Lead Stories

Mexico takes on cartels as killing of drug kingpin sparks violence

Mexico’s military killed the country’s most powerful drug kingpin, Nemesio “Mencho” Oseguera, escalating the government’s war against cartels amid pressure from President Trump to curb narcotics trafficking and sparking a widespread, violent gang response. Oseguera, a former Mexican police officer, was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The cartel also controls vast fuel-smuggling schemes and other underworld rackets across Mexico and the U.S., Mexican authorities said. Oseguera’s killing marks the most significant operation yet in Mexico’s recent crackdown on cartels. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has expelled more than 100 convicted drug traffickers to the U.S. to appease rising demands from Trump, who has pressured Sheinbaum to allow U.S. military forces in the fight against drug gangs. So far she has rejected direct U.S. involvement but has strengthened security and intelligence cooperation.

Mexico’s Security Ministry said the country’s special forces killed Oseguera in the rural municipality of Tapalpa—close to Ajijic, a lakeshore community with a large American retiree community. The ministry said the country’s central military intelligence unit planned and executed the operation with Mexico’s armed forces, including the country’s air force and an elite national-guard unit trained to fight cartels. U.S. authorities provided “supplementary information.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Oseguera was a top target for the Mexican and U.S. governments. Last year, Trump designated the Jalisco cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, she wrote on X. Oseguera controlled vast swaths of territory in Jalisco state and beyond and was known for sophisticated paramilitary tactics. He had been expanding his influence and was locked in a bloody struggle for control of neighboring Michoacán state. The U.S. had a $15 million bounty on Oseguera. He rarely left his mountain compound, according to authorities. Few photos of him circulate. The cadre of men protecting Oseguera, known as the Special Force of the High Command, carry heat-seeking, shoulder-fired rocket launchers capable of piercing a tank, people familiar with cartel operations said.

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Texas Senate race: New poll shows Jasmine Crockett could beat Ken Paxton

A new poll shows U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett with the best chances to topple Republicans in the Texas U.S. senate race in the general election. A poll from Hart Research shows Crockett, a Dallas Democrat, beating Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a General Election matchup for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Paxton is currently polling ahead of Cornyn, though the Republican primary will likely be headed for a runoff. “I’ve been doing the work and fighting on behalf of Texans since before I entered this race," Crockett said in a news release. "Voters know my leadership and trust me to fight for them. Texas voters are smarter than DC would have you believe. Texans can cut through the noise and won’t be swayed by pundits nor podcasters."

Crockett is currently locked in a tight primary battle with Texas state Rep. James Talarico, an Austin Democrat whose recent appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" has immensely bolstered his name recognition and campaign war chest. The poll also confronted voters with the kind of negative ads likely to crop up if Crockett wins the primary, but those polled were unmoved by the attacks. “I’m up with Latino voters and young people, independents favor me by a double-digit margin, and I am the preferred candidate of working-class voters," she said. "This is who we need to rebuild our winning democratic coalition." On the Republican side, Paxton is looking to use his endorsement from Turning Point Action — the PAC for Turning Point USA, the organization founded by Charlie Kirk — to bolster his lead on Cornyn. A new ad from Paxton's campaign features Kirk, who was assassinated last year, praising him as an “American patriot” and “amazing, Constitution-loving” attorney general “who’s doing a great job.” “Charlie Kirk is an inspiration to millions of people across the world, and I’m blessed to have known him and called him a friend,” Paxton said in a news release. “Right now, we are in a civilizational battle to save America and our future, and we must have conservative warriors willing to go to battle against the radical Left. I’m honored to be the Turning Point Action-endorsed leader to fight for Texas in the Senate, and I will continue to work tirelessly to defend the freedoms of the next generation.”

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Trump Administration backs off shutdown suspension of TSA PreCheck

The Department of Homeland Security said Sunday that its TSA PreCheck program would remain operational, contradicting an earlier statement from the agency announcing that the service would be suspended alongside Global Entry, another airport security screening program. The popular programs allow travelers to proceed through security checkpoints faster by allowing for advance vetting, and any suspension will likely lead to greater wait times for passengers at airports across the country. “As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly,” a TSA spokesperson said in a statement. Earlier Sunday morning, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that both the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection would be “prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry” during the department’s ongoing funding lapse.

In addition to the programs for the general public, DHS is also suspending its customary security escorts for members of Congress and their families traveling through airports. “Without appropriations, TSA simply cannot afford to risk overstretching our staff and weakening our security posture,” the statement said. “Until funding is restored, all travelers should expect a process that does not sacrifice security, but refocuses TSA officers to standard screening procedures.” The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the reinstatement of TSA PreCheck came after conversations with the White House. Congressional Democrats blocked a DHS funding bill from passing as part of the larger federal appropriations budget earlier this year, triggering a partial government shutdown for the department. Lawmakers failed to successfully negotiate while a two-week temporary funding package was in place, and ultimately returned to their districts on Feb. 13 without any resolution to the impasse. Democrats are pushing for a host of reforms to the agency following the shooting deaths of two American citizens during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis earlier this year.

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Europe hits back at ‘pure tariff chaos’ from the U.S., warning trade deals are at risk

Europe has warned that trade deals struck with the U.S. could now be at risk after President Donald Trump unveiled a new global 15% tariff on all imports at the weekend. Trump’s move came after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down his global tariffs policy, implemented last spring, that had upset the long-standing global trading order. The president reacted to the Supreme Court’s judgment by initially announcing a new universal 10% levy, using a different legal framework for the latest tariffs, but then increased the global tariff rate to 15% — the legal maximum which can be in place for 150 days before Congressional approval is required. The new import duties are “effective immediately,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday.

Officials in Europe and London expressed alarm and consternation at the latest upheaval in global trade relations, saying Trump’s new tariff policy could upend trade deals signed with the U.S. last year. They asked for more clarity from the White House as to what the new tariff policy framework means in practice for their respective trade deals, which saw most EU exports to the States hit with a 15% duty, and those from the U.K. slapped with a 10% levy. “Pure tariff chaos from the U.S. administration,” the Chair of the European Parliament’s committee on International Trade, Bernd Lange, reacted to the White House on Sunday. “No one can make sense of it anymore — only open questions and growing uncertainty for the EU and other U.S. trading partners,” Lange wrote on social media platform X.

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State Stories

Pro-AI network to spend $5M in Texas GOP primaries

Leading the Future, a super PAC network backed by AI industry executives, will spend $5 million in the upcoming House GOP primaries in Texas. That spending begins today when the bipartisan network will launch a $500,000 ad buy to boost Jessica Steinmann, a MAGA lawyer running for an open red House seat in the greater Houston area. The network will run ads supporting her on broadcast, cable, streaming and digital. Steinmann is the clear front-runner for the seat, which was vacated by retiring Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas). A top Steinmann opponent ended his campaign when Steinmann nabbed an endorsement from President Donald Trump. “We believe the races in Texas present a unique opportunity to usher in a new class of pro-innovation candidates who will work together to enact an agenda that creates more economic opportunity for working families,” said Zac Moffatt, a co-strategist for Leading the Future.

Leading the Future plans to part with millions of dollars this cycle to elect AI-friendly candidates. The upcoming $5 million investment is in addition to what the network is already spending to help Chris Gober, a lawyer who is running for retiring GOP Rep. Michael McCaul’s (Texas) open seat. Texas’ primaries are set for March 3, but any race where a candidate does not clear 50% of the vote will advance to a May 26 runoff. Leading the Future is likely to be active in those runoffs. Besides McCaul and Luttrell, Texas GOP Reps. Chip Roy, Jodey Arrington, Troy Nehls and Wesley Hunt are also either retiring or running for a different office. That leaves plenty of opportunities for the network to help shape the future of the Texas delegation. Leading the Future is backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Greg Brockman, the president of OpenAI, and his wife Anna. In New York, the network is spending to oppose Alex Bores, who is running for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-N.Y.) seat.

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Southwest Airlines, American Airlines cancel flights to Puerto Vallarta

North Texas’ hometown carriers Southwest Airlines and American Airlines canceled flights to parts of Mexico Sunday after the country’s army killed the leader of a powerful cartel during an operation to capture him. “Southwest Airlines has canceled the four flights we had scheduled to fly into Puerto Vallarta today and the four turns back,” the company told The Dallas Morning News in an email. “We will set up extra sections to support our Customers affected by today’s cancellations, once it is safe to do so. Nothing is more important to Southwest Airlines than the Safety of our customers and our employees,” the company said in the email.

Southwest is the dominant carrier at Dallas Love Field, where it operates 18 of the 20 gates. American, which operates its central hub at DFW International Airport, told The News in a statement that it canceled flights to and from Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara for the remainder of the day. The airline said it had issued a travel alert to allow affected customers to rebook travel plans without change fees. “We will continue to monitor the situation and make any additional changes to our operation as necessary to ensure the safety and security of our customers and team members,” American said in the statement. American was originally scheduled to operate three flights from DFW Airport to Puerto Vallarta International Airport and four flights back, according to scheduling data from Diio by Cirium. American also had four flights scheduled between Guadalajara and DFW Airport on Sunday, according to Diio. Southwest operates flights to Puerto Vallarta from other markets it serves but does not have flights between Dallas and Puerto Vallarta because it cannot fly internationally from Love Field due to the remnants of a law passed in 1979. Other major airlines like Air Canada, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines warned that flights to the region may be disrupted.

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Harris County fails third consecutive jail financial audit since 2022

A January audit of Harris County inmates’ commissary accounts identified critical oversights and financial control failures, including violations of state law and county policies. It’s the latest in a trio of reports published by the Harris County Auditor’s Office since 2022 that have warned of inadequate or non-existent documentation, excessive employee access to sensitive financial information and discrepancies between the jail’s inmate management and commissary account systems. According to the audit, the sheriff’s office was unable to provide receipts for payments made from inmate’s bank accounts across a two-month period, which one expert called “unusual.”

“I find that to be unusual,” said Todd Buikema, principal technical adviser of accounting and reporting for the Government Financial Officers Association, a nonprofit that advises local governments on financial policy and accounting. “According to this, none of the payments made during the period they examined were substantiated.” The audit, which was published Jan. 23, identified five major problems — three of them labeled “repeat issues” — that auditors said significantly increased the risk of fraud. Among the findings was an ongoing failure on behalf of the sheriff’s office to proactively release funds to inmates after they are released, which was identified in both the 2026 audit and a previous report published in 2023. Both audits found the sheriff’s office relied on former inmates to reach out and request their funds, which is a violation of the Texas Government Code.

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Topo Chico Mineral Water temporarily unavailable in US, company says

Topo Chico Mineral Water is unavailable in the United States until later this year, Coca-Cola, the brand’s owner, said in a statement. The company’s statement said the product will be temporarily unavailable while the company makes facility upgrades at the water source and production facilities in Mexico. “As always, safety and quality are the company’s top priorities,” the statement said. The company said they aim to have the mineral water product back later this year.

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Massive data center planned near Texas dinosaur park sparks outcry

Footprints left by dinosaurs 113 million years ago have survived floods, droughts and shifting riverbeds in North Texas. Now, residents say they could face a new threat: a proposed industrial data center complex the size of a small city. A 2,600-acre development planned for the Paluxy Valley near Dinosaur Valley State Park would bring dozens of warehouse-sized server buildings and multiple natural gas power plants to the rural landscape that feeds the Paluxy River—the same river where the park's world-famous dinosaur tracks are preserved. The proposal has ignited a fight over water, air quality and who controls development in fast-growing parts of Texas, as artificial intelligence fuels a surge in data center construction statewide.

The Fort Worth Group of the Sierra Club is urging residents to oppose three air quality permits tied to the project's associated power generation. In an action alert, the group is asking Texans to submit comments to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and request a public meeting or contested case hearing. Support for the park has exploded on social media in recent weeks, with posts about the proposal widely shared and residents urging others to participate in the action alert and submit comments to state regulators. Brian Crawford, who lives along the Hood and Somervell county line and is involved with Protect the Paluxy Valley Inc., said Sailfish Investors has contingent contracts on roughly 2,100 acres of continuous property in the valley. He said the project was initially pitched as a five-gigawatt data center but now appears closer to three gigawatts—a scale that would likely require three large natural gas power plants. NRG Energy has submitted an air quality permit to TCEQ for the first 1.2-gigawatt combined-cycle gas turbine plant, Crawford said, describing the facilities as "massive power plants." Concept plans presented to Hood County commissioners show 45 buildings of about 450,000 square feet each—more than 20 million square feet in total. Crawford compared the footprint to roughly 112 Walmart Supercenters. He also estimates the site would require around 2,000 diesel backup generators.

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AGC fears North Texas road construction could be delayed if Congress doesn’t pass funding bill

Construction is nearly complete on a new bridge to connect westbound traffic from Interstate 820 to Interstate 30. The $267 million mobility project, which includes multiple bridges at the intersection of the two highways, will improve traffic flow for travelers headed west from Fort Worth to Aledo, officials said. But contractors are worried that road improvements could stop — and potentially hamper growth in Texas — if Congress does not pass the Surface Transportation Bill to expand funding before the current funding expires at the end of September. The Associated General Contractors of America launched a $2 million nationwide campaign called America’s Moving Forward to educate the public about transportation funding.

“Improving highways and transportation systems makes it easier for companies to thrive and expand by lowering shipping costs, accelerating deliveries and connecting firms to clients and investors,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the contractors organization. Without a long-term transportation bill in place, Simonson said, “it is hard to see how the DFW area will be able to sustain its meteoric job growth.” Between December 2020 and December 2025, 47,100 construction jobs — a 22% increase — were added to the North Texas economy. Construction has allowed North Texas to grow faster than 14 other metro areas in the country over the past five years, according to data from the contractors organization. In June 2025, a long-range regional transportation plan outlining $217.3 billion in needs for North Texas road, rail and air quality improvements through 2050 was approved by the Regional Transportation Council, an independent policy group of the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Fort Worth city officials are also developing a Moving a Million comprehensive mobility plan to prioritize road projects and align them with state and regional 2050 plans. Clint Henson, director of special projects for Zachry Construction Corp. and president of the Associated General Contractors of Texas, said highway projects like the one at I-30 and I-820 “represent growth for workers, businesses and the communities that surround projects like this.” The funding bill is needed later this year as contractors and transportation officials begin planning road projects years in advance, Henson said.

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San Antonio-area Congressional primaries get push from PACs

The Texas primary election got a late start this year, while the courts were still deciding whether to allow the GOP’s new congressional maps. Now party leaders and PACs are swooping in at the last minute to boost candidates who lack the time and resources needed to find voters shuffled around by redistricting, according to campaign finance reports due Thursday. Roughly 43% of Bexar County voters are now in a different congressional district than the last time they voted, according to the county elections department. Yet the latest numbers released indicated that few campaigns had brought in the type of money needed to introduce themselves in the six weeks leading up to early voting. One exception is the heated GOP primary rematch in Texas 23rd Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio) and YouTube creator Brandon Herrera spent a combined $1.9 million from their campaign accounts between Jan. 1 and Feb. 11.

But in the two races without incumbents on the ballot, candidates are leaning on endorsements, personal money, grassroots organizing, and TV ads from outside groups to get their name out to voters. “The timeline has been truncated,” San Antonio political strategist Bert Santibañez said of the adjustment to new congressional districts. “You have cut through the noise to make an introduction in some of these new districts… [but] just based on the timeline [this year], that accelerated spending probably has to be done by outside groups.” In the newly created Texas’ 35th Congressional District, that means TV ads linking longtime sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia to his popular, well-known boss, Sheriff Javier Salazar. Bigger-name Democrats passed on an opening that was drawn to favor Republicans, and now the party is scrambling to shore up a first-time candidate whose campaign spent just $120,000 in the six weeks before early voting. A PAC aligned with the Congressional Blue Dog Caucus spent $300,000 on the pro-Garcia ads ahead of the four-way primary, in which one of the other Democrats accused them of turning politics into a “chessboard.”

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UT’s Women's and Gender Studies won a department. Then came the political pressure

By any measure, 2023 was a golden year for University of Texas students and faculty studying women’s and gender studies. After decades of classes and years of advocacy for more resources, the university approved the field to become an official department. The move meant WGS would have its own full-time faculty, a chair reporting directly to the dean and more money for programming. Faculty celebrated the milestone as a sign their work—and their place on campus—was finally being recognized as valuable. “Both new faculty and long-standing faculty were almost in tears with how impactful it was to feel that sense of belonging,” said Lisa Moore, the director of UT’s Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies department. Moore and her colleagues did not know then how fleeting that feeling would be.

Conservative pressure and the criticism from UT leadership about “overly fragmented” departments have snowballed in recent years: scrutinizing, at times criticizing and—most recently—dismantling the fields. Last week, UT President Jim Davis announced plans to collapse ethnic and gender studies into a new department and review the courses and majors within it. Faculty and students fear consolidating the department with others could threaten individual degree programs, courses, programming, research and faculty jobs. Though all current students will be allowed to continue in their degree programs, Davis has not said if there will be faculty or majors in the future. It’s also unclear when consolidation will occur. Conservatives criticize the courses of study for veering into activism and often describe the curriculum as “indoctrination.” They argue the state shouldn’t fund it and students shouldn’t be forced to take it as part of required curriculum.

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Ken Paxton’s ‘shoddy’ prosecution of a midwife is meant to stretch power. Low-income Houstonians lose.

Houston attorney Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube sat flabbergasted at her desk in early October. A press release from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had just touted the arrest of eight people affiliated with a network of Houston-area medical clinics alleged to have practiced abortion care in violation of the state’s extreme ban. Paxton, currently a U.S. Senate candidate as well, labeled the individuals a so-called “cabal of abortion-loving radicals” and denounced their actions as “evil,” amid an ongoing case. The sensational release served as an update to his office’s earlier announcement of the arrest of the clinics’ founder, 49-year-old midwife Maria Margarita Rojas, last March. “A prosecutor who is truly interested in justice does not blast out a public press release like this to the media while a trial is pending. Nothing has been proven in court yet, and this inflammatory language is just meant to fan the flames of public outcry and poison a jury pool before the facts are heard,” Hochglaube, who serves as Rojas’ criminal defense lawyer, told the Texas Observer. “It’s unethical and irresponsible.”

Rojas is believed to be the first healthcare provider criminally charged for abortion care after the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, and she is certainly the first in Texas. The unprecedented prosecution marks a sharp escalation of Paxton’s zealous ongoing attacks on reproductive health providers—and signals his desire to expand his powers to go after those he believes are in violation of abortion law. Paxton’s office is prosecuting the criminal cases, after the Waller County district attorney referred them over, and his office also initiated a separate civil case to shut the clinics down; a status hearing in Rojas’ criminal case is scheduled for early June, while oral arguments in the civil case, which is on appeal, are set for Thursday in Houston. Hochglaube said Paxton’s “desperate” attempt to smear charged individuals is indicative of the state’s overwhelmingly flimsy argument against the medical workers. On March 17, Paxton announced the arrest of Rojas for purportedly providing an illegal abortion as well as practicing medicine without a license at her network of low-cost clinics in the Waller, Cypress, Katy, and Spring areas of the Houston metro. The next day, he announced the arrest of one of her employees, Jose Ley, on the same charges—specifically noting Ley’s status as a Cuban immigrant paroled in under Joe Biden’s “open borders policies.” To date, a total of nine arrests have been made in the case. Texas enforces one of the strictest criminal abortion bans in the United States, with no exception for rape, incest, or severe fetal abnormality.

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How UTEP leadership decisions led to loss of a potential $160 million grant and derailed El Paso’s aerospace plans

Two years ago, El Paso celebrated grants to coalitions led by the University of Texas at El Paso that could have brought up to $200 million to the region to develop a transformational manufacturing operation focused on defense and aerospace. El Paso business owner Pablo Rodriguez, owner of PROD Design & Analysis, created a subsidiary, PROD Aerospace, in July 2022 to capitalize on anticipated growth in the defense and aerospace industry. It never happened. “We have had zero activities, zero employees, zero revenue. Zero. Zero. Zero,” Rodriguez said last year about his subsidiary, with more disappointment than bitterness. He closed the subsidiary’s bank account in September and shuttered his aerospace company in December. “Everything has been zero.”

El Paso leaders had spent years aiming to transform the area’s economy, banking on defense and aerospace manufacturing as a key driver for that change. Those plans, however, quickly unraveled in the spring of 2024, when UTEP President Heather Wilson, a former congresswoman and secretary of the Air Force during the first Trump Administration, and other university officials raised concerns with the National Science Foundation about an awarded grant application that could have generated as much as $160 million for the region. The NSF suspended the grant on April 25, 2024, and the science foundation’s inspector general began an investigation. NSF killed the grant in August 2025, before the investigation was concluded. Amid the grant’s suspension, Wilson demoted Ahsan Choudhuri, the engineering professor who provided the overall vision for developing the regional economy through aerospace manufacturing.

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Border wall closes in on Big Bend

Plans for a border wall through the Big Bend region of West Texas are raising alarms among residents and elected officials. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intends to build border barriers throughout this remote region of Texas that encompasses ranchland, small towns and a cherished state and national park. Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) waived 28 laws for environmental protection and historical and archeological preservation to expedite construction in a more than 150-mile stretch from Fort Quitman in Hudspeth County to Colorado Canyon in Big Bend Ranch State Park. An online map posted by CBP indicates that “smart wall” construction is planned both within the state park and in neighboring Big Bend National Park. Historically, the number of people crossing unauthorized into the United States in the Big Bend region is much lower than in more urban, populous areas. But since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in July 2025, appropriated $46.5 billion for border wall construction, no region appears to be spared.

While unauthorized border crossings have dropped dramatically in the past two years, the Trump administration is moving forward with the border wall, including in Arizona’s San Rafael Valley and wildlife refuges in South Texas. According to the CBP website, construction for the smart wall can include a steel bollard wall or waterborne barrier, “along with roads, detection technology, cameras and lighting and in some cases a secondary wall.” The Big Bend region in southwest Texas may be next. In Presidio County, the Big Bend Sentinel reported that landowners have been approached about leasing for barrier construction. Marfa Public Radio reported that companies are looking for land for staging areas. The highest elected official for Brewster County, Judge Greg Henington, spoke against the wall during a public appearance in the county seat of Alpine on Feb. 12. Big Bend National Park is in Brewster County. “This county judge sees no reason to go with a border wall in Brewster County,” Henington, a Republican, said. “I get border security, but there are other ways to do it.”

Read this article at Inside Climate News - Subscribers Only

Both sides are running out of water: US and Mexico’s deal amid historic drought

Mexico has committed to delivering 431.7 million cubic meters of water a year to the United States under the 1944 Water Treaty — a deal announced last week after sustained pressure from Washington on Mexico who has often delivered significantly as required by the treaty. The agreement, confirmed by the U.S. State and Agriculture departments, comes after months of negotiation and threats from President Donald Trump to impose higher tariffs on Mexican imports unless Mexico met its water delivery obligations. In a phone call last month, Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reportedly agreed to measures to stabilize deliveries and support rural producers on both sides of the border. President Sheinbaum explained that both sides agreed that the water would be delivered over several months within the framework of the treaty.

“We guarantee human consumption of water in Mexico, as well as part of the irrigation needs, along with a series of infrastructure projects being carried out in the north of the country, particularly irrigation modernization, which allows us to use less water from the Rio Grande to cover farmland in Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas,” the president of Mexico told reporters. Under the treaty, Mexico is expected to deliver an average of 350,000 acre-feet (about 431.7 million cubic meters) annually to the United States over a five-year cycle. While that volume has long been the norm on paper, chronic drought has meant that Mexico has accumulated a “water debt” that U.S. officials estimate at nearly 986 million cubic meters over the last cycle. What’s new is the urgency: Texas farmers and ranchers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, a major agricultural region, have reported serious shortages when treaty deliveries lag, forcing costly shifts in irrigation and crop planning — impacts that local agricultural groups link directly to water deficits.

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Jury selection begins again in Fort Worth for Prairieland shooting defendants after mistrial

The second attempt at a federal trial of nine people connected to the nonfatal July 4 shooting of a police officer outside an immigration detention center begins Monday — one week after a federal judge in Fort Worth declared a mistrial during jury selection. The case stems from what defendants and supporters say was a noise demonstration outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado meant to show support for people inside the facility. The Justice Department alleges the defendants are part of a North Texas Antifa Cell that coordinated the incident to kill ICE agents. A total of 19 people have been arrested in connection with the shooting over the past seven months. Some of the federal defendants face up to life in prison for their charges, which include attempted murder and providing material support to terrorists.

Benjamin Song, the 32-year-old former Marine Corps reservist accused of being the gunman and the group's ringleader, spoke with KERA News from jail and said he was "confident" ahead of the first round of jury selection. "I feel overall that the case has been pretty ridiculous," he said. "The government has harmed a lot of people going overboard here." Seven others facing federal charges pleaded guilty in November and face sentencing in March. Three more defendants face only state charges. Government officials have called this the first-ever federal domestic terrorism case associated with “antifa," short for anti-fascist. President Donald Trump declared the ideology a domestic terror threat last year. Judge Mark Pittman declared a mistrial hours into jury selection last week in response to defense attorney MarQuetta Clayton's shirt featuring American civil rights protest imagery, which he said could send a political message to the jury pool. Clayton could face sanctions for wearing the shirt, which Pittman said violated a court order on dress code.

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National Stories

Mar-a-Lago shooter identified as Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina

A man was shot and killed early Sunday after allegedly breaching the secure perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, the U.S. Secret Service said. The incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. when the suspect made an "unauthorized entry" through the north gate of the resort as another vehicle was exiting. The man has been identified as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw confirmed to Fox News. The suspect was observed carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can. Agents and a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) confronted him.

"They confronted a white male that was carrying a gas can and a shotgun. He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him – at which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position," Bradshaw told reporters. "At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat." Bradshaw said the suspect did not exchange any words with law enforcement officers who instructed the man to "drop the items." The man was pronounced dead at the scene. No Secret Service or PBSO personnel were injured, and no Secret Service protectees were present at the location during the time of the incident, officials said. Trump was at the White House at the time of the breach, even though he frequently spends weekends at Mar-a-Lago, according to The Associated Press. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the man is believed to have bought the shotgun while traveling south, and authorities later discovered the weapon’s box inside his vehicle, The Associated Press reported. The Moore County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that a relative reported Martin missing around 1:38 a.m. Sunday. He was entered into a national missing person database before federal authorities informed local officials they were conducting an active investigation in Florida related to Martin.

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Thanks but no thanks: Trump’s hospital ship plan provokes defense of Greenland health care system

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would deploy a hospital ship to Greenland, alleging that many people there are sick and not receiving care, even though both of the U.S. Navy’s hospital ships are currently docked at a shipyard in Alabama. Trump’s announcement prompted a defense on Sunday of Denmark and Greenland’s health care system from their leaders, and it was the latest point of friction with the American leader who has frequently talked about seizing the massive Arctic territory. “It’s a no thank you from here,” said Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Trump’s social media post about a hospital ship came after Denmark’s military said its arctic command forces on Saturday evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine off the coast of Greenland for urgent medical treatment.

The Danish Joint Arctic Command, on its Facebook page, said the crew member was evacuated some 7 nautical miles (8 miles; 13 kilometers) off Nuuk — the capital of the vast, ice-covered territory — and transferred to a hospital in the city. The crew member was retrieved by a Danish Seahawk helicopter that had been deployed on an inspection ship. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday night, referred to his special envoy for Greenland and said, “Working with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, we are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there. It’s on the way!!!” “We have a public health care system where treatment is free for citizens. That is a deliberate choice — and a fundamental part of our society,” Nielsen said. “That is not how it works in the USA, where it costs money to see a doctor.” He added, in a note of exasperation, that Greenland is always open to dialogue and cooperation. “But please talk to us instead of just making more or less random statements on social media,” he said. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, speaking to public broadcaster DR, said Danish authorities had not been informed that the U.S. ship was on its way. The Pentagon referred questions about the status of the U.S. Navy’s two hospital ships, the USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, to the White House. The White House did not immediately respond to repeated requests for more information. Both ships are currently at a shipyard in Mobile, Ala., according to social media posts from the shipyard, which also posted photos of them next to each other.

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Gov. Wes Moore’s redistricting plan is poised to die. He’s still fighting.

While Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) spent last week in verbal combat with President Donald Trump over a sewage spill, he was also quietly losing his biggest political battle at home. Moore’s months-long fight to redraw Maryland’s congressional maps — and oust its lone Republican member of Congress — produced zero movement among Democrats in the Maryland Senate. Despite a public pressure campaign without modern precedent in this deep-blue state, which typicallyresolves intraparty fights behind closed doors, Tuesday’s unofficial deadline to act on mid-cycle redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms will come and go without fellow Democrats heeding Moore’s demands for a vote. “The window of opportunity is closed for ’26,” said Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), who refuses to redistrict, arguing that the state’s Democrats have already gerrymanderedas much as possible and that further attempts will backfire.

The apparent loss, which Moore vehemently does not concede, draws a sharp contrast between himself and another potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who swiftly persuaded his state’s legislators and voters to redraw five more Democratic-leaning seats in retaliation for Republican gerrymandering done at Trump’s behest in Texas. Other potential 2028 presidential candidates also did not push through redistricting, but Moore stands alone as a Democrat who vowed to fight Trump with a redistricting scheme but failed to achieve it. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, another potential 2028 contender, cast redistricting in his state as a potential counterpunch to GOP map-drawing in neighboring Indiana, for example. But it was a punch he never threw because Indiana’s redistricting failed. Moore rejects the conventional wisdom that Maryland must pass a map before Tuesday, the candidate filing deadline, after which new congressional districts would require shifting the entire election schedule.

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Spanberger signs bill that could help Democrats gain four House seats

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has signed a bill that includes new congressional maps intended to give Democrats four additional seats in Congress, though the process faces significant hurdles before the maps can take effect. Spanberger signed House Bill 29 late Friday night after a rushed approval process in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly. Democrats are scrambling to act in time for this fall’s midterm congressional elections to counter President Donald Trump’s push for new districts in Republican states, which he hopes will help his party retain its narrow control of the House. States normally carve up new districts after a census, once every 10 years. Trump’s demand to do so mid-decade has created a gerrymandering frenzy.

Texas, North Carolina, Missouri and Ohio have so far added seats favoring Republicans; Virginia is attempting to join California in drawing Democratic districts to counter them, with Maryland and other blue states considering similar efforts. In Virginia, early voting could begin March 6 ahead of an April 21 referendum on amending the state constitution to allow the new maps, but this week a judge in Tazewell County — a heavily Republican area in the rural southwest — issued an injunction to put the process on hold. Circuit Judge Jack S. Hurley Jr. acted on a suit filed by the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and two of the state’s GOP members of Congress — Rep. Morgan Griffith and Rep. Ben Cline — challenging the wording of the referendum question. Virginia’s delegation features six Democrats and five Republicans. The maps in the legislation Spanberger signed Friday night would create one solid red district in the southwest corner of the state and 10 others that lean blue.

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Winter storm brings heavy snow, power cuts and blizzard warning

The powerful winter storm pummeling a vast swath of the Eastern Seaboard was intensifying on Monday morning, dumping snow at a furious rate and strangling major metropolitan areas at the dawn of the workweek. By 6:15 a.m., official blizzard conditions — wind gusts of more than 35 m.p.h. for at least three hours with visibility under a quarter of a mile — had been reached at both Newark Liberty International and Teterboro Airports in northern New Jersey, the National Weather Service said. The storm has left hundreds of thousands without power and paralyzed transit across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with no signs of abating. As of Monday morning, over 40 million people remained under a blizzard warning, and the Weather Service said that Long Island and parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts were also likely to meet blizzard criteria as the snow and wind intensified.

Parts of New York, New Jersey and Delaware received over a foot of snow within 12 hours, much of it falling overnight. In total, more than two feet of snow is expected to fall in parts of New England, and the New York City region could receive at least 18 inches. The storm has left more than 260,000 customers in the Mid-Atlantic region without power, mostly in New Jersey and Delaware, according to poweroutage.us. Forecasters and government officials warned that the storm could affect commuters across the region deep into Monday. In the New York City and New Jersey regions, roads, airports and mass transit have all been severely compromised. NJ Transit halted all trains, buses and light rail, and the Long Island Rail Road shut down. Metro-North Railroad said it would operate on an hourly or weekend schedule on Monday on most of its lines, but suspended West-of-Hudson service on Sunday. New York City’s subway was running with delays or with trains going local instead of express, and the C line was suspended as of Monday morning. City buses were running with delays.

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Top Noem aide entered cockpit before firing pilot over missing blanket, sources say

Top U.S. homeland security aide Corey Lewandowski entered the cockpit of a government jet uninvited during a flight last year, after which he fired a pilot over a misplaced blanket, two people familiar with the matter said.Lewandowski, a long-time ally of President Donald Trump, was traveling with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when they discovered her blanket was missing, the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal government operations.

The new details about the pilot incident suggest Lewandowski may have violated the safety guidelines set out by the U.S. Coast Guard, which operated the plane. Lewandowski entered the cockpit before the plane had reached 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and while the seatbelt sign remained on, one of the people said.Federal Aviation Administration rules, several of which were tightened after 9/11, strictly limit cockpit access and prohibit interfering with aircraft crew duties. An FAA regulation also prohibits airline pilots and staff from engaging in non-essential activities or conversations in the cockpit while operating under 10,000 feet, and civil aircraft operators that violate that rule could face thousands of dollars in fines while pilots could face fines or termination. The U.S. Coast Guard is not legally bound by the FAA's regulation, known as the "sterile cockpit rule," but has a similar policy, spelled out in a 2021 operations manual: "No person shall engage in any conversation or activity that could distract or interfere with a flight crewmember properly conducting their assigned duties during critical phases of flight."The manual does not provide a specific penalty for violating the rule, but states that rule violations generally will be handled through internal disciplinary processes.In response to a Reuters request for comment, Lewandowski said in a text message: "There was never a conversation in the cockpit when the flight was taking off."Lewandowski said the facts as related by the sources were wrong but he did not respond on whether he entered the cockpit while the plane was climbing and still under 10,000 feet.Aviation safety experts consider the initial ascent among the riskiest parts of any flight.Randy Klatt, a flight safety officer with The Foundation for Aviation Safety, said planes are "low and slow" during the initial climb to 10,000 feet, making it important for pilots to focus on flight operations."This is a vulnerable situation for any aircraft," Klatt said. "You don't have the altitude to spare, or trade for airspeed if needed."The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard, which falls under DHS, declined to comment on the flight in question.

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Kash Patel spotted celebrating in U.S. Olympic hockey team’s locker room

FBI Director Kash Patel was spotted celebrating in the U.S. Olympic hockey team’s locker room Sunday following a gold-medal winning performance that saw the American squad beat Canada, 2-1, in overtime. CBS News and MS NOW previously reported that Patel used a Justice Department jet to travel to Italy with plans to watch the men’s hockey game, but the bureau quickly denied the story, suggesting he was only traveling to conduct official business. Assistant FBI Director of Public Affairs Ben Williamson, in one of several posts on X, said Patel was in Italy visiting the Milan Joint Operations Center, where a group of American officials have been deployed to assist with security.

“[I] have yet to receive any follow up from CBS or MS NOW who purposefully misled people to think Kash was flying to Italy to hang out at the Olympics,” Williamson posted Saturday, before footage of Patel celebrating with Team USA began circulating online. Patel was briefly spotted Sunday in U.S. center Dylan Larkin’s Instagram livestream, celebrating with the team in the locker room after their gold-medal win. In the now-deleted clip, Patel can be heard thanking the players “for representing the greatest country on earth.” Patel later posted on X a collection of four photos of Sunday’s hockey game, including a selfie with team head coach Mike Sullivan in the locker room and a photo of himself with a group of players holding an American flag. “Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude- what it takes to be the best in the world. These men live and breathe it,” Patel wrote in the post. “Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created.” The FBI did not respond to a request for comment Sunday regarding Patel’s attendance at the game.

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Lead Stories

Records show ICE agent fatally shot U.S. citizen nearly a year ago in Texas, as lawmaker seeks public hearing

Democratic Texas state Rep. Ray Lopez, who serves as vice chair of the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs, said he formally exercised authority under Rule 4, Section 6A of the Texas House Rules to compel Committee Chairman Cole Hefner, a Republican, to schedule a hearing on Martinez's death. The proposed hearing would examine the shooting death of Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island, Texas, on March 15, 2025. While his death was reported at the time, ICE's involvement in the shooting was not disclosed until this week, over 11 months after the shooting.

Lopez said it is the first public use of the provision, which was adopted during the 89th Legislative Session that concluded last June. The rule requires a committee chair to "promptly schedule" a hearing designated by the vice chair. Lopez requested a written response from Hefner by the end of business on Feb. 23. It was not immediately clear when a hearing might be scheduled. Local news outlets in Texas reported on Martinez' killing last year, but the involvement of federal immigration agents in the fatal shooting was first revealed earlier this week by Newsweek, which used government documents recently released by the American Oversight Project, a nonprofit ethics watchdog, to connect the death with an internal ICE report. The internal ICE report, which redacts Martinez's name, stated that the March 15 incident involved agents from Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of ICE, who were helping South Padre Island police officers control traffic in the late night hours following a major car accident.

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Armed man shot and killed after entering perimeter around Trump’s Florida home

US Secret Service agents and Palm Beach County law enforcement shot and killed an armed man after he “unlawfully entering the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago” Sunday morning, the Secret Service said. The president and first lady were at the White House in Washington, DC, at the time of the incident. A man in his early 20’s entered the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago around 1:30 a.m. before he was shot by agents and a deputy with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the Secret Service said in a statement. He appeared to be carrying a shotgun and a fuel can, according to the Secret Service. The man’s name is being withheld until his family is notified of his death. His background and motive are under investigation by the FBI and other authorities, the Secret Service said. No law enforcement agents were harmed in the incident, the statement said. The Secret Service agents involved will be placed on administrative leave during the investigation “in accordance with agency policy,” the statement said.

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Meta launches Texas campaign to get AI-friendly Republicans elected

A Super PAC backed by a $45 million investment from the California tech giant Meta launched an ad campaign in Texas this week to boost state Republicans viewed by the company as friendly to the development of artificial intelligence. On Friday, the Forge the Future Super PAC launched its first round of digital ads that support Kelly Hancock, who is locked in heated GOP primary battle for Texas Comptroller, two candidates for state Senate and one North Texas state representative. The ads don't make mention of AI or the data centers that drive the technology, and instead focus on the candidates' efforts to keep taxes low and improve education. Brian Baker, a GOP strategist leading the effort, said in a statement the Super PAC will support "a select group of pro-innovation Republican candidates" for the state Legislature and state offices like governor and attorney general.

"Our focus is on elevating Republican leaders who have demonstrated a strong commitment to championing America’s tech future and maintaining our global competitive edge," he said. Hancock and the other candidates, who include state Rep. Trent Ashby, a Lufkin Republican running for an East Texas state Senate seat, and Brett Ligon, who is vying to replace Galveston state Sen. Mayes Middleton, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The campaign, which is also active in California and Illinois, comes amid a flurry of efforts in Texas to put guardrails around AI technology and the affiliated data centers that require huge amounts of water and energy to operate. Last year, state Sens. Angela Paxton and Tan Parker, both Republicans, spearheaded a bill that for the first time established a regulatory framework for AI in Texas, including provisions prohibiting the misuse of biometric data and AI technology that discriminates against a particular group of people or encourages suicide and self-harm. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is pushing regulation to stop the development of data centers on prime farm land by encouraging tech companies, through tax breaks and other incentives, to insteadbuild them on less productive acreage.

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DHS suspending TSA PreCheck and Global Entry as shutdown continues

The Department of Homeland Security is suspending two popular programs Sunday that allow some travelers to move more quickly through airport security because of the shutdown of much of the agency, according to a DHS spokesperson. The department is pausing its TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs — one of several emergency measures the agency said it is taking to redirect staffing more than a week after Congress did not vote to send more money to the agency. DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem said in a statement that the agency is “making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions” and prioritizing the “general traveling population” at airports and ports of entry. “This is the third time that Democrat politicians have shut down this department during the 119th Congress,” Noem said in a statement. “Shutdowns have serious real world consequences, not just for the men and women of DHS and their families who go without a paycheck, but it endangers national security.”

Democrats in Congress demanded Republicans agree to impose new restrictions on DHS after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renée Good, last month in Minneapolis. The White House negotiated with Democrats, but the two sides did not reach a deal before DHS funding ran out on Feb. 14. Among the changes the agency is making starting Sunday is suspending airport police escorts for members of Congress and other expedited services, the agency said. The Federal Emergency Management Agencywill also halt all “non-disaster related response to prioritize disasters,” Noem said, noting the upcoming winter storm this weekend. The Washington Post previously reported that DHS halted almost all travel amid the standoff over the agency’s funding. DHS is now requiring approval for all FEMAtravel, including for disaster relief. Democrats have insisted that federal agents wear body cameras and don’t wear masks, get judicial warrants before raiding people’s homes, stop raids on “sensitive sites” such as churches and schools, and adhere to a new code of conduct similar to those of state and local police, among other demands.

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Tariff ruling sends CEOs back to company war rooms

For a few minutes after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s signature tariffs Friday, Ethan Allen Chief Executive Farooq Kathwari felt a jolt of relief. Then a jumble of emails from colleagues began pouring in. “This is good news for us,” a leader in the furniture maker’s Mexico operations wrote. It’s too early to know what this means, the head of merchandising emailed minutes later. The executive followed up soon after: With no guidance from the court on refunds, she said, “businesses must continue to pay.” Now that the Supreme Court has resolved one question about the Trump tariffs, it has left U.S. business leaders awash in a flood of others: Are tariff refunds any closer to reality? Will the possibility of new tariffs under a different legal authority prove costlier? And how to proceed without ruffling the Trump administration—which has staked its economic agenda on tariffs—or customers seeking price breaks?

Many company bosses say they are now spending the weekend digesting legal briefs and the president’s response to game out what comes next. Since the ruling, Trump has announced a new global tariff of 15% under a different legal authority, arguing the levies are necessary to address large trade and balance-of-payments deficits. “We’ll try to understand it much better,” Kathwari said of the days ahead. “It’s a bit complicated.” Mark Mintman, chief financial officer for Kids2, an Atlanta-based manufacturer of baby products and toys, learned of the ruling on vacation in Florida from a string of text messages. Since he was away, he entered the 170-page ruling into ChatGPT for a quick summary, he said. “My emotional response is muted,” said Mintman, given all of the uncertainty and potential additional tariffs. “I’ll take this as a tiny win.” Kids2 sold around half of its potential refund value, which it estimates is around $15 million, to a hedge fund to recoup some of the cost. The fund will also help with any legal action needed to pursue a refund. The uncertainty around refunds “is a big reason we made the agreement,” he said.

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State Stories

SMU’s $50 million pledge is a threat to TCU, Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M et al

The insanity and absurdity will one day slow down, or stop, but SMU is making sure rather than join the family of schools in search of a “solution,” it will play by a series of regulations that exist in the land of make believe. SMU bought its way into power college sports, and now the Mustangs will attempt to buy its way to national titles. On Friday, SMU announced that four families donated $50 million, as well as an initiative to raise an additional $50 million by the end of the year. All of these millions are designated to fund “scholarships, NIL advancement and revenue sharing,” SMU said in a statement. (If you are part of the group that believes $100 million could do so much for groups that desperately need it, you are correct, but we can’t lose sight on the importance of beating Wake Forest in football).

The statement did not specify how much of this potential $100 million will go to football players, but 85 to 90 percent feels about right. Misplaced priorities aside, this type of money will be felt immediately in recruiting, and in the 2027 season on the field. Whatever margin between TCU and SMU that existed for the majority of this century is gone. These are two private schools in the same major metro area that compete in the third and fourth most visible conferences in college sports. Flip a coin as to which one - the ACC or Big 12 - is “superior.” For years TCU justifiably didn’t give SMU much thought because there was no need, a line of thinking that now is out-dated. There is no way to slalom around what $100 million that is dedicated to the recruitment of players will do to an athletic department, and university. A winning football team does a lot for a school. Ask TCU. The momentum SMU created since it joined the ACC two years ago is undeniable, and this sort of donation ensures it won’t fade. That type of spending will find the most talented players available. And the players who aren’t immediately available. At least the players who like money.

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Judge blocks Houston, Katy schools from enforcing Texas law banning DEI efforts

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Friday to block three Texas school districts, including Katy and Houston, from enforcing a new state law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at public schools. The law, Senate Bill 12, has banned gender and sexuality alliance clubs at high schools across the state, among other provisions. In August, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the Transgender Law Center and the Baker McKenzie law firm sued Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath and Houston, Katy and Plano ISDs to block the law from being enforced. The organizations filed the suit on behalf of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance Network and two anonymous individuals. They say the new law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Equal Access Act. In December, attorneys asked for an injunction to prevent further harm to students.

“This win affirms that every young person, no matter their background, should have the freedom to learn about themselves and the wide range of identities of their peers,” said Dale Melchert, a senior staff attorney at the Transgender Law Center, in an ACLU press release. “Students in these districts can once again join GSA clubs, learn about and discuss various histories and cultures, and critically—have their identities, including usage of the correct names and pronouns respected by their teachers. We will keep fighting for schools that are safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all.” The school districts involved in the lawsuit are now temporarily blocked from enforcing four sections of SB12, which restricts school-sponsored DEI efforts; prohibits staff from referring to students with names or pronouns that they are not assigned at birth; bars instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity; and bans student clubs based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The judge in his ruling said the three districts have declined "to take a position as to SB 12 on the merits, even after implementing policies or otherwise taking action to accord with its overall directive." He ordered the districts to declare within two week if they plan to defend SB12.

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Dallas City Hall report divides backers of move, supporters to stay

The same report, two different readings. With a nine-figure repair estimate now public, the City Hall debate has grown louder. One side says it’s time to move. The other says restore the landmark. The Dallas Morning News asked a relocation advocate and a City Hall supporter to lay out their arguments. Developer Jack Matthews said Saturday the report bolsters his initial views — City Hall should be torn down. That potentially would free the current site at 1500 Marilla St., which some have suggested as a prime spot for an arena, hotels and mixed-use projects tied to expansion of the convention center growth. “It confirms what I was thinking in an even stronger way,” he said. “It’s more expensive than I thought.” The question now, he said, is whether the city should build a new City Hall elsewhere or move government operations into an existing property, such as a downtown office tower, in or near the urban core.

Matthews favors updating an older building. Spending money to update the current City Hall should not be considered. “We have too many more important places to spend money than building a new City Hall,” he said. Matthews, a major player in Dallas real estate, is involved in several projects downtown and in the nearby Cedars neighborhood. “My dog in this fight is – the better Dallas is, the better my developments are,” he said. “What’s good for the city is good for me.” Matthews also pushed back against assertions from the building’s supporters that the estimates compiled by the Dallas Economic Development Corp. were not legitimate. He said the firms involved are “at the very top end of reputation and ability to understand these things” and added that he does not believe any would “sell their soul” for the possibility of working on a future City Hall project.

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Lubbock Feeders announces feedyard closure after 70 years

It’s the end of an era on the South Plains. After 70 years of operation, Lubbock Feeders, a cornerstone of the region’s agricultural economy since 1955, has announced it will close its doors. The feedyard, which celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2025, has fed well over five million head of cattle during its decades of operation, becoming both an economic engine and a cultural symbol of the South Plains. Manager and CEO Kyle Williams described the closure as a tough and emotional decision, underscoring the weight of ending a 70-year legacy built by generations of cattle feeders, employees and agricultural partners. The decision follows a series of economic and regulatory challenges that have significantly impacted operations.

Typically, between 60 and 70 percent of the yard’s cattle inventory originated from Mexico. However, since November 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has closed the southern border to live animal imports for biosecurity purposes. The action was taken in response to the northward movement of the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, posing a serious threat to livestock, pets, wildlife and, in rare cases, humans. Without access to Mexican cattle, Lubbock Feeders lost a critical supply pipeline. The border closure comes at a time when U.S. cattle inventories are already at historically low levels. Fewer available cattle, combined with sharply rising market prices, have squeezed feedyards across the region. For Lubbock Feeders, the combination of limited supply and escalating costs proved unsustainable. The Lubbock Feeder partners ultimately determined that closing the business was the only viable path forward. The impact extends far beyond the feedyard’s gates. Local farmers who depended on feedyard demand to sell corn, silage, and other feed crops now face uncertainty. Truckers, veterinarians, equipment suppliers and countless other businesses tied to the cattle-feeding supply chain will also feel the effects.

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Two Texas exonerees to launch a podcast dedicated to the junk science that got them convicted.

Josh Burns and Andrew Roark, who have been convicted and later exonerated of crimes related to “shaken baby syndrome,” which is now largely considered junk science, will launch a podcast, Unshaken Truth, next month. In 2024, Roark became the 47th person exonerated in Dallas County after spending decades behind bars. Burns, who is from Michigan but now lives in Texas, was also exonerated that year. The two say that the Robert Roberson case spurred their decision to begin the podcast.

“Robert’s case horrified me,” Roark said in a press release announcing the podcast. “The idea that someone could be executed in a situation where there was actually no crime, based on the exact same junk science of shaken baby that led to my wrongful conviction, really shook me. His case is so similar to mine, except, even worse, his daughter died.” They say the first season of the podcast will focus on Roberson’s case and the science that convicted him, the state laws regarding the use of junk science in court, and guests who have worked to get him off death row. That includes author John Grisham, lead detective Brian Wharton, who investigated the death of Roberson’s daughter Nikki but now believes Roberson is innocent, State Rep. Lacey Hull, and Keith Findley, co-founder of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Science. They also plan to have other exonerees on the show, which will drop weekly on Thursdays beginning March 5. In October, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution for Roberson, just a week before his scheduled execution.

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Bastrop County leaders could call for renaming FM 969 as ‘Charlie Kirk Corridor’

Bastrop County commissioners could call on their state leaders to rename a portion of a busy road through their area after the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. They’re set to vote Monday on a resolution in support of deeming FM 969 from the Bastrop County line to State Highway 71 as the “Charlie Kirk Corridor.” If that passes, county leaders said they would then ask their state lawmakers to introduce legislation that could officially bring about that name change and designation. The next time Texas legislators can introduce and approve a bill to do something like this is when the regular legislative session begins on Jan. 12, 2027.

Kirk, who helped create the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, died in September after a gunman shot him while speaking at a college event in Utah. Following the assassination, Gov. Greg Abbott joined other Texas leaders in pushing for every high school in the state to create Turning Point clubs on their campuses. Texas became the third state to announce a partnership with the group after Florida and Oklahoma. KXAN also recently looked further into the dozens of Texas educators who risk losing their ability to teach over comments they made on social media in the wake of Kirk’s assassination. The state began collecting complaints about teachers’ online posts. While diving into records, KXAN found that several months into the state’s review of more than 350 misconduct complaints tied to social posts, several school districts and the state are continuing to push back on releasing details that would reveal how many educators face losing their teaching certification — or the comments that triggered the state’s investigation into them.

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How the Bush Center’s Shilo Brooks plans to avoid turning it into a ‘mausoleum’

Less than a year into his new job as president and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Shilo Brooks is operating on all cylinders. The 43-year-old Texas Panhandle native, named after a Louis L’Amour Western character, landed back in his home state in July following a three-year stint at Princeton University. “I’ve been really shocked by just how extraordinary Dallas is, and how it’s grown since I first came here as a kid from Lubbock,” Brooks said, in his first interview since officially taking over the reins in September. “It happened just in my lifetime.” Brooks was named in May to succeed the highly regarded Ken Hersh, who led the center for nearly a decade of dynamic growth and increased community engagement. “Ken set up this organization so that a person like me could be here,” said Brooks, who still carries vestiges of his Lone Star lingo. “He left me a really, really healthy organization that’s ready to position itself for its next chapter. I’ve been handed the keys to a really fast car, and all I have to do is drive it wherever I want to go.”

Where exactly is that? “A number of these institutions are mausoleums for the president,” Brooks said. “I’ve said this to President Bush: ‘We don’t want this to be a Graceland for you.’ And he said, ‘No, we don’t. That’s not what this is about. It’s about the future.’ “So we are an organization focused on the future but understands the principles that animated him, which are American principles. I want to make it clear that his legacy matters,” he added. “The Bush Center at this particular inflection point in America, when things are so polarized, has a role to play as a preserver of American ideals in their most robust sense,” he said. “I want to make clear that this place is about the best of what our country is. We want to be an educational institution that offers people a chance to reflect on that.” But before Brooks began drawing his roadmap for the future, he spent several months settling his family into their Park Cities home, getting his 8-year-old daughter ready for elementary school ? and becoming more attuned to the ways of Dallas, and the 43rd president’s legacy domain.

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Even as Cy-Fair ISD reverses a book ban, some say the harm can't be undone

Nearly two years after Cypress-Fairbanks ISD trustees voted to remove 13 chapters from several career and science textbooks, a newly elected board has reinstated the materials. The initial ban triggered community outrage and protests, an influx of campaign donations ahead of board elections, and ultimately the defeat of conservative trustees at the ballot box last November. But teachers and students say the effects of that decision – rushed lesson planning, strained morale, and cautious classroom discussions – can’t be undone with a single vote.

“I’m not going to be a part of CFISD for much longer, but it is deeply gratifying to see such change,” Cy-Fair ISD senior Alissa Sundrani, 17, said. “That being said, this is not the end, and there is still a good amount wrong with CFISD curricula that needs to be updated. I hope this empowers the board to do so.” Now that the newly elected board — supported by Democratic political donations — has reinstated the chapters, several former and retired teachers are sharing new details about how the ban undermined their authority, limited their teaching and even changed the course of their careers. At least one science teacher filed a grievance against the board. Another science teacher left her position entirely. "Our professional educators are highly and continuously educated in their field yet many began to feel stifled in the classroom by boardroom decisions," Nikki Cowart, Cy-Fair AFT president said. "(It can) cause morale to plummet when school board policies are decided without any input from the employees or the families we serve."

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Austin-area doulas lead the way as profession eyes future advocacy efforts

When Josephine Adegbite had her second baby last spring, all the stars seemed to align. At a midwife-led birthing center in Manor, she labored in a tub of water as music played. Just when it was time to push, she heard the opening notes of “Akikitan” — one of her Nigerian grandmother’s favorite Yoruba gospel songs. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Like, what are the odds?'” Adegbite said. “I think that's what gave me so much more power and strength to give birth.” While the timing may have been perfect, the playlist was planned with this day in mind. By Adegbite’s side the whole time — supporting her with water, towels and massages and keeping the music rolling — was her doula, Alicia Rivera-Clemente. “I was happy to be there and happy to see that she was so comfortable and felt safe,” Rivera-Clemente said.

Adegbite’s first experience giving birth just a couple of years earlier was different. The memory of the difficult emergency c-section she underwent with her toddler-aged eldest daughter was still fresh when she found out she was pregnant again. “I did not like it,” Adegbite said. “I did not like the recovery. I didn't like the way I was treated in the hospital. I felt like I didn't really have a voice.” That’s why, this time, she sought out a doula — a non-medical support person to be her advocate during pregnancy and childbirth. A growing body of research shows that doulas are associated with better birth outcomes. That includes reduced rates of preterm labor and fewer c-sections — which can be lifesaving but come with increased risks when performed unnecessarily. These benefits have been especially noted for Black women, who have a maternal mortality rate 2.5 times higher than white women in Texas, per data from the Texas Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee. Legislators and health leaders in states including Texas have begun to take note in recent years, introducing bills that support furthering access to doula care.

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Democrats are going to miss Ken Paxton as Attorney General

The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long, they say. If you want to be in it for the long haul, then, cast away Christ’s instruction from the mount: Do hide your light under a bushel. No brightness of any kind has been detectable around our great state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, since he won office in 2014, which may be the reason he has held it for so long. Three full terms, despite the efforts of a large part of his own party to impeach him from office or remove him in his primaries for allegations including corruption, incompetence, and horndoggery, and the failed efforts of state and federal prosecutors to put him in jail. But his haters are finally notching one in the W column. Whether he wins or loses his bid for the U.S. Senate, he will, come January 2027, no longer be the top lawman in Texas. For this they may be glad, but only for a moment. Paxton’s reign contains a central perversity that remains poorly understood by both his most fervent critics and his most adoring fans: He has not been very good at his job. His first two terms were marked by incredible dysfunction and a degradation of the core functions of his office—the prosecution of crimes and the advancement of Republican causes.

His predecessors—Greg Abbott, and before him John Cornyn, who became a U.S. senator in 2002—did these perfectly well, and anyone who takes over for him will likely be better at both. Though his career has been saved several times now by Republicans rallying around him, believing him to be persecuted by RINOs and the left, the irony is that they would have been better off sacrificing him—while Democrats should have preferred him to any Republican who might replace him. The view that Republicans would be better off without Ken’s dead weight seems to have been held by, among others, Paxton’s former first assistant attorney general, a fellow by the name of Chip Roy. In 2020, while a congressman, he argued during one of the AG’s recent scandals that “Attorney General Ken Paxton must resign,” because “the people of Texas deserve a fully functioning AG’s office.” Roy now seems most likely to succeed him, and pledged at a four-way primary debate on Tuesday that he would, in essence, work harder and smarter than his former boss. If that comes to pass, Democrats in Texas will find themselves missing Ken. Roy has been in a feud with Paxton since 2015, when he was picked to be Ken’s sidekick in the AG’s first year in office. He had been Ted Cruz’s chief of staff in the U.S. Senate, where he sometimes pushed the hard-line Cruz to take even harder stances. He was, in other words, ideological and uncompromising. In the AG’s office, Roy and the other senior staff ran things because Paxton visited the Austin office just a few days a week.

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UNT dean's fears of political repercussions led to removal of art exhibit, leaked transcripts show

In leaked transcripts of meetings held by leaders of the University of North Texas art school, Dean Karen Hutzel wouldn’t tell faculty or staff who ordered an exhibit closed and removed from a campus gallery. She described the decision as an “institutional directive” in a meeting with faculty, and told college staffers that she was expecting “a media storm.” Administrators might survive public excoriation, she said. Elected representatives, however, can more readily slash programs, impugn professors and hold state funding over college executives’ heads. Hutzel discussed administrators’ widespread fears over funding loss, and how those concerns are compounded by leadership purges at the University of Texas and Texas A&M University after ideological clashes with Texas Republicans, who have spent the last two legislative sessions fighting what they say is leftist bias and indoctrination in public education.

Texas public universities have seen curriculums forcibly overhauled by lawmakers, and entire programs have been eliminated because they don’t align with the conservative values of Republican lawmakers in the state house or in Washington. The UNT College of Visual Arts and Design has been in headlines across the country since it shuttered an exhibit last week by globally known street artist Victor Quiñonez, known broadly by the graffiti tag he developed in east Dallas, Marka27. The graduate of Dallas’ renowned Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts had an exhibit, “Ni de Aquí Ni de Allá,” open Feb. 3 in the CVAD Gallery. The exhibit explores Quiñonez’s identity as a bicultural and bilingual American. Born in Juarez, Mexico, Quiñonez grew up in east Dallas. His exhibit, whose title translates to “neither from here, nor from there” included work from his “ICE Scream” series. The work uses a popular Mexican treat, the paleta, to honor his heritage while it considers incarceration and deportation.

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North Texas FIFA host committee outlines human rights priorities ahead of World Cup

Workers’ issues and human trafficking were among the chief concerns of a human rights plan released Monday by the North Texas World Cup host committee. FIFA requires each of the 16 host cities to develop a plan addressing human rights issues ahead of the tournament, which is expected to bring over 100,000 people a day to North Texas. With a first draft submitted to FIFA in January, the plan was developed over the course of several years in collaboration with more than 200 stakeholders, including the city of Dallas and nonprofit organizations across the region. The version presented to the media at a roundtable discussion on Tuesday will be refined before a final plan is published in May.

The host committee is responsible for public safety, transportation, local vendors and events such as the fan festival in Fair Park. FIFA will independently oversee operations at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, which will be referred to as Dallas Stadium during the tournament, and the International Broadcast Center in downtown Dallas. The region will host nine matches, the most of any of the 16 host cities. Dallas is preparing to host an estimated 3.8 million fans during the World Cup’s 39-day run, with over 35,000 fans expected to attend events at Fair Park each day. The human rights plan outlines a vetting process for local suppliers, who must comply with FIFA’s sustainable sourcing code before being approved as vendors. Supplier categories include food and beverage, security, general contractors, event planning and janitorial services. The code prohibits forced labor, trafficking, child labor and other abuses of workers’ rights. Suppliers who gain approval may be subject to continued monitoring under the plan, and an independent third-party firm will conduct employee interviews to ensure compliance with host committee policies. The plan also stipulates a $15 minimum hourly wage for event workers.

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National Stories

What happened to the $150 hotel room?

For Skift’s annual company meeting in New York, Rafat Ali tries to put the participants in Manhattan hotels. Last year, his team scoured the city for reasonable rates, but came up empty. Each room cost hundreds of dollars, so all but one of the attendees were sent across the river, to New Jersey. The last-minute guest got stuck by the Lincoln Tunnel, in a modest property charging luxury prices during the popular fall tourism season. That spot, the Yotel, “used to be cheap, and now, of course, it’s too much,” said Ali, the founder and CEO of Skift, which specializes in travel news and research. “It was like $400 or $500 a night.” Hotel rates rise with inflation, a simple fact of economics. Goods and services — from the price of eggs for the breakfast buffet to the hourly wage of housekeepers — cost more, so properties adjust their rates accordingly. The midscale segment, which caters to travelers who have graduated from budget but are still several pay grades from luxury, is especially vulnerable.

“What used to cost $100 now costs $150 and what used to cost $150 now costs $200,” said Jan Freitag, national director for hospitality market analytics at CoStar. “That’s just a way of life.” According to CoStar, the average daily rate of U.S. hotels jumped from $131.56 in 2019 to $160.49 in 2025. Some destinations surpass the national average, such as New York City ($333.81 a night), Boston ($232.51) and Miami ($224.24). Freitag said that, in all but the high-end sector, the increase in hotel prices is below the inflation rate, so room rates, when adjusted for inflation, are less today than they were several years ago. But ultimately, you are spending more money for the same standard room with the same basic amenities at the same chain hotel. You’re not getting a more spacious room or finer linens, though you might get stuck with a resort fee. (The price is for hotel only, not including taxes or resort fees, which vary wildly by destination.)

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A new generation of MAGA megadonors is emerging — and they’re swamping Democrats

Artificial intelligence executives, cryptocurrency moguls and other donors who have little or no history of federal political contributions are pumping millions of dollars into President Donald Trump’s flagship super PAC, a NOTUS analysis of new campaign finance disclosures indicates. While Trump is constitutionally ineligible to serve a third presidential term, the newbie megadonors’ money could serve the dual purpose of boosting Republicans during the 2026 midterms and endearing the donors to Trump himself. Ben Landa, who built one of the largest nursing home operations in New York, cut a $5 million check to the MAGA Inc. super PAC in August. Trump nominated Landa last month to be ambassador to Hungary.

Private equity investor Konstantin Sokolov went from making a few four-figure contributions in years past to cutting checks worth a combined $11 million to MAGA Inc. in 2025. Sokolov also donated an undisclosed amount toward the president’s White House ballroom project. And Foris Dax, the company better known as Crypto.com, has given $30 million to MAGA Inc. since Trump took office. Crypto.com, which has not donated to federal candidates or committees in previous election cycles, scored a massive win this week when Michael Selig, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, announced the federal government’s intention to regulate prediction markets and shut out individual state governments, which could promulgate more draconian rules. Billionaire Jeff Yass, a prominent Republican megadonor, has already given nearly $54.5 million through the same period. Together, their contributions have more than replaced the money Republicans lost when older megadonors died — Bernie Marcus, Sheldon Adelson, Harold Simmons, Foster Friess, David Koch — or all but quit giving, as Robert Mercer did.

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How the Epstein files frustrated Trump’s White House

When the Justice Department released its last trove of millions of files about Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump found himself in the same place he had spent a year trying to avoid—dealing with the fallout, again. The files showed his own commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, had visited with Epstein long after Lutnick said they had cut ties. Lutnick had to publicly explain his past statements, provoking a direct conversation with Trump, according to administration officials familiar with the matter. Trump questioned why he previously denied connections to Epstein when he knew he had visited Epstein’s island, the officials said. Since last February, the administration has tried to move on from questions about an issue that has animated Trump supporters like few others, even as it has continued to metastasize.

Trump officials initially opposed the release of the files from the investigation into the convicted sex offender and then fumbled their response, telling allies there was little new information to glean from the documents. The disclosures from the latest release, ordered by Congress, have instead forced prominent lawyers and business leaders to step aside, and prompted new criminal inquiries in three other countries. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are testifying before Congress next week, after the released files included photos of Clinton visiting with Epstein, too. The latest episode started during a conference call just before Christmas, when aides broke the news to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that another million documents attorneys believed were likely duplicates in fact weren’t. Blanche sighed in exasperation, eventually alerting senior White House aides, who shared his anger and received updates for days, according to administration officials. In the ensuing weeks, the agency ordered hundreds of additional prosecutors to review the files, working through weekends to redact sensitive information and at times plying them with pizza to keep going at night.

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As Trump pushes voting restrictions, states have a rarely used option to push back

When Kansas began requiring residents to prove their U.S. citizenship before voting more than a decade ago, Steven Wayne Fish tried and failed. A first-time father in his 30s at the time, he wanted a say in debates over public school funding despite having never voted before. But Fish, who was born on a since-decommissioned Air Force base in Illinois, couldn’t find his birth certificate, leaving him unable to register for the 2014 general election. A federal court eventually blocked the Kansas law following a lawsuit in which Fish was the namesake plaintiff. For years, the Fish legal case served as a warning to politicians who wanted voters to produce documents proving their citizenship. That’s changing, as President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress try to impose a similar proof-of-citizenship voter registration requirement nationwide through a long-shot proposal called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or SAVE America Act.

Blue states would have a major tool to push back. Whether they would use it is less clear. States have the power to set separate rules for state and local elections and to apply federal restrictions only on residents voting in federal races, according to interviews with more than a dozen election experts, officials and lawmakers. Operating two distinct election systems, a process called bifurcation, would give states more freedom over who can vote in races for governor, state legislature and other down-ballot contests. Bifurcation would ensure that individuals like Fish could still cast a ballot in some contests, even if they couldn’t vote for members of Congress or president. “It’s very strange and surreal,” Fish told Stateline about a potential national requirement during an interview on Tuesday in Ottawa, Kansas, where he works at a warehouse. Those looking back at his state, he said, will see “it did not work at all.” Under the U.S. Constitution, states regulate the times, places and manner of federal elections, though Congress has the authority to override them. But Congress has far less authority over state and local elections.

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Blizzard warnings issued for swath of East Coast, including NYC

A fierce storm was poised to blast the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast with heavy snow and strong winds Sunday into Monday, leading forecasters to issue blizzard warnings for much of the coastal Northeast, including New York City, which faces as much as two feet of snow. The storm is expected to bring heavy snowfall, strong winds and blizzard conditions from Delaware to southern Connecticut, the National Weather Service said on Saturday. Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, said the winds will bring the blizzard conditions but also “create other problems, including moderate to major flooding and high surf at the coast.” He also said there could be widespread power outages with Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts at the highest risk.

The blizzard warnings were in place for nearly 30 million people from Sunday morning until Monday afternoon, with the heaviest snowfall — one to two inches per hour, if not more — expected by Sunday night, the Weather Service said. Forecasters warned travel will be “dangerous, if not impossible” on roads, as it became clear that the Monday morning and evening commutes will be messy in the big cities, from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, to New York City to Boston. As of Saturday night, more than 3,500 flights across the United States were being canceled for Sunday, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware. This is the first blizzard warning issued for New York City since 2017, according to the Weather Service. There was also a blizzard warning for the city the year before, in 2016, when a record-breaking snowstorm dumped an accumulated 27.5 inches of snow onto Central Park — the largest since records began in 1869.

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Team USA's Matt Boldy makes incredible goal to put team ahead vs Canada in Olympic gold medal game

Tensions were high going into the Winter Olympics gold medal men’s ice hockey game between Team USA and Canada on Sunday and it was the Americans who had the crowd on their feet early. U.S. forward Matt Boldy received the puck in the center of the ice. He tapped the puck forward and was able to split Canadian defenders Devon Toews and Cale Makar. Neither Canadian defender was able to stop him.

Boldy pulled the puck back and got it around Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington for the first score of the game. It came on Team USA’s first shot. Auston Matthews and Quinn Hughes were credited with assists. The score sent the Milan crowd buzzing, and the incredible goal drew a ton of social media reaction. The U.S. had a 1-0 lead after the first period. Boldy, who plays in the NHL for the Minnesota Wild, is on the Olympic roster for the first time. He was a part of Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off and had a goal and two assists in the tournament last year. Canada defeated the Americans in the final of that tournament as the rivalry between the two nations was revitalized.

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What happens to billions in tariff money already paid? Supreme Court leaves refunds unsettled.

In striking down a large chunk of President Donald Trump’s tariffs Friday, the Supreme Court set up a new legal battle over the $130 billion-plus the government has collected from those duties. The justices, in their 6-3 ruling, did not order the Trump administration to provide refunds to importers for the tariffs already paid, or spell out how repayment should work. That likely leaves the U.S. Court of International Trade responsible for sorting out a thicket of legal issues related to possible repayments; under customs law, tariff refund claims are typically handled through that trade-focused, New York-based court and processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The president himself lamented the court’s omission in a press conference Friday afternoon. “They take months and months to write an opinion and they don’t even discuss that point,” he told reporters at the White House.

“Wouldn’t you think they would have put one sentence in there saying that, ‘keep the money’ or ‘don’t keep the money,’ right? I guess it has to get litigated for the next two years.” In a dissenting opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh warned the refund process will be a “mess” — echoing Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s description during oral arguments. Barrett, nonetheless, joined the majority ruling against Trump’s duties. “The Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers,” Kavanaugh wrote, adding that “refunds of billions of dollars would have significant consequences for the U.S. Treasury.” That’s a point the president and other senior economic officials made repeatedly in the build-up to the court’s decision. In a Truth Social post last month, Trump warned that striking down the tariffs could force the U.S. to repay “many Hundreds of Billions of Dollars” — potentially “Trillions” when accounting for related investments — calling such a scenario “a complete mess” that would be “almost impossible for our Country to pay.” Trade and customs experts agree any potential repayment process will be a logistical “nightmare” for both the federal government and the companies seeking compensation — and that legal fights are likely.

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DOJ struggles as White House presses on voter fraud

The Justice Department has struggled to meet White House demands to prosecute noncitizen voters as conspiracy theories that President Donald Trump and his allies have pushed in public fail to hold up legally. The president has grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of results, advisers said, leading to his public pronouncements about nationalizing elections and requiring voter ID, which he lacks the authority to do unilaterally. Top Justice Department officials regularly meet with officials from Homeland Security Investigations — the law enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security that works with prosecutors to bring cases against undocumented immigrants — about tracking down instances of voter fraud.

The meetings include at least one aide to Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and the architect of the president’s aggressive immigration policies, according to two people familiar with the matter who, like several others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. A White House official said the effort dates back to an executive order last year, and it’s standard to coordinate implementation involving multiple agencies. This week, DHS instructed all HSI offices to review all open and closed voter fraud cases and report any individuals who registered to vote before they became naturalized U.S. citizens, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post. The Justice Department is preparing to give HSI officials access to voter registration data for suspected noncitizens, according to a Justice Department official familiar with the matter. The officials have so far decided against DOJ providing all voter data to DHS because of concerns about generating bad publicity or being difficult to defend in court, the official familiar with the matter said. The information would come from state voter rolls, but many states have refused to give those to the Justice Department. The efforts so far haven’t yielded results, in large part because the types of rampant voter fraud that the Trump administration describes have never been found. A Justice Department official said that it has brought significantly more voter-fraud cases than the Biden administration and that the law enforcement agency could bring more cases once it reviews the remaining voter rolls.

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Lead Stories

Tony Gonzales says he’s being 'blackmailed' over affair with staffer

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales said Thursday he is being “blackmailed” after reporting by the San Antonio Express-News found he had an affair with a staffer who later died by setting herself on fire. “I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED,” the San Antonio Republican wrote in a social media post Thursday morning. “Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death. The public should IMMEDIATELY have full access to the Uvalde Police report. I will keep fighting for #TX23.” In the post, Gonzales attached a partial screenshot of an email from a lawyer representing Adrian Aviles, the husband of the late staffer, Regina Ann “Regi” Santos-Aviles. The email is undated and the recipient is unclear. But in the message, the attorney, Robert “Bobby” Barrera, suggests he is weighing filing a lawsuit that could be damaging to the San Antonio congressman’s career and seems to propose a settlement that would include a nondisclosure provision.

Barrera notes that statutory deadlines for the Congressional Accountability Act, which he refers to in the email as the CAA, mean “time is of the essence.” The act provides congressional staffers an avenue to sue if they face discrimination, harassment or labor violations at work. The email refers to a “maximum recoverable” amount of $300,000. In an interview with the Express-News, Barrera said he was “in shock” that Gonzales and his lawyer chose to publish part of what he described as a confidential settlement communication. He said he sent the email Feb. 10 to J.D. Paurstein, Gonzales’ San Antonio-based attorney, and received no response. “This is clearly a last act of a desperate man who is going to do anything but admit what he did,” Barrera said. He said the letter “clearly shows we did not want to go public, and we weren’t attempting to damage his career.” On social media, Aviles rejected the claim that he “blackmailed” Gonzales.

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Is Crockett going to top Talarico?

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) may have waited until the last possible day to enter the Texas Senate race. But she’s still the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. The big question now: Can state Rep. James Talarico overtake Crockett with less than two weeks to go until the March 3 primary? It’s not over yet. Talarico, who entered therace in September, does have one key advantage — money. Talarico has significantly more resources than Crockett, and he’s outspent the congresswoman on advertising, $11.2 million to $2.7 million. Plus, a pro-Talarico super PAC has already dropped $5 million into the race. But Crockett has something that might be more valuable in a state as massive as Texas — a national following and extremely high name recognition.

“We’re the underdogs against Congresswoman Crockett,” Talarico said while campaigning this week in Austin. “I’m the most unknown candidate in the race, probably in either party, so it’s incumbent upon me to introduce myself to voters.” Talarico did get a big publicity boost this week after late-night TV host Stephen Colbert accused CBS of blocking him from airing a Talarico interview out of fear of the FCC. Yet Crockett’s penchant for sparring with Republicans from her perch on the House Oversight Committee has made for several viral moments. One clash she had with former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was immortalized in a Saturday Night Live skit. It’s that kind of exposure that gives the two-term House member such a huge edge in the primary. Crockett told reporters her most recent polling showed her with a close to 10-point lead over Talarico. “When there’s a spread like that, and we’re in a shorter amount of time, then it’s not a matter of you just catching up. You’ve got to bring me down,” Crockett declared.

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Four men accused in Austin's yogurt shop murders have been exonerated

Four men who had been accused, two of them convicted, in one of Austin's most infamous murders have been declared officially innocent. Maurice Pierce, Robert Springsteen, Mike Scott and Forrest Welborn were the key suspects in the 1991 murder of four teen girls at a yogurt shop. Now, more than 34 years later, Travis County Judge Dayna Blazey has stated all are innocent, clearing their records and formally exonerating them after they were wrongfully accused in 1999. Last year, police announced they believed Robert Eugene Brashers was guilty of the killing of Amy Ayers, Eliza Thomas, and Jennifer and Sarah Harbison at an I Can't Believe It's Yogurt shop in December 1991. Brashers died in 1999, but police were able to tie him to the murders through forensic and DNA evidence after decades of searching for the real killer.

Travis County District Attorney José Garza filed a motion to revisit the case and formally clear their names late last year. All four suspects were implicated, investigated and later arrested in the aftermath of the murders that drew national attention and haunted Austin for decades. Springsteen, who was sentenced to death and spent 10 years in prison, said in a written statement read by his attorney, Amber Farrelly, that his wrongful arrest turned his life into a cycle of “chaos and uncertainty." “I have been persecuted every day,” Springsteen said. “I have lived every single day …being seen as a monster for something I did not do.” Scott, the only exoneree who spoke in court, said the police who arrested him, and prosecutors who convinced a jury to give him life in prison, robbed him of his youth — of a full life. "For decades I have carried the burden of wrongful conviction. Every day, I have carried the weight of a crime that I did not commit," he said. "No court ruling can return the years and the love that were taken from me, but it can acknowledge the truth: I am not guilty."

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The freshman lawmaker working to build Republicans’ bench makes a swing through Texas

Rep. Brian Jack has been in Congress for just a little over a year, but the freshman from Georgia has quickly become one of the lead recruiters for House Republicans — crisscrossing districts to meet with candidates who could help the GOP hang on to its slim majority. Republicans have grappled with messaging over the past year and have their backs up against the wall ahead of the upcoming midterms, when the party in power historically struggles, leading to members fleeing for the exits. Now, between retirements and Republicans’ mid-cycle redistricting in the state, Texas has a number of new and open districts. And it’s up to Jack — who takes his role as deputy chair of the campaign arm for the House GOP deeply seriously — to help find the best of the bunch. NOTUS joined Jack for part of a recent six-day swing through Texas, where he met with more than 10 candidates to learn who they are and determine whether they’re the right fit for their respective districts.

He then takes the information he gathers to President Donald Trump and House Republican leadership to keep them informed and help them make endorsement decisions. As he’s in these meetings, Jack says he’s looking for three specific things. “First and foremost is electability,” Jack said. “Ultimately, this is a game where there are literally winners and losers. So you want to recruit people who can help support that.” Next: Is the candidate a good fit? “I’m big on ideological fits for the district,” he said. “Some districts, there’s a different ideological bent; other districts, there are other ideological fits. And I think it’s important to travel, frankly, to understand that. When you’re in a certain area, you could feel what that community wants and needs.” And the third is determination and drive, because “rarely will you have a scenario in which you’re the only game in town, and everyone’s paying attention to the race. So you’ve got to be very creative, crafty and innovative to get your message out.” Jack considers himself a student of politics. He studies the background of the candidates he meets with. Questions for them are often just a formality — he knows many of the answers already, but wants to get a sense for who the person is, their social skills and if he could envision them representing that district. “Have you ever read ‘The Ambition and The Power’?” Jack asked this reporter after the third candidate meeting of the day, as Nicki Minaj’s “Chun Swae” played over the car’s stereo. “It’s a great read.” The book, authored by journalist John Barry and published in 1989, chronicles the rise of former Speaker Jim Wright, his view of politics, how he built strong allies and his time as speaker. NOTUS spent four days with Jack in Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin and was able to watch him interview eight candidates: Abraham Enriquez, Tom Sell, John Lujan, Jace Yarbrough, Ryan Binkley, Chris Gober, Mark Teixeira and Carlos De La Cruz.

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State Stories

Taylor Rehmet sworn into Texas Senate District 9 after runoff upset.

Taylor Rehmet — the Democrat who got national attention after successfully flipping a historically red district — is officially North Texas’ newest state senator. The union leader and mechanic was sworn into office on Thursday at the Texas Capitol in Austin. Rehmet won a Jan. 31 special election for Senate District 9 against Republican Leigh Wambsganss, who had the support of President Donald Trump and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Rehmet and Wambsganss’ are set for a rematch in the November midterm election. Rehmet will serve as senator for a little less than a year, as he finishes out the remainder of former Sen. Kelly Hancock’s term. The North Richland Hills Republican left the Capitol for the Texas Comptroller’s office in June. The winner of the November election takes office in January for a full, four year term representing the district that spans northern and western Tarrant County.

Rehmet said he felt “deep gratitude” as he officially took office in Austin, surrounded by friends and family. “It’s something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life,” Rehmet said. Rehmet is the first Democrat since 1983 to represent the district, according to his office. At 33, he’s also the youngest member of the Texas Senate. “When the people of Texas sent me here, they asked for a chance at a future they can be proud of,” Rehmet said in a statement. “A future where a good job can build a good life. Where a child’s path is determined solely by their effort. Where communities are safe, schools are supported, and opportunity is close enough to touch. They sent me here believing tomorrow can be better than today. I accept that responsibility with humility and with absolute confidence in what we can accomplish together.” The Texas Legislature doesn’t convene until Jan. 12, which means the Senate will not be in session while Rehmet finishes out the year.

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UT System votes to limit 'controversial topics' in class, raising concerns about academic freedom

The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved an initiative on Thursday that limits “controversial topics” in the classroom. The new policy states that faculty must “not attempt to coerce, indoctrinate, harass, or belittle students, especially in addressing controversial subjects and areas where people of good faith can hold differing convictions.” Faculty must also exclude “unrelated controversial or contested matters” from syllabi and only follow the contents of the syllabus for each course. The initiative states that it recognizes faculty’s freedom in the classroom, but says instructors must also adhere to principles of academic integrity.

It says faculty members have the responsibility to foster a culture of trust where all students feel free to voice their beliefs; fairly present contrasted opinions with academic evidence; teach students to come to their own conclusions; and abstain from controversial topics that are not relevant to the course. The new policy has raised concerns among academic freedom advocates who worry it restricts faculty’s ability to respond to student questions on past and current events and challenge students to think about the future. They worry avoiding “controversial topics” could lead to censorship that will leave students ill-prepared to become field experts. Brian Evans, president of the Texas American Association of University Professors, said if students ask about current topics, instructors will have to decide whether to engage or not, since everything discussed in class will have to be pre-cleared. "A faculty member is not going to be able do talk about current events without risking being fired," he said. "What kind of education is this?" The policy says if a course includes “controversial topics,” faculty must approach it in a broad and balanced way that allows a discussion of ideas in the classroom. The guidelines do not define specific “controversial topics,” however, the change comes at a time when other Texas university systems have limited curricula related to sex and gender identity.

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San Antonio City Council to discuss possible reprimand for Mayor Jones on Monday

The San Antonio City Council will hold a special meeting on Monday, Feb. 23, to discuss recent accusations of misconduct against Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones. The allegations are outlined in a five-signature memo filed on Feb. 9 that says Jones has demonstrated “repeated instances of unprofessional conduct” with fellow council members, city staff, and residents of San Antonio since she took office last June. The signatories were councilmembers Phyllis Viagran, Teri Castillo, Marina Alderete Gavito, Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, and Misty Spears. Under the city charter, at least three council members can request a special meeting on a subject though a direct request via memorandum to the city clerk.

This memo process has been used in the past to force a discussion on an Israel-Palestine cease-fire in 2023 and last summer to oppose changes Mayor Jones requested to the city's council consideration request process. The request for Monday’s discussion comes after a formal code of conduct complaint filed by District 1 City Councilwoman Sukh Kaur detailing an incident between Jones and Kaur on Feb. 5, the full details of which have not been made public. The complaint and memo are the latest in a string of visible points of contention between the mayor and council members, ranging from the handling of Project Marvel, attempts to change policy making processes, and moving the city's elections from May to November of odd years. In a statement last week, Jones said she was disappointed that some of her colleagues felt this meeting request was a necessary step. "It is no secret that I have disagreed with my colleagues at times about what is best for our city. I have tirelessly advocated for the things that will advance San Antonio and help our people succeed," she said. "My style of leadership is grounded in my lived experience, and that approach does not always align with the traditional templates of female leaders or my colleagues' views. Still, I know we are all committed to engaging with dignity, respect, and compassion." The discussion is the only item on the agenda for Monday’s special meeting. It will begin at 10 a.m.

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Why did Ron Nirenberg replace the logo on his Tesla?

Ever since he announced that he was running for Bexar County judge, Ron Nirenberg has been driving all around town. The former San Antonio mayor has zipped from debates to luncheons to fundraisers to neighborhood meetings to television and podcast appearances as he tries to convince voters to choose him over County Judge Peter Sakai in the Democratic primary. He's done that driving a dark grey Tesla Model Y. But Tesla's shiny signature "T" logo is nowhere on the car. Instead, just above the license plate, there's a Toyota emblem. The SUV "used to be a Tesla," Nirenberg jokes. "I'm no fan of Elon Musk," he adds.

Nirenberg is one of millions of Americans who became outraged at Musk, Tesla's CEO and the world's richest person, when he turned into one of President Donald Trump's closest confidants. So Nirenberg bought a Toyota logo on eBay, used dental floss to remove the Tesla logo and then pasted on the Toyota emblem. Nirenberg also scrapped all the Tesla logos from the center caps of the four wheels. But for all of his ire against Musk, Nirenberg bought the electric car after the billionaire poured hundreds of millions of dollars to return Trump to the White House and then went to work for him. Musk joined the administration in January 2025 to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an office tasked with overhauling the federal bureaucracy by firing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and dismantling government agencies.

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TEA clears Tarrant County school superintendent of wrongdoing

A Euless charter school superintendent has been cleared of wrongdoing following a months-long investigation by the Texas Education Agency. Last summer, a contingent of parents at Treetops School International accused James Whitfield, who joined the campus in 2023, of financial mismanagement and of failing to report an alleged incident of physical abuse by a teacher. At the time, the parents were vocal in their displeasure with Whitfield’s leadership, but there was little in the way of concrete evidence to support the claims against him. Much of the uproar came after Treetops administrators voted to adopt a four-day school week and eliminate seventh through 12 grades beginning with the 2025-26 school year.

The school now operates as a kindergarten through sixth grade campus. Based on at least one parental complaint, the TEA opened a formal investigation into Whitfield in the summer of 2025. On Feb. 18, the agency notified Whitfield that the investigation had concluded, and the investigative warning had been removed from his TEA educator certificate. Whitfield shared a copy of the letter he received from the TEA informing him the case was closed. In that letter, a TEA investigator said the allegations against Whitfield were unfounded, and there was no evidence of rules violations that could have impacted Whitfield’s educator certification. In an email sent to Whitfield, the TEA investigator responsible for the case thanked Whitfield for his cooperation and wished him the best.

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The right-wingification of UT continues

Texas Republicans’ efforts to control what is taught at the University of Texas passed another milestone last week, as UT administrators announced that the school will consolidate its highly regarded gender and ethnic studies programs into one new department. UT-Austin President Jim Davis sent a notice to the school community on Feb. 12 that the independent departments of American Studies, African and African Diaspora Studies, Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies will soon cease to exist. Their areas of study – which Republicans have criticized as part of a woke agenda – will be folded into the newly created Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. Three more departments – Slavic and Eurasian Studies, French and Italian Studies, and Germanic Studies – will become the Department of European and Eurasian Studies. All seven affected departments are in UT’s College of Liberal Arts.

The decision to consolidate them came with minimal input from faculty and none from students. The consolidations will lower funding and reduce the number of professors granted tenure in the study areas, sources told the Chronicle. The chairs of the seven departments learned about the consolidations in a 30-minute Zoom call with COLA Interim Dean David Sosa on Feb. 12. Cherise Smith, chair of African and African Diaspora Studies, said the meeting left her numb. UT has offered courses on African Studies since the late 1960s, and all top-tier universities have departments devoted to ethnic and gender studies in this day and age. Having helped lead the department in various capacities over the last 14 years, Smith said the programs bring prestige to the university. “I’m having trouble wrapping my head around this,” Smith said. “Multiple departments, multiple faculty, and many, many students are going to be affected. It’s a big change, and a change that is taking us off the course of being a top-ranked, global research institution.” Other faculty members echoed Smith’s dismay. “Our leaders are taking a giant leap backwards,” said Julie Minich, a professor of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies.

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Dallas delegation heading to New York City to try and lure business to 'Y’all Street'

Mayor Eric Johnson announced Thursday that he and City Manager Kimberly Tolbert will lead an official “Y’all Street” delegation to New York City next week in an effort to highlight Dallas as a business destination. Officials declined to take questions during the conference, so many details of where they’ll be in the city and who they plan to meet with are unknown. A cost estimate of the trip is also currently not known, but the city said in a press release members of the delegation will cover their own costs of travel and lodging. “During this visit, we're going to be highlighting Dallas as a premier destination for innovation and investment, especially in the financial services industry,” Johnson said at a press conference. “We're going to be working to strengthen our existing relationships with investors and executives and decision makers who help shape global markets.”

Tolbert said the delegation will be in New York next week for two days on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27. Y’all Street is a phrase used by officials to describe the rapidly growing financial sector in Dallas. Johnson said the delegation will invite New York-based businesses to come to Dallas. Tolbert said the delegation will be “on the ground promoting Y'all street and pitching Dallas as America's premier destination for financial services, investment and innovation.” Dallas’ growth recently caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who in January posted on Truth Social that building a New York Stock Exchange in Dallas would be bad for New York. “I can’t believe they would let this happen,” Trump wrote. Just a few years ago, Texas had no stock exchanges. Now it has three, all located in Dallas. Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange — the heads of the national stock exchange duopoly — set up in the city soon after the announcement of the Texas Stock Exchange, a home-grown effort.

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Katy ISD board considers banning 2 more books. Here's which titles.

Katy ISD trustees were split this week over two challenged library books, the latest for a district that has removed 57 titles from shelves over the past five years. The board will vote next week on whether to retain, modify or remove “Cat Kid Comic Club” and “Fake News Phenomenon.” In January, trustees voted to remove three books. “Read Me Like a Book,” “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” and “Rumble” were all pulled from district libraries. Those decisions came under the board’s updated reading materials policy, which gives trustees final authority over formal reconsideration requests.

The first book, “Cat Kid Comic Club” by Dav Pilkey, was challenged over concerns that it is too violent, said trustee Mary Ellen Cuzela. A review in The New York Times described “Cat Kid Comic Club” as containing “elements of cartoon violence, bathroom humor, and chaotic action.” The review noted the book includes scenes of “intense, albeit silly, action,” such as a parodied “Frogzilla” creating massive destruction. Several trustees pushed back immediately, describing the graphic novel as harmless humor written in a comic-strip style for children. “I own multiple copies of the book because I have multiple children who all love Dav Pilkey’s writings,” said board member Morgan Calhoun. “I’m going to disagree on this.” “This is a comic book that’s a little silly,” she added. “We should put it back into circulation.” Another trustee said they also read the book and found nothing harmful. "It’s just a goofy book,” said Dawn Champagne. "There's a little bit of violence even in fairy tales and things like that.” Discussion of “Fake News Phenomenon” was more divided. The book was challenged over concerns that it is politically biased and tied heavily to the 2016 presidential election, Cuzela said. Champagne defended the book’s broader historical context, contending that the election was one of many references.

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Texas Southern regents face intense scrutiny after state audit

The Texas Southern University Board of Regents approved about $2.7 million in contracts after some deliberation, careful not to violate Gov. Greg Abbott's order to pause non-essential state funding at the historically Black university. The board's caution shows how deeply a routine state audit has shaken the university since Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blasted TSU last fall in a surprise release of the findings that called out “significant weaknesses” in the school's financial processes. Every contract must now cross President James W. Crawford III’s desk before going to the board. The Texas Rangers are investigating potential fraud or waste. And the 2027 legislative session is looming for the university, which is the state's last remaining public university operating outside of a Texas university system.

"I want the public to understand how important this is, and … when I say the public, I mean also the governor and lieutenant governor,” Regent Richard Johnson said during the board's first regular meeting of the year. “At the end of the day, we’re going to have to argue for our resources in the next legislative session, and I need to be extremely clear on new contracts and extension contracts if the moratorium has not been lifted.” The regents met in executive session after Johnson requested that they publicly disclose whether the contracts had any compliance issues with Abbott's order. That would have required the board to waive its attorney-client privilege, said Lisa McBride, whose law firm provides counsel to the university. After closed session, the regents approved spending on eight items on the consent agenda, including for police radio services, firewall upgrades and landscaping. It was not immediately clear how much of the contracts were paid with state appropriations exempted from Abbott's executive order and how much was funded by other means.

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Democrats testing in Houston plan to recruit popular content creators in new strategy to win back Latino voters

An evening rally to boost Democratic turnout for Texas’ rapidly approaching primary featured plenty of the state party’s political star power, but it was someone who won’t be on a ballot who drew the most attention. Carlos Eduardo Espina, a progressive political influencer who boasts more than 14 million followers on TikTok, mingled with lawmakers and took selfies with attendees who eagerly posted them online. The Tuesday night gathering at a Houston Mexican restaurant was more than just a pre-primary rally. It also was a curtain-raiser of sorts for a campaign strategy Democrats hope will help them in this year’s midterms and beyond. Espina and nine other Houston influencers invited to the event are at the center of that strategy, which seeks to build a network of online content creators to better engage Latino voters after many of them gravitated toward Republicans two years ago.

The strategy, developed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ political arm, is being rolled out in the Houston area as early voting begins for Texas’ statewide primary on March 3. The idea is to capitalize on the popularity of local influencers and social media superstars such as Espina to more effectively spread Democrats’ messaging to Latino voters. Strategists hope to expand the effort, called “ RUIDO ” — Spanish for noise — which consists of a network of online content creators, into other competitive primary and general election races where Latino candidates and voters could prove decisive. However, leaders of the Hispanic Caucus PAC have yet to decide when or where to invest next. “The Trump campaign reached out to those nontraditional voices to amplify their message,” Rep. Linda Sanchez, a California Democrat and chair of the caucus’ political action committee, said of the Republican’s engagement with social media influencers and podcasters two years ago. “We didn’t anticipate that was going to be a way by which politics was disseminated. We’ve seen the contrary, that we do need to be in those spaces, as well.” The program’s launch comes as Democrats continue to grapple with broad dissatisfaction with the party and questions about how to effectively engage voters, particularly younger ones, voters of color and those without college degrees who shifted away from the party during the 2024 presidential election. President Donald Trump made inroads with Latino voters that year with a strategy that heavily leaned on engaging streamers, podcasters and other online content creators.

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UH proposes professor checklist for courses to prevent advocacy of politics, ideology

The University of Houston administration is circulating proposed revisions to its faculty guidelines, which would require professors to self-evaluate their curriculum to "not require students to adopt, affirm, or comply with specific political, ideological or belief-based viewpoints,” according to an association of teaching professionals. The proposal comes less than two weeks after UH faced backlash for asking professors to sign an agreement not to indoctrinate students. The self-evaluation plan is being reviewed by the UH faculty council's curriculum committee. The faculty council was created after the UH faculty senate was dissolved last year to comply with Senate Bill 37, which limited faculty influence over academic decisions at public universities in Texas.

Holley Love, a UH mechanical engineering professor and member of the UH chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), said if the proposal were implemented in its current form, it would amount to a never-before-seen level of academic oversight. "UH's handling of this political moment has been better than others like [Texas] A&M and Texas Tech, but this is unprecedented for us," Love said. "It should be unprecedented for any university." The self-evaluation guidelines are unnecessary, because faculty are already equipped with the skills to refine their own syllabi and course materials, Love said. "I really don't see a need for a university-level checklist, and I think a lot of faculty will use that checklist as ways to censor themselves, and that would have a deleterious effect on students," she said. "Students are not going to get the real, detailed, in-depth discussions that they might otherwise be able to engage in if faculty are always worried about whether somebody is going to come back and say that they've violated an item on this largely arbitrary checklist." The proposal includes a "curriculum review self-assessment checklist" broken down into seven sections. The checklist includes requirements such as: "Materials do not require students to adopt or affirm political, ideological, or belief-based viewpoints." "Podcasts, TED Talks, YouTube, journalism, or websites, are intentionally paired with contrasting or varied perspectives where appropriate." "Assignments encourage development of critical thinking skills rather than viewpoint agreement." "Grading criteria assess students' academic performance and mastery of course content, not their alignment with any particular viewpoint." "Participation expectations do not penalize students for differing perspectives."

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Galveston ISD becomes latest local school district to reject daily prayer periods, Bible readings

Galveston ISD on Wednesday became the latest local school district to reject school prayer periods, which are permitted by a new Texas law. Board members for Houston ISD, the largest district in Texas, also have voted against carving out prayer periods and Bible-reading sessions. So have several other Houston-area school districts, including Alief ISD, Conroe ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Humble ISD, Katy ISD and Spring ISD, according to Houston Chronicle reporting. Leaders of at least one Houston-area district, Magnolia ISD, have voted to adopt designated prayer periods, which are voluntary for students and staff under Senate Bill 11. The law requires all public school boards and charter school governing bodies in Texas to make a decision by March 1 about whether or not to implement the prayer sessions.

Galveston ISD officials stated that even without adopting them, students and employees are not prohibited from participating in prayer or reading the Bible or other religious texts during a period of the day that isn't designated and does not interfere with instruction. Some supporters of the law have said carving out time for prayer at school is important, asserting that the opportunity for voluntary prayer or reading of the Bible or other religious texts has deteriorated, according to previous Houston Public Media reporting. Opponents say the new law risks violating First Amendment protections, erodes the separation of church and state and would be difficult to implement in schools. They also argue the bill was not necessary since students are already allowed to express their faiths in public schools. The Galveston ISD board meeting agenda item, in opposition of adopting prayer periods, was approved in a 6-0 vote without discussion on Wednesday night. School board vice president Johnny Smecca was absent for the vote, which was taken as part of a consent agenda that included multiple items.

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National Stories

MAGA architects hire gay porn star for education role

The conservative machine behind Project 2025 hired an adult film star to work on education policy. The Heritage Foundation announced Thursday that Corey DeAngelis, a prominent school choice advocate who opposes LGBTQ inclusion in education, is joining the think tank as a fellow at its Center for Education Policy. It is a standard conservative policy hire, with the exception of DeAngelis’s history as a gay porn performer. The group proudly celebrated the appointment in a post on X, linking to an announcement article highlighting his work on education reform. Acting center director Jonathan Butcher praised DeAngelis’ “high-quality research” on education reform and said the team was “very pleased to add him.”

Butcher also emphasized DeAngelis’s alignment with the team’s values, noting that DeAngelis has been working toward the same education goals as Heritage staff for years. What went unmentioned in the official communications: DeAngelis’ past appearances on gay adult site GayHoopla under the alias “Seth Rose,” in which he participated in both group and solo porn scenes. That history is not new. DeAngelis’ time as an adult performer originally resurfaced in 2024, triggering backlash that led to his exit from the conservative nonprofit American Federation for Children, where he had served as a senior fellow. DeAngelis has since acknowledged the material, describing it as something he regrets. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, he said the videos—filmed over a decade ago—were “embarrassing” and did not reflect who he is today. “There are images and videos circulating of me from my college days that I’m not proud of,” he said. DeAngelis framed the fallout as politically motivated, arguing critics were attempting to “cancel” him because of his conservative views. “Cancellation requires consent,” he said, insisting he would not participate in efforts to derail his career. Instead, he has recast his past as fuel for his current advocacy—particularly his push to limit LGBTQ-related content in schools.

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People are leaving Congress because the job sucks

There’s been a lot of buzz in Washington lately about the “exodus” of members of Congress in the 2026 midterm-election cycle. So far, 51 U.S. House members (30 Republicans and 21 Democrats), and nine U.S. senators (five Republicans and four Democrats) out of 35 up for reelection, are not running this year. Another three House members are running against one another after mid-decade redistricting measures. According to ABC, it’s the most combined House and Senate retirements in the 21st century and well over average generally. And the numbers for the House could go higher still, given pending partisan gerrymanders in Florida and Virginia. From 40,000 feet, you might think the retirements are concentrated among members of Congress who are in danger of losing their seats in November. And there are some retirees that fit this description: Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Gary Peters of Michigan, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire were theoretically vulnerable, and according to Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball, eight of the 54 open House seats are in very competitive districts.

But that leaves 46 that aren’t. The single-largest factor in House retirements is the number of people who are running for other offices: 15 House members (eight Republicans, seven Democrats) are running for the Senate, and another 11 (ten Republicans and one Democrat) are running for governor. One more Republican (Chip Roy of Texas) is running for attorney general. Of the other retirees, the most inscrutable are among Republicans in safe seats who aren’t too old to serve and would seem to be reaching the peak of their careers. Those include two of the most recently announced retirements: Nevada congressman Mark Amodei and Georgia congressman Barry Loudermilk. Amodei’s stated rationale for leaving Congress was that “15 years seems like a pretty good run.” Loudermilk was even more opaque, retreating behind the standard “more time with my family” excuse. Anyone actually familiar with the daily grind of congressional service, especially in the House, can tell you that in some cases members hang it up because the job sucks. Many, perhaps most, Americans believe people go into politics to get rich. Maybe congressional service is a milepost on the road to riches, but nobody’s getting rich while serving in the House unless they are breaking the law, given restrictions on outside income and conflict-of-interest rules. But you do have to maintain two residences (unless you are one of the dozens of members who sleep on cots or sofas in their offices) and struggle with balancing the need for a pristine House attendance record (absences go right into the oppo-research files of your enemies) and being very visible back home (not doing so will get you a primary- or general-election opponent quicker than anything else).

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Former Prince Andrew’s arrest upends royal family’s effort to move past his scandal

For decades, Sandringham Estate has been a place for the House of Windsor to escape from it all. Three hours northeast of London, the palatial country house, its 20,000 sprawling acres and residences are where King Charles III and his family celebrate Christmas, waving to admirers as they parade to church services in their holiday best. Early Thursday morning, the idyllic estate was swarmed by unmarked police cars as officers arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the king’s brother, amid allegations that he shared confidential government information with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender. Later in the night, he would return to Sandringham, slinking low in the back seat of a black sport utility vehicle, with news cameras craning to capture his release.

The scenes of Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor, already stripped of his title and kicked out of his longtime home, could be seen as an unmistakable message about the end of an era. Not since King Charles I was arrested and tried for treason nearly four centuries ago, in January 1649, has a British royal been detained. The king’s family, long rocked by scandalous infighting and grievous losses, is now facing what could be the gravest threat in more than a generation to its moral authority and the central role it plays, culturally and symbolically, in the country. The arrest represents the ultimate collision of police and pageantry, upending fierce efforts by Buckingham Palace to distance itself from the accusations against the former prince. The investigation into the former prince, which might continue for weeks or months, could rival royal weddings and coronations as one of the biggest public spectacles in modern British history. If charges are filed, by law and tradition, they will be formally brought in the king’s name: King Charles III v. his brother. The arrest follows years in which the king, and before him his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, stayed silent on separate accusations that Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor forced Virginia Giuffre to have sex with him after she was trafficked by Mr. Epstein when she was 17 years old. The former prince has denied those allegations and wrongdoing related to Mr. Epstein.

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After leaving WHO, Trump officials propose more expensive replacement to duplicate it

After pulling out of the World Health Organization, the Trump administration is proposing spending $2 billion a year to replicate the global disease surveillance and outbreak functions the United States oncehelped build and accessed at a fraction of the cost, according to three administration officials briefed on the proposal. The effort to build a U.S.-run alternative would re-create systems such as laboratories, data-sharing networks and rapid-response systems the U.S. abandoned when it announced itswithdrawal from the WHO last year and dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations. While President Donald Trump accused the WHO ofdemanding “unfairly onerous payments,” the alternative his administration is considering carries a price tag about three times what the U.S. contributed annually to the U.N. health agency. The U.S. would build on bilateral agreements with countries and expand the presence of its health agencies to dozens of additional nations, the officials said.

“This $2 billion in funding to HHS is to build the systems and capacities to do what the WHO did for us,” one official said. The Department of Health and Human Services has been leading the efforts and requested the funding from the Office of Management and Budget in recent weeks as part of a broader push to construct a U.S.-led rival to the WHO, officials said. Before withdrawing from the agency, the U.S. provided roughly $680 million a year in assessed dues and voluntary contributions to the WHO, often exceeding the combined contributions of other member states, according to HHS. Citing figures in the proposal, officials said the U.S. contributions represented about 15 to 18 percent of the WHO’s total annual funding of about $3.7 billion. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon did not answer detailed questions about the proposed WHO replacement but said the agency “is working with the White House in a deliberative, interagency process on the path forward for global health and foreign assistance that first and foremost protects Americans.” A spokeswoman for OMB declined to comment. Public health experts said the effort would be costly and unlikely to match the WHO’s reach. “Spending two to three times the cost to create what we already had access to makes absolutely no sense in terms of fiscal stewardship,” said Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who served as a senior covid-19 adviser during the Biden administration. “We’re not going to get the same quality or breadth of information we would have by being in the WHO, or have anywhere the influence we had.”

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US CDC cancels February vaccine adviser meeting; no new one set yet

A U.S. vaccine advisory committee meeting scheduled for later this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not be held, with no new dates announced, according to a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stepped up efforts to rewrite national vaccination policy, including dropping broad recommendations for six childhood shots including COVID and hepatitis B, deepening federal support for states' vaccine exemptions, and cutting funding for mRNA-based vaccine research. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which makes recommendations for who should get which vaccines, had been scheduled to meet from February 25-27, according to the CDC's website. But no Federal Register notice had been made to announce the meeting, nor had the CDC posted an agenda.

"We will not hold the ACIP meeting later this month. Further information will be shared as available," HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said. Later on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice notified a federal judge in Boston of the postponement, which occurred days after medical groups opposed to Kennedy's vaccine agenda had gone to court asking him to block the panel from meeting. The committee's recommendations historically have been used to guide U.S. health insurance coverage, state policies on vaccines needed for schools and how physicians advise parents and patients. The panel faced multiple revamps last year, after Kennedy fired all 17 of its members in June. One source familiar with the matter said the CDC is considering rescheduling the meeting for March. The committee generally meets at least three times a year. When the committee last met in December, it voted to remove the recommendation that all newborns in the U.S. receive a hepatitis B vaccine. The CDC followed that vote in January with its own broad changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, removing the recommendation for rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease and hepatitis A. The ACIP did not vote on these changes. Several state and medical groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics have issued their own vaccine recommendations as an alternative to those issued by the CDC. Leadership at the CDC is shifting. National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya will step in as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a Trump administration official said on Wednesday, replacing current acting director Jim O'Neill.

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DHS admits its website showcasing the ‘worst of the worst’ immigrants was rife with errors

The Department of Homeland Security admitted that its website featuring what it calls the “worst of the worst” arrested immigrants was rife with errors and changed the site this week after receiving questions from CNN about it. DHS created the website in December and the agency, its secretary Kristi Noem and the White House have all heavily promoted it on social media as the Trump administration has sought to justify its aggressive and heavily scrutinized immigration enforcement operations. The website currently lists about 25,000 people, along with the crimes the agency says they were arrested for or convicted of — including many who were initially linked only to relatively minor offenses.

But DHS this week conceded its website was filled with inaccuracies. After receiving questions about a CNN analysis of the website, a DHS spokesperson admitted on Tuesday that the charges against hundreds of immigrants listed on the website were described incorrectly by the agency. The spokesperson attributed the inaccuracies to a “glitch” that they said DHS worked to remedy. The spokesperson said on Wednesday that the glitch had been “resolved.” A CNN review of the website found that thousands of the people listed on the website were described by the agency as being convicted of or arrested for serious charges — including sex crimes or different forms of homicide. But hundreds more who DHS considered the “worst of the worst” were described as being arrested for or convicted of far less serious crimes, including single charges of traffic offenses, marijuana possession or illegal reentry, a federal felony that involves someone reentering the United States after having been previously deported. CNN could not independently verify the descriptions of each of the thousands of people listed on the website.

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Labor Secretary’s husband barred from department premises after reports of sexual assaults

The husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been barred from the department’s headquarters after at least two female staff members told officials that he had sexually assaulted them, according to people familiar with the decision and a police report obtained by The New York Times. The women said Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, had touched them inappropriately at the Labor Department’s building on Constitution Avenue. One of the incidents, during working hours on the morning of Dec. 18, was recorded on office security cameras, the people said. The video showed Dr. DeRemer giving one of the women an extended embrace, and was reviewed as part of a criminal investigation, one of the people said. In January, the women’s concerns about Dr. DeRemer, 57, were raised as part of an internal investigation by the department’s inspector general into alleged misconduct by Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and her senior staff, one of the people said.

On Jan. 24, Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department filed a report about forced sexual contact in December at the Labor Department, according to their report, which was viewed by The Times. The police report is the only one from the last three months associated with the Labor Department’s address, a police spokesman said, adding that the Police Department’s sexual assault unit is investigating. After the women described the incidents to investigators, Dr. DeRemer was barred from entering the Labor Department’s premises, according to people familiar with the decision, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the allegations and ongoing investigations surrounding the department. “If Mr. DeRemer attempts to enter, he is to be asked to leave,” a building restriction notice viewed by The Times said. Dr. DeRemer, an anesthesiologist in Portland, Ore., who frequently visited his wife’s Washington offices, did not respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for the Department of Labor did not provide a comment. A lawyer representing Ms. Chavez-DeRemer in the inspector general investigation declined to comment.

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ICE explores outsourcing some of its efforts to deputize local police

The Trump administration is looking for private companies that can train, recruit and provide liability protection for local police carrying out immigration enforcement as it expands its deportation apparatus. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees the local partnerships known as 287(g) agreements, requested information until Feb. 10 from companies interested in managing the booming partnerships, which can include deputizing police and other officers to arrest people they suspect are living in the U.S. without authorization. Over the past year, 287(g) agreements have skyrocketed, allowing sheriffs’ and police departments to get involved in President Donald Trump’s push for mass deportations. Nearly 800 agencies across 32 states have signed up to deputize their officers to act as immigration agents as part of a previously dormant model of the 287(g) agreements, according to the federal government’s list of participants. Florida has the most agreements.

Potential contractors had to tell the agency by Feb. 10 about their existing relationships with all the sheriffs’ departments in the country, how they could train sheriffs to participate in the 287(g) program and whether they could provide liability protection to officers acting as immigration agents. The request for information ICE posted to the federal government’s contracting database in January is a preliminary step and does not guarantee there will be a contract offer. Bianca Tylek, executive director of Worth Rises, a nonprofit group advocating against privatization of the criminal legal system, told NOTUS the outsourcing of training could mean that companies profiting from immigration detention might end up training local police on detaining immigrants. “It’s not surprising because this administration has been privatizing everything,” she said. Although it’s unclear which companies expressed interest in managing the 287(g) partnerships, a Q&A document posted in early February shed more light on the kind of services ICE is interested in, such as an outreach effort rolled out across the country simultaneously and marketing campaigns.

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Lead Stories

'Abused his power:' Husband of Tony Gonzales aide breaks silence about affair

For more than five months after his estranged wife died after setting herself on fire, Adrian Aviles declined to speak publicly about allegations that she'd had an affair with her boss, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales. In an interview with the San Antonio Express-News, he said Gonzales “abused his power” by becoming romantically involved with Regina Ann "Regi" Santos-Aviles, who worked in the Republican congressman's Uvalde office. “I said the truth would come to light when it’s time, and the time is now,” Aviles said via Zoom from his lawyer's office in San Antonio on Wednesday. “Tony abused his power. He should have held himself to a higher standard as a congressional leader.”

Aviles said he doesn't want an apology. “I hope that Tony will stand up and be accountable for his actions,” he said. Aviles, 40, spoke a day after the San Antonio Express-News reported that a text message shared by a former Gonzales staffer showed that Santos-Aviles acknowledged having an affair with the married congressman. The text was from a phone number that the paper verified was Santos-Aviles'. It was part of a thread from April 27, 2025. In the message, she wrote, "I had (sic) affair with our boss.” Santos-Aviles, 35, was Gonzales’ regional district director. She and her husband had an 8-year-old son. On Sept. 13, 2025, authorities said Santos-Aviles poured gasoline on herself outside her home in Uvalde and was engulfed in flames. She died the next day at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. In November, the Bexar County Medical Examiner ruled her death a suicide by self-immolation. Police said home surveillance video showed she was alone when the fire started and that there was no evidence of foul play.

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Prince Andrew arrested in connection with Epstein files revelations

Police have arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following the US government’s release of documents detailing the former prince’s ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten Windsor is the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested. He has denied all accusations against him and insisted that he never witnessed or suspected any of the behavior of which Epstein was accused. He has not commented on recent allegations of misconduct in public office. Police in the U.K. don’t normally name suspects when they are arrested. Police didn’t give any further details on the arrest, but disclosures about Mountbatten-Windsor’s dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have dominated headlines in Britain, with the former duke stripped of his titles and moved out of his royal residence in Windsor. Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to his dealings with Epstein. Buckingham Palace didn’t have any immediate comment.

King Charles III said he learned “with the deepest concern” of his younger brother’s arrest, and stressed that “the law must take its course.” In the meantime, Charles said: “My family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.” Misconduct allegations: The allegations of misconduct likely relate to Mountbatten-Windsor’s decade spent as UK trade envoy. He stepped down in 2011 after coming under fire for his friendship with Epstein. Documents released by the US Department of Justice showed that the former prince was in contact with Epstein during his time as trade envoy. Sandringham estate: Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. He had moved there earlier this month after being evicted from the royal estate at Windsor, where he had lived since 2003, by King Charles III, his older brother. Sandringham is also where Prince Philip, Mountbatten-Windsor’s father, spent his final months before his death in 2021.

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Fed minutes show no rush to restart rate cuts

Officials at the Federal Reserve signaled no rush to restart interest rate cuts after pausing reductions last month, according to minutes from January’s meeting. In fact, several policymakers even went so far as to raise the possibility of rate increases if inflation stayed stubbornly high. The record of the latest gathering, released on Wednesday, underscored the sharp divisions that have plagued the central bank as it contends with a mixed economic picture after a series of rate reductions last year. Several policymakers indicated that there was still a path to lower rates this year if inflation declined as expected, while a larger group signaled support to hold rates steady until there was “clear indication that the progress of disinflation was firmly back on track.”

The minutes showed that several policymakers wanted the Fed to convey “the possibility that upward adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate could be appropriate if inflation remains at above-target levels.” January’s meeting marked the first gathering since July at which the Fed held rates steady, voting 10-2 to maintain the previous 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent level. Two governors, Christopher J. Waller and Stephen I. Miran, dissented in favor of a quarter-point cut, arguing that the labor market was vulnerable without additional support from the central bank. The decision to pause came after three consecutive contentious meetings at which officials splintered over how to contend with a slowing labor market and intensifying inflationary pressures caused by President Trump’s tariffs. The Fed, prompted by growing concerns about rising unemployment, lowered rates between September and December by a cumulative 0.75 percentage point, although those decisions featured dissents in both directions. Some officials wanted the Fed to cut even faster, while others voted for the Fed to stay on hold.

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To avoid state takeovers, Texas districts are spending millions to outsource struggling schools. Here’s how it works.

Texas school districts are opting to outsource their failing campuses to third-party operators in a little-known, but increasingly common attempt to avoid state takeovers, a WFAA investigation found. In exchange for paying millions to a third party with the promise of improved accountability scores, the TEA grants a two-year reprieve from state intervention and sends the district additional public education funds to help cover the cost. In these scenarios, superintendents and school boards keep their jobs and retain at least partial local control over their schools — all of which would be at risk with a state takeover. More and more districts are now turning to these "1882 turnaround partnerships" — named for the 2017 bill creating the option — as pandemic-paused accountability scores reach the five-year trigger for state intervention.

The only provider with more than one turnaround partnership — the Colorado-based nonprofit Third Future Schools — estimates it may nearly triple the number of Texas schools it runs on behalf of districts next year. "I think we’ll land between 10 to 12 additional campuses due to many schools being in year three or four of the F ranking, and districts needing to do something to pause the accountability clock," said Third Future Superintendent Zach Craddock during a January board meeting. Questions remain about what happens to student outcomes once the contracts end and the turnaround partners — and their often highly-paid teachers — leave the schools back in the districts' hands. In one instance, a West Texas school that hired Third Future Schools saw its test scores decrease after their contract ended. In a situation with a district in Southeast Texas, Third Future’s contract ended early after a dispute over payment. "Status quo is not an option — [districts] have proven they have not been successful," said former Dallas ISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa, who now works as an education consultant. "I think it’s an interesting experiment, but it’s got to stand the test of time." No matter the outcome, the reality for districts choosing to contract with turnaround partners is the same: They lose local control of select schools and send hundreds of thousands of public education dollars to third-party entities.

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State Stories

‘Horrible injustices’: Four men previously accused of Austin yogurt shop murders expected to be formally cleared

After spending decades of their lives wrongly accused of one of Austin’s most infamous crimes, four men previously believed to have killed four teenage girls at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt! shop on Anderson Lane in 1991 will finally see their names cleared. On Thursday morning, prosecutors will ask a Travis County judge to formally clear Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Forrest Welborn and Maurice Pierce. The hearing follows a major breakthrough in the case last fall, when Austin Police revealed ballistic and DNA evidence pointed instead to a known-serial killer, Robert Brashers, as the person responsible. APD cold case detective Dan Jackson said evidence shows Brashers, who has since died, acted alone.

The hearing is expected to spotlight the failures of the justice system in this case, with remarks from Travis County prosecutors, as well as at least two of the men — Welborn and Scott — and their attorneys. According to a news release from the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, Springsteen’s attorney, the executive director of the Innocence Project of Texas, which is representing the late Maurice Pierce, and Det. Jackson will also play a role. The gruesome crime has captured the attention of people across the country, since the bodies of the four girls — Amy Ayers, Eliza Thomas, Sarah Harbison and Jennifer Harbison — were found with gunshot wounds and recovered from the burned wreckage of the yogurt shop. In the days and years that followed, police arrested Pierce, Welborn, Scott, and Springsteen in connection with the case. Scott and Springsteen were tried and convicted in the early 2000s, leaving Scott facing a life sentence and Springsteen on death row. During their trials, they both claimed the way police questioned them prompted them to deliver false confessions. Authorities have said no forensic evidence tied them to the crime, and an appeals court eventually overturned their cases on a constitutional violation related to their statements being the primary form of evidence against them.

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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn warns of a blue Texas if AG Ken Paxton wins Senate primary

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican trying to keep his seat in a heated primary election, warned of a blue Texas if Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wins the March 3 race. Early voting started Tuesday, and U.S. Senate candidates are sweeping through North Texas as they try to turn out voters. A few dozen people gathered at the Fort Worth Police Association on Wednesday afternoon to hear from Cornyn, whose leading Republican primary opponents include Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, a Houston Republican. “It makes a difference who is at the top of the ballot, because if Ken Paxton is the nominee, we could well experience a massacre and the first Democrat elected since 1994 in the state of Texas,” Cornyn said.

Democratic Senate primary candidates include Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat, and state Rep. James Talarico, who represents the Austin area. Tarrant County recently saw a historically Republican state Senate seat won by a Democrat in a special election runoff. On the first day of early voting, the number of Democratic primary voters surpassed GOP primary voters. “I think Democrats are energized,” Cornyn told reporters at the campaign event, adding, that “they’ve got full blown Trump derangement syndrome” and an active base that turns out to vote. He encouraged Republicans to turn out and vote. The Senate candidates have exchanged barbs on the campaign trail, and Cornyn spent part of his time in Fort Worth working to distinguish himself from the embattled Texas attorney general. Cornyn boasted about trust and relationships he’s built during his more than two decades in Washington.

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Messy House primary in Texas becomes proxy war in broader Democratic identity fight

Tejano music star Bobby Pulido is a favorite of national Democrats this cycle, as he mounts an uphill battle to flip a deep-red Rio Grande Valley House seat that President Donald Trump won by 18 points in 2024. But before he can take on Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) in the state’s 15th District, he must navigate the politics of a messy primary with emergency room doctor Ada Cuellar in a race that has turned increasingly personal — and mirrors the fight up the ticket for one of the state’s Senate seats. The primary has emerged as somewhat of a proxy war in the high-profile Senate primary between Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who has backed Cuellar, and state Rep. James Talarico, who supports Pulido.

Both contests have become emblematic of larger divides facing a party that is still going through growing pains after across-the-board losses to Republicans in 2024. Pulido is running a race geared toward a general election with a Republican-leaning electorate. In an interview, he said he is “not trying to run a primary race,” but rather a “general campaign.” Cuellar, meanwhile, argues Pulido’s vision for the future of the party is out of touch with what’s on the ground. Cuellar herself is facing a tough path to even reach November. Pulido’s name ID alone may be enough to get him through to the general. Even still, she has mounted repeated attacks on Pulido across the airwaves, arguing he is too conservative of a Democrat. A few of them have landed. Pulido’s campaign has apologized for a past misogynistic comment directed toward Hillary Clinton. His opponents have also focused on past remarks in which he said he doesn’t live in Texas full time and used his friendship with a local judge to get out of a speeding ticket.

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Outgoing Bexar County DA backs 4 candidates in crowded Democratic primary

Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales picked four candidates he thinks are suited to be his successor ahead of March’s primary election. Gonzales, a Democrat who announced in June that he would not seek a third term, said he would likely endorse one of four candidates in a crowded field to replace him. Three of them already work in his office. He said his endorsement would come during a potential run-off or general election in November. “The ideal candidate to take over should be somebody who's done this job before, who's been a prosecutor,” Gonzales said. “It's important that the voters know that this is not the kind of job that one should have on-the-job training.”

In an interview with the Express-News, Gonzales said his top picks are his juvenile division chief Jane Davis, his family violence chief Melli Powers and prosecutor Oscar Salinas Director of Bexar County’s Managed Assigned Counsel Office Jim Bethke is also high on the list, but Gonzales says the three others have an edge over him. Since Gonzales announced he would not run for reelection, a mix of prosecutors, defense attorneys and county officials have jumped into the race for their shot at the Democratic nomination. The winner of the general election will be responsible for overseeing a county office of more than 500 employees and a budget of over $55 million. “I'm in an awkward position,” Gonzales said. “It would be unfair of me to single out one over the others; that's why I've avoided making an endorsement until the primary.” Gonzales said Davis and Powers have done a "great job" leading their respective divisions and have decades of prosecutorial experience. He said Salinas has "a lot of energy and would do well" in the DA role. He then said Bethke has the administrative experience necessary for the job.

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Bexar County moves voter registration vendors for 2026 midterm

Forced to choose between a new paid voter registration system or a free state program that’s been faulty, Bexar County Commissioners voted Tuesday to move to a new private vendor for the 2026 midterm election. The contract totals roughly $2 million for a voter registration and elections management system software package. Like other large counties, the Bexar County Elections Department was thrust into chaos last summer when its longtime voter registration vendor, Votec, went under. They had to quickly onboard to a free state system, known as TEAM, at the same time that system was undergoing a massive update. The result was a massive backlog of voter registrations that the county had to hire temporary staff to manually enter in the days before early voting for the state’s November constitutional amendment election.

A similar backlog occurred in the lead up to the March 3 primary and was also resolved in the nick of time. However, voter registration cards — one of the many forms of identification people can use when they go to vote — have still not been delivered due to the delay. Under pressure to resolve the issues, this week county leaders forewent the traditional request for qualifications process to purchase services from a new vendor, VR Systems. VR Systems is now the vendor of choice for a number of other large Texas urban centers, including Tarrant, Denton, Collin and El Paso counties. One of its executives even attended a January meeting of the Commissioners Court to complain that Bexar County was causing unnecessary delays in the contracting process. But county leaders said they were being extra cautious to ensure that VR Systems would truly provide better services than the free state system once the TEAM System update is fully functional.

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School board rejection of prayer in schools grows

Trustees from a handful of Tarrant County districts recently voted not to create a daily period for voluntary prayer in public school classrooms stressing that students already have religious rights. Lake Worth, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Mansfield and Castleberry join a growing list of Texas districts declining the option in a vote a new state law requires of every Texas public school board by March 1. So far two area districts — Keller and Aledo — adopted the prayer period. A new Texas law requires trustees to take a recorded vote in a public meeting on whether to establish the designated prayer period in public schools. If districts adopt the period, they must set aside time during the school day for students to pray or read religious texts in segregated spaces. Parents would have to consent and waive their right to sue over constitutional claims related to the policy.

On Feb. 16, Lake Worth trustees unanimously rejected the prayer period after administrators explained how students already have broad rights to religious expression under existing law and district policy. “Our students do have the right to have self-expression,” said Sylonda Burns, executive director of campus leadership and school improvement. Students may pray individually or in groups before, during or after school and may read religious texts on campus — practices allowed under federal and state law, Burns noted. It would also cause logistical issues, she said. “So just like you have eight periods a day, now you would have like 8.5,” Burns said, describing the scheduling impact. Trustees said they received no complaints about current practices and that religious expression has long been accommodated on campuses. “Prayer has never been taken away from this district,” trustee Cindy Burt said. “We’ve always let students do what they believe.” The next night, Mansfield ISD trustees unanimously rejected the separate period as well. The vote came under the consent agenda, which allows elected officials to vote on multiple items in a single vote without discussion.

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Houston anti-fascist group responds to Paxton suit alleging ‘violent terrorism’

A Houston-based anti-fascist organization denied allegations that it violated Texas law after Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was suing the group over claims it incited "violent terrorism." On Feb. 6, Paxton said he was launching an investigation into the Screwston Anti-Fascist Committee to determine whether the group engaged in unlawful activity, including terrorism and "doxxing," or the act of publishing a person's personal information to encourage harassment or violence. He said the group was self-admittedly associated with Antifa, which was designated as a terrorist group by President Donald Trump in September.

In a statement posted to its website on Wednesday, the organization said it was being targeted by the attorney general and called the lawsuit a "blatant act of intimidation." "This assertion of authority should concern everyone in Texas and beyond," the statement read. "He has used this tool against any perceived 'enemy' of his agenda, including organizations that provide valuable and fully legal services to marginalized groups across the state. We fully condemn this cynical erosion of rights to score political clout." Paxton claimed that merchandise sold by the group "promotes the death" of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and encourages "violence by mentally ill 'transgender' individuals."

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Can labor candidates help Texas Dems win back power?

After pulling off an upset special election win for the solid-red Tarrant County Senate District 9 in late January, Democrat Taylor Rehmet told his cheering supporters at the Nickel City bar in Fort Worth: “This win goes to everyday working people.” The local Machinists’ union president beat his right-wing Republican opponent Leigh Wambsganss by 15 percentage points in a district Trump had won by 17 just two years ago. Wambsganss had raised 10 times the amount Rehmet raised for his campaign. Democrats have been looking for a path forward since facing devastating losses two years ago—including by redoubling their efforts to shore up support among working-class voters. Rehmet’s stunning victory has not just energized the Democratic Party heading into the 2026 midterms; it’s seen as proof of concept for an upstart slate of candidates who have come from the ranks of organized labor to run for office and, ideally, shake up the status quo of Democratic politics in Texas. “People are tired of the same old politics,” Leonard Aguilar, the new president of the Texas AFL-CIO, told the Texas Observer in an interview in early February.

The state labor federation announced its 2026 primary election endorsements in January. “The working people of Texas are looking for somebody that is actually going through what they are, who can understand what their kitchen table issues are and make sure they have somebody that fights on their behalf. That’s what Taylor and the other labor candidates are about.” Take, for instance, Marcos Vélez, a Gulf Coast region labor leader-turned-upstart candidate for lieutenant governor, who made some waves when the Texas AFL-CIO endorsed him last month over four-term Austin state Representative Vikki Goodwin. These days, Vélez’s day job as the assistant director of the United Steel Workers District 13—which covers the union’s workers in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico—starts before dawn and goes until the afternoon when he begins campaigning for lieutenant governor for the rest of the evening and weekends. “You have working people all over the state of Texas that work 16- to 18-hour-days, and they can barely keep food on the table. So I’m not going to complain, because I’m very blessed for the job that I have, and it’s going to take long hours to get this done for the people of Texas,” Vélez told the Observer at his Steelworkers union hall in Webster.

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Former Harris County Tax Office workers accused of taking bribes to skip vehicle inspections

Two former Harris County Tax Office employees and the owners of a local vehicle title-service company have been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity after investigators uncovered a bribery scheme in which vehicle registrations and title transfers were processed without required inspections, proof of insurance and other legal requirements. Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen said the case strikes at the heart of public trust. "This involves public corruption by those who violated the people's trust in government and abused their positions to line their own pockets," he said. "This scheme was brazen, and the schemers will now face justice."

The four defendants charged are former tax office employees Renisha T. Wilkins, 35, and Sarah A. Anderson, 31, along with Oswaldo Perez, 51, and Adriana De La Rosa, 43, the owners of Bella's Multiservices, a South Houston vehicle title-service company. Wilkins, Anderson and De La Rosa have been arrested. Perez, who also goes by Osvaldo, remains a fugitive. Each defendant faces two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity, first-degree felonies each punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Detectives with Constable Precinct One's Special Investigations Unit conducted a two-year investigation into the scheme, which ran from at least November 2023 to April 2024, according to investigators. The two tax office employees were fired in April 2024. According to court records, Bella's Multiservices used TikTok and Facebook to advertise its ability to quickly process vehicle paperwork without the "BS" of meeting standard requirements. The company's owners paid tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to the two tax office employees in exchange for processing vehicle registrations and title transfers without valid proof of insurance, emissions testing, inspections and residency requirements. The employees also changed vehicle owner information to reflect Harris County addresses and ZIP codes to push through fraudulent transactions. The scheme was actually uncovered by officials at another Texas county tax office who spotted the TikTok advertisements. Those officials alerted state authorities, who then contacted the Special Investigations Unit at the Harris County Tax Office. Rosen credited the tax office for its role in bringing the case together.

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Federal lawsuit claims Texas motels ignored signs of sex trafficking

A sex trafficking survivor filed a lawsuit in Lubbock’s federal court against the Lubbock and Amarillo Red Roof Inn and its owners, alleging they knowingly benefited from sex trafficking on their hotel premises. The victim, Jane Doe, said she was trafficked between 2013 and 2018 by two men, according to court records. Court records said Doe’s traffickers used several methods to control her, including forcibly injecting her with heroin. According to federal court documents, the traffickers repeatedly used the Red Roof Inn locations in Lubbock (now the Regency Inn) and Amarillo. The lawsuit claimed the hotels were chosen because their staff regularly ignored “obvious and pervasive” signs of ongoing trafficking.

The petition, which was originally filed in Lubbock County and removed to federal court, outlined dozens of “red flags” for trafficking that should have been noticed. Some red flags included paying with cash or prepaid cards, high volumes of men at rooms at unusual times and guests arriving with few possessions for extended stays. The lawsuit alleged that staff commented and acknowledged the illicit behavior but took no action. “The organizations who developed these red flags then educated and trained the hotel industry about them,” court documents stated. “For example, the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign initiative issued specific guidance to the United States hotel industry through a Hospitality Toolkit describing human trafficking warning signs that could be detected by various categories of hotel staff.” In one instance at the Amarillo motel, the lawsuit said a hotel employee believed to be a manager told the traffickers that he “knew what was going on and should call the police.” Court records said despite this, the manager did not contact law enforcement and allowed the group to keep renting rooms.

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Head of Border Patrol union will be John Cornyn’s guest at Trump’s State of the Union

Sen. John Cornyn has named Border Patrol union chief Paul Perez as his guest at Tuesday’s State of the Union address, a pick heavy with political implications as Cornyn fights for survival in the March 3 GOP primary. The union has endorsed Cornyn’s reelection bid, with Perez joining him at campaign events to show appreciation for his work on border-related legislation. Cornyn highlighted Perez’s role in providing his union members with needed resources to secure the border. “I’m proud to welcome him to President Trump’s State of the Union address next week as my guest and look forward to continuing our work together to bolster border security, counter the disgraceful demonization of law enforcement by the Left, and keep Americans safe,” Cornyn said in a news release.

In a statement, Perez called Cornyn a strong advocate for the Border Patrol union and of Trump’s policies. “Our mission couldn’t be accomplished without Senator Cornyn’s leadership,” Perez said. Cornyn is facing Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston in the March 3 primary. Each member of Congress typically receives a guest seat in the House gallery for the president’s big speech. Some choose to hand the coveted ticket to a spouse, another family member or friend. Many go with guests intended to deliver a political message. Presidents from both parties have followed a similar course, filling the first lady’s section of the gallery with guests who illustrate key points in their speeches. In the Texas campaign, immigration and border policies remain potent among Republican voters, even as border crossings fall and the emphasis shifts to interior enforcement. Paxton and Hunt have attacked Cornyn as resistant to Trump on immigration, pointing to his past skepticism of building a “giant wall between the United States and Mexico from sea to shining sea.”

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University of North Texas warns of budget cuts amid $45 million deficit

A big reason for a UNT budget deficit might surprise you. The president of the university pointed to issues with visas and politics involving international students. The University of North Texas is now projecting a $45 million deficit, about $14 million larger than projected and a major factor the university president is pointing to is a sharp decline in one category of master’s degree students. These students typically pay much more in tuition and fees than their in-state counterparts.

In his letter to staff, UNT President Harrison Keller called the deficit structural and not temporary, saying that the university will now have to make some hard decisions to stabilize its finances and warned of budget cuts that will be felt across the university. "Nobody could have envisioned what was going to be happening in international student enrollments," said Keller. "A significant number of those master's students, particularly in some fields, data science, computer science, were international master's students." "That has a significant impact on our budget, on our budget forecast," said Keller. According to the university, it grew rapidly over the last decade in part because of those students. But now shifts in federal immigration policies have made it harder for many international students to enroll and stay in the United States. In January, the state department said it had revoked 8 thousand student visas as part of its mission to "Keep America safe." According to data released by the national student clearinghouse research center, there were almost ten thousand fewer foreign students enrolling at the graduate level in Fall of 2025. "When I talk to colleagues across the state, this is part of a larger trend that we're seeing," said Keller.

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National Stories

Nation's only unsalaried legislature asks New Mexico voters to reconsider its volunteer status

Members of the country’s only unsalaried legislature are asking voters to reconsider their volunteer status that has endured for 114 years since statehood in New Mexico. The state Senate on Tuesday night narrowly endorsed a constitutional amendment that would do away with the state’s prohibition on legislative direct compensation. That allows voters to decide in November whether to tie legislative salaries to the median income level in New Mexico — about $67,000 currently. After stalling for years, the initiative was promoted successfully this time by a group of young female legislators who have talked about the challenges of balancing work, family and legislative duties.

“Can working parents juggle child care, a mortgage and legislative service? Some of us do, but it’s not sustainable,” said Democratic state Sen. Angel Charley of Acoma, a sponsor of the measure. “When service requires personal wealth or extraordinary sacrifice, representation narrows. ... Democracy shrinks.” New Mexico taxpayers already foot the bill for travel expenses, and an allowance for meals and lodging, when the Legislature is in session. Many lawmakers also have access to public pension benefits. New Mexico’s “citizen legislature” of volunteer politicians has long been a source of civic pride in the state. But advocates for professionalizing the New Mexico Legislature say the current system discourages young, working-class candidates from serving and can inhibit progress on complex policy issues as legislators juggle separate paid and political careers. In New York and California, legislative salaries exceed $100,000, while New Hampshire opts for a nominal $100 annually per lawmaker.

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Gorsuch’s ‘told you so’ moment on Trump’s tariffs

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is having an ‘I told you so’ moment when it comes to President Trump’s tariffs. At November’s blockbuster arguments, Gorsuch raised alarm about what he called a “one-way ratchet” of authority from Congress to the president if Trump wins a case that challenges his use of emergency powers to impose duties on a host of countries. “It’s going to be veto-proof,” Gorsuch warned of Trump’s declared emergencies. “What president’s ever going to give that power back? A pretty rare president. So how should that inform our view?” Gorsuch’s concern is now in the limelight as the justices prepare to return to the bench to issue opinions on three separate days between now and next Wednesday.

Last week, Trump saw one of the first major pushbacks from Congress on the matter, when six House Republicans joined Democrats in voting 219-211 to repeal Trump’s Canada tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). That measure now heads to the Senate, where four Republicans joined Democrats last year on a similar effort. The new vote only needs a simple majority. But even if it gets to Trump’s desk, the revolt is largely symbolic. The bipartisan support for repealing the tariffs falls far short of the two-thirds majority needed in both the House and Senate to override an expected veto. Gorsuch saw it coming — and he wasn’t the only Trump-nominated justice to read the tea leaves back at November’s arguments. “Let’s say that we adopt your interpretation of the statute,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett told the government. “If Congress said, ‘Whoa, we don’t like that, that gives a president too much authority under IEEPA,’ it’s going to have a very hard time pulling the tariff power out of IEEPA, correct?” Congress can amend IEEPA at any time to make clear whether the 1977 law does, or does not, authorize Trump’s tariffs. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has expressed no appetite for doing so, leaving the nine justices to parse the nearly half-century-old phrasing that has left global financial markets in suspense for months.

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Billionaires’ low taxes are becoming a problem for the economy

California’s plan to hit its richest residents with a one-off wealth tax is a long shot, and its design has problems. But a look at who picks up the tab when billionaires scrimp on taxes, and how wealth concentration is affecting the wider economy, shows why the issue isn’t going away. The risk is that the U.S. economy becomes increasingly dependent on a narrow group of very rich households, whose spending is tied to the performance of the stock market. This could mean the entire economy pays a steep price in the next market correction. California has the highest concentration of billionaires in the U.S. with 255 individuals, or slightly more than a fifth of the country’s billionaire population, data from wealth-intelligence firm Altrata shows. Federal cuts to the state’s Medicaid program will leave its health system short of billions of dollars. A California healthcare union wants an emergency, one-time 5% levy on the wealth of any resident worth over $1 billion to plug the hole.

The proposal still needs to get enough signatures to qualify for a ballot in November, and a majority of voters would then need to approve it. Problems are already appearing with its design. The levy will be calculated based on whichever is the higher of a billionaire’s voting interest or economic interest in a company. The Tax Foundation says this could hurt tech founders, whose supervoting shares can be many multiples of their economic interest, resulting in outsize tax bills. Wealth taxes are hard to administer, and the ultrarich can simply leave if they don’t like where a state’s tax policies are headed. Google co-founder Sergey Brin recently left California. Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel says he might follow. Worries about California’s billionaires leaving and taking jobs with them may be enough to turn voters against the initiative. But debate about how much tax billionaires pay is likely to grow as America’s fiscal situation deteriorates and its wealth gap widens. Data from the Federal Reserve shows that only the richest 1% of households have grown their share of overall U.S. wealth since 1990. Their share hit a record 32% in the third quarter of 2025, equivalent to $54.8 trillion.

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Walmart reports strong holiday growth, but earnings outlook falls short of estimates

Walmart said on Thursday that holiday-quarter sales rose nearly 6% and its quarterly earnings and revenue surpassed Wall Street’s expectations as gains in e-commerce, advertising and its third-party marketplace boosted its business. For the full current fiscal year, Walmart said it expects net sales to increase by 3.5% to 4.5% and adjusted earnings per share to range from $2.75 to $2.85. That earnings outlook fell short of Wall Street’s expectations of $2.96 per share, according to LSEG. In an interview with CNBC, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said speedy deliveries from stores are helping Walmart attract more shoppers, particularly those with higher incomes. “Our ability to serve customers at the scale that we have, combined with the speed that we now have, is really translating into continued market share gains,” he said. “Those market share gains are occurring across all income cohorts, but consistent with last quarter, the last few quarters, most notably in the upper-income segment.”

Rainey also said consumer price increases from inflation and President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes should ease in the coming months. Food inflation at Walmart in the fourth quarter was just above 1%, while it was slightly higher for general merchandise, he said. “It seems to be a little bit more of a normalized price environment,” he said. “I think we have, largely as a retail industry, absorbed or seen the brunt of the impact from tariffs.” Here is what the big-box retailer reported for the fiscal fourth quarter compared with Wall Street’s estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG: Earnings per share at 74 cents adjusted vs. 73 cents expected with revenue at $190.66 billion vs. $190.43 billion expected The results also show an inflection point in the industry. For the first time, Amazon topped Walmart as the largest retailer by annual revenue, as the company posted $716.9 billion in sales for its most recent fiscal year compared with $713.2 billion for Walmart.

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DOT wants to block transit money to states that aid migrants

The Trump administration is pushing a legal change that could block states, cities and towns from offering free transportation to unauthorized immigrants, according to a proposal obtained by POLITICO — the latest in a series of Trump administration moves that seek to encroach on local transportation decisions. The draft law from the Department of Transportation would prohibit state and local governments from using federal transit money to help migrants elude federal immigration enforcement. But the proposed language could encompass a much broader range of activity, such as any free transportation to migrants, said a person familiar with the plan who was granted anonymity to discuss an internal matter. Such services have typically arisen in Democratic-run cities and states.

The proposal would ensure that “systems that receive Federal funds are not using them to circumvent or break Federal immigration law,” the text reads. It would cover all federal programs the Federal Transit Administration administers, including buses, subways, light rail and ferries. The plan is part of a package of measures — including prohibiting speed cameras in Washington and restricting funding for free buses — that DOT and the White House are considering for inclusion in the surface transportation reauthorization bill that Congress is supposed to approve this year. The current law expires Sept. 30. The DOT proposal takes aim at instances in which cities have provided free buses to help migrants reach resources, such as intake centers or shelters, according to a person familiar with the proposal. Many of those migrants had reached those communities after being shipped north by Republican governors during President Joe Biden’s time in office: Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas bused migrants to Democratic-run cities like New York, Chicago and Washington, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.

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How a recent shift in DNA sleuthing might help investigators in the Nancy Guthrie case

Investigators in Arizona are hoping that DNA found in and around Nancy Guthrie's house in Tucson could lead them to a suspect — and the missing woman. Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen on Jan. 31. So far, a key tool — the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a federal database of genetic records mainly taken from people suspected or convicted of crimes — has not returned a match for samples that have been tested, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department. But in cases where CODIS can't help, other DNA tools are available. "Investigators are currently looking into additional investigative genetic genealogy options for DNA evidence to check for matches," the sheriff's department said on Tuesday.

An important option is forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG), which incorporates public genealogy websites with DNA analysis. It has cracked high-profile cold cases such as the Golden State Killer attacks — prompting the National District Attorneys Association to proclaim in late 2023 that FIGG was ushering in a "new era in crime solving." That same year, FIGG helped solve a notable case. "The most obvious one that was recently used was the Bryan Kohberger case in Idaho, where he killed four college students," says Kathleen Corrado, executive director of the Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute at Syracuse University. That case, she says, showed FIGG "can be used in active investigations." Now that includes Nancy Guthrie's case. Here's a brief guide to FIGG and other DNA investigative tools that authorities could use as they continue the search for the missing woman:

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Lead Stories

Paxton surviving cash dump in Texas Senate primary

The GOP establishment spent more than $60 million to kneecap Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign. It didn’t work. Over the last six months, D.C. Republicans unleashed a tidal wave of TV ads boosting Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Those ads reminded Lone Star State voters about Paxton’s messy divorce, controversial impeachment proceedings and a slew of corruption scandals involving the longtime pol. But Paxton is entering the final weeks ahead of the March 3 Senate GOP primary just as he began it — the front-runner. And Paxton is convinced that he’s going to end Cornyn’s Senate career soon.

“My numbers look as good as they ever have. This is going to be a good race for me,” Paxton told us this week after an early voting kickoff event. “Now, John Cornyn’s at risk of finishing third. He may finish third. That’s where he’s at. He is in serious trouble of not even making a runoff.” Here’s the crazy part: Paxton didn’t air TV ads of his own until mid-February. He held just a few public campaign events and barely responded to the pro-Cornyn onslaught. “I don’t want to give their attacks dignity,” Paxton said. Cornyn’s fundraising dwarfs Paxton’s. YetPaxton enters any runoff in the pole position because those faceoffs draw the kind of smaller, more conservative electorate in which he thrives. Senate Republicans have been sounding the alarm for months that Paxton can’t win a general election. Senate GOP leaders say the reasons Paxton is so beloved by the far-right — his hardline conservatism — make him uniquely vulnerable against a Democratic opponent in the fall.

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Hunt files police report against Cornyn campaign staffer over alleged family 'doxxing' incident

Rep. Wesley Hunt, who is running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Texas, filed a police report on Tuesday after a senior campaign staffer for one of his GOP opponents posted a 2016 provisional ballot that included personal information about Hunt and his family. The document included the last four digits of Hunt's Social Security number, his driver's license ID number and a home address. Matt Mackowiak, who serves as the communications director for Sen. John Cornyn's re-election campaign for U.S. Senate, posted the unredacted documents on his X account last Friday. Cornyn's campaign account then reposted the now-deleted images. Sources from the Hunt campaign told Fox News Digital that when asked by a law enforcement officer if he would like to press charges, Hunt said yes.

Harris County Constable Mark Herman's office confirmed a report had been filed. A source from the Hunt campaign told Fox News Digital that law enforcement officials intend to subpoena X to retrieve the deleted post which showed Hunt's personal information. Hunt accused Mackowiak and the Cornyn campaign of "doxxing" his family in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The tragic situation involving Savannah Guthrie is a painful reminder of how vulnerable our family truly is," Hunt told Fox News Digital. "They should never be put in harm's way. And yet, that's exactly what happened to my family." "Despite knowing how dangerous and irresponsible it is to doxx someone’s family, the Cornyn campaign did it to mine," Hunt added. "What happened to my family members should never happen to anyone." Hunt also said Cornyn had not reached out since the post was published.

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Tony Gonzales had affair with aide who set herself on fire, ex-staffer says

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales engaged in a romantic relationship with an aide who died last year by setting herself on fire outside her Uvalde home, according to a text message and people close to the aide and her family. A former staffer in Gonzales' district office who worked closely with the aide, Regina Ann "Regi" Santos-Aviles, said she told him they had an affair in 2024, and that she spiraled into a depression after her husband discovered the relationship and Gonzales abruptly cut her off. He also shared with the San Antonio Express-News a screenshot of a text message from Santos-Aviles in which she acknowledged having an “affair with our boss.”

The staffer, who asked not to be named, citing a fear of retaliation, faulted Gonzales' office for failing to intervene, saying he warned the congressman's district director months before Santos-Aviles' death that he was concerned about her well-being. He described her as his “best friend” and said their families knew each other. Gonzales, a Republican representing Texas' 23rd Congressional District, is currently seeking reelection in a contested primary. He and his staff did not respond to a list of detailed questions submitted by the Express-News. A lawyer for Santos-Aviles' husband said her romantic relationship with the congressman was an open secret, and that he does not believe it played a role in her death. Authorities have said there was no evidence of foul play in Santos-Aviles’ death. Both she and Gonzales were married to other people at the time of the alleged affair. Santos-Aviles, 35, was Gonzales’ regional district director in Uvalde and the mother of an 8-year-old boy. She died Sept. 14, 2025. The former staffer, 24, contemplated going public about the affair as early as November, but was afraid he would lose his job, he said. He said this week that he stopped coming to work for months after Santos-Aviles’ suicide and felt he could no longer "sell (Gonzales') message and his ideals." He resigned last month, moved to Los Angeles and now works for two local Democratic campaigns. He said he had not been paid or promised any compensation by any of Gonzales’ primary opponents.

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Trump wants the Fed to cut rates. Kevin Warsh has bigger plans.

For more than a decade, Kevin Warsh has advocated reining in the Federal Reserve’s pivotal role in the nation’s financial markets. Now, as President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Fed, he may finally get the chance to do that, aided by a Treasury secretary with the same goal. And Wall Street is obsessed with finding out what comes next — ?bracing for the possibility of extensive market disruptions. Warsh has bemoaned the Fed’s purchase of trillions of dollars in U.S. government debt and bundled mortgages after both the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic, a process that kept longer-term interest rates down to boost the economy and flooded banks with cash reserves. That policy, he says, has distorted the market and enriched Wall Street rather than ordinary Americans by propping up stocks and bonds, which are overwhelmingly owned by the wealthy.

But any effort to significantly reduce those holdings runs the risk of spiking interest rates and rattling the funding markets that underpin the financial system. So, to pull off any reform, he knows he will have to proceed with a lot of caution. “The transition to what I think is a more prudent system will take time, deliberation and an excess of communication with the public and the institutions in the banking system itself,” Warsh said last year at an event hosted by Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, where he is a visiting fellow. The dangers for Warsh run in multiple directions. Any turbulence that pushes up longer-term rates would clash with Trump’s goal of decreasing borrowing costs for the government and lowering mortgage rates. And Warsh will have to convince his colleagues on the Fed’s rate-setting committee to back any changes he’s proposing, which is no guarantee. Speculation about the path of future Fed policy is heating up as the president is eager to juice both the housing market and the broader economy in the run-up to the elections, with polls showing that voters are souring on his handling of pocketbook issues.

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State Stories

Rick Perry to Texas GOP: stick with John Cornyn in Senate primary

Texas Republicans risk losing clout if they dump Sen. John Cornyn for a political newcomer in Washington, former Gov. Rick Perry warned Tuesday. “A rookie can’t get that done,” Perry said, arguing that Cornyn’s seniority helped secure $11 billion for border reimbursements and gives Texas leverage that would disappear with a first-term senator. Perry joined Cornyn at a Mexican restaurant in Austin to rally supporters on the first day of early voting, underscoring the establishment muscle lining up behind the four-term senator. Cornyn faces a bitter March 3 primary against Attorney General Ken Paxton, a favorite of many grassroots conservatives and fans of President Donald Trump. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston also is running as a Trump-aligned alternative without Paxton’s baggage.

Dozens of Cornyn supporters, some proudly displaying their “I voted early” stickers, turned out to shake hands and show support. He was joined by members of the Border Patrol union, including its president, Paul Perez, who vouched for Cornyn’s work on border security. Cornyn said Texas and the country have been thriving under Republican leadership in Washington, with the border secure, crime down, the economy growing and inflation “on the run.” That progress, he said, would be at risk if Paxton tops the GOP ticket in November. “We will have an Election Day massacre,” Cornyn said. “Republicans up and down the ticket will pay the price of having an albatross like our corrupt attorney general hung around their necks.” A Paxton nomination would put the Senate seat at risk, help Democrats flip House seats and threaten Trump’s agenda, even raising the prospect of another impeachment fight, Cornyn said. All three candidates have sought to position themselves close to Trump, making heavy use of photos showing them next to the president. Cornyn rejected attacks from Paxton and Hunt that he hasn’t been supportive of the conservative movement and Trump. Cornyn pointed to his work in the Senate confirming Trump’s judicial nominees and getting the president’s tax cuts passed.

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Greg Abbott embraces 'Governor Hot Wheels' nickname in new campaign strategy

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this week moved to reclaim an insulting nickname by officially changing his reelection campaign’s handle on social media platform X to “@GovHotWheels_TX.” The nickname stems from Abbott’s use of wheelchair. While some of the Republican governor’s detractors have used the insult online for years, it got widespread media attention last spring after U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, drew criticism for using it to mock him during one of her public appearances. Abbott lost his ability to walk after a tree fell on him while on a jog in 1984. Although the governor’s said he’d do anything to be able to walk again, he’s faced criticism using his time a Texas Supreme Court justice and state attorney general to make it harder for Texans to win lawsuits similar to the one he filed after his injury.

Abbott reportedly received a half-million-dollar legal settlement after his injury that guarantees him a six-figure yearly income for the rest of his life. Abbott’s embrace of the “Governor Hot Wheels” nickname has been brewing for a while. The governor joked about the insult online mere days after Crockett publicly made it. And, on Valentine’s Day, his campaign account posted a virtual card signed “Governor Hot Wheels.” The rebranding comes as Abbott seeks an unprecedented fourth term in office. If he wins in November’s general election, he’ll go down as the longest-serving governor in Texas’ history. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, is the heavy favorite to emerge from the crowded Democratic primary and challenge Abbott on the ballot.

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University of Texas to vote on how race, gender can be discussed in classrooms

The University of Texas System Board of Regents will meet Wednesday during its quarterly meeting to discuss a policy that will decide how universities are allowed to teach “controversial topics” like race, gender and LGBTQ areas of study. The University of Texas System, which includes University of Texas at Arlington and UT Dallas, decided to vote on guidance on teaching such topics after the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents passed a similar ordinance late last year. Professors at A&M are now required to have their course syllabuses reviewed by department heads. Several A&M syllabuses have been rejected for including course content related to race and gender theory, the Star-Telegram previously reported.

One professor’s syllabus was rejected for including readings from Plato. Another had his class canceled just days before the spring semester for failing to submit his syllabus for review. According to the UT Board of Regents meeting agenda, university leaders believe the guidance will “foster classroom cultures of trust in which all students feel free to voice their questions and beliefs, especially when those perspectives might conflict with those of the instructor or other students.” The guidance would also prohibit professors from including course material that is not considered “relevant” to the course. “In the classroom, instructors must be careful stewards of their pedagogical responsibilities and classroom authorities and must endeavor to create a classroom culture of trust,” the ordinance reads. “Instructors must not attempt to coerce, indoctrinate, harass, or belittle students, especially in addressing controversial subjects and areas where people of good faith can hold differing convictions.”

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‘Only 8 of 31’: Texas Legislature missed most kids behavioral health recommendations, report finds

Of more than 30 recommendations a state council developed for the Texas Legislature on improving children’s behavioral health, lawmakers made progress on eight, according to a recent report. The Statewide Behavioral Health Coordinating Council released the Children’s Behavioral Health Strategic Plan in December 2024. Texans Care for Children, an advocacy organization, found that lawmakers took steps last year to partially or fully implement less than a third of the recommendations in the plan. “We know that six percent of Texas youth are entering the foster care system due to unmet mental health services or care,” said Muna Javaid, senior policy associate for child protection with Texans Care for Children.

“To avoid institutionalization or youth entering the juvenile justice system or the foster system, the more that we support and fund these community-based services, the less likely that that will be the outcome.” Javaid said one of the most concerning issues the report found was related to funding for the Youth Empowerment Services, or YES, waiver – a Medicaid program designed to help Texas “children and youth with serious mental, emotional and behavioral difficulties.” YES waiver services are meant to keep children in their homes and communities, instead of an institutional setting like a residential treatment center or inpatient facility. Among other things, the 2024 strategic plan recommended giving the Texas Health and Human Services Commission funding to increase rates for the YES waiver program and address administrative barriers. Instead, Javaid said, the legislature cut $1.3 million from the YES waiver.

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Plano offers $20M in incentives for AT&T's new billion-dollar HQ

Plano is calling AT&T, and the Collin County suburb is prepared to shell out $20 million in incentives — and a lengthy property tax rebate — to the telecom giant for its new multibillion-dollar global headquarters. The package deal represents the largest incentive package the city has offered to a private employer to date. Plano City Council members are scheduled to vote on the incentives at their Feb. 23 meeting. AT&T must spend a minimum of $1.4 billion in construction costs on the project. The firm must build a minimum of 2 million square feet of office, amenity and retail space at the site, eventually employ 10,000 full-time workers at the property and occupy the planned headquarters for 25 years, according to city documents.

The firm will also receive a 65% real property tax rebate on improvements made at the site over 25 years starting in 2030. AT&T did not comment on the proposal Tuesday afternoon. Half the grant is intended to offset the cost of redevelopment at the site. The $20 million will leave a balance of nearly $36.8 million available for future projects in the city’s economic development fund, according to city documents. AT&T must meet certain benchmarks to receive the grants and rebates. AT&T CEO John Stankey announced in early January that the Fortune 500 company would build its new home on 54 acres at 5400 Legacy Drive in Plano. The company is targeting partial occupancy at the new building as early as the second half of 2028. Dallas investment firm NexPoint owns 215 acres where AT&T plans to build its new home. The site includes the former Electronic Data Systems headquarters, H. Ross Perot Sr.’s information technology company that was founded in the 1960s. Plano Mayor John Muns and other city leaders have lauded AT&T’s move as another chapter in Plano’s success story. The corporate relocation build’s on the suburb’s long history of attracting large businesses, from Toyota Motor North America to JCPenney. “AT&T’s relocation represents a powerful reinvestment in the Legacy business district, building on an extraordinary foundation that has driven growth in Plano and our region for decades,” Muns said in a statement in January.

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Judge declares mistrial for 9 people arrested in connection with July 'ambush' of North Texas ICE facility

A federal judge declared a mistrial during jury selection in the federal case against nine people charged in connection with a July ambush on a North Texas ICE detention facility in Alvarado, and all 75 prospective jurors have been released. The ruling came after U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, who is presiding over the case, saw that defense attorney MarQuetta Clayton was wearing a T-shirt with images of protesters on it underneath her dark blazer while questioning potential jurors. Upon noticing the shirt, the judge said he would consider a mistrial in the case and would do some legal research to determine if Clayton was violating any court rules. "I'm left with no other choice," Pittman said, noting that he was unsure if the wardrobe selection was a calculated move on the part of the attorney. "I'm really surprised an attorney would do this."

According to a conversation Pittman had in open court with Clayton, her shirt featured protest images from the Civil Rights Movement, including depictions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Shirley Chisholm. Pittman ruled that the court prohibits lawyers -- or anyone else involved in the case -- from wearing clothing with political messages. "Even if it is something as admirable as civil rights or the D-Day landing," the judge said. Clayton's shirt was not the only problem the judge had with her presentation to jurors. At one point, she held up a visual aid depicting various kinds of protest and activism, from orderly to riotous, and asked jurors their thoughts on those topics. The judge stopped her and noted that she had not cleared using that visual aid with him, or the prosecutors. It was a few minutes later that he noticed her shirt and asked the potential jurors to step out of the courtroom while he addressed the lawyers about whether the jury pool was now tainted.

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High-profile endorsements help Alex Mealer, Briscoe Cain lead crowded GOP primary field in redrawn TX-9

Early voting starts Tuesday for the March 3 primary election. One of the most hotly contested races in the Houston region is in the redrawn 9th Congressional District. It stretches from east of downtown across eastern Harris County and northeast through Liberty County. Republican state lawmakers redrew the district last year to try to flip the Democratic-held seat. While the GOP primary field is crowded, two candidates have emerged as the strongest contenders: former 2022 Harris County judge candidate Alex Mealer and state Rep. Briscoe Cain. President Donald Trump may have given Mealer a big boost with primary voters when he endorsed her on his Truth Social platform Monday evening. That counters Cain’s biggest endorsement, which came from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Prior to last year’s congressional redistricting, Texas’ 9th had been a solidly Democratic district, covering southern Houston along with portions of Fort Bend and Brazoria counties. Republican state lawmakers drew U.S. Rep. Al Green, who has represented the 9th District for close to 20 years, into the 18th Congressional District. The new TX-9 was drawn to combine much of the former 29th Congressional District — another heavily Democratic district, represented by U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia — with portions of the 36th Congressional District, represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Babin. Last week, six of the nine Republican candidates for the new 9th Congressional District gathered on stage at the Dayton Community Center in Liberty County. When the candidates introduced themselves, Mealer spoke of her experience as an Army officer who defused bombs in Afghanistan. After leaving the service, she moved to Houston with her husband, a fellow West Point graduate, to take jobs in the oil and gas industry and raise a family. "When suddenly Texas didn’t feel like Texas much longer," Mealer said. "In Harris County, we had, after the Beto wave, the most progressive form of government in the entire country. So, I raised my hand to run against [Harris County Judge] Lina Hidalgo, because, quite simply, government was everywhere I didn’t want it to be.” Mealer lost that race, narrowly, and unsuccessfully contested the results. In that campaign, she argued that the government needed to get back to its core functions, such as infrastructure. She said that's still one of her top priorities as a candidate for Congress, particularly with regard to the Port of Houston.

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Federal officials say ICE won’t move into Northwest Side office building in San Antonio

The Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not moving into a Northwest Side office building, following questions about a potential federal presence at the site. A DHS spokesperson told Texas Public Radio that ICE has no plans to open a detention facility at the Landmark One building, located at 15727 Anthem Parkway near Interstate 10 and Loop 1604. “We have no new detention centers to announce at this time,” the spokesperson said in a statement to TPR. The agency declined to discuss specific office locations, citing safety concerns and saying ICE personnel have faced increased threats and assaults.

The spokesperson added that the agency is continuing to expand detention space nationwide as part of its broader enforcement efforts. “Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe,” the statement said. “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.” The owner of the Landmark One building also confirmed that ICE will not be leasing space there. The ownership group told KSAT that federal officials toured the property in recent months, but there are no lease negotiations underway. While ICE will not be moving into the Northwest Side office building, the agency has recently expanded its presence elsewhere in San Antonio. ICE earlier acquired a detention facility on the city’s East Side. Federal officials said the site would be used to hold immigrants in custody while they await immigration proceedings or removal. The expansion drew concern from immigrant advocacy groups and some local leaders, who called for greater transparency about the facility and its operations.

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Dallas attorneys target race involving controversial former judge

A group of seasoned Dallas defense attorneys have mounted an unprecedented effort to block a former misdemeanor judge’s return to the bench, saying her history of sanctions makes her unfit to serve. Etta J. Mullin, who previously presided over two Dallas County misdemeanor criminal courts, is now running in the March 3 Democratic primary for the 195th District Court against incumbent Judge Hector Garza. No Republicans filed for the seat. In a letter sent to the nearly 800 Dallas County Democratic precinct chairs, the attorneys urged support for Garza and described Mullin’s record as disqualifying for the 195th, which handles felony criminal cases. “This is not a matter of political disagreement or competing judicial philosophies,” the letter states. “It is a matter of documented judicial misconduct.”

Mullin didn’t respond to messages from The Dallas Morning News seeking comment. Attorney Bruce Anton, who helped organize the letter, said the coordinated push reflects broad concern within the defense bar. “I don’t want to see her on the bench ever again,” he said. “It’s frightening to me.” Anton, who also serves as a Democratic Party precinct chair, said that since getting the first 50 signatures, more lawyers have offered to sign. The group consists of former judges, prosecutors and presidents of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, with experience ranging from five to 56 years. Twice sanctioned by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Mullin’s record includes these findings: In 2015, the commission issued a 29-page public reprimand, the harshest sanction available, finding she repeatedly failed to show the “dignity, patience and courtesy expected of a Texas judge.” The panel cited incidents that included ordering a bailiff to handcuff a prosecutor who was eight months pregnant to a chair to prevent the woman from going to get something to eat, leaving the bench without explanation, delaying and resetting cases without cause and forcing lawyers and defendants to spend “inordinate amounts of time — hours and sometimes days — in her courtroom” on matters that could take minutes. In 2022, the commission issued a second public reprimand, citing three specific cases in which she made attorneys and defendants wait for unreasonable amounts of time, set hearings for them with little or no notice, and revoked defendants’ bonds without good reason.

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Could Dallas City Hall be preserved? Discussions underway with its future in limbo

The city of Dallas' designation committee is set to discuss preservation criteria for landmarking City Hall, which — if approved by city council — could make it difficult to demolish or alter the building. A landmark designation is ultimately decided by the city council and, according to the city code, it would set certain preservation criteria on a property. Dallas City Hall is on the agenda for Wednesday's committee meeting. Landmark Commissioner Reagan Rothenberger told KERA that designation criteria would ensure preservation standards guided long-term care and repairs of a building like City Hall. After the full Landmark Commission's recommendation, Rothenberger said the ordinance approving the criteria goes to the Plan Commission and then to City Council. The landmark designation discussion is happening as the city expects to receive an updated repair cost study on City Hall.

The study is conducted by the Dallas Economic Development Corporation and AECOM, which did the initial study 10 years ago. That report is expected to be delivered to the Finance Committee next week. AECOM's study, published in 2018, looked at repair costs in 2016. The study found repairs estimated to cost nearly $19 million and replacements just under $93 million. However, it did not include water-infiltration assessments, engineering reviews, code compliance requirements, or addressing the removal of unknown hazardous materials. But nearly ten years later, City Hall repairs had a wider range. City staff said cost estimates were from $152 million to more than $300 million as of late last year. Sarah Crain, Preservation Dallas Executive Director, said she wants to see the full assessment from experts that gives a more precise look at what repairs will actually cost. Those updated repair costs, expected later this month, could impact whether the city of Dallas stays at 1500 Marilla Street or moves to a high-rise in downtown. "But, at the end of the day, if they do choose to stay in the building, then we at Preservation Dallas are committed to working with them on how we make a strategic and comprehensive maintenance plan that likely spans quite a few years," Crain said.

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Irving to consider calling off DART withdrawal election as transit agency weighs key changes

Irving officials said they’ll discuss the withdrawal election that would determine the future of Dallas Area Rapid Transit services in the city at their Feb. 26 council meeting. It comes after DART got the green light on a major funding boost from the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) Regional Transportation Council, which leads transportation policy and planning in the area. Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer and Council Member Dennis Webb expressed support for the transit system in a letter to the Regional Transportation Council. “The City of Irving believes in the value of a strong regional transit system and applauds the efforts of all stakeholders who have come together to propose a path forward that maintains our regional mobility partnership," the pair wrote.

The Irving City Council also voted unanimously to express support for a proposed DART governance model, in addition to calling for legislative action to implement it. The resolution supports reforms which would “provide no less than one vote per city and a weighted vote for cities who make up a larger portion of the DART service population.” DART and its member cities considering breaking away had a whirlwind week, as some of them may be considering calling off withdrawal elections. DART has been barreling toward a scenario where voters in up to six cities choose to leave the public transit system. Plano, Irving, Highland Park, University Park, Farmers Branch and Addison have all called elections to determine the future of DART in their cities, with leadership citing poor return on investment as a key motivation. But on Feb. 9, after potentially striking a deal with DART, the Plano City Council deferred a decision on an alternative microtransit option through Via. The next day, the agency’s Committee of the Whole voted in favor of a proposal that would alter DART's governance and funding models as an olive branch to frustrated member cities. Under the proposed model, millions of dollars in sales tax contributions would be given back to the cities over the course of multiple years. The full DART Board will hold a special meeting Feb. 20 to vote on the proposal. On Feb. 11, the Dallas City Council moved to reduce the city’s voting power on the DART board, giving up its majority.

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Two-month-old Dilley detainee Juan Nicolás rushed to hospital with bronchitis

Juan Nicolás, the 2-month-old baby detained at Dilley’s South Texas Family Residential Center, was rushed to the hospital Monday evening after a prolonged illness, according to a social media post by Univision-affiliated reporter Lidia Terrazas. The child’s mother has since confirmed that the baby has bronchitis, Terrazas reports. Despite the diagnosis, the baby has already been released from the hospital and is back in the detention facility located approximately an hour southwest of San Antonio, according to Terrazas’ video. Early Saturday morning, the baby had a health emergency in which he was choking on its own vomit and suffered respiratory issues as a result, U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro confirmed in a video shared Monday on social media.

However, the congressman added that there were no medical personnel in the family detention center in the early morning hours. Nicolás was given an aspirator to assist with his respiratory issues, Terrazas reports. However, his condition worsened again Monday evening, and he was rushed to the hospital, though at the time the reason and his condition were unknown, she added. Terrazas had to wait more than 12 hours for an update on the infant’s condition from his mother, though Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials assured her that his condition was “stable.” Though Nicolás reportedly has bronchitis, he’s already been discharged from the hospital and returned to detention in Dilley, Terrazas reports. “During my last conversation with the baby’s mom, she said that he had an episode where he was not responsive, which she described as extremely scary,” Terrazas stated in the video.

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Austin ISD can now run its special education program without state oversight

Austin ISD can now run its special education services on its own, after three years under state oversight. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath sent a letter on Tuesday to AISD Superintendent Matias Segura saying he was removing the two monitors appointed by the state to oversee AISD's special education program. The oversight began in 2023 when AISD trustees agreed for the district's special education services to undergo state monitoring after a TEA investigation found AISD was not complying with state mandates. The investigation also found a backlog of more than 600 special education evaluations that help determine if a student has a disability and create a plan to help them. The school district has 45 school days to complete an evaluation once a parent has given consent.

Additionally, the TEA had found 40 instances of the district not complying with special education requirements. The district agreed to the state oversight in 2023 to avoid a state-appointed conservator managing the district's special education department. Superintendent Matias Segura said the district has been working for almost three years along with TEA monitors to make sure the district complies with state laws. "We were charged with completing 99 tasks, with virtually zero room for failure," he said. In February of 2024, the district completed all 1,159 evaluations that were overdue from the 2022-2023 school year, but had to clear the remaining backlog. To comply with the TEA order, AISD had to have no overdue evaluations by December of 2025. Segura said the other tasks included completing more than 10,000 evaluations to make sure students with disabilities receive personalized support; establishing district-wide standards for every campus to guarantee that students have access to the same resources; hosting more than 100 family engagement sessions to ensure families feel informed; and launching a new digital management platform to help report student's services.

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National Stories

Europeans quietly press U.S. lawmakers for clues on the midterms

On stage, top leaders at this weekend’s Munich Security Conference focused on the war in Ukraine and Europe’s changing relationship with President Trump. But in hallway chats and private meetings in stuffy hotel rooms, Europeans wanted to discuss something else: how coming U.S. elections could affect trans-Atlantic ties. At the annual gathering of national security elites in Germany, Europeans peppered their guests on the prospects of Democrats retaking one of the two houses of Congress during midterm elections this November, deeply interested in whether those results would either empower or check Trump’s assertive foreign policy. They also sought reassurances from Democrats that at least one American political party clung onto the historical alliance in the same way they did. “They are largely checking in asking, ‘We’re still good, right?’” said Sen. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.), one of at least six Democratic rumored presidential hopefuls who attended the Munich Security Conference this weekend.

“But it’s not just Europeans to Democrats, it’s also Democrats to Europeans.” Lawmakers, expecting to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine or Trump’s aims to acquire Greenland, found themselves also fielding detailed questions on the midterm election map, including Senate races in battleground states such as North Carolina, Georgia and Alaska. They also asked whether domestic issues, such as the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, could cost Republicans in November and ultimately in 2028. “A lot of our conversations are bipartisan, but then when the meeting breaks up, they go, ‘So are you guys going to win? Who’s going to take the House? How’s Alaska looking?’” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), a frequent attendee of the annual conference. “I don’t think I have ever been asked as many detailed questions about the Senate map as I have this year.” Many took note that potential 2028 Democratic presidential hopefuls appeared on public panels and private meetings to offer their visions for reviving trans-Atlantic relations and a global order European leaders say the U.S. has fractured—perhaps even ended. Some officials pointed to the irony of Europeans and Americans discussing the state of their rocky relationship over Valentine’s Day weekend.

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How Maryland Democrats are thwarting Wes Moore’s political ambitions

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s national political ambitions could be stymied by Democrats in his own backyard. The governor’s power play to redraw the state’s congressional lines and snare Democrats a single House seat has earned him accolades from progressive activists and party leaders in Washington, raising his profile as he weighs a 2028 presidential run. But Moore also has been outmaneuvered at times by members of own party, particularly those in the Maryland Senate where his gerrymander blitz is facing an unceremonious death. The redistricting gambit is one of the first big political tests Moore has faced that has national implications and could elevate him further within the party — or expose weaknesses as he positions himself as a counterweight to President Donald Trump.

Critics say Moore hasn’t been aggressive enough in using bare-knuckle tactics to push through his agenda. Supporters say the first-term governor is focused on redistricting because he sees it as vital to his future national ambitions. Some national Democrats question whether Moore can lead the nation if he fails to bend lawmakers in a solidly blue state with a Democratic-controlled Legislature to enact his policy priorities. POLITICO spoke to almost two dozen state and federal lawmakers and Democratic strategists for this story. David Turner, Moore’s senior adviser and communications director, said the governor spearheading Maryland’s redistricting effort is not about furthering his political career. “Anyone who thinks this is about national ambitions isn’t paying enough attention to the damage being done in 2026,” he said. “The Governor has been clear: at a time when other states are discussing mid-decade redistricting, Maryland needs to as well.”

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DHS spokeswoman who became a face of Trump deportation campaign steps down

The Department of Homeland Security’s top spokesperson is leaving the Trump administration, officials said Tuesday, a departure that comes amid falling public approval ratings for the president’s mass deportation agenda. Tricia McLaughlin, whose regular Fox News appearances made hera face of the administration’s hard-line immigration agenda, is leaving just over a year into Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem’s tenure leading the agency. The move comes after DHS and the White House have scrambled to tamp down public outrage over the killings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis last month. McLaughlin informed colleagues Tuesday of her departure. She had begun planning to leave in December but extended her stay to help the administration deal with the fallout of the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, according to people briefed on her exit. Politico first reported on McLaughlin’s departure.

Confirming McLaughlin’s decision in a post on X on Tuesday, Noem cited her “exceptional dedication, tenacity, and professionalism” and said she “has played an instrumental role in advancing our mission to secure the homeland and keep Americans safe.” In a statement, McLaughlin thanked Noem and President Donald Trump, saying she is “immensely proud of the team we built and the historic accomplishments achieved by this Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.” McLaughlin said she will be replaced by her deputy, Lauren Bis, and DHS’s public affairs team is adding Katie Zacharia, a frequent Fox News guest. Noem’s chief spokeswoman built a reputation as a fierce defender of the administration’s handling of immigration and ofthe secretary’s leadership, frequently sparring with reporters on social media and appearing on cable news programs. But her forceful pronouncements have drawn criticism from Democrats and immigrant rights groups, who point to incidents in which statements she made were later contradicted in court or in video footage recorded by witnesses.

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Uber to invest over $100 million in autonomous vehicle charging amid robotaxi push

Uber Technologies said on Wednesday it would invest more than $100 million to develop autonomous vehicle charging hubs, underscoring the ride-hailing company's latest push to scale up self-driving operations.The move includes building DC fast charging stations at its autonomous depots where Uber runs day-to-day fleet operations, and at pit stops throughout priority cities. Uber has made autonomous vehicles a key strategic priority, partnering with more than 20 firms across the world on self-driving freight, delivery and taxi services, as it races to secure market share and fight competition from companies such as Tesla .

The charging expansion will begin in the U.S. in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Dallas before moving to more cities over time.The company is also partnering with chargepoint operators in global markets to set up "utilization guarantee agreements", including with EVgo in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston, Electra in Paris and Madrid, and Hubber and Ionity in London.These agreements are expected to support the rollout of hundreds of new chargers across these cities, and in places where charging is needed the most.Earlier this month, Uber backed its capital-intensive, early-stage autonomous vehicle strategy and said it was committing capital to vehicle partners to secure early supply and speed up deployments as its platform has a structural advantage. Uber currently offers robotaxis on its ride-hailing platform in four U.S. cities, as well as in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. It has partnered with robotaxi firms, including Alphabet's Waymo and China's WeRide, for autonomous vehicle fleet operations.

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Democrats plot protests for Trump’s State of the Union address

House Democrats are plotting a range of moves to broadcast their defiance of President Trump during his State of the Union address to Congress next week. Trump’s speech marks a significant flashpoint as it comes amid a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, with the White House and Democrats locked in an impasse over reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection after immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota. While some Democrats are making a quieter stand by skipping the high-profile event, others are prepared to walk out mid-speech and bring guests to underscore their arguments about the real-world impact of Trump’s policies.

“The only question for me is which of his disgusting lines prompts me to get up and leave, because at some point I will,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) told The Hill via text message that he’s “thinking” about protesting during Trump’s speech, though he didn’t share specifics on what exactly he’ll do. “I don’t have details to share but this President is not above (the) law, his massive corruption, unconstitutional actions, his insults to our allies and despicable acts at Epstein’s island must be protested,” he said Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) said in an emailed statement she will be bringing one of her constituents, “who is a small business owner of a nonprofit daycare and advocate for the Affordable Care Act,” as her guest. “With the address likely to be divisive, I believe it’s important to have a guest in the room who has the pulse of what the American people really care about: affordable childcare and healthcare for all,” she said.

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Communities fight ICE detention centers, but have few tools to stop them

Outrage erupted last month when Oklahoma City residents learned of plans to convert a vacant warehouse into an immigration processing facility. Making matters worse was the secrecy of the federal government: City leaders received no communication from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aside from a mandated disclosure related to historic preservation. Planning a major development without city input is antithetical to the in-depth, sometimes arcane permitting, planning and zoning process in Oklahoma City. Mayor David Holt, a former Republican state senator, said those land use decisions are among the most crucial of any municipal government. “For any entity to be able to open a detention center in our communities, potentially next to neighborhoods or schools, regardless of your views on immigration policy or enforcement, is very challenging, because that’s a very high-impact use, and that’s the kind of thing that we would expect to talk about,” he told Stateline.

Communities across the country are facing similar prospects as ICE undertakes a massive expansion fueled in large part by the record $45 billion approved for increased immigration detention by Congress last summer. During President Donald Trump’s second term, ICE is holding a record number of detainees — more than 70,000 as of January — across its own facilities as well as in contracted local jails and private prisons. ICE documents from last week show plans for acquiring and renovating 16 processing sites that hold up to 1,500 people each and eight detention centers that hold up to 10,000 each, for a total capacity of 92,600 beds. The agency also has plans for some 150 new leases and office expansions across the country, Wired reported. But ICE’s plans to convert industrial buildings — often warehouses — into new detention facilities have recently faced fierce opposition over humanitarian and economic concerns. From Utah to Texas to Georgia, local governments have sought to block these massive facilities. But with limited legal authority, city and state officials have turned to the court of public opinion to deter private developers and the federal government. Holt, who is the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan organization representing the more than 1,400 leaders of cities with populations of 30,000 or more, said cities have little legal recourse over the ICE facilities.

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Noem's use of Coast Guard resources strains her relationship with the military branch, sources say

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s relationship with U.S. Coast Guard officials has become strained throughout her first year leading the department, according to two U.S. officials, a Coast Guard official and a former Coast Guard official. The tensions between Noem and the only branch of the U.S. military overseen by DHS stem from some early decisions she made that rankled Coast Guard officials, including a verbal directive to shift Coast Guard resources from a search-and-rescue mission to find a missing service member, the sources said. Noem’s leadership at DHS has created a specific split in the Coast Guard. Many rank-and-file members are motivated by her approach, in which she showcases their work by joining them on operations and visiting their ships. Some more senior officials, however, see that approach as taking away from the Coast Guard’s traditional missions.

The dynamic with more senior officials has only worsened in recent months as Noem oversaw a tenfold increase in the use of the Coast Guard's aircraft for immigrant deportations, which has strained its limited resources, the sources said. The increase was captured in data compiled by ICE Flight Monitor, a nonprofit group that tracks deportation flights. “It puts so much stress on the wing,” the Coast Guard official said, referring to the branch’s aviation units. Noem’s focus on meeting the Trump administration’s deportation quotas appears poised to further impact Coast Guard operations in the coming months, according to new guidance recently issued to Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento this year. Based on DHS priorities, the air station, which is among those responsible for a majority of deportation flights, has designated its first priority to be the transport of detained immigrants on its C-27 aircraft within the U.S., according to multiple U.S. officials familiar with the orders.

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How Florida systematized its cooperation with ICE

Gaming control commissions and departments of lottery services often conjure images of slot machines, casinos and sports betting. In Florida, they are part of a patchwork system of departments and local agencies now working with the Trump administration to target undocumented immigrants across the state. Those partnerships illustrate how expansive the Trump administration wants to be in growing its ranks of immigration enforcement.More than a thousand law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have signed 287(g) agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They include wildlife and fishery departments, attorneys general offices, police departments and university public safety departments.

These partnerships allow them to take actions, such as identifying and detaining who they suspect to be undocumented immigrants, effectively serving as what ICE has called “force multiplier[s].” “They’re not leaving any stone unturned here,” Adriel Orozco, a senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit legal, research and advocacy organization, told NOTUS. “[They are] really trying to get whatever sort of law enforcement-focused components of other departments and agencies to support immigration enforcement.” It’s a matter of pride for the Trump administration. “287(g) is critical to having the enforcement we need to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country,” a spokesperson for ICE said in a statement to NOTUS. “We have had tremendous success when local law enforcement work with us including 40,000 arrests in Florida.”

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U.S. Air Force VIP fleet being repainted in Trump's preferred palette, sources say

The Kennedy-era paint colors on the exterior of aircraft in the U.S. Air Force presidential and VIP fleet are being replaced with a new design in President Trump's preferred palette. The new colors will appear on planes including the donated Qatari jet and two planes Boeing is converting to serve as Air Force One, sources told CBS News. Some of the blue and white aircraft are already being repainted in dark navy blue, deep red and gold as they come in for scheduled due repairs and maintenance, the officials said. The classic robin's egg blue color scheme of the current fleet dates back to the Kennedy administration. The new red, dark blue and white paint job is being required for Air Force One jets as well as others in the executive fleet, including the new 747-8i from Qatar and C-32 aircraft, an Air Force spokesperson said.

Mr. Trump in his first term rolled out a model airplane with the paint colors he wanted for Air Force One, but President Joe Biden canceled that paint design for the VC-25Bs, the Defense Department's version of the Boeing 747 airliner. The new paint requirement includes the smaller C-32 aircraft, which carry high-priority personnel such as the first lady or top cabinet officials, and serve as Air Force Two when the vice president is aboard. Contractor L3 Harris has been upgrading the Air Force Two planes at its plant in Greenville, Texas. Boeing continues to work on a new generation of Air Force One planes in a deal signed in 2018. Meanwhile, the plane donated by Qatar that the Air Force is refurbishing is expected to be ready for use as Air Force One no later than this summer. The first C-32 has been painted and is expected to be delivered to the Air Force in the next few months. The War Zone, a defense news and analysis website, reported on images of the C-32 painted in the new color scheme.

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Lead Stories

New Mexico approves probe of Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, where owner Huffines plans Christian retreat

New Mexico lawmakers on Monday passed legislation to launch what they said was the first full investigation into what happened at Zorro Ranch, where the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting girls and women. A bipartisan committee will seek testimony from survivors of alleged sexual abuse at the ranch, located about 30 miles south of Santa Fe, the state capital. Legislators are also urging local residents to testify. The so-called truth commission, comprising four lawmakers, seeks to identify ranch guests and state officials who may have known what was going on at the 7,600-acre property, or taken part in alleged sexual abuse in its hacienda-style mansion and guest houses.

The legislation, which passed New Mexico's House of Representatives by a unanimous vote, could pose risks to any additional politicians linked to Epstein in the Democratic-run state, as well as scientists, investors and other high-profile individuals who visited the ranch. The $2.5 million investigation, which has subpoena power, aims to close gaps in New Mexico law that may have allowed Epstein to operate in the state. The committee starts work on Tuesday, and will deliver interim findings in July and a final report by year-end. "He was basically doing anything he wanted in this state without any accountability whatsoever," said New Mexico state Representative Andrea Romero, a Democrat, who co-sponsored the initiative. The new owners of the late Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling Santa Fe County ranch revealed their plans for the property Monday — the same day they announced they would cooperate with any law enforcement investigations into potential crimes committed there. The Texas family who owns Epstein’s Zorro Ranch plans to convert it into a Christian retreat, owner Don Huffines posted on social media Monday night. “What the enemy once meant for evil, God can redeem for good,” Huffines wrote on X. That’s why he and his family renamed the property San Rafael Ranch, he wrote, “after the saint associated with physical and spiritual healing, and began plans immediately to remake it as a Christian retreat, reclaiming it for Jesus.”

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One of this century’s most important Republicans takes a beating in home state

One Republican candidate to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell introduced himself with an ad that shows a cardboard cutout of the longtime Senate majority leader in the trash. Allies for a rival hit back with ads that noted the first candidate gave McConnell money. And Daniel Cameron, the former Kentucky attorney general once considered a McConnell protégé, is now keeping his distance. “I’m my own man,” Cameron said in an interview, later suggesting McConnell donors prefer one of his opponents. The Senate primary to replace 83-year-old McConnell shows how profoundly the GOP base in his home state has soured on one of the most powerful and significant political figures in Kentucky history. McConnell drew low approval ratings for years but fended off challengers by flexing his raw clout and ability to deliver for his state.

While he at times expressed frustration or anger with President Donald Trump, McConnell used his political muscle to cement much of the president’s first-term legacy, including a 6-3 conservativemajority on the Supreme Court that has helped pave the way for an even more disruptive second term. But many in the MAGA movement still view him as the embodiment of the GOP establishment that sought to holdTrump back.Three former interns for McConnell have distanced themselves while running to succeed him, pitching themselves as “America First” Republicans in Trump’s mold. Cameron says voters don’t want a candidate who is “just bashing an old man” — a rebuke of his opponent Nate Morris, a businessman backed by national MAGA stars whose vociferous attacks on McConnell have alienated some Republicans in the state. Many operatives argued his initial assault went too far. Still, it’s clear that ambitious Republicans have diverged from the towering conservative figure, who is set to retire next year after four decades in Congress.

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Warner reopens talks with Paramount after sweetened offer

Warner Bros. Discovery said Tuesday it will restart deal talks with Paramount, setting the stage for a potential bidding war with its preferred suitor Netflix. The move comes after Paramount PSKY 0.68%increase; green up pointing triangle last week sweetened its all-cash $77.9 billion hostile offer for all of Warner Discovery, including its cable channels CNN and TNT. Warner said Paramount has indicated it would be willing to up its offer to $31 per Warner share from $30 if Warner would agree to engage in negotiations. The price increase wasn’t part of Paramount’s latest amended tender offer for the company. Warner’s willingness to engage with Paramount is the latest stakes-raising plot twist in a monthslong takeover battle for the home of some of the entertainment industry’s most important properties and brands, including HBO, Superman and Harry Potter.

Netflix has an agreement in place to acquire Warner’s movie and TV studios and HBO Max streaming service in an all-cash deal, which is valued at $72 billion. Netflix has the right to match any offer Warner accepts from another bidder. Netflix said in a statement that it believes its offer remains superior but has granted Warner a seven-day waiver of certain obligations of their merger agreement to engage with Paramount “to fully and finally resolve this matter.” “We have the only signed, board-recommended agreement” with Warner, the streaming giant said. Warner shares were up more than 2% in premarket trading, while Paramount shares rose 3.5%. Netflix shares were flat. In its latest offer, Paramount said it would pay the $2.8 billion termination fee Warner would owe Netflix if that deal collapsed. Paramount also said it would add a “ticking fee” of 25 cents a share, which it would pay to Warner shareholders for each quarter its deal hasn’t closed, starting in January 2027. In a letter to Paramount’s board of directors reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Warner said Netflix has agreed to allow it to discuss Paramount’s latest proposal during a negotiating period that will end on Feb. 23. Warner said it is the board’s understanding that Paramount’s final offer will be higher than $31 per share. The letter said the potential higher per share price was communicated orally to a Warner board member by a senior representative on behalf of Paramount.

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Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader who sought the presidency, dies at 84

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose impassioned oratory and populist vision of a “rainbow coalition” of the poor and forgotten made him the nation’s most influential Black figure in the years between the civil rights crusades of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the election of Barack Obama, died on Tuesday. He was 84. His death was confirmed by his family in a statement, which said that Mr. Jackson “died peacefully,” but did not give a cause. Mr. Jackson was hospitalized in November for treatment of a rare and particularly severe neurodegenerative condition, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), according to the advocacy organization he founded, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. In 2017, he announced that he had Parkinson’s disease, which in its early stages can produce similar effects on bodily movements and speech.

Mr. Jackson picked up the mantle of Dr. King after his assassination in 1968 and ran for president twice, long before Mr. Obama’s election in 2008. But he never achieved either the commanding moral stature of Dr. King or the ultimate political triumph attained by Mr. Obama. Instead, through the power of his language and his preternatural energy and ambition, he became a moral and political force in a racially ambiguous era, when Jim Crow was still a vivid memory and Black political power more an aspiration than a reality. With his gospel of seeking common ground, his pleas to “keep hope alive” and his demands for respect for those seldom accorded it, Mr. Jackson, particularly in his galvanizing speeches at the Democratic conventions in 1984 and 1988, enunciated a progressive vision that defined the soul of the Democratic Party, if not necessarily its policies, in the last decades of the 20th century. It was a vision, animated by the civil rights era, in which an inclusive coalition of people of color and others who had been at the periphery of American life would now move to the forefront and transform it. “My constituency is the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected and the despised,” Mr. Jackson said in the rolling cadences of the pulpit at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. “They are restless and seek relief.” His transcendent rhetoric was inseparable from an imperfect human being whose ego, instinct for self-promotion and personal failings were a source of unending irritation to many friends and admirers and targets for derision by many critics. Mr. Jackson, the writer and social commentator Stanley Crouch once said, “will be forever doomed by his determination to mythologize his life.”

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State Stories

Stephen Colbert defies CBS, says network banned him from interviewing James Talarico on ‘The Late Show’

Stephen Colbert introduced the Late Show band, announced guest Jennifer Garner and then asked the audience, “You know who is not one of my guests tonight?” The CBS host then answered his own question. “That’s Texas state representative James Talarico. He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast. “Then, I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly does not want us to talk about this…Let’s talk about this.” The Late Night host went on to explain FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s new guidance on the “equal time” rule, which requires broadcasters who feature qualified political candidates on their airwaves provide time to rivals, if requested.

Traditionally, news content has been exempted from the equal time rule and, in recent decades, stations have assumed that it has applied as well as to daytime and late-night talk shows, like The View and Jimmy Kimmel Live, which have featured presidential and other candidates, including figures like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. New FCC guidance, though, signaled to those talk shows that they no longer should believe that they would fall under the so-called “bonafide news” exemption. Carr said that a determination on whether a show is exempt would come down to a number of factors, including whether there was a “partisan motivation” in featuring a political candidate as a guest. “If you’re fake news, you’re not going to qualify for the bona fide news exemption,” said Carr. Colbert observed tonight, “It’s no surprise that two of the people most affected by this threat are me and my friend Jimmy Kimmel.” Carr himself mentioned the duo in his recent comments, a clip of which Colbert played. “If Kimmel or Colbert want to continue to do their programming,” said Carr, “and they don’t want to have to comply with this requirement, then they can go to a cable channel or a podcast or a streaming service and that’s fine.”

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Could a wastewater plant forever alter this suburban Fort Worth community?

Though it lies only minutes from Interstate 35, Michelle Quant’s property off FM 1187 near Burleson seems a world away from the city and its crowds. Down the hill from the plantation-style home, pecan and walnut trees surround a spring-fed pond that provides water for horses and cattle, as well as a home for catfish and bass. If you look, you can make out a nearby subdivision and some commercial buildings through the treeline, but those are about the only reminders of encroaching urban sprawl, at least for now. In April 2025, Greg Coontz, a Burleson attorney, and his sister, Cathy Frederick, a Burleson Realtor, filed an application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to allow a privately owned wastewater treatment facility to discharge treated wastewater into a normally dry creek bed that runs through Quant’s property into Village Creek, which in turn runs into Lake Arlington.

The wastewater system is meant to support a proposed mobile home community that’s slated to go on a vacant 65-acre lot directly across from Quant on the north side of FM 1187. According to TCEQ filings, the community is expected to grow from 10 mobile homes in 2027 to more than 1,100 by 2036. At its peak, the wastewater treatment facility would discharge up to 225,000 gallons per day of treated effluent into the creek that crosses Quant’s land, depositing water into her pond on its way to Village Creek. In late January, nearly a dozen nearby neighbors gathered around Quant’s dining room table and aired their concerns about what Coontz and Frederick are proposing to do. Neither Coontz nor Frederick responded to the Star-Telegram’s requests for comment, nor did the attorney they hired to oversee their TCEQ filing case. For her part, Quant doesn’t want treated effluent flowing into the pond where her livestock drinks and her family and youngsters from her church fish. When she reviewed Coontz and Frederick’s TCEQ filing, she was surprised to find that nowhere did it mention that her pond lay along the effluent path.

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South San ISD leans on Teach for America to hire certified teachers

Teach For America, a national recruiting group that places young professionals in classrooms with the most need, is growing its local footprint through way of South San Antonio Independent School District. South San and the nonprofit recently entered into a partnership to fill district vacancies for the 2026-27 school year. Under the agreement, corps members, the name for Teach For America recruits — would commit at least two years to South San ISD, and the district can hire and place up to 25 corps members in its classrooms. “This is a strategy I felt that would mitigate some of the vacancies that we’ve seen,” said Superintendent Saul Hinojosa. “It’s a great opportunity to increase our pipeline.”

South San currently has between 10-15 teaching vacancies, currently employing around 400 teachers and serving around 7,000 students. The harder to hire positions are usually for special education, bilingual education and sometimes secondary math. Even though enrollment dropped by about 350 students since last year and Hinojosa shored up South San’s recruiting efforts, certain teaching positions can be hard to fill, like special education, bilingual education and advanced math. Hinojosa took on the superintendent position last year, after the Texas Education Agency appointed him and a new board of managers to replace then-Superintendent Henry Yzaguirre and the elected school board. The takeover has prompted several shakeups and aggressive budget restructuring. In his first few months on the job, Hinojosa restructured South San’s central office to free up $3 million for sign-on bonuses and stipends for hard-to-fill teaching positions. South San ISD also has its own teaching residency program, partnering with Texas A&M University-San Antonio to train prospective teachers. Recruiting qualified teachers is still hard for most school systems.

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Houston’s World Cup host committee commits to $15 minimum wage, human trafficking mitigation in new report

The Houston host committee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is committing to requiring vendors to provide a $15 hourly minimum wage and commit to certain anti-trafficking guidelines, under a new report unveiled Monday. FIFA requires each host city for the World Cup to share a plan for protecting human rights for the duration of the international soccer tournament. Houston's host committee calls its 40-page plan "Houston's promise that the world's most celebrated sporting event will be a catalyst for dignity and fairness." "We have a low rate of unions across the state," Minal Davis, the chief legacy officer for the Houston host committee, told Houston Public Media.

"We have a low minimum wage. Those are just two of many facets of making sure you’re promoting decent work and prohibiting certain types of exploitation. So, one of the big things that we chose to focus on is our responsible contracting policy as the mitigation for multiple workers' rights issues that came up from our local labor stakeholders." Sign up for the Hello, Houston! daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox. View FullscreenSkip to PDF content The Houston host committee based its criteria on the precedent established by the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, United Nations' guiding principles and FIFA's existing guidelines. In preparation, the host committee said it consulted more than 100 stakeholders and government officials to address six prioritized categories: workers' rights; inclusion and non-discrimination; safety and security; human trafficking; accessibility; and unsheltered populations. As well as the $15-per-hour minimum wage, the Houston host committee is also creating a worker support hub for employees to file complaints and find support services, among other employment resources. Much of the human rights plan focuses on labor and the prevention of trafficked labor. It also addresses sex trafficking by committing to a social media awareness related to prevention. A toolkit with information on prevention will be available later in the spring.

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Hill Country vs. South Texas: A stark turnout divide before the primary

Far apart on the Texas map, two counties delivered a stark contrast in 2024: Burnet County, a booming Hill Country enclave, led the state in voter turnout, and Maverick County on the Rio Grande, anchored by Eagle Pass, finished last. The gap wasn’t just numerical. It marked a line between an older, more affluent area tied to Austin’s growth and a borderland community where economic strain and access challenges can make voting more difficult. Now, as early voting kicks off Tuesday in the state’s March 3 primary, campaigns are counting on high-engagement counties to keep up their pace, while pushing for gains in places where participation has lagged. That matters because primaries typically draw a smaller, more motivated slice of voters. Even in the November 2024 presidential race, with a record 18.6 million Texans registered, only about 61% cast a ballot.

This time, Texans will pick Democratic and Republican nominees in contests from the U.S. Senate, House and governor to the Legislature, statewide and county offices, local courts and more. In primaries, turnout is everything, and the math shifts quickly when age, income and work patterns vary as widely as they do between counties like Burnet and Maverick, said University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus. “The system is set up so people with more flexibility and free time have an easier time to vote,” he said. In Burnet County, rolling, rocky hills give way to lakefront neighborhoods that have filled in as Austin pushes outward. The majority-white exurban county has grown from about 34,000 residents in 2000 to roughly 55,700 in 2024. Ahead of that presidential election, Tammy Hullum, chair of the county Republican Party, said precinct chairs relied on familiar networks. “It’s kind of like calling your neighbor and saying, ‘Hey, did you get out to vote yet?’” she said. The effort paid off. Burnet County posted a 72% turnout rate, the highest in the state, giving Republican Donald Trump 77% of its vote over Democrat Kamala Harris. Along the Rio Grande, Maverick County stretches across brush country, with Eagle Pass often thrust into national debates over immigration as a spike in unauthorized border crossings taxed local services. Overwhelmingly Latino and long a Democratic stronghold, the county has shifted sharply right in recent statewide races, backing Trump with 59% of its vote.

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Ken Paxton files another lawsuit over project once called EPIC City

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another lawsuit in Collin County related to a planned Muslim-centric development with ties to the East Plano Islamic Center. Paxton’s office announced the lawsuit against Double R Municipal Utility District No. 2A of Hunt and Collin Counties and members affiliated with the board on Monday. The state’s top prosecutor accused the group of actions “that appear designed to evade state oversight and support the illegal East Plano Islamic Center (’EPIC’) real estate development” through improper appointments and the unlawful expansion of the district’s boundaries. The development, called The Meadow, is expected to feature more than 1,000 homes, a K-12 faith-based school, a mosque, elderly and assisted living, apartments, clinics, retail shops, a community college, and sports fields built on 402 acres in Collin and Hunt counties, roughly 40 miles northeast of downtown Dallas.

Community Capital Partners (CCP), a for-profit development group, was formed by members of the East Plano Islamic Center — one of North Texas’ largest mosques — to oversee the project. The development was previously called EPIC City. In a statement, CCP’s attorney said the filing was the “latest escalation in sustained lawfare” by Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott, who seek to politicize the project. The questions raised in the lawsuit are technical and will be resolved, the development group said. “I will not allow individuals to cheat the system to advance an illegal development and destroy beautiful Texas land,” Paxton said in a statement. “If EPIC City’s developers or operatives are attempting to illegally take over local governmental structures in North Texas, my office will do everything in our power to stop their scheme.” Municipal utility districts are authorized by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to support utilities such as water, sanitary sewer, drainage and flood control for planned residential developments within a certain area.

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Muslim group harassed while praying at Plano park

North Texas Muslim leaders are calling on public officials to speak out after a man spewing anti-Islamic slurs harassed a group praying at a park in Plano. In a video circulating on social media, a man is seen shouting “disgusting fake religion” and calling the group “wicked devils” who will “go to hell” if they do not repent, among other insults. Members of Islamic Relief at the University of Texas at Dallas were gathered at the park Sunday morning for a Barakah Breakfast, a community event focused on reflection, connection and service. The group can be heard praying while the man yells. “As Muslims, we are taught to respond to such incidents not with anger or insults, but with peace, patience, respect and dignity,” the service-based group wrote on Instagram.

Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of CAIR’s Dallas-Fort Worth chapter, asked “elected officials at every level of government” to condemn the anti-Muslim bigotry. “No one should be harassed, threatened, or intimidated for peacefully practicing their faith,” Carroll said in a statement. “The hateful rhetoric reportedly directed at these worshippers is deeply offensive and dangerous.” Muslim leaders say the Plano encounter reflects a broader and worrisome growth in anti-Islamic rhetoric among some Republican lawmakers. CAIR itself has come under attack, as well. In November, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was designating the Muslim advocacy and civil rights organization a foreign terrorist group. Abbott accused the group of trying to “forcibly impose Sharia law,” the moral code laid out in Muslim scriptures. “These radical extremists are not welcome in our state,” Abbott said at the time. The incident in Plano has raised concerns within the local Muslim community about safely practicing their faith, CAIR said in a statement. “When public officials traffic in fearmongering and misinformation about Islam and Muslim institutions, it creates an environment in which bias incidents like this become more likely,” the organization said.

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A North Texas incumbent on the State Board of Education faces a challenger in the March primary

Two candidates are competing in the Democratic Party primary election for the State Board of Education seat that represents most of Fort Worth and Arlington. Incumbent Tiffany Clark, a DeSoto Democrat and former school counselor, is seeking her first full term on the 15-member board. Clark was elected in 2024 to complete the remainder of a term for a former member who stepped down. Challenging her is Kimberly Boswell, a Dallas ISD administrator who says the board needs more campus-level experience as it navigates politically charged education debates. In the Nov. 3 general election, the winner will face Arlington Republican April Williams Moore for the District 13 seat that includes parts of Tarrant and Dallas counties.

Clark, who has taught in Duncanville, DeSoto, Waco and Waxahachie schools, said she’s centering her campaign on transparency and advocacy. She pointed to her newsletters, youth policy summits and press conferences she said were designed to keep constituents informed about decisions made in Austin. “I’m not a politician,” Clark said. “I’m an advocate for students, and I’m an advocate for the voiceless.” Boswell, who has worked across elementary, middle and high school campuses and served as a principal, said her campaign is focused on ensuring educators have a stronger voice in policy decisions. Her nearly three decades in public education gives her insight into classroom realities that should inform decisions, she said. “We need to be in the business of educating our students so that they can be successful in society,” Boswell said. “So it’s not our job to teach them what to think, more so how to think.”

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Anti-abortion Heidi Group's suit over Texas funding cuts back in court

Nearly four years after it was filed, a federal lawsuit between the state of Texas and a group that says it was targeted by liberals in state government for its anti-abortion stance is back in court. The Heidi Group, once a force in Texas’ anti-abortion politics, was given millions in state funding to provide healthcare to low-income women through its network of clinics and crisis pregnancy centers. But the Round Rock nonprofit was dropped in 2018 for what the state said were disappointing results. It had been awarded more than $7 million to serve an estimated 70,000 women but lost funding after the state said it served only 3,300 in its first year. Heidi Group founder Carol Everett said the state's numbers ignored results at 16 of her clinics. But the Texas Health and Humans Services Commission, which administered the funding, said its numbers were correct.

Critical media coverage also dogged the group, notably from The Texas Observer. It noted that money had been clawed back from the nonprofit in 2017 and that the entire grant program showed poor performance. The Campaign for Accountability, a left-leaning government watchdog group, accused the group of mismanaging funds, questioned whether it had broken the law and called for investigations by various state, local and federal agencies. A 2019 state audit implied the group defrauded the state of more than $1.5 million. The amount of alleged fraud eventually was significantly reduced and a subsequent audit found no fraud. In 2022, four years after its funding was terminated, the Heidi Group sued, saying it had been targeted by bureaucrats in the Republican-controlled state government. It said the “swamp” of liberal Texas bureaucrats, still smarting over the state’s 2017 defunding of Planned Parenthood, saw how they could derail Everett, a prominent anti-abortion advocate, as revenge for her support of the defunding.

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Company will not sell Hutchins warehouse to ICE

After several weeks of concern over whether ICE was planning to keep upwards of 9,500 detainees in a warehouse in Hutchins, the owner of that building, Majestic Realty, says today that it is not selling to the agency. In a statement sent by a spokesperson, Marty Schechter, Majestic says: “While we were contacted about the potential sale of our building in Hutchins, Texas, Majestic Realty Co. has not and will not enter into any agreement for the purchase or lease of any building to the Department of Homeland Security for use as a detention facility. We’re grateful for the long-term relationship we have with Mayor Mario Vasquez and the City of Hutchins and look forward to continuing our work to find a buyer or lease tenant that will help drive economic growth.” Much like Hutchins, residents in cities across the country have successfully disrupted deals and persuaded property owners from selling to ICE.

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Robert Duvall's cinematic ties to Texas

Robert Duvall, who died in his sleep this week at age 95, was born in California, but had a long history with Texas, filming all or parts of over a half dozen movies in the Lone Star State and continuing to visit when not filming. Despite his Hollywood ties, Duvall was committed to telling stories from mid-America. He thanked Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash when he won his Oscar for Best Actor, and in an interview with TPR in 2015, said “a lot of people in New York don’t know what goes on beyond the South Jersey Shore. To try and show that there’s something out there besides New York and L.A., that justifies good emphasis.” Below are some excerpts from Duvall’s Texas filmography:

Tender Mercies (1983) — As Mac Sledge, a washed-up country star who finds redemption through the love of a widow and her young son in rural Texas, Duvall delivers a heartfelt performance. The movie was shot in and around Waxahachie, and Duvall’s quiet delivery, with camera focused on his face and eyes more than anything, helped him win his first and only Oscar in a career that included seven nominations. Time magazine’s Richard Corliss said of Duvall, “Duvall's aging face, a road map of dead ends and dry gulches, can accommodate rage or innocence or any ironic shade in between. As Mac he avoids both melodrama and condescension, finding climaxes in each small step toward rehabilitation, each new responsibility shouldered.” Lonesome Dove (1989) — No Hollywood studio was interested in producing Larry McMurtry’s epic novel for the big screen, so Motown Productions (!) made it into a miniseries for CBS. The result was one of the finest Westerns ever filmed. Shot in and around Del Rio, and at Alamo Ranch near Bracketville, Duvall stars as former lawman Gus McCrae, for which he was honored with a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture made for television. The New York Times said Duvall “makes a simple, sentimental creation seem complex, heroic, always human and altogether enjoyable.” Duvall was made an honorary Texas Ranger following this telefilm’s release.

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North East ISD under investigation over student anti-ICE walkouts

San Antonio’s North East Independent School District is under investigation for allegedly facilitating student protests against U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday. Paxton said his office also is investigating Dallas ISD and and Manor ISD near Austin “for facilitating and failing to keep students safe and accountable during various student protests against lawful immigration enforcement.”

In early February, Paxton launched an investigation into Austin ISD over student protests. Thousands of Texas public school students have staged walkouts in recent weeks to protest federal immigration enforcement. School district officials have said they take no part in organizing or facilitating the protests but cannot keep students on campus if they choose to leave. Paxton said in a news release that he launched the inquiries because “it appears that these ISDs have taken little to no action to ensure the safety of students and to stop large-scale interruptions of classroom instructional time.” Paxton demanded that NEISD and the other districts provide information on their policies governing how and when students can leave campus, unexcused absences and security protocols. He also asked for internal communications related to the protests.

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Austin students protest ICE on Presidents Day as Paxton investigates more school walkouts

Dozens of Austin public school students gathered downtown to protest the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement on their Presidents Day holiday. Outside City Hall Monday, students railed against Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence in Minneapolis after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and the agency's recent activity in Austin. The demonstration came after students across Central Texas have walked out of schools to protest the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, prompting criticism from Texas lawmakers. Jacob Saldaña, a senior at Bowie High School, urged the crowd outside City Hall to keep demonstrating in spite of recent criticism from the state's governor and attorney general.

"Education and advocacy make a difference. What's happening around the country shapes how our friends and classmates live," Saldaña said. "The least we can do is acknowledge it, learn about it and stand by them. That is not politics; that is being human." Attorney General Ken Paxton, without evidence, accused Austin ISD of coordinating with students in a walkout late last month and opened up an investigation into the district's alleged involvement. The district has denied any collaboration, saying teachers, police and administrators were following along with students to keep them safe. AISD tweaked that policy in light of the criticism and an uptick in walkouts. Saldaña, whose family has been in Austin for nearly 140 years, said it was heartening to see students of all colors "actually take a stand" in support of Austin's Latino community. He said he hopes other students across Central Texas continue to speak out — and walk out. "We speak up for those who can't speak up with us. We speak up for those who stand with us, and we want to bring change," he said. "We want to bring good change to the world." Paxton announced on Monday he was launching investigations into three other school districts' walkouts, including one in Manor ISD. Following the rally at City Hall, the group of roughly 50 protesters marched down Congress Avenue to the Texas Capitol.

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GOP hopefuls for Texas Senate seat pledge Waco focus

The Republican primary race for Texas Senate District 22 on March 3 could be pivotal for Waco and McLennan County residents, regardless of their political affiliation. The Texas Senate is the state’s most powerful political body, but the Waco area has not had one of its own in the chamber since 2010. Incumbent State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, is planning to step down this year after 16 years in the office, and has been nominated for a Pentagon post. Three Republican primary contenders – Jon Gimble, Rena Schroeder and state Rep. David Cook – are competing for the seat. Early voting begins Tuesday in the Republican primary, and the winner will face Democrat Amy Martinez-Salas of Arlington on Nov. 3. Historical results indicate whoever wins the GOP primary will have a decisive edge in the November general election.

The district favored Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election by 28 points. No Democrat has taken Senate District 22 since Chet Edwards ended his tenure in 1990, and Birdwell last won re-election in 2022 with more than 74% of the vote. The three GOP candidates are vying to show who can best represent Waco-area voters and deliver on local needs across the district’s 12 counties. The district includes Falls, McLennan, Hill and Bosque counties and extends to the southern edge of Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The Republican candidates are as follows: State Rep. David Cook, a former Mansfield mayor backed by big donations and an endorsement from President Donald Trump, Jon Gimble, a former McLennan County district clerk with deep Waco-area roots, and Rena Schroeder of Lott, a rancher and data center opponent running a grassroots campaign on a shoestring budget.

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Judson board approves closure of Judson Middle School amid $37M budget shortfall

The Judson ISD board of trustees unanimously approved closing Judson Middle School during a special meeting on Feb. 16, with hopes of chipping away at a $37 million budget shortfall. The school closure, which will take effect in the 2026-27 school year, will yield the district an estimated average of $2.5 million annually, said Cecilia Davis, deputy superintendent of innovation, business and operations. Closing Judson Middle will impact about 480 students who are considered “walkers,” which are students who live within a 2-mile radius and do not ride the school bus, so they could walk, bike, skateboard or carpool.

Daniel Brooks, assistant superintendent of operations, said the district currently has a shortage of buses, and the district does not know how many, if any, additional buses may be needed. “Once a decision is made, the demographer would have to go back and refine the boundaries so that we can know exactly what streets we’re talking about so we can then look at actual number of students per street as to where they’re going, then we’ll know how many buses are needed based on where they’re needing to be transported,” Brooks said. The closure will also impact 44 students in Judson Middle’s agricultural program. The program will move to Kitty Hawk so those students can continue with that pathway, Interim Superintendent Mary Duhart-Toppen said. Students in the JSTEM Academy will also move from Judson Middle to Kitty Hawk, which will cost the district about $45,000, Duhart-Toppen said.

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National Stories

Republicans are pushing DHS over ICE warehouse purchases

Republican lawmakers are dealing with tensions between local elected officials and the Trump administration over moves to transform warehouses in their districts into immigrant detention centers. Reps. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania and Paul Gosar of Arizona said they will spend their recess week meeting with leaders in their districts taken aback by the Department of Homeland Security’s purchase of three warehouses in the two states totaling $277 million. Republican lawmakers in Georgia and Mississippi, too, have been lobbying the administration to change its plans. Meuser, who served as the Trump campaign’s Pennsylvania co-chair, told NOTUS he’s been speaking with DHS officials every day about local concerns that the two facilities the agency purchased in Berks County and Schuylkill County could put a strain on public infrastructure, security and jobs.

“We’re going to work it out to make it as nonnegative of an impact and, hopefully, a very positive impact on my district,” he said. DHS’s push to expand its detention footprint through warehouses, with plans to hold between 1,500 and 8,500 people in the GOP districts, has been met with local opposition. During county commission meetings, officials of the Schuylkill County township, where DHS has purchased a 1.3-million-square-foot warehouse, said the sewer system can’t handle an influx of thousands of people. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania wrote that his constituents are also concerned about the economic impact; the federal government’s purchase of the two warehouses translated to a combined loss of $1.6 million in tax revenue per year for the counties, Fetterman said. “I don’t know if it’s the right location or if there’s a better location, they did all the analysis there,” Meuser said. He said he planned to visit the sites next week.

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Even Republican election officials are balking at Trump Justice Department’s voter roll crusade

As the Trump administration has sued 25 mostly Democratic state election chiefs for their voter rolls, it has also encountered quieter resistance from Republican officials who have balked at the Justice Department’s demands for confidential voter registration information. At least a half-dozen Republican-led state election offices have declined the Justice Department’s request for non-public voter data, which can include a voter’s Social Security number, driver license ID number or current residence, according to interviews, local media reporting and records obtained by CNN and by the Brennan Center, a left-leaning think tank that researches election issues. “They can have the voter rolls. They’re gonna pay for it like everybody else,” West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner told CNN last month, referring to the public list that can be purchased in his state for $500. “They’re not going to get our personal information.”

Several other Republican election administrators have provided the sensitive data but refused to sign an agreement proposed by the Trump administration that would require them to remove voters deemed ineligible by the Justice Department. In interviews with CNN about the department’s voter data quest, GOP election officials expressed concerns about the administration’s approach even though they’re aligned with the president on other matters of election security. They said the requests conflicted with state laws prohibiting the disclosure of sensitive voter information. They questioned the reasons the administration was seeking the data. And they bristled at the idea of the federal government — rather than state or local officials — leading the task of removing ineligible voters from the rolls. The Justice Department declined to comment. The voter data crusade is one of several ways the Trump administration is trying to insert itself more directly into election-related tasks carried out by states.

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After Minnesota church protest, states move to crack down on disruptions

When Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Todd Gollihare introduced a bill last year to strengthen state law protecting places of worship from protesters, it failed to become law. This year, his church protest bill sailed through the legislature. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed it into law three days after Gollihare reintroduced it. In recent weeks, Republican and Democratic lawmakers in states including Alabama, Idaho, Ohio and South Dakota have pushed legislation (none has passed yet) that would increase the penalties for disrupting religious services at houses of worship in the wake of a widely publicized incident last month at a Minnesota church. On Jan. 18, protesters disrupted a worship service to confront a pastor who is a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official and to demand justice for Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent 11 days before.

Meanwhile in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Council Chair Julie Menin, both Democrats, want to create new buffer zones around houses of worship. Their proposals come in response to recent anti-Israel protests, including one outside a New York City synagogue in November where protesters chanted pro-Hamas slogans. Hochul has proposed a 25-foot buffer zone around churches, temples, mosques and other houses of worship, in addition to penalties for protesters who “alarm and annoy” worshippers. Menin has taken it further, proposing to let the police ban protests within 100 feet. Oklahoma’s law also establishes buffer zones that restrict protesting at places of worship. The recent push has sparked a constitutional debate: Critics on both sides of the political aisle say such measures infringe on the First Amendment right to free speech, even as supporters tout them as safeguards against those who would impede the free exercise of religion. The new laws could be challenged in court. If so, the idea of creating buffer zones, in particular, would be contested on familiar ground: A 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision upheld a Colorado law that restricted protesters from coming within a certain distance of reproductive health clinics or people trying to access them. Then in 2014, the court unanimously struck down a broader Massachusetts law, saying it went beyond the limits accepted in the Colorado case. Last year, the Supreme Court declined to consider overturning the 2000 buffer zone precedent.

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Hyatt Chairman Pritzker leaves board over Epstein ties

Hyatt Hotels Chairman Thomas Pritzker said Monday that he would retire and renounced his relationship with sex predator Jeffrey Epstein. Pritzker will leave his post as the hotel chain’s executive chairman — a role he’s held for more than two decades — immediately, he said in a statement released by the Pritzker Organization. The 75-year-old billionaire Hyatt heir said he would not seek reelection to the board at the annual stockholder meeting. “My job and responsibility is to provide good stewardship. That is important to me,” Pritzker said in the statement. “Good stewardship includes ensuring a proper transition at Hyatt.” Pritzker said he has “regret” over his connection to Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

Epstein plead guilty to state criminal charges related to soliciting prostitution, including one charge involving a minor, in Florida in 2008. He killed himself in 2019 after being arrested for federal child sex trafficking charges. Recently released files show Pritzker and Epstein exchanged friendly emails after the disgraced financier’s 2008 plea deal. Being part of the release of thousands of documents and photos does not imply any wrongdoing. “I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner,” Pritzker said in the statement. “I condemn the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and I feel deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims.” Following his retirement, Pritzker said he would focus attention on a science foundation he began. Pritzker’s announcement marks the latest in a series of high-profile resignations as more details about Epstein’s dealings become public. Former Goldman Sachs Legal Chief Kathryn Ruemmler and Paul Weiss Chair Brad Karp were both among the latest business leaders to step down from their positions. Both Ruemmler and Karp and have said they regret their connections to Epstein and that coverage of their ties were creating distractions for the companies they represented. Hyatt said its board appointed CEO Mark Hoplamazian to succeed Pritzker as chair starting immediately. Board member Richard Tuttle thanked Pritzker for his work and called him “instrumental” in determining the Chicago-based company’s strategy in a press release.

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Goldman Sachs plans to scrap DEI criteria for its board

Last year, Goldman Sachs dropped a commitment to support board diversity for clients it was taking public. Now it plans to drop diversity criteria for its own board. The Wall Street giant is preparing to remove race, gender identity, sexual orientation and other diversity factors from the criteria its board will consider when identifying potential candidates, according to people familiar with the matter. The board’s governance committee currently finds qualified candidates based primarily on four factors, one of which is a broad description of diversity, such as viewpoints, background, work and military service in addition to “other demographics” that includes a list of DEI factors. Now it plans to cross off the “other demographics” including race, gender identity, ethnicity and sexual orientation, the people said.

Goldman’s decision followed a behind-the-scenes request from the conservative activist nonprofit National Legal and Policy Center, which owns a small stake in the bank. The group submitted a proposal to the firm in September, seeking to remove the DEI criteria, the people said. The group requested its proposal be included in Goldman’s proxy statement that will be circulated to shareholders ahead of the firm’s annual shareholder meeting this spring. Goldman informed the NLPC that it plans to remove the DEI criteria, and an agreement was signed between the two parties that also includes the activist group withdrawing its proposal. Goldman’s board is expected to approve the new language this month, the people said. NLPC has argued to several companies that factoring in diversity when identifying individuals qualified to be board members raises the risk of discrimination. Goldman, like many large banks, has pulled back on DEI efforts over the past year. It retooled its diversity program, One Million Black Women, a multibillion-dollar commitment to invest in Black businesswomen and nonprofit leaders, including removing references to race. It also ended its requirement that companies in the U.S. and Western Europe have diverse boards for the bank to take them public. Goldman faced anti-DEI proposals going into last year’s proxy season but shareholders didn’t approve those changes. The DEI climate has changed radically for banks and many other companies in recent years. A turning point was President Trump’s executive order early last year directing federal departments and agencies to launch civil investigations into DEI programs at companies.

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Anderson Cooper leaving '60 Minutes' in latest CBS News shakeup

Anderson Cooper is leaving CBS News’ “60 Minutes” program after nearly two decades, in the latest staffing shake-up to hit the storied news magazine and network. Cooper has been a “60 Minutes” correspondent through a deal between Paramount Skydance-owned CBS News and Warner Bros. Discovery’s CNN since the 2006-2007 season, according to his page on the CBS News website. “For nearly twenty years, I’ve been able to balance my jobs at CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still want to spend time,” Cooper said in a statement Monday. Cooper is the latest high-profile journalist to depart CBS News since the arrival of Bari Weiss as the network’s new editor-in-chief in October following Paramount Skydance’s purchase of her outlet The Free Press.

Weiss unveiled her strategy in January, saying she would add 19 new contributors and focus on bringing a “streaming mentality” to the network, which has consistently trailed in ratings to rivals ABC and NBC. She is trying to revive the third-placed broadcast news network, which has been losing viewers in the age of social media and online information. In a statement, CBS thanked Cooper for his contributions and said the door is open if he ever wants to return. “For more than two decades, Anderson Cooper has taken 60 Minutes viewers on journeys to faraway places, told us unforgettable stories, reported consequential investigations and interviewed many prominent figures," the network said. "We’re grateful to him for dedicating so much of his life to this broadcast, and understand the importance of spending more time with family. 60 Minutes will be here if he ever wants to return.” Weiss had expressed interest in bringing Cooper to CBS News on a full-time basis, including the possibility of him anchoring the CBS Evening News program, according to a Puck news report, citing sources familiar with the situation. Since the launch of CNN’s prime-time television news program “Anderson Cooper 360,” Cooper has covered major global news events, ranging from U.S. presidential inaugurations and political conventions to the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting. He joined CNN in 2001 and has reported on the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Cooper signed a new contract with CNN last year. Lachlan Cartwright’s Breaker newsletter first reported Cooper’s departure from “60 Minutes.”

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Shooting at Rhode Island youth hockey game leaves 3 dead, including shooter, and 3 more wounded

A shooting during a Rhode Island youth hockey game left three people dead, including the shooter, and three more hospitalized Monday night in critical condition, authorities said. Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters that someone helped bring a swift end to the violent scene Monday afternoon by intervening and trying to subdue the shooter, who was at an arena to watch a family member’s hockey game. The shooter died from an apparent self-inflicted gun wound, she said, noting that authorities were still investigating. “It appears that this was a targeted event, that it may be a family dispute,” she said. Goncalves identified the shooter as Robert Dorgan, who she said also went by the name Roberta Esposito and was born in 1969.

The police chief did not provide further details about the shooter or the victims, except for saying it appeared that both victims who died were adults. She said investigators were trying to piece together what happened and have spoken with scores of witnesses who were there inside Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, a few miles outside Providence. They also were reviewing video taken from the hockey game. Unverified footage circulating on social media shows players diving for cover and fans fleeing their seats after popping sounds are heard. Outside the arena, tearful families and high school hockey players still in uniform were seen hugging before they boarded a bus to leave the area. Monday’s shooting came nearly two months after Rhode Island was rocked by a gun violence tragedy at Brown University, where a gunman killed two students and wounded nine others. That shooter went on to also fatally shoot a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor. Authorities later found Claudio Neves Valente, 48, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a New Hampshire storage facility. “The fortunate thing is that the two incidents are not related, but it is very tragic,” Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien said. “These are high school kids. They were doing an event, they were playing with their families watching, a fun time, and it turned into this.” Pawtucket is nestled just north of Providence and right under the Massachusetts state border. A city of just under 80,000, Pawtucket had up until recently been known as the home to Hasbro’s headquarters.

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Lead Stories

Abbott steps into Texas GOP primaries as poll shows his picks trailing

Fans of the 1942 classic movie "Casablanca" may remember Humphrey Bogart's character declaring, "I stick my neck out for nobody." For much of his 11 years as governor, Greg Abbott has lived by the same motto in election years when his name was on the ballot. In Texas, all candidates for statewide office are on their own. Each party's candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run independently. And Texas governors do not have a cabinet in the traditional sense, so agencies such as the Agriculture Department, the Comptroller's Office and the Attorney General's Office are run by people elected by voters and not necessarily by whomever the governor might prefer.

Abbott, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth term, is hoping to change that dynamic this cycle — a gamble that early polling suggests could backfire. A University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs poll released Tuesday shows Abbott’s preferred candidates trailing in two key Republican primaries. The governor was quick to endorse Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock in the March 3 Republican primary. Hancock, a former state senator, took over the duties of comptroller with Abbott's blessing in July 2025 after Glenn Hegar vacated his office to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. In January, the governor took the unusual step of snubbing Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a fellow Republican state officeholder, and throwing his support behind political newcomer Nate Sheets in the primary. And Abbott is sticking his neck out for Hancock and Sheets. There's little downside for political candidates struggling to become known to lean into their ties with a proven vote-getter like Abbott. The risk for the governor is that one or both candidates could come up short with voters — potentially undercutting his influence during the remainder of the election year and into next year’s legislative session.

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Palantir is the new Dem bogeyman

Palantir, the data giant and top government contractor, is quickly becoming one of the left’s most hated companies. The Palantir skepticism is keenly felt in competitive Democratic primaries, where any ties to the corporation are quickly turned into political attacks. Palantir’s work with ICE — at a time when many Democrats and immigration rights groups are demanding the agency be abolished — has made the tech company especially toxic. Progressives also criticize Palantir for working with the Israeli government. Palantir technology is allegedly being used in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Here’s how the Palantir controversy is playing out in Democratic primaries across the country.

Texas:Former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) is slamming his primary opponent, Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas), for her history of owning Palantir stock. An Allred attack ad accuses Johnson of “making thousands from the company ICE uses to track and detain our neighbors.” Johnson has strongly pushed back while downplaying her Palantir holdings. “With Palintir specifically, it was less than $8,000, and I made $90 on the whole thing,” Johnson said. “I consistently voted against Palantir’s interest in Homeland Security [Committee], time, time and time again.” New York: Palantir is playing big in two New York City House primaries. In New York’s 12th District, Democrat Alex Bores is battling attacks over his former employment at Palantir from 2014 to 2019. Bores says he never worked on any ICE contracts. This hasn’t stopped attack ads that claim “ICE is powered by Bores’ tech” and that Bores was “powering their deportations.”

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Democrats’ struggles could be partly because they’re just too old, says Obama

Former President Barack Obama is urging the Democratic Party to invest in younger candidates if it wants to come out victorious in the 2026 midterm elections and, eventually, the 2028 presidential election. In an interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen that was published Saturday, the 64-year-old said part of the reason his own elections were so successful was because he was young at the time. “I’m a pretty healthy 64, feel great, but the truth is, half of the references that my daughters make about social media, TikTok and such, I don’t know who they’re talking about,” he said. “There is an element of, at some point, you age out. You’re not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through.”

Former President Joe Biden, who was Obama’s vice president, was the oldest man to assume the presidency at the age of 78 in 2021. His decision to seek reelection in 2024 repeatedly drew concerns from voters who wondered how the octogenarian would be able to handle a second term in the White House. The fears were only amplified after a disastrous debate performance full of gaffes and losing his trains of thought. Obama, who had originally supported Biden in the election, went on to campaign for Biden’s younger replacement atop the ticket, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, after Biden ended his campaign. Congressional leaders have long faced criticism for the advanced age of members. A 2023 Pew Research poll found that nearly 80 percent of adults favor maximum age limits for elected officials. The idea extends to public attitudes toward Supreme Court justices, with 74 percent of adults favoring a maximum age limit for the nation’s highest court. “I’m not making a hard and fast rule here, but I do think that Democrats do well when we have candidates who are plugged into the moment, to the zeitgeist, to the times and the particular struggles that folks are thinking about as they look towards the future, rather than look backward toward the past,” Obama told Cohen. Obama also said he hopes to “reinvigorate” the “civic muscles” of Americans through his presidential center, particularly of young Americans.

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The break is over. Companies are jacking up prices again.

After holding the line on prices for several months, companies—big and small—have begun a new round of increases, in some cases by high-single-digit percentage points. Companies had raised prices last year after tariffs hoisted costs. Yet starting in the fall, many firms held off on increases and sometimes offered discounts to capture holiday shoppers. The pricing break is over. Many companies typically raise prices at the start of the new year. Yet increases appeared to be stronger than normal for January for electronics, appliances and other durable goods, said UBS economist Alan Detmeister. Some companies have pointed a finger at tariffs for their increases, while others, especially small businesses, also blame higher wages and hefty health-insurance costs that firms said they can’t absorb or share with suppliers.

Prices on the most affordable imported goods are up by 2.3% since dipping at the end of November, according to data through Feb. 10 collected by Alberto Cavallo, a Harvard Business School professor who tracks daily online prices at major U.S. retailers. The Adobe Digital Price Index found that online prices posted their largest monthly increase in a dozen years in January, driven by higher prices for electronics, computers, appliances, furniture and bedding. Columbia Sportswear said it is upping prices of spring and fall merchandise by, on average, a high single-digit percent after mostly avoiding increases for fall and winter goods. The company said it has also renegotiated prices with its factories and taken other steps to reduce costs. “When combined with our other mitigation tactics, our goal in ’26 is to offset the dollar impact of high tariffs,” Chief Executive Tim Boyle said in an earnings call earlier this month. Such new price increases follow last year’s wave of tariff-driven price hikes. Retail prices started falling beginning in October, with the biggest drops before Black Friday, Harvard’s Cavallo said. But they then started rising again, particularly after Christmas, in what looks like a postholiday reset.

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State Stories

How American Airlines is taking on rival United Airlines in Chicago

The Windy City is one of the premier battlegrounds for aviation in the U.S. It’s a popular hub for travelers connecting both to the east and west, and was recently named the No. 1 city for business travel, which airlines rely on to generate premium revenue. In fact, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is the dominant carrier at Midway International Airport. For these reasons and a few others, it’s also why American Airlines and United Airlines have found themselves locked in the aviation world’s equivalent of a cage match to dominate Chicago O’Hare International Airport — sparking a nasty turf war that’s riveted the industry. The knock-down, drag-out war between the longtime rivals seems to have no bounds, with the weapons of choice including dueling press releases, a lawsuit over gate space, and taunting highway billboards.

Fort Worth-based American, the leading U.S. airline by number of flights and Chicago’s hometown airline United, are going head-to-head by pouring hundreds of flights into the O’Hare hub, in addition to investing in other areas in attempts to win over potential customers. For American, the outcome of the battle could have a ripple effect on its entire business. The carrier is significantly lagging rivals United and Delta in earnings and is racing to close a gap in premium product offerings. “When it comes to Chicago, we would expect that it returns to the average profitability of our hub network,” American’s CEO Robert Isom told analysts during last month’s earnings call. “It’s going to be our third-largest hub, and we’re going to keep taking care of our customers and making sure that it performs as best as it possibly can.” This month, United and American will offer 3.5 million seats and 2.6 million seats, respectively. Combining for more than 53,000 flights, the two global airlines will account for about 85% of the market share at O’Hare this month, according to data from Diio by Cirium, an aviation analytics company.

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As expected, Austin's housing market fell flat in January

January results are in for the local housing market, and the data is a mixed bag. Despite a fall in finished sales, leases and dollar volume last month, Unlock MLS’s January report points to more pending sales as a positive sign for buyer momentum. Year-over-year sales and leases were down 14.8% and 4.1% respectively, but there were 2,349 in-progress sales for the month – 10.1% more than January 2025. “Deals are still happening across Central Texas, but they’re taking more time and strategy to get across the finish line,” said John Crowe, president of Unlock MLS and Austin Board of Realtors, in a statement. Austin’s current buyers are some of the most intentional in the nation. Redfin’s December housing report shows the average home took 106 days to go under contract – the longest of the nation’s 50 biggest metros.

The January data isn’t a shocker. Housing experts went into 2026 expecting a flat year for home builds and sales as buyers remain slow to jump into the market. Despite stabilizing interest rates and pricing falls, data shows many people are holding out for sub-five interest rates and better pricing. Dollar volume for home sales also sank at an average 14.3% across the metro. Bastrop County tumbled the furthest with $27,279,673 worth of sales last month – a 28.8% decrease from January 2025. Unlock MLS market research advisor Vaike O'Grady previously said the market requires a level-out after the highs of the pandemic. The January market only reinforces that, she said, showing signs of a "sustainable foundation" for the area.

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Despite pressure from Abbott, AISD students keep up anti-ICE protests

On Friday, Feb. 6, at about 2pm, hundreds of students at Clint Small Middle School walked out of class with backpacks on and posters in their hands to protest the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the country, “including the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents,” according to their student-released statement. “We are skipping our lessons to teach you one,” one student’s sign read. Another sign, made of glued-together sheets of paper, spelled out “Abolish ICE.” As the large cohort of students made their way down the 290 frontage road to the Target shopping center, and later toward William Cannon Drive, the students displayed their signs to the passing cars, several honking in support.

“It’s been easy to feel like I don’t have a voice in these matters … like the recent actions of ICE,” one student, Emmet D., told the Chronicle. About the act of walking out of class in protest, Emmet said, “We don’t really have that much power in most things that are going on in the world, and this is a way that we do have power.” Emmet’s parents, Adam and Krisdee, were initially hesitant to allow their child to participate in the walkout, concerned about safety. But ultimately, they told the Chronicle they were proud of Emmet and the other student protesters for speaking up. “If ICE is invading schools and affecting families that are at schools, students very much should have a say, and they don’t get to vote yet,” Adam D. emphasized. “I think it’s beautiful that the kids have decided to do this. … And I hope it spreads all over Texas. I hope it spreads all over the country.” Over the last two weeks, the wave of students walking out of class in protest of ICE at over a dozen Austin ISD schools has brought the school district under calls for investigation by Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Commissioner of Education Mike Morath. On Jan. 30, Abbott requested that Morath investigate the student walkouts across Austin ISD. “AISD gets taxpayer dollars to teach the subjects required by the state, not to help students skip school to protest,” Abbott wrote on X. “Our schools are for educating our children, not political indoctrination.” On the same day, Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura clarified in a letter to families that the student walkouts were not sponsored or endorsed by AISD or any specific school.

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New Texas-led GOP caucus signals resurgence of anti-Shariah movement

A new congressional group is targeting what it claims is a growing threat of Shariah, or Islamic religious law, in the U.S., a move that harks back to anti-Islam movements that flourished during the post-9/11 era and the early 2010s. Leaders of the Sharia Free America Caucus say the growing number of mosques in the country is a cause for alarm, while critics say the group is an attempt to shore up votes for Republicans in places such as Oklahoma and Texas during campaign season. Led by Republican U.S. Reps. Chip Roy and Keith Self of Texas, the caucus heard testimony about how some believe Shariah violates the U.S. Constitution at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Tuesday (Feb. 10). The caucus, which formed in December and is made of 36 Republican representatives from 18 states, aims to push legislation that counters what it calls “the alarming rise of Shariah Law in the United States.”

“Some of you might think of Shariah as a 2010s buzzword. That is wrong,” Roy, the subcommittee chair, said in his opening statement. “Over the last few years, efforts to impose Shariah on American communities have taken off, and nowhere more than in my home state of Texas.” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Pennsylvania Democrat who is not a member of the caucus, said the hearing was meant to stoke suspicion of American Muslims and “a cynical political ploy driven by the Texas Republican primary.” Haris Tarin, vice president of policy and programming for the Muslim Public Affairs Council advocacy group, said the caucus is made of “bigoted members” who are promoting a “hoax to drive people to the polls and scare them.” “They’re taking the playbook of the 2010s and just enhancing it with more fear and more racism, more xenophobia and more Islamophobia,” Tarin told RNS, adding that an interfaith coalition is prepared to challenge the caucus. Caucus members have introduced seven related House bills in recent months, including the No Shari’a Act, which would prohibit American courts from enforcing judgments based on Islamic law or other foreign legal systems that violate the Constitution.

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Regional council votes to fund public transit as part of plan to save DART

Regional leaders have agreed to help fund Dallas Area Rapid Transit in an effort to save the agency from withdrawal elections that could fracture public transit in North Texas. During a Thursday meeting of the Regional Transportation Council, leaders from various cities, counties and transit agencies approved $180 million in funding to transportation projects. “I think it was a really great day for the region,” regional transportation director Michael Morris told KERA after the meeting. “I’m very pleased with the leadership everyone exercised today.” The vote means that DART now has backing from the regional body on a new funding model that will give money back to cities in the hopes that they will call off elections to withdraw from the public transit system.

Plano Mayor John Muns, who sits on the council, said the vote is a pathway to keep public transit running in his city. The return of sales tax contributions was the same request the city made last year through failed legislative efforts. Plano is one of six cities set to hold withdrawal elections in May. “We’re very happy that we’ve come and been able to negotiate with DART on a deal that hopefully helps us through the next five or six years be able to make sure we’re operating the transit authority in Plano in a way that really provides a benefit to our citizens,” Muns said. DART CEO Nadine Lee said funding will still be an issue because much of the agency’s revenue will now be going back to cities. The agency has already had to make service cuts in recent months. “Obviously it’s money that’s coming out of DART’s funds, and so DART is going to have to scramble to figure out how we make that revenue available,” Lee said.

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Free speech concerns raised as Tarrant County judge removes meeting attendees

Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare likely violated legal protections that ensure the right to free speech and open government in the case of two of three men he had removed from the commissioners court on Tuesday, experts in those topics told the Fort Worth Report. Throughout the seven-hour Feb. 10 meeting, deputies with the county sheriff’s office removed Fort Worth residents Doyle Fine, 72, a retired U.S. Navy veteran; EJ Carrion, 36, who hosts the 817 Podcast focused on local politics; and Alexander Montalvo, 43, a progressive community activist. All were removed from the courtroom after criticizing O’Hare. Fine was removed after yelling from the audience as the meeting was ongoing. However, Carrion and Montalvo spoke during meeting breaks after O’Hare called recesses.

Fine and Carrion are barred from returning to the courtroom for a year, which experts described as a severe — and troublingly inconsistent — punishment. After returning from the recess during which Carrion was removed, O’Hare told the court’s audience he was going to say a “couple of things that everybody needs to hear.” “Number one, I’m the presiding officer of this courtroom, whether we’re in session or not,” O’Hare said. “Number two: We are going to maintain order and decorum in here.” However, O’Hare does not have legal authority to remove anyone during recesses, said Bill Aleshire, an Austin-based attorney who helped draft the original Texas Open Meetings Act, a law that requires government entities to keep official business accessible to the public. “That’s a violation of free speech rights and rights to attend a public meeting. That was not during a meeting,” said Aleshire, who was not at the meeting Tuesday. State law requires elected bodies, such as the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, to make government decisions publicly. Members of the public have the right to attend government meetings, excluding private legal deliberations, and to sign up to speak on agenda items under consideration.

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Texas AG Ken Paxton sues city of Dallas over 'insufficient' police funding

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the city of Dallas over alleged insufficient funding of the Dallas Police Department, which would violate a voter approved proposition. Proposition U, passed by Dallas voters in November 2024, requires the city to spend no less than 50% of new, annual revenue to fund the police and fire pension. But Paxton said in a statement that the city failed to properly calculate and allocate excess city revenue. He alleges that, compared to fiscal year 2024–25, the city's projected excess revenue for fiscal year 2025–26 is approximately $220 million. However, the city council were told that there was $61 million in excess revenue. “I filed this lawsuit to ensure that the City of Dallas fully funds law enforcement, upholds public safety, and is accountable to its constituents,” said Attorney General Paxton. “When voters demand more funding for law enforcement, local officials must immediately comply." KERA reached out to the city for comment, but a spokesperson declined to comment citing pending litigation.

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HISD lost thousands of students amid immigration crackdown.

Houston ISD's immigrant student population fell by nearly 4,000 students this year — a 22% decline, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle. This year, the state's largest district has also seen disproportionate drops among its emergent bilingual students and Hispanic and Latino enrollment. Both documented and undocumented students have been affected by President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown this year, experts say, and many students are staying home from school due to deportation fears. Those declines could have future impacts on students' careers, school funding and the local economy, according to advocates, educators and immigration experts. Here are five takeaways from the Chronicle's exclusive analysis.

Harris County and the surrounding counties have seen a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity since President Trump launched his mass deportation campaign in early 2025. Calls from Houston Police Department officers to ICE have also increased since 2025. One in four of those ended with a person being arrested by ICE agents. Advocates say the so-called “worst of the worst” aren’t the sole focus of ICE’s operations and that the agency is also targeting immigrant parents. That’s led to some U.S. citizen children being left without a caregiver or forced to follow a parent out of the country. Even as HISD's total enrollment dropped by nearly 20,000 students from 2020 to 2025, its immigrant student population continued to grow. The Texas Education Agency defines immigrant students as those who were not born in the United States and have not been attending school in any state for more than three full academic years. This school year, HISD's immigrant student population fell by nearly 4,000 students — a 22% decline — marking the first drop in that group since the pandemic.

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Charley Crockett sparks heated fan backlash with Trump 'grifter' comments

Texas country musician Charley Crockett seems to be churning up some Southern trouble after chiding President Donald Trump, calling for the deportation of billionaire Elon Musk and Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel, and slamming their supporters who he says are "licking their boots" in a heated update to social media. Crockett's Instagram post arrived in the immediate aftermath of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl LX halftime show, which drew in at least 133.5 million viewers. Crockett was one of those viewers. He said the "country music establishment should be taking notes" on Bad Bunny — "a Puerto Rican American who hasn’t forgotten his heritage and brought his culture’s traditional music back to the front."

The San Benito native slammed Trump, calling him a "cosplay president," a "draft dodger" and a "grifter who bankrupted 6 casinos," among other things. "The only thing he’s good at is filing lawsuits and portraying a successful business man as a reality TV actor," Crockett wrote. "Forgive me if I have a problem with a 34 time convicted felon running this country when I lost the right to vote or own a weapon for years over marijuana," he added, calling out his own turbulent past with cannabis. The two-time Grammy Award nominee went on to call for the deportation of Texas-based billionaire tech magnate Elon Musk and controversial Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel, then made an unfounded claim that Musk was "standing in the White House buying our elections." "Let’s deport his (expletive) and send Peter Thiel back with him since they both openly believe in a post democratic society where men of their class are above the law," Crockett wrote. The remainder of his comments centered on issues between the "oppressed" and the "oppressor," as well as the "rich" and the "poor." "As long as you’re hating the oppressed and loving your oppressor you’ll never know why our generation is poorer than our parents and grandparents. As a great man once said it’s welfare for the rich and rugged individualism for the poor. If you can sleep at night licking their boots that’s between you and yours, but that type of thinking isn’t freedom. It’s mental slavery ... Ride on."

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FAA issues Starship finding; report cites ‘no significant impact’

The Federal Aviation Administration said it has completed the environmental review process for a SpaceX proposal that would see more Starship landings at Boca Chica and require additional launch trajectories. SpaceX seeks permission to increase the number of Starship/Super Heavy launches and landings at Boca Chica to 25 each per year. In its review of the proposal, FAA has rendered a “Finding of No Significant Impact” (FONSI). The agency said the Final Tiered Environmental Assessment (EA) and (FONSI) is now available online for review.

The full title of the document is “Final Tiered Environmental Assessment and (FONSI)/Record of Decision for Updates to Airspace Closures for Additional Launch Trajectories and Starship Boca Chica Landings of the SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy Vehicle at the SpaceX Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas.” FAA served as the lead agency in preparing the EA. The document’s “proposed action” is to modify SpaceX’s existing vehicle operator license to authorized “updated operations for additional launch trajectories” for rocket operations at the Boca Chica launch site, and “updated operations for Starship Return to Launch Site mission profiles” at Boca Chica. The Draft Tiered EA was released for public review and comment on Sept. 19, though a virtual public meeting was canceled due to the government shutdown. The public comment period ended on Oct. 20. “All comments received on the Draft Tiered EA were given equal weight and taken into consideration,” FAA said. In the conclusion of the final document, the agency states that a 2022 Programmatic EA and an April 2025 Tiered EA “examined the potential for significant environmental impacts from Starship-Super Heavy launch operations” at Boca Chica and “defined the regulatory setting” for impacts stemming from those operations.

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‘Risks to children.’ Why Texas is warning about unregulated home child care

It’s a rare, quiet morning off. Jemie Johnson Vaughn moves with ease around her house. It’s usually packed with kids settling in for the day. However, on this late December morning, they’re not expected until a little later. Johnson Vaughn’s home doubles as a licensed child care operation in southeast Austin. Drop-off for some kids starts at 5:30 a.m.; others have been there all night. Johnson Vaughn’s regulated operation requires her to comply with state standards that ensure the health, safety and well-being of children in her care.

However, the state has found hundreds of day care providers operating out of their homes without a license, lacking oversight and potentially putting kids at risk. As a licensed child care home, Johnson Vaughn is open 24/7 and can have 12 children at the house at one time. She and her two staff members care for 15 children total, ranging from toddlers to older kids, whose care is staggered throughout the day, overnight and on weekends. She said she currently has a waitlist for daytime care. Children at Risk, a statewide children’s advocacy organization studying child care needs, said family child care programs are still recovering after the pandemic. According to the nonprofit, Texas lost 21% of child care providers from March 2020 to September 2021. Out of those closed programs, 79% were child care homes. KXAN found Texas has nearly 1,600 licensed child care homes as of January, including Johnson Vaughn’s. Some families turn to home day cares started by family, neighbors, friends or recommended on social media — but they may not be licensed. “We want to make sure that if you are taking someone’s money, to care for their most precious thing in the world, their child, we want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to make sure that — that child is returned to them safe,” said Kim Kofron, senior director of education for Children at Risk.

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‘Uno Reverse Card this policy y’all’: Southwest changes are infuriating fans

Whitney Westerfield boarded his Southwest flight from Tampa to Nashville on Thursday and went to his seat in Row 8. The overhead bins were full for several rows, forcing him and many other passengers to roam around the plane looking for spots as more people filed in. “I have never had the absolute mess that was boarding and then deboarding last night,” the Kentucky attorney said in an interview. The business trip that started Monday was the first time he’d flown Southwest since the airline switched to standard seat assignments from its old free-for-all model in late January. On both flights, he said, he told the flight crew: “Would you guys all please pass along to the big shots that we’d like the old way back?”

Under pressure to boost its bottom line, Southwest has been in transformation mode for more than a year. The airline announced the eventual end of open seating in 2024. Last year, it added fees for checked bags after holding on to its generous “bags fly free” policy long after other carriers had started raking in the bucks for luggage. Some travelers have welcomed the introduction of a seat assignment and boarding system similar to other airlines. Southwest has said research showed more people would fly the carrier if it offered assigned seats. But many are in mourning for a company that once stood out but now blends in with crowd. “We’re talking about one of the most beloved brands of all time, and they just completely nuked it over the course of the last 11 months,” said Kyle Potter, executive editor of the travel site Thrifty Traveler. In recent days, travelers have complained online about a lack of available overhead bins; young children being assigned seats away from parents; massive amounts of carry-ons slowing the boarding process; and rigid rules about staying in place despite a mostly empty plane. Southwest has been working to address pain points and has instructed flight crews to keep their own luggage in spaces that will clear up room for passengers. They had previously used bins at the front of the plane. “Since launch, we’ve been closely monitoring input and real-world behaviors to validate our assumptions and identify where we can refine the experience,” the airline said in a statement. “Those insights are now informing a series of early adjustments designed to smooth operations and reduce friction as Customers and Employees adapt to the new boarding and seating process.”

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National Stories

No clear path to ending the partial government shutdown as lawmakers dig in over DHS oversight

Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise Sunday in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. A partial government shutdown began Saturday after congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump’s team failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the department through September. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis last month. Congress is on recess until Feb. 23, and both sides appear dug into their positions. The impasse affects agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The work at ICE and CBP goes on unabated because Trump’s tax and spending cut law from 2025 provided billions more to those agencies that can be tapped for deportation operations. About 90% of DHS employees were to continue working during the shutdown, but do so without pay — and missed paychecks could mean financial hardships. Last year there was a record 43-day government shutdown. White House border czar Tom Homan said the administration was unwilling to agree to Democrats’ demands that federal officers clearly identify themselves, remove masks during operations and display unique ID numbers. “I don’t like the masks, either,” Homan said, But, he said, “These men and women have to protect themselves.” Democrats also want to require immigration agents to wear body cameras and mandate judicial warrants for arrests on private property. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats are only asking for federal agents to abide by rules followed by law enforcement agencies around the country. “And the question that Americans are asking is, ‘Why aren’t Republicans going along with these commonsense proposals?’” Schumer said. “They’re not crazy. They’re not way out. They’re what every police department in America does.”

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AOC tests foreign-policy waters at Munich conference

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is better known for her strong progressive stances than her foreign policy views over the course of her seven years in Congress. An appearance at this weekend’s Munich Security Conference suggested a shift in approach and fueled more speculation of a presidential run in 2028. Ocasio-Cortez, who was invited by organizers of the annual event that attracts a host of world leaders, joined two panels, laying out her vision on the dangers of authoritarianism, Taiwan, Greenland and Gaza. Her appearance functioned as both audition and classroom, and gave audiences an inkling of what Democrats’ post-Joe Biden foreign-policy vision might look like. She demanded a foreign policy approach that counters record inequality and looks to undo a world “dominated by a handful of elites, a handful of oligarchs that sit in pretend democracies and make backdoor deals with one another.” In one panel, she said unconditional US aid to Israel had “enabled a genocide.”

“We’re at a fork in the road, I believe that leaders are increasingly acknowledging that we must present an alternative vision,” she said. The New York congresswoman was one of several Democrats with future political aspirations to attend, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom. He sought to reassure Europe that there would be life after President Donald Trump. “He’ll be measured in years, not decades,” Newsom said. But it was Ocasio-Cortez who drew the most buzz. It was her first time at the annual conference, and she doesn’t sit on the House foreign affairs or armed services committees. What foreign-policy work she’s done has centered mostly on Latin America and her opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza. Republican commentators back home declared her unprepared for primetime for what they called a flubbed answer to a question from Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua on whether the US would come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacked. Normally quick to respond, Ocasio-Cortez was at a loss for words, saying, “this is such a, a, you know, I think that, this is a, um, this is of course, a, ah, a very longstanding, um, policy of the United States,” she said. But she recovered with a cogent response. The US should “avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise,” she said.

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More than ever, videos expose the truth. And cloud it, too.

Is seeing still believing? Based on the evidence of the past week, it is hard to say. Consider Exhibit A: Rauiri Robinson, an Irish filmmaker and visual effects artist in Los Angeles, posted two short A.I.-generated videos on X, a hyper-realistic action-movie sequence depicting Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting on a rooftop while arguing about Jeffrey Epstein. The clips were created, Mr. Robinson explained, by feeding a two-sentence prompt into Seedance 2.0, an A.I. video-creation tool newly released by the Chinese company ByteDance. Its convincing imitation of an actual film sparked horror and outrage in Hollywood. “I hate to say it,” Rhett Reese, a screenwriter whose credits include the “Deadpool” films, wrote on X. “It’s likely over for us.”

But consider Exhibit B: The announcement on Thursday morning by Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s border czar, that federal immigration agents would soon withdraw from Minnesota. Although Mr. Homan declared the operation a success, the decision seemed a tacit acknowledgment of the political damage inflicted by bystanders’ videos of two fatal shootings of Minneapolis residents by federal agents last month. The videos immediately undercut the administration’s false and derogatory claims about the victims, drawing rebukes from even some Republican politicians and conservative commentators. “Escalating the rhetoric doesn’t help, and it actually loses credibility,” Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from Texas, said on his podcast in late January. It is a paradoxical moment, in which documentary evidence is still able to land a few punches, even as new technologies threaten its credibility like never before. “It feels deeply contradictory,” said Sam Gregory, the executive director of Witness, a human-rights organization focused on gathering video evidence.

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Team USA’s dreams of a record Olympics are suddenly falling apart

They came to Italy for a gold rush. From the downhill course of Cortina to the cross-country tracks of Val di Fiemme and a figure skating rink on the edge of Milan, members of Team USA envisioned themselves spending the entire Olympics on the top steps of podiums. And with the biggest delegation here, they dreamed of a run that would surpass their record 10 gold medals the last time they hosted the Winter Games. Then came the disastri. One by one, America’s made-for-TV stars fell short of expectations. Lindsey Vonn crashed. Chloe Kim fell. Mikaela Shiffrin struggled.

The most shocking fumble of all came on Friday night when figure skater Ilia Malinin, the self-proclaimed “quad god,” melted down in the brutal heat of the Olympic spotlight. It was merely the latest disappointment of an Olympics souring faster than burrata in the sun for Team USA, which is suddenly on track for its fewest winter golds since 1998. A full week since the Opening Ceremony, the U.S. was stuck on four, the same number as Sweden and Switzerland. The Americans are looking up in the medal standings at host nation Italy, which is on pace for its best-ever Olympics, and they have been lapped by the Norwegian gods of the Winter Games. Before the Olympics, the betting markets suggested the Americans could reasonably expect to win 12 golds. They have already lost at least four of those events despite starting as the favorites. “There’s a lot of puzzle pieces that need to lock into place,” Jessie Diggins, the top-ranked cross-country skier in the world, said after finishing the skiathlon in eighth. “The things out of my control did not go very well.”

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National Institutes of Health faces leadership vacuum as director positions sit open

The world’s largest public funder of biomedical research is in limbo. The National Institutes of Health has, in large part, managed to withstand the Trump administration’s attempts to slash its budget and upend how it distributes grants, thanks to decisions from the courts and Congress. But the agency now faces a growing vacuum in leadership in its top ranks — one that offers the administration a highly unusual opportunity to reshape NIH to its vision. Of the 27 institutes and centers that make up NIH, 16 were missing permanent directors as of Friday, when staff received news of the latest departure.

In an internal email viewed by NBC News, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya announced that Dr. Lindsey Criswell would no longer direct the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, effective immediately. All but two of the vacant director positions at NIH have opened during President Donald Trump’s second term — the result of a combination of terminations, resignations and retirements. Acting directors are filling in temporarily. “It’s like going to battle with half your generals in place,” said Dr. Elias Zerhouni, who led NIH from 2002 to 2008 under President George W. Bush. “I don’t think it’s precedented to have so many vacancies so fast.” NIH director positions are some of the most powerful and prestigious in medicine, in some cases overseeing multibillion-dollar budgets and helping to decide how federal research funding is allocated for the country’s biggest health threats, including Alzheimer’s, diabetes and heart disease.

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Nancy Guthrie latest: Search enters 3rd week

The search for Nancy Guthrie entered its third week on Sunday. Investigators haven’t yet named a suspect or made arrests in the case, as they field thousands of tips submitted after the FBI released surveillance images from Guthrie’s doorbell camera. Authorities — including SWAT and forensics teams — swarmed a home on the edge of the Catalina Foothills neighborhood north of Tucson, Ariz., near Guthrie’s home, as it carried out a federal court-ordered search warrant. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Saturday that the warrant was “based on a lead we received” and that no arrests were made from that law enforcement activity. Additionally, a person was questioned during a traffic stop on Friday night, but there weren’t any arrests from that either.

Sheriff Chris Nanos told the New York Times that DNA from someone other than Nancy Guthrie and those close to her was collected from Guthrie’s property, but would not disclose where it was located. Investigators are currently working to identify the DNA. Authorities last week expanded their call for video of any “suspicious activity” from people within a 2-mile radius of the 84-year-old’s home. The sheriff’s department said that “several items of evidence, including gloves,” were recovered and are being submitted for analysis. It’s unclear whether authorities believe the gloves are the same as those worn by the person seen in the footage. On Thursday afternoon, the FBI released a new description of the suspect based on forensic evidence from the doorbell camera. He is described as “approximately 5’9” - 5’10” tall, with an average build.”

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Iran says potential energy, mining and aircraft deals on table in talks with US

Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday, days before a second round of talks between Tehran and Washington.Iran and the U.S. renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme and avert a new military confrontation. The U.S. has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, U.S. officials have told Reuters.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a news conference in Bratislava, said President Donald Trump had made it clear that he would prefer diplomacy and a negotiated settlement, while making clear that may not happen."No one's ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran but we're going to try," Rubio said.Iran has threatened to strike U.S. bases in the Middle East if it is attacked by U.S. forces but on Sunday took a conciliatory line."For the sake of an agreement's durability, it is essential that the U.S. also benefits in areas with high and quick economic returns," foreign ministry deputy director for economic diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.Advertisement · Scroll to continue"Common interests in the oil and gas fields, joint fields, mining investments, and even aircraft purchases are included in the negotiations," Ghanbari said, arguing that the 2015 nuclear pact with world powers had not secured U.S. economic interests. In 2018, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact that had eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, and re-applied tough economic sanctions on Tehran.

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Copyright February 23, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved