutelian, was also a high-level engineer at SpaceX.

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U.S. workers are paying more for healthcare, and next year will be worse

Surging healthcare costs are walloping U.S. workers, and they will only worsen next year. For 2027, employers may be facing the biggest health-insurance increase in at least two decades. Americans with workplace coverage are expected to spend an average $5,297 this year on healthcare, $388 more than 2025, according to a new estimate from benefits-consulting firm Aon. The spending represents a combination of payroll deductions for premiums and out-of-pocket charges like deductibles and copays. The burden is likely to grow significantly next year, when U.S. employers expect their healthcare costs to go up by 11.1%, according to a new survey from WTW, another big benefits consultant—the steepest rise in more than 20 years. That would represent the fifth year of escalating increases, according to WTW. “Employers are telling us that this is utterly unsustainable,” said Jeff Levin-Scherz, population-health leader at WTW.

Expensive cancer treatments and wide adoption of weight-loss drugs are among the factors pushing up spending. At larger companies, the rapid rise has moved decisions around health benefits from the domain of human-resources executives into the C-suite, said Mike Pasterick, North America health-solutions leader at Aon. “We’re seeing a lot of interest now from the finance organization and even the CEO and the board.” As companies are forced to pay more for insurance, their workers, who typically pay a share of the premium, are seeing their own costs rise roughly in tandem. That means more dollars are held out of their paychecks each month. At Paul Wissmach Glass Co., which employs 35 people in Paden City, W.Va., co-owner Jason Wilburn said he has been hit by double-digit premium increases each year since his family bought the company in 2021. Health-insurance expenses now consume about 5% of the firm’s revenue—more than its profit margin. This year, the company raised the biweekly payroll deduction for a single worker to $50, from $40. Though the employer is still paying about 90% of the total premium, a few workers decided to drop their coverage when their costs went up.

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Election officials prepare for nightmare scenarios: Ballot seizures and violence

Election officials across the country are war-gaming every move they think President Donald Trump might make to interfere in the midterm elections — scenarios that range from ordering federal agents to seize ballots and voting machines to sending immigration agents to polling locations. “I have no idea what’s next, and I don’t think anybody does,” said a senior Republican election official, one of several granted anonymity to discuss the administration’s actions against states and threats against election workers. “We’re just not creative or devious enough to come up with what might be coming.” As the president continues to spread lies about the 2020 election, the Justice Department is dispatching 1,000 monitors to watch midterm voting, and his most loyal MAGA-sphere allies are calling a federal election takeover necessary because, as one put it, “we’re in a revolution right now.”

Earlier this year, Trump said “we shouldn’t even have an election” and expressed regret for not ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines in 2020. More recently, he left the door open to declaring a national emergency to gain control over the elections this November. Five top election officials in different states told MS NOW that state officials and election administrators are in active conversations with local law enforcement, state attorneys general and legal advisers about how to respond if federal agents attempt to raid a polling site and seize ballots or machines — breaking the chain of custody for ballots and potentially throwing an election’s results into doubt. If federal agents arrive at a polling location with a search warrant in hand, a state’s only apparent immediate response is to sue and seek an emergency stay from a court. If federal agents try to seize ballots or disrupt voting based on a national emergency declared by the president, state officials are actively talking to local law enforcement about their options to respond, said the election officials.

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State Stories

Talarico rips Paxton’s data center donors — but he’s in bed with them too

Democratic Texas Sen. candidate James Talarico has accepted millions from donors tied to the data center industry while accusing his opponent Ken Paxton of selling Texans out on the issue. “He’s taken nearly half a million dollars from data center companies and then he turns around and protects those companies at our expense,” Talarico said during an interview Aug. 13 with MS NOW. (RELATED: Cornyn Aide Takes Job With Talarico: REPORT) Paxton has received roughly $400,000 from data-center-connected donors, according to a NOTUS report, which cites Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, including reports filed by several political action committees. Talarico, a Texas state representative, has received more than $11 million from donors with ties to the industry, according to FEC records.

He has rolled out his own proposals for regulating data centers ahead of the 2026 Senate race. Some of Talarico’s largest financial backers have connections to the data-center and AI industries, including Reid Hoffman, his largest individual donor, according to a Texas Tribune report. Hoffman has contributed $10 million to the Lone Star Rising (LSR) PAC supporting Talarico, according to FEC filings. Hoffman is also a major Microsoft shareholder, with billions of dollars invested in the company, which operates and continues to expand data centers across Texas and the country. Microsoft announced in July 2025 plans to invest $80 billion in AI data centers and infrastructure, including major projects in Texas, four of which are in San Antonio. Hoffman has also publicly advocated for expanding U.S. data-center capacity and energy infrastructure to remain globally competitive. Stephen Mandel, founder and managing member of Lone Pine Capital, has also contributed roughly $500,000 to Talarico-affiliated groups, including LSR PAC, according to FEC filings. Mandel’s investment portfolio includes companies tied to the data-center boom, including Talen Energy, which provides power for data centers, and Teradyne, which designs and manufactures advanced industrial robotics for the biggest tech companies. Tench Coxe, a director at Nvidia who serves on several of the company’s committees, also has ties to the AI and data-center industry. Nvidia promotes the expansion of AI data centers and has been involved in projects in West Texas and Fort Worth.

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Texas appeals court rules on defamation claims against Robert Morris, Gateway Church

A state appeals court on Wednesday, Aug. 19, granted a motion to dismiss nearly all of Cindy Clemishire's defamation claims against her abuser, Robert Morris, the church he founded and the elders who served on the church's board when the abuse came to light. "The ruling issued late Wednesday by the Texas Court of Appeals has deeply troubling consequences for survivors and victims of childhood sexual abuse," said state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, in a statement to WFAA. He represents Clemishire and now vows to take her case to the Texas Supreme Court. "If allowed to stand, it effectively grants religious organizations sweeping immunity from civil accountability -- even when they are alleged to have knowingly concealed, enabled, or protected child sexual predators -- simply because those actions occurred within a religious institution," Leach added.

The appeals court ruling on Wednesday sides with Robert Morris' and Gateway Church's arguments that the courts do not have jurisdiction to rule on the defamation claims because it would require them to violate the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine that prevents the courts from delving into church discipline and ecclesiastical government. The suit was brought by Clemishire and her father, Jerry Clemishire, against Morris, his wife and church leadership, claiming they knowingly spread false statements to cover up decades-old abuse and protect the church's public image. The defamation claims stem from allegations by Cindy Clemishire, who said Morris began sexually abusing her at her Oklahoma home on Christmas Day in 1982, when she was 12. Clemishire has accused Morris of continuing the abuse for several years. "We are pleased that the Court of Appeals has dismissed the case against Gateway and the Independent Elders," Attorney Ron Breaux, who represented Gateway Church, said in a statement. "As the Court’s opinion confirms, this case was never about Gateway. While Gateway grieves and laments Robert’s child sexual abuse of Cindy, that abuse happened 20 years before Gateway was founded. Its current elders did not know of Robert’s crimes until Cindy told her story, at which point they immediately conducted an investigation and acted to ensure that no one complicit in hiding Robert’s past remained in Church leadership."

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Why abortion opponents in Texas are turning their attention to banning surrogacy

Anti-abortion activists and lawmakers in Texas are pressing to limit or even outlaw surrogacy, a new step toward restricting major forms of infertility treatment. Surrogacy, though far from common, has entered the national spotlight this summer, the result of an explosive case in which an Alaska woman named McKenna West — who had been hired to carry a pregnancy for a California-based couple — traveled to Texas to seek medical care after refusing to have an abortion. She gave birth in Dallas last week. West has sought custody of the newborn and alleges that the baby’s parents tried to force her to terminate the pregnancy after doctors discovered a fetal anomaly called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a devastating heart condition that requires multiple surgeries after birth and that can still be fatal. The couple disputes West’s account, saying in court filings that she had agreed to terminate the pregnancy but then changed her mind and cut off contact with them.

The newborn — whom the couple named Rumi — is now in the custody of his parents and has received surgery in Texas. Anti-abortion activists have referred to the child publicly as “baby Gabriel.” Disputes like this are rare. Still, the case has become a lightning rod for national anti-abortion activists, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who intervened in the case on behalf of West to argue that the child must receive life-sustaining treatment in Texas, even though court records indicate his parents sought for him to receive care in California. (Paxton, who has frequently allied himself with social conservatives, is in a competitive race to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.) West has secured representation from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a prominent anti-abortion legal group. Abortion opponents have argued that the case underscores a need to outlaw surrogacy entirely. Surrogacy, which data suggests has become more common in recent years, is typically pursued by people who cannot give birth, such as people who cannot safely carry a pregnancy and some queer couples.

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Secretary of Energy tours Exxon and HP drilling rig, addresses crowd at Bush Convention Center

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Midland on Monday to mark what the Energy Department calls the “Great American Energy Comeback.” Organized by the Permian Strategic Partnership, Wright toured an Exxon and HP drilling rig early in the morning before heading to a rally at the Bush Convention Center. The United States led the world in oil and natural gas production, according to the department. Wright said the world’s growing energy demand requires expanded production. “We have a billion people that live wonderful lives like us, and 7 billion more who want it, the only road from here to there is massively more oil and gas, growing of coal, growing of all energy that’s affordable, reliable, and secure, it’s one of the things I’m proudest of the Trump administration,” Wright said.

Wright also addressed pushback on new energy projects like data centers, saying it comes down to choice. “So when we hear things demonized and people are trying to scare your neighbors and your friends against new technologies and new progress, let’s be skeptical about that, let’s listen about that, and let’s drive progress in our country,” Wright said. “We don’t need a data center in every community, that’s not necessary at all, people don’t want them, no problem, don’t do it, this is a choice,” Wright said. “But let’s look at that choice rationally. This is going to bring more benefits than it’s going to cost, let’s lean in on it.” U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, also spoke at the rally, praising the region’s role in the industry’s future. “The future starts right here, it’s in Midland, it’s in Odessa, it’s in the Permian Basin all in this great region, we’ve got the resources, we’ve have the technology, and most importantly, the people of the Permian Basin are making this story better and better every single day,” Pfluger said.

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Brandon Herrera says he's a millionaire. His filings don't show it.

With less than three months before Election Day, Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera still hasn’t filed a financial disclosure report that accurately reflects his income. The popular YouTube creator and gun manufacturer, who has repeatedly called himself a millionaire, vowed in early July to refile his paperwork with the U.S. House clerk after the outlet Punchbowl News flagged that it listed his earned income as just $80,000 in 2024. Herrera has also previously said that joining the U.S. House, which comes with a $174,000 salary, would be a “90+% pay cut.” At the time, his campaign manager, Kimmie Gonzalez, told Punchbowl that his team was “working to submit a revised financial disclosure report within the coming weeks.”

Gonzalez said this week that the previous filing was done by a friend of Herrera’s, and Herrera is now using the services of the Washington, D.C., law firm Holtzman Vogel. “The friend just did not have the experience needed for this level of reporting,” Gonzalez said. “The updated report will be out soon. I don't have a date. I don't have a timeline, but it will be out soon.” Herrera is running to succeed former U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, who stepped down this year amid backlash over an affair he had with a staffer who later died by suicide. The district, which includes San Antonio, Uvalde and a large swath of West Texas, leans Republican but Democrats see an opportunity to flip the seat. Herrera is required by law to file a financial disclosure, but as a candidate, he’s not mandated to refile it if discrepancies arise. Doug Spencer, a law professor at the University of Colorado who specializes in campaign finance regulation, said it’s rare for a candidate’s past filings to be called into question by the committee once they take office.

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Studies say Austin-San Antonio passenger rail requires $13 billion or a route Union Pacific resists

A passenger rail link between Austin and San Antonio, long dreamed about by local officials and commuters who would rather watch YouTube than white-knuckle it between semi-trucks on I-35, is now being presented with two very different paths forward. But the cheaper of those two paths is already running into the same obstacle that helped kill the last serious effort: Union Pacific says its freight railroad still doesn't have capacity for any more passenger trains beyond the extremely limited existing service. Amtrak's slow rolling Texas Eagle runs only once a day, and even that service arrives on schedule just 56% of the time. The other option would build an all-new, mostly elevated railroad starting at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and following State Highway 130 to Interstate 10. That avoids Union Pacific but bypasses the biggest population centers between Austin and San Antonio. It also comes with a much heftier price tag: $13.5 billion.

The two choices are laid out in separate studies released this summer, both prepared by engineering firm HNTB. TxDOT published a study in June that considered adding passenger trains to the existing Union Pacific corridor. This week, Travis County released the study on whether a new railroad could be built along SH 130 and I-10. The 62-page report cost almost $125,000. At a high level, engineers found either concept could work. But the studies also exposed the tradeoffs that have prevented Austin-San Antonio passenger rail from becoming a reality, despite millions of dollars spent on studies and planning. On paper, the Union Pacific option is more affordable. TxDOT studied running up to eight round trips a day between Austin and San Antonio, with stops in New Braunfels and San Marcos. The most ambitious scenario would require almost $1.9 billion in new tracks, signals, stations and other infrastructure. Annual operation and maintenance costs could top $61 million. But that study came with an major limitation: Union Pacific declined to participate. So TxDOT had to make assumptions about how passenger and freight trains could use the railroad by relying on federal data and "engineering judgment." Union Pacific is now making clear it disagrees with the premise of the study.

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Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee sues CenterPoint after lineman's death

The family of a 28-year-old Texas City lineman who was fatally shocked while working on CenterPoint Energy’s electric system is suing the utility, alleging his crew had been told the lines were de-energized when they were actually live. Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee announced Aug. 20 that he had filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ryne Cooper’s family. Cooper died Aug. 11 while working on CenterPoint’s system, according to records provided by Buzbee. The lawsuit alleges CenterPoint and Cooper’s employer, Power Contracting LLC, failed to follow basic safeguards for high-voltage work, including accurately identifying and de-energizing lines and confirming they were safe before the crew began working. CenterPoint said it does not comment on pending litigation.

Cooper, 28, and his crew were working on lines they had been told were de-energized but were instead live, the lawsuit alleges. While setting new poles, Cooper operated a switch and came into contact with an energized line, according to the lawsuit. Three crew members were injured while trying to pull him away, including one who remained hospitalized, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit claims CenterPoint was negligent and grossly negligent for failing to "exercise reasonable care with the extraordinary dangers of high-voltage electricity, including the duty to accurately identify and de-energize its lines before representing them as dead, to issue accurate maps, switching orders, and clearances, and to maintain its switching equipment in safe working condition." Power Contracting LLC, an electrical infrastructure contractor affiliated with Pike Corporation and Cooper’s employer, was hired by CenterPoint Energy and is also named in the lawsuit. In an email, Buzbee said he has sued CenterPoint "far too many times for far too many widows."

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HPD says Flock vandalism stalled attempted child kidnapping probe

Houston police said Thursday night that vandalism of Flock license plate cameras hindered their investigation of an attempted child kidnapping. At a community meeting at a downtown police station, Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz said the department received a report Sunday that a man had tried to lure a third-grade student into his car at Memorial Elementary's SPARK Park. Officers have yet to identify a suspect and are unable to track the car he was driving because three nearby license plate cameras had been cut down. "Unfortunately, some person that's not really cool with the license plate reader technology chose to cut the three down," Diaz said. "We're kind of hindered by that, but we're still working on it."

The case adds to Houston's escalating debate over automated license plate readers. Critics have raised privacy concerns about the technology, while law enforcement officials say the cameras can provide valuable evidence in criminal investigations. Flock cameras automatically photograph passing vehicles and record license plate information that police can search during investigations. Cameras across Houston have recently been cut down or spray-painted. Diaz said officers canvassed the area around Memorial Elementary on Sunday and contacted Houston ISD about the attempted kidnapping. He also said residents in the area have declined to share footage from their home security cameras, further hindering the investigation. Police ask anyone who may have seen a man driving a red sedan around Memorial Elementary on Sunday to contact them.

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Harris County committee recommends $40,000 pay boost for treasurer, despite effort to eliminate position

Despite commissioners vowing to eliminate her position, a Harris County committee established to field elected officials’ salary complaints voted to give County Treasurer Carla Wyatt a $40,000 pay raise. The recommendation will go before Harris County Commissioners Court for a final vote on her salary increase. Wyatt, a 24-year veteran of the county, asked the nine-member salary grievance committee for a 119% pay increase Thursday to bring her salary from $139,000 to $305,000 — about $50,000 more than she had originally requested in an official grievance filing.

Wyatt’s request, which was quickly struck down by the committee made up of community members, would have brought her pay in line with recent raises approved for other elected officials, including the county and district attorneys. County commissioners also approved major pay boosts for each of the eight elected county constables earlier this month. With a final upcoming vote on the county budget, they will also be paid $305,000 — higher than the U.S. vice president’s salary. Wyatt said she serves the same number of residents as other county officials who received pay boosts, and pointed blame at the court for not increasing her pay to match theirs. “I have been here, I’m a countywide elected official, the people of Harris County put me here, and so I plan to continue to serve them in this capacity,” Wyatt said Thursday. “I don’t intend to be disrespected.”

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Suzanne Bellsnyder: The voucher numbers are in. Rural Texas isn’t surprised.

I’ve spent two decades in and around the Texas Capitol, working with Republican officeholders who believed in school choice as part of a larger accountability system. That’s exactly why the first numbers on Texas’ billion-dollar voucher program should trouble conservatives, not just critics. The newly appointed Texas Comptroller has released data showing who is using Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA), also known to the rest of us as vouchers. The results won’t surprise those of us in rural Texas. Well, well, well. You don’t say. Participation is concentrated in urban areas where private schools exist, and many of the students slated to receive the money were already attending private school or being homeschooled.

A program sold as an escape route for children trapped in failing public schools is functioning largely as a taxpayer subsidy for choices families had already made. “No Texas child should be trapped in a failing school or forced to attend a school that is unable to provide the services they need,” Comptroller Don Huffines said. That was the pitch. But approximately 70% of students who had joined the program or still had pending invitations were already attending private school or being homeschooled. Senate Bill 2, passed in 2025, created the program, and lawmakers appropriated $1 billion for its first year. The standard private-school award is $10,474. More than 274,000 students applied, and approximately 101,600 had confirmed participation by August 13. To be fair, supporters can point to several outcomes as wins. Four in five participants in the annual report came from households earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level—about $66,000 for a family of four—and nearly one-fourth had a documented disability.

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Westlake mayor defends data center on Keller border but admits it’s a 'tough situation'

It doesn’t feel good to be called a bad neighbor, Westlake Mayor Kim Greaves said Tuesday. But that was the accusation made over and over during a fiery meeting on Monday by one Keller resident after another. Greaves told WFAA it was “terrible.” “There’s no other word for it,” he said. “I feel bad for the situation. But this issue is really around, does the town of Westlake have a right for economic development the way we see fit inside our own borders?” Westlake was about to approve a development agreement with PowerHouse to build a 1.1 million-square-foot data center on a parcel of land on Highway 377.

The center would be more than 3,000 feet from homes in Westlake. But just 500 feet from homes in neighboring Keller. It's a discrepancy Greaves says Keller bears some responsibility for, because he says Keller rezoned the adjacent land, allowing homes to be built beside property they have no control over. “There’s unintended consequences when you take a piece of land that was industrial commercial, you change that, next to another town that is industrial commercial,” Greaves said. “And we’ve been very consistent last three administrations that that is the beginning of the Alliance corridor.” The Alliance corridor is a massive tech and logistics hub in Tarrant County. “It’s just a terrible situation, but should we be penalized for our economic development for decisions they made years ago?” Greaves asked. Tuesday night, Keller’s city council unanimously approved authorizing special counsel for the city to “take all steps necessary to take legal action” to try to stop the data center from being built. “We find no joy in this decision, but are confident exploring every legal avenue is in the in best interest of Keller and our residents,” Keller Mayor Ross McMullin said.

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Blue Origin appears to have homed in on a site in Hutto

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Enterprises LP appears to have squared in on a site for its potentially game-changing project in Hutto. Public documents tie the company for the first time by name to the project in Hutto, a small-but-booming suburb about 35 miles northeast of Austin. It has been described as a more than $850 million project that could create 2,000 jobs – and span at least 1.3 million square feet of manufacturing, research-and-development, warehouse and logistics space. It also now appears, based on those same documents, that Blue Origin is eyeing the Hutto Crossing development for at least a portion of the project. The 118-acre development is owned by a joint venture of Dallas-based Velocis, Austin-based Ironwood Realty Partners LLC and California-based MBK Industrial Properties.

That's all according to an Aug. 20 special meeting agenda for the Williamson County Commissioners Court. The commissioners at that meeting unanimously approved an incentives agreement with entities tied to Blue Origin and the Hutto Crossing development team. The project was previously referred to in executive session discussions as "Project Speed Racer." The agreement, which was discussed primarily in executive session before being voted on publicly, is related to the "construction and operation of approximately one million square foot of industrial research space in Hutto, Texas for research, development, inspection, testing, and manufacturing related to the aerospace and defense industry," according to the county documents. County Judge Steven Snell said he's excited about the "potential partnership if the deal comes home." He said the incentive is contingent on a $674 million investment in real and personal property, and the creation of 2,000 jobs at full buildout. Those full-time positions would come with an average salary of $88,000. It includes an initial lease and the potential to build another site in the future. The County opted to match Hutto's incentives, which have not been publicly disclosed.

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Concerns about the New World screwworm have put Texas pet adoptions on hold

Adoptions are on hold for thousands of dogs and cats in Texas, potentially putting the animals at risk of being euthanized, because of efforts to stop the spread of the New World screwworm, an insect that has crossed the border from Mexico into the United States for the first time in 60 years. The flesh-eating parasite threatens the nation’s $113 billion beef industry, prompting federal officials to close the border to cattle movements. Because the screwworm also can infect pets, most states have restricted the movement of animals from infested areas of Texas, leading to crowded conditions in state shelters that rely on adoptions to other regions of the country. “It’s thrown a wrench into things, for small rescues as well as the bigger shelters,” said Mia Bendixsen, executive director of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, which promotes animal welfare laws.

The screwworm can lay eggs that hatch into flesh-eating larvae in the wounds or mucous of any mammal, and of the dozens of infections in southern Texas and southeastern New Mexico, several have been in dogs. Forty-four states have restricted the movements of pets from infested areas, creating a hardship for shelters from Texas that typically send thousands of animals to other states each year. In an AP interview, the shelter director for the Houston Humane Society, Aaron Grady, says the New World screwworm outbreak is complicating the annual flow of dogs and cats from Texas to other states. In Corpus Christi, the Gulf Coast Humane Society couldn’t get rescued dogs into New York state for weeks, causing the shelter’s animal population to climb from around 325 to nearly 450.The shelter, which sends about 500 dogs a year outside Texas, created more space in outdoor exercise areas until New York again allowed dogs from Texas — if a veterinarian first certified that each one wasn’t infected with the screwworm. She added that if her shelter doesn’t have space to take animals from municipal shelters, “then they have to euthanize more animals.”

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National Stories

California draws more startup investment than all other 49 states combined

California is in the midst of a record-shattering investment wave, fueled by the artificial-intelligence boom in Silicon Valley. Companies based in the Golden State have drawn around $366 billion of venture capital since the beginning of the year, according to data provider PitchBook. That’s more than three times the amount of venture funding that has gone into the other 49 states combined, and nearly double California’s previous record, set in 2025. New York state ranks a distant second in venture-capital investment, with $27 billion in deals announced so far this year. California’s funding keeps coming despite the threat of a billionaire tax that detractors, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have warned could scare off investors.

Thus far, at least, investments in the biggest AI companies are keeping the frenzy going while the state’s billionaire class waits to see if voters back the new levy in November. The capital pouring into AI has supercharged housing prices in San Francisco and created a new class of millionaires overnight. But the boom is reverberating beyond the tech-centric Bay Area: the money has also helped ease the state government’s chronic budget deficit by helping push income-tax revenues well above forecasts. In May 2025, California’s finance department projected $126 billion in personal-income tax revenues for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Actual income taxes instead generated around $147 billion, as AI enthusiasm fueled a soaring stock market and boosted compensation for tech workers. Future initial public offerings of young AI companies that are raising venture funding today will produce additional tax revenue from capital gains. The windfall hasn’t solved California’s long-term budget challenges but has given state leaders some unexpected, near-term flexibility.

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As USS Lincoln heads home, mental health experts tally the stressors of life at sea

The USS Abraham Lincoln — which has been participating in U.S. military operations in the war with Iran — is now on its way home. The roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard that ship have spent a grueling nine months at sea with little relief. Reports have emerged of deteriorating conditions — and of deteriorating mental health, including apparent attempts by crewmembers to jump overboard. The Navy has not confirmed those reports and NPR has not independently verified them. "A small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life," Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said in a statement last week. Experts say while the physical circumstances are difficult, a lack of careful and consistent messaging from leadership at the highest levels also contributed to the crews' mental distress.

The USS Lincoln is like a small city, according to Armen Kurdian, a retired U.S. Navy captain who served aboard the aircraft carrier in 2005. The labor aboard the carrier, he says, can be uniquely physical and difficult. "?It takes a toll on your body," says Kurdian. "The plane captains are out there on the flight deck — you know, these 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds lugging these 100-pound chains on their backs in 120-degree weather." He describes dehydration and exhaustion as pilots have to take off and land on the carriers, sometimes at night and in bad weather, and "then just being mentally prepared to go fly because lives are at stake." In the off-hours, Kurdian says there is little to no privacy, with people sleeping in crowded quarters. While difficult, these conditions can be bearable, he adds. But experts say once uncertainty is thrown into this equation, it can push people to their mental brink.

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The Democrats’ one neat trick to try to win a Senate majority

The battle for the Senate in 2026 comes with some fascinating wrinkles: In a trio of races — Idaho, Nebraska and South Dakota — the Democrat has dropped out to help an independent try to win in a red state. But this strategy has already been attempted in a handful of Senate races in recent years, and it has yet to actually work — at least at the federal level. So … could it this year? It remains unlikely. But history suggests it’s worth it to keep trying. It at least gives Democrats a better shot of depriving Republicans of seats in states where a Democratic nominee probably wouldn’t have a chance at winning. In fact, when this setup has been tried, Republicans have had some of their worst Senate results in recent history in those states.

The big examples of this strategy in recent years have been the independent candidacies of Kansas’ Greg Orman in 2014, Utah’s Evan McMullin in 2022 and Nebraska’s Dan Osborn in 2024. Osborn, a Navy veteran and union organizer, is trying again in 2026. He’s joined in Idaho by Todd Achilles, a former state House member, and in South Dakota by Brian Bengs, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who previously ran for Senate as a Democrat. Osborn’s race two years ago was arguably the most successful use of this strategy to date in a Senate race. While he lost, he held GOP Sen. Deb Fischer to a considerably lower share of the vote (53%) than President Donald Trump took on the same ballot (59%). Osborn’s 7-point loss was also significantly closer than Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ 21-point loss. Fischer’s performance was also the worst for a Republican in Nebraska since Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson last won the state 20 years ago.

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Progressive overcomes AIPAC opposition to win race to replace Swalwell

Aisha Wahab, a progressive Democratic state senator, defeated Melissa Hernandez, a moderate Democrat, in a special election to replace Eric Swalwell in California, according to The Associated Press. Mr. Swalwell abruptly resigned in April amid accusations of sexual misconduct. Ms. Wahab was widely seen as the front-runner to represent California’s 14th Congressional District, after she won the June primary for the race with 43 percent of the vote. But this week’s election results were far tighter, and the race was too close to call for two days as local officials continued to count ballots until Thursday. In the closing days of the race, several super PACs — including two with ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — spent millions on advertisements on television and social media targeting the district’s voters in the suburbs east of San Francisco.

United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, spent roughly $2.5 million, primarily denouncing Ms. Wahab. Neither candidate had made foreign policy central to their campaign. But the race became the latest in a string of Democratic primaries that pitted candidates from the more progressive faction of the party against those from the establishment wings in a kind of proxy battle over Israel. This month, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan after AIPAC spent $32 million in an attempt to defeat him. Dr. El-Sayed won in part by making criticism of the group central to his campaign. Ms. Wahab’s victory is another sign of the committee’s weakened influence in Democratic primaries, even through its constant heavy spending. Another super PAC that spent nearly $300,000 to support Ms. Wahab was specifically created to counter AIPAC money.

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As local news dies, white nationalists see an opening

As economic pressures gut local newsrooms across the country, white nationalist figures see an untapped opening: stepping into media deserts where there are few journalists left to sound the alarm. “Local media has been dying all over America, which means that there’s essentially no real way to hold local governments accountable—and they can do whatever they want,” Kevin DeAnna told an invitation-only gathering of approximately 50 white nationalists in Rome. Breaking into a broad smile, he excitedly added: “You should be fantasizing about this. This is a good thing.” DeAnna, a prolific propagandist who has operated under a variety of pseudonyms and who has called for turning the country into a White ethnostate, celebrated the decline of local media earlier this year during an annual retreat hosted by the white nationalist Counter Currents publishing house.`

“So, if you wanna get the most bang for your buck, activate rural America—‘cause that’s where White people are,” DeAnna argued in a video that was just recently posted online. “And these are White people that are not voting. These are White people who are angry and who are radical and have no one talking to them.” DeAnna’s remarks were part of a “Pitch to a Billionaire” panel during the Rome retreat that focused on how white nationalists could solicit funding from the world’s wealthiest people. Ironically, the white nationalist figure met with tech billionaire Peter Thiel in 2016, according to reporting by BuzzFeed and the Southern Poverty Law Center. “DeAnna’s work under the pseudonym ‘Gregory Hood’ drew upon foundational white nationalist and neo-Nazi texts that have inspired numerous acts of domestic terrorism,” SPLC senior researcher Hannah Gais wrote.

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Federal government thins the herds of wild horses in Colorado

A helicopter swooped through the bright blue sky, as a pilot scanned the high desert below for wild horses running through the dusty sagebrush, about an hour's drive west of Meeker, Colorado. A small group of reporters and horse lovers watched from the cover of wizened trees, about a mile from a pen that would trap the horses. Horse advocate Robyn Smith spotted the first group of the day. Through her high-powered camera lens, she watched about half a dozen horses of various colors galloping together. "It makes me happy they're living their best life," said Smith, a retired architect who has traveled across the West to photograph wild horses. "And it's just such a beautiful thing to see when you're just wild and free like that."

But she knew what would come next. Soon the helicopter was hovering above the horses, including a baby. They ran away from the loud buzz and toward the pen, just out of view. Scenes like this are common across the American West. The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), part of the U.S. Interior Department, oversees both wild horses and the public rangeland they call home across 10 Western states. When the agency determines there are more horses than the land can support, it removes a set number. For this gathering event in rural Colorado, about 1,000 are slated for capture. Most of the gathered horses will end up in controversial long-term holding facilities that some horse advocates equate with prisons. As Smith watched the horses gather in the pen, she clicked her camera's shutter in rapid fire and started to cry. She explained that once captured, the horses will be separated. The BLM reunites particularly young foals with their mothers. Otherwise, none of the horses will likely be together again. "That's a family. That's a family out there," Smith said through tears. "It's a family broken."

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'I heard you missed me': Melania Trump turns heads in patriotic Rose Garden look for major announcement

First lady Melania Trump made a memorable return to the White House Rose Garden Thursday, greeting the crowd with a playful five-word message before an announcement filled with patriotism and horsepower. "I heard you missed me. Here I am," Trump said as she took the podium, as the crowd — including President Donald Trump — erupted in laughter. The first lady stood before a wall of American flags in a crisp sky-blue oversized Michael Kors shirt with the collar popped and a vivid red Dior pencil skirt, echoing the patriotic setting. She completed the look with red Manolo Blahnik suede pumps.

And Trump's clothes weren't the only thing turning heads. Sitting nearby was an IndyCar decked out in red, white and blue and carrying the branding of the first lady's "BE BEST" and Fostering the Future initiatives. Trump couldn't resist giving the machine her own review. "Look at this incredible race car," she told the crowd. "Gorgeous and powerful." The car brought horsepower to the White House grounds just days before IndyCar drivers are set to roar through the nation's capital for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. Six-time IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon joined Trump alongside 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi, Graham Rahal and Scott McLaughlin. IndyCar President Doug Boles said the cars will blast through the capital at speeds exceeding 180 mph, passing the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument and racing around the National Mall. He described the event as a "massive and very fast spectacle" marking America's 250th birthday.

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Copyright August 29, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved