Lead Stories

USDA's Rollins called screwworm a 'little pest' amid U.S. spread. Last year, she called it 'terrifying'

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told CNBC on Monday that the New World screwworm is a “little pest.” In the past, she called the parasite “terrifying.” The discrepancy in messaging before and after the flesh-eating pest was detected in the U.S. offers a window into how Rollins is managing the screwworm threat now that it has reached inside the border. And it shows how the administration is racing to alleviate fears that the parasite could further raise the price of beef amid rising inflation. Since screwworm was detected in Texas last week, Rollins has hit the airwaves to reassure the U.S. public that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is ahead of the infestation and that it does not pose a risk to the food system. She has also heaped blame on the Biden administration for the spread, arguing that lax immigration enforcement of the southern border helped the parasite move forward.

“The food supply is not at risk. This is not a virus, it’s not a disease, it’s just a little pest, a larvae that lands in a calf’s wound, for example, and it can be treated,” she said on CNBC Monday. “Under the last administration with the massive movement under the open borders policy, the cartels, etc., border security, that’s when it began to make its way back up toward America.” Last September, however, Rollins was more forthcoming about the threat posed by the screwworm in an appearance on Fox News. She was discussing screwworm as it spread north toward the U.S. from Central America. “At a time when our beef supply is at its lowest already in 75 years ... it is really terrifying, prices are very high for that reason, it could take us into even another phase of real compromise of getting good beef at a good price for Americans,” she said. “We’ve got a plan, we’re on it.” And at a Senate hearing in May 2025, Rollins said screwworm was a “major threat” that would “devastate our cattle industry in this country.” Rollins on Wednesday doubled down on blaming the Biden administration when she appeared at another Senate hearing, arguing that “we know this development is a serious threat, but it did not catch us off guard.”

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In a divisive vote, Dallas City Council direct staff to explore options for City Hall site

Dallas City Council has directed City Manager Kimberley Bizor Tolbert to pause renovation and repair process of the City Hall building — and to look at leasing options for a new location. The vote was made during a special called meeting on Wednesday. Council Members Laura Cadena, Adam Bazaluda, Paula Blackmon, Bill Roth, Cara Mendelsohn, and Paul Ridley voted against. A temporary restraining order granted on Tuesday — filed by Blackmon, Bazaldua, and Mendelsohn — attempted to stop any action related to City Hall. While the city removed agenda items from the special meeting that involved redevelopment work on the property, it still included an item related to approving a repair strategy. Council Member Chad West made a motion related to repairs — to stop a repair strategy. That approved motion directs staff to bring back leasing options for a new city hall by August 26.

"One of the main things that have been asked for from my residents in my town hall and from many of the speakers over the course of the last several months is to have a true side-by-side comparison," West said. "We cannot do that if we stop the process today." That motion did not include direction to staff to bring back estimates on the cost to demolish the building and where the materials would go. Bazaldua proposed an amendment that would have included this, but it was rejected by the majority of council members who voted in favor of West's motion. Cadena pleaded with her fellow council members to vote in favor of Bazaldua's amendment before it was rejected. She said materials have historically been dumped in her District 6, located in west Dallas. "This is a great concern to me," Cadena said. "We have a lot of industrial area in district six because of the zoning that has been passed that was also in part [sic] of environmental racism." The vote comes after months of debate among both council members and residents on whether to stay and repair years of deferred maintenance at the I.M. Pei-designed building or to relocate and redevelop the site.

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Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell on Brendan Sorsby backlash: "They don't want to play us"

The Brendan Sorsby saga has put billionaire Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell in a pickle. Should he seize on the court ruling that restored Sorsby’s eligibility as more evidence of the necessity of federal intervention in college sports? Or should he circle the Red Raider wagons? On Monday, Campbell called the decision the “outcome of a broken system.” By Wednesday, he was toeing the party line for the school he supports. “This kid did not impact the integrity of a single game,” Campbell told Dan Dakich on Wednesday, via Sam Khan Jr. of The Athletic. “He didn’t bet on a single game he played in. He didn’t hurt anybody. There are kids that will suit up this fall who have actually hurt people and done bad things, and nobody’s talking about boycotting them or not playing them. . . . There are kids that are playing that have gotten DUIs, that have beaten up women, kids that have committed horrible acts. Nobody boycotted Penn State when that horrible situation happened there.”

So why does Campbell think so many schools have been criticizing Texas Tech? “It’s because the college football world doesn’t think that Texas Tech should be as good as we are,” Campbell said. “We’ve been a disruptor, just like Indiana has, so we’ve been a target. The volume has gone up and a lot has been directed at me, Coach McGuire, and our university, but that’s not fair. “If this had happened at LSU, people would say, ‘Ah, it’s LSU. They’re always going to do what they do.’ But it happened at Texas Tech, and people don’t want to compete with us. Of course ADs in the Big 12 are saying crazy things that they don’t want to play us. They don’t want to play us because they know he’s good and they don’t want us to be as competitive. They want to have a better chance at winning the conference. So they’re inherently conflicted in their opinion.” But Campbell is conflicted, too. And if this had happened at another Big 12 school, Campbell would be trying a lot harder to leverage the situation into the legislative action for which he has been pushing so hard. Likewise, any of the schools that have criticized Texas Tech would be doing the same thing Texas Tech is now doing, if they were the ones facing the loss of their starting quarterback for the 2026 season. It’s all obvious, and it’s all predictable.

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Oil executives warn White House that gas prices will get worse

Oil and gas executives have warned the White House that gasoline prices could surge in coming months as fuel inventories fall to critical lows, complicating the Trump administration’s efforts to contain inflation that has already rattled American consumers. Industry officials say they are doing everything they can to sound an alarm that prices are about to soar as the commercial and government inventories that have mitigated price rises so far are rapidly depleting, according to multiple people familiar with the conversations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from the administration. Some inventories could be wiped out within weeks, the executives have warned, coinciding with the peak summer travel season. “I have absolutely no doubt the White House — from the president on down — is fully aware of the nearly universal alarm among oil companies and analysts about the direction of travel for oil prices this summer,” said Bob McNally, who was an energy adviser in the George W. Bush administration and founded the research firm Rapidan Energy Group.

The warnings underscore the rising political and economic risks confronting President Donald Trump as the conflict with Iran drags into its fourth month, with little indication that a diplomatic breakthrough is imminent, despite periodic White House predictions of progress. Already Trump’s administration is confronting the highest rate of inflation in three years, which has led to a significant drop in his standing among voters and deepened concern among Republicans about widespread losses in the midterm elections, which could cause them to lose control of one or both houses of Congress. The Labor Department’s consumer price index rose at a 4.2 percent annual pace in the year ending in May, driven by surging gas prices. Trump has publicly brushed off concerns about the rising prices. “I love it. I love the inflation,” Trump told reporters Wednesday when asked about the new figures. Oil prices will drop “like a rock” once the war concludes, he said. Industry executives suggest otherwise.

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State Stories

Greg Abbott tells PUC, ERCOT not to pass new data center costs to customers

Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday issued an order aimed at making sure Texas ratepayers do not take on the costs of building new infrastructure to power the hundreds of data centers seeking to join the state’s grid in the coming years. The order marks the first time the Republican governor has sought to put limits on the explosive growth of data centers, which have drawn backlash, especially in heavily GOP areas of the state, for their heavy use of energy and water. The governor directed the Public Utilities Commission and ERCOT to ensure new data centers do not pass on costs for new electrical infrastructure to ratepayers. He also called on lawmakers to require data centers to use water efficiently and to repeal their lucrative sales tax exemptions.

“The rapid scale of data center development requires oversight to ensure everyday Texans are not burdened with the costs of infrastructure driven by data center expansion,” Abbott wrote in a letter to the heads of the PUC and ERCOT. More than 480 “large” data centers have requested to connect to the ERCOT grid through 2032, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator. Currently, only a dozen of the hundreds of data centers drawing power from the state’s primary grid are considered “large” electricity users, meaning they consume at least as much power as 18,750 households. The governor has been a strong supporter of the tech boom in Texas, touting the state as the “epicenter of AI development.” Last fall, Abbott appeared alongside Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai as he announced the tech company would plow $40 billion into data center development in Texas. “We must ensure that America remains at the forefront of the AI revolution, and Texas is the place where that can happen,” Abbott said at that press conference. But there has been growing political pressure to rein in the energy-intensive industry. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller last month called for a temporary moratorium on new data center development. Counties across the state have considered local pauses on data center development. And both Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows have directed lawmakers to study the water and energy demands of data centers ahead of the next legislative session.

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Weeks before Texas screwworm cases, state lawmakers were warned of devastating consequences

Less than a month before New World screwworm was confirmed in Texas for the first time in decades, state lawmakers heard warnings that an infestation of the flesh-eating parasite posed a growing threat to the state’s livestock industry, wildlife populations and economy. “Screwworm is a serious concern for [the U.S. Department of Agriculture], our state partners, and our livestock producers because of the damage and disruption it would cause to the U.S. livestock industry if not quickly identified and treated,” said Dudley Hoskins, the USDA’s undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. The warning was one of many presented to legislators during a May 11 hearing of the Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs.

In the meeting, agriculture officials and industry experts discussed the parasite’s steady march north through Mexico — and the destructive effects its arrival in Texas could bring. Just weeks later, on June 3, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed New World screwworm in a calf in Zavala County. This marked the first U.S. case since the pest was eradicated from the country in the 1960s. In the days that followed, four more cases were confirmed in Texas. A fifth case was confirmed by the USDA on Tuesday. May’s committee hearing offered a glimpse into how lawmakers and state officials viewed the threat before the first Texas cases were detected, along with how they planned to respond if the parasite reached the state. New World screwworm larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, including livestock, wildlife and pets. Officials have stressed that the parasite doesn’t threaten the safety of the U.S. food supply, but it could disrupt food production by harming livestock. Throughout the hearing, several Texas officials expressed confidence that the state was prepared to respond if — or when — screwworm reached Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Executive Director David Yoskowitz told the Senate panel that his agency was in regular contact with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with neighboring state agencies, about the growing screwworm threat. This confidence was echoed by State Veterinarian Bud Dinges, who also serves as the executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission. He said TAHC was “prepared to facilitate an effective and efficient New World screwworm response at a moment’s notice.”

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After divisive U.S. Senate runoff, Texas Republicans seek unity at state convention in Houston

The runoffs are over. Nominees are set for the 2026 midterm election. Now, Texas Republicans are cooling their intraparty political attacks and turning their attention to November’s general election. That means coming together to unify as a party and defeat Democrats — just some of the goals for the 2026 Texas Republican Party Convention, which kicks off Thursday in Houston. Over three days, the biennial event will host many of Texas’ top GOP leaders, state party officials and delegates and midterm election candidates, along with thousands of dedicated Republican voters who are expected to attend from across the state. This will be the first big statewide meeting of Texas Republicans since before May’s contentious party runoffs and will give the state GOP a chance to strategize and plan for the coming years.

But underlying tensions from this year’s primary season are still fresh in Republicans’ minds. At the center of that divide was the mudslinging-filled runoff for the U.S. Senate between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton. The race — which Paxton won with nearly 64% of the vote — highlighted a years-long divide between the party’s traditional Republicans and growing MAGA base.So far this year, the latter faction has come out on top. “MAGA candidates won hands down,” said Nancy Sims, a University of Houston political scientist. While the U.S. Senate battle wasn’t the only runoff putting some of the state’s Republicans at odds, there isn’t much time to sit with hurt feelings: Election Day is Nov. 3, less than five months away, and current polls show it wouldn’t be impossible for Democrats to flip seats. This week’s gathering in Houston serves to “pull everyone back together and rally the troops to go out and win the Fall elections,” said Sims. In some cases, the post-runoff olive branch has already been extended. One notable example comes from Gov. Greg Abbott and Bo French, the controversial Republican nominee for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. Days before polls closed, Gov. Abbott forcefully came out against French, even going as far as to say he, “doesn't know anything about oil and gas.”

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Some Big Bend National Park projects in limbo amid shifting border wall plans

On lists of the most stunning places in Texas, Big Bend National Park is frequently at the top. Not among the most-visited parks in the country, it’s a rugged and isolated preserve of West Texas desert wilderness. That’s part of the draw — Big Bend is larger than Rhode Island, spanning an 800,000-acre stretch along the Rio Grande, and if you time your visit right, it’s not uncommon to spend hours on a trail without meeting another person. Yet, once a remote vista lucky to draw 300,000 visitors in a year, the park has seen a more than 40% growth in visitation over the past decade. That’s still far below more accessible staples like Great Smoky Mountains, which draws 23 times the number of visitors as Big Bend in a given year, but it’s on the rise; and as the park’s popularity has grown, so too has its stature.

Big Bend has topped headlines in recent months over shifting plans by the federal government to construct a border barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border. The park, a central biosphere and ecological crossing for wildlife in the region, was once thought to be safe from that development because of the region’s low illegal crossing numbers. The Border Patrol sector tasked with immigration enforcement in Big Bend has historically seen the lowest number of encounters of any southern border region. But while public attention has focused on the border, a vital change to infrastructure in the park’s heart has been put on hold. Through the end of March, more than $75 million in federal funds first approved in 2020 was earmarked to perform repairs in Big Bend’s most popular area, the Chisos Mountain Basin. The oasis of comparative greenery and shade found at the end of a 7-mile narrow, curvy two-lane road houses visitors’ favorite views and trailheads, the sole in-park lodge and a lone food truck — the only hot meal for tens of miles in any direction. That lodge, built in 1964, has seen better days. The main building, formerly a restaurant and now closed to the public, has an eroding foundation and guest rooms are nearly universally missing some shingles.

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City of Houston passes Whitmire’s $7.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2027

Houston City Council approved Mayor John Whitmire's proposed $7.5 billion budget for the next fiscal year, with a vote of 15 to 1. Whitmire acknowledged the budget wasn't perfect, but he called it an important step toward putting the city on a sound financial footing. "I'm just as confident today as I was a month ago when we rolled it out," Whitmire told council members as they prepared to vote on the budget. "I want you to hold me, and I know you will, to the commitments that have been made."

The budget aimed to close a deficit of more than $200 million without raising property taxes. Its sole new source of revenue is a monthly administrative fee of $5 per residential unit customer, designed to support solid waste services. That new fee will take effect July 1 and be included with residents' water bills. A proposed amendment aimed at offsetting the cost of the new fee for low-income residents and seniors was not immediately adopted, instead being referred to a committee for further consideration. Whitmire said the amendment, as originally presented, constituted an "illegal use of public funds," but he held out hope that some offset would be adopted — and potentially would be extended to veterans. The defeat of that amendment triggered a silent protest by more than a dozen members of the public, many of them identified by their T-shirts as members of the Northeast Action Collective, a community group aimed at improving environmental conditions and quality of life issues in neglected neighborhoods. The protestors held up signs and waved red cards — the latter a measure with added symbolism ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Houston serving as a host city. Council Member and Vice Mayor-Pro-Tem Amy Peck announced she would vote for the budget, but that her vote came with reservations, particularly regarding the administrative fee. "If residents are asked to pay more, they deserve better service in return," Peck said. "If I do not see a measurable, meaningful improvement in the performance of the new Solid Waste Division, I will personally author a Prop A ordinance to repeal this fee."

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Austin employee worked full time for city and state, audit says

An Austin Public Health financial analyst drew a full-time paycheck from the city while also working full time for a state agency, according to a new city auditor report that found the now-former employee never disclosed the outside job and that her performance suffered as a result of the dual employment. The Wednesday report comes two months after the American-Statesman reported that three top Austin IT officials were fired after the city found they had undisclosed second jobs, including two who were working simultaneously for the city of Dallas. Together, the cases raise new questions about how Austin monitors outside employment and potential conflicts among city workers.

The Austin City Auditor’s Office said it received multiple complaints that Marie Joelle Dan, a financial analyst on Austin Public Health’s financial services team, worked full-time for both the city and state. Investigators found Dan was employed by a state agency in April 2023 when the city health department hired her as financial analyst and that she received a promotion in July 2024. She also was employed by the same state agency in 2021 when she worked as a temporary employee for the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, according to the report. Dan did not disclose the outside employment to her manager or the city, investigators found. City employees are required to disclose outside work and potential conflicts of interest. She resigned from the city in November 2025 after the auditor’s office interviewed her. The report does not name the state agency Dan worked for but a spokesperson for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission confirmed Dan's previous employment.

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Brazoria County passes resolution outlining requirements for future data centers

Brazoria County has joined a growing number of local governments across Texas in passing a resolution outlining desired regulations for data centers built within its jurisdiction. In a unanimous vote Tuesday, all five members of the Brazoria County Commissioners Court passed a three-page resolution outlining its requirements. The resolution states the court is in opposition to any future data center or related industry in the county that does not safeguard electric grid reliability, water and energy usage, agricultural land and public infrastructure. The county south of Houston also wants developers of such future projects to conduct independent impact assessments based on those criteria. Ahead of the vote, lifelong Brazoria County resident Wesley Burnett told the court he and his family had been affected by a recently built data center.

"The constant noise and vibration are still a daily nuisance," Burnett said. "The disturbance is not occasional; it's continuous. It's 24 hours a day, 365 days a [year]. It creates not just a noise, but also a physical sensation that you can feel in your body." In response to growing concerns about data centers and their impact on local communities and infrastructure, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter Wednesday to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas directing them to ensure that data centers carry the financial burden for their electric infrastructure and power costs. Abbott also directed the agencies to "identify necessary actions" to protect "Texans, their property, and resources." Additionally, Abbott's letter included related legislative objectives to enforce these directives. A day before the governor sent his letter, Brazoria County Judge L.M. “Matt” Sebesta Jr. voiced frustration with the state government and called on lawmakers to pass statewide regulations. Sebesta accused the state government of tying local officials’ hands, limiting what restrictions they can place on data centers locally. "You can say something to us. We can send this resolution, [but] this resolution is not worth the paper it is printed on unless you take your a—- and not only talk to your state reps, your state senator and the governor, you need to go to Austin," Sebesta said. "Austin is a couple hundred miles away. What happens in that pink dome, it's brainless, spineless and gutless once they get amongst one another."

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How can the Spurs get over an NBA Finals gut punch for the ages?

De’Aaron Fox had to know what was back there, right behind him: A stubborn team that wouldn’t go away. The swift approach of crushing heartbreak, accompanied by searing regret. And OG Anunoby, soaring high while closing fast. “I just thought I’d be able to outrun ’em,” Fox said. But he could not. The Spurs could not. And it’s hard to imagine how they’ll get over this. Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday was not the type of fight in which the loser shrugs his shoulders, dusts himself off and moves on. Once the Spurs discovered a new generation of demons by blowing a 29-point lead, and once the Knicks awakened Madison Square Garden by making that lead disappear, it became clear that whichever side that fell short in the end was going to forfeit a piece of its soul.

And after a 107-106 gut punch that put them in a 3-1 series hole and, in terms of sheer pain, might be rivaled in franchise history only by a certain Ray Allen 3-pointer? Sure, there’s still a chance the Spurs will bounce back. Eventually. “It’s going to take us a minute,” guard Stephon Castle said. They might need more than one. To mount the biggest rally in NBA Finals history, the Knicks required 27 game minutes, from the Dylan Harper layup that gave the Spurs a 71-42 second-quarter lead to the Jalen Brunson floater that put New York ahead 105-104 with 1:22 to play. In between those baskets, the Spurs settled for far too many 3-pointers, and probably got too little rest for Victor Wembanyama, who scored 24 points in almost 44 minutes but faded down the stretch. When asked if he wore down during a fourth quarter in which he shot 2-of-9 and missed two key free throws late, he said, “Yeah, I guess I did.” But even with their best player hitting a wall, and even with pandemonium shaking the walls of the most famous arena in the world — and presumably the train station below it, too — the Spurs weren’t beaten yet.

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San Antonio biotech company unravels amid trade-secret lawsuit

In the 30 years since it was founded, Alamo Biologics LLC became part of San Antonio’s robust regenerative-medicine industry, manufacturing products derived from placental tissue for use in wound care and surgery. This month, it sought refuge in bankruptcy. The company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization after a confidential settlement tied to a trade-secret lawsuit devolved into a multimillion-dollar collection fight. The bankruptcy caps a legal saga that began more than two years ago, when Alamo Biologics was accused of using proprietary manufacturing processes allegedly disclosed by a former executive of a company that owned them.

California-based Human Regenerative Technologies LLC and Skye Orthobiologics LLC sought to collect a judgment of nearly $3.5 million, including asking U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam in San Antonio to appoint a receiver to take control of some Alamo Biologics assets. Pulliam granted a preliminary injunction restricting Alamo Biologics from making and selling products at the center o’f the trade-secret dispute before the parties reached a confidential settlement that resulted in the agreed judgment. It agreed to make interest payments, a $50,000 principal payment and a final $3.4 million balloon payment due Dec. 31. The company made the earlier payments but failed to make the balloon payment, later telling the court it lacked the money to do so. As Human Regenerative and Skye intensified collection efforts, Alamo Biologics warned that a court order appointing a receiver and directing the turnover of accounts receivable would force it to “terminate its employees” and “close its doors.” Last week, it told the court that Alamo Biologics and related businesses carried more than $9 million in debt and that accounts receivable were already pledged to secured lenders.

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Texas landowners fight massive transmission line project at Austin hearing

Hundreds of Texas landowners gathered in Austin this week to challenge proposed transmission line routes tied to a major statewide power infrastructure project. The Bell County East to Big Hill 765-kV transmission project, proposed by Oncor and the Lower Colorado River Authority, is designed to move power across Texas and strengthen the state grid as demand rises from population growth, data centers and industrial expansion. In March, the utilities filed plans with the Public Utility Commission of Texas that included 122 potential route options. This week, administrative judges are hearing testimony about those routes before eventually making recommendations to the PUC.

For Burnet County resident Jan Rose, the possibility of a transmission line crossing her property is overwhelming. “It’s going to traverse our property, not along the property lines, but right through the middle, about 150 feet from our front door,” Rose said. Rose is one of hundreds of Texans participating in this week’s hearing, arguing why their land is not an appropriate location for future transmission infrastructure. “We have 13 minutes to present this whole case (to the administrative judges),” Rose said. The proposed project spans multiple counties across Texas and is part of a broader effort to expand the state’s electric transmission capacity. Oncor and LCRA argue they studied dozens of route options to reduce impacts to homes, landowners and environmentally sensitive areas.

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Trump administration to install barriers in Big Bend National Park

The Trump administration confirmed on Tuesday it is planning to build 17 miles of metal barriers through Big Bend National Park to prevent off-road vehicles from driving to and from the Rio Grande. The barriers would consist of four-foot tall metal posts with a continuous cross beam to allow the passage of wildlife and people on foot, different from border walls that typically stand 15 to 30 foot tall, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. While much of the park is too rugged for vehicles to pass, the department said it has determined some low-lying areas were accessible and required security.

The announcement follows the Trump administration's earlier decision to abandon plans for a wall in the park after backlash from local officials and residents in West Texas, who argued it would spoil the area's natural beauty. On Tuesday, the administration published a waiver exempting contractors from federal environmental rules in order to fast-track construction of the vehicle barriers and roads within a rugged stretch that extends from Big Bend Ranch State Park to roughly 50 miles northeast of the national park. Environmental groups quickly panned the move as "militarizing" the national park and ruining its hiking trails and scenic overlooks. "The only people benefiting from this destruction are the billionaire contractors set to pad their pockets while paving over our natural heritage and permanently locking a great American river behind hideous steel barriers," said Laiken Jordahl, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity. The Trump administration has already awarded more than $4 billion in border security construction contracts in and around Big Bend National Park. But they are facing a flurry of lawsuits from environmental groups, as well as pushback from sheriffs and local officials. Critics argue the 500-mile long Big Bend Sector, which stretches from El Paso to Lake Amistad, is too rugged for most migrants to cross and does not need more security infrastructure.

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As screwworm nears, rural Zapata County has no vet to get drugs to fight it

As cases of New World screwworm increase, the South Texas ranching county of Zapata is especially concerned because they don’t have a veterinarian to treat livestock or pets. Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell says ranchers must take livestock 50 miles away to Laredo to receive veterinarian care, including prescriptions for antibiotic medications to treat screwworm infections. There are at least five confirmed cases of New World screwworm, including 4 in Texas since it first was detected north of the border on June 3. The infected include calves, a goat and a dog in New Mexico, so far.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency in all 254 counties in Texas due to the screwworm threat. The federal government is deploying inspectors along the border, as well as setting up traps and traps and dispersing sterilized flies from the air to stop the spread. The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that in its larvae stage feeds on the tissue of warm-blooded animals and causes infections with its screw-like teeth. It can kill livestock in two weeks; pets and people also can get infected. “We are all really concerned and scared, really scared of what’s coming,” Rathmell told Border Report this week. Rathmell and his family are ranchers. They own between 800 to 1,000 head of cattle, many which graze on the banks of the Rio Grande overlooking Tamaulipas, Mexico. The screwworm was first detected in southern Mexico in November 2024 and has slowly been making its way north toward the border. In September, a case of New World screwworm was detected 70 miles southwest of Zapata in Sabinas Hidalgo in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León. Rathmell says they fear it will soon be in their community and that the FDA-approved preventative drug for treating screwworm, injections of ivermectin, are expensive. And if cows get infected, antibiotic treatments can only be given by a veterinarian, which they don’t have in Zapata County.

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National Stories

World Cup players and officials are being detained or barred entry into U.S.

Some World Cup players and team staff are being questioned or outright barred from entering the United States, angering their fans and heightening concerns about how immigration enforcement will be carried out during one of the world’s most international sporting events. Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was named Africa’s best men’s referee last year, was denied entry to the U.S. on Saturday at Miami International Airport and forced to fly back home. Artan has an “iconic” status in Somalia and is a “symbol of resilience,” said Ciise Aden Abshir, senior adviser for Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports. “He was the first referee from Somalia who absolutely reached these heights” — one of 52 referees selected by FIFA for this year’s tournament. Now, Abshir said, that “dream has been shuttered.”

“The whole nation is pissed off now,” Abshir said, adding that fans are angry at both the U.S. government and FIFA, global soccer’s governing body. “This tournament should be given to a country that gives everybody equal opportunity.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which screens travelers arriving at international airports, confirmed that it denied entry to a Somali referee, whom officials did not name. He had arrived in Miami on a flight from Istanbul and was rejected after undergoing additional inspection. Officials said he “was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.” Abshir said that Artan’s visa was approved and “everything was under control,” and that Somali officials are waiting to hear from the U.S. government on why exactly he was denied entry. Abshir said Artan reported being detained for 11 hours and questioned. Artan was greeted by a crowd of supporters and officials when he arrived Wednesday in Mogadishu. “I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he told those gathered at the airport, according to the Associated Press. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”

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Absent House Republicans leave majority up for grabs

House Republicans have reached a boiling point over their colleagues who have skipped votes in recent months, leaving their razor-thin majority ungovernable and at times giving Democrats majority status. On Tuesday, a few hours before a vote on a critical border security bill, Republicans expressed anger over how their ability to pass legislation would be made more difficult by the absence of GOP lawmakers who were back home campaigning. “Look, I had a pretty darn competitive primary. During the thick of it, it was competitive, I was missing valuable campaign time back home. But I did my job,” Rep. Andy Barr (R-Kentucky) recalled telling his colleagues, referencing his campaign for the GOP nomination for the Senate. Later Tuesday, the vote to pass the party-line bill funding border security operations remained tied at 213-213, which would fail in the House, where there are no tiebreakers.

Lawmakers focused on a surprise conservative vote against the bill, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Michigan), who eventually caved and gave GOP leaders the most narrow victory possible. But the reason Walberg had to switch his vote was that three Republicans were missing. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (New Jersey) has a mysterious illness that has sidelined him for more than three months, with no public explanation. Two other members — Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman — decided to stay home in South Carolina for primary day in their losing bids for the gubernatorial nomination. Without singling out the South Carolinians, Barr said that it’s inexcusable that Republicans are missing key votes and putting the GOP agenda in danger while seeking higher office. The Republican leadership team has driven home the message in private that members need to focus on their daytime job first, voting in the House, according to several Republicans. But they are reluctant to call out their own members in public, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota) initially denied that he makes this point. “Everybody should be here,” Emmer said.

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Bill Gates tells lawmakers he was not aware of Epstein's crimes

Bill Gates appeared before members of Congress on Wednesday and said he never witnessed or knew about any of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. Gates was on Capitol Hill to answer questions about his relationship with Epstein, as the House Oversight Committee continues its investigation into the late sex offender. He took part in a closed-door transcribed interview. "I'm glad to be here voluntarily to testify to help with the committee's work," Gates told reporters before the interview. "I hope my testimony is helpful to the important work of the committee to find justice for the victims.

In the text of his prepared opening statement, Gates described how he first met Epstein in 2011 through people in his "professional and philanthropic work" on global health. He continued to have conversations with Epstein through 2014 about potential donors, according to the statement. Gates said he was aware "that Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed." "I accepted the introduction without applying the scrutiny I should have," Gates said. He added that he "made it clear to Epstein from the outset that he would never play a role in any of the work or receive any compensation." Gates also admitted to extramarital affairs in the statement and said Epstein used that information to "pressure me to re-engage with him." Gates said Epstein was unsuccessful in his effort. Lawmakers said they've seen Epstein try to blackmail powerful people before. "He uses that over and over again," Rep. Robert Garcia, the lead Democrat on the committee, said of Epstein during a break in the interview. "The theme of blackmail, the theme of using his power and information against others is very common." Gates said he realized in 2014 that Epstein "would never deliver on his promises" and stopped communicating or meeting with him.

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DHS funding bill advances out of committee along party lines

The House Appropriations Committee advanced legislation Thursday to fund the entire Department of Homeland Security for the coming federal fiscal year, hours after President Donald Trump signed into law a separate bill that would fund the country’s immigration enforcement agencies through the end of his term in office. The committee advanced the legislation — which will likely face a bumpy path to passage given continued partisan disagreements over Trump’s immigration policies — along party lines after a markup that ran late into the night Tuesday, most of the day Wednesday and early into the morning Thursday. While Democrats acknowledged that Republican appropriators had included some language to rein in what they described as excessive immigration enforcement tactics, they expressed their desire to see additional constraints on ICE and CBP as they voted no.

The bill advanced Thursday contains billions in funds for both agencies. “The American people are demanding substantial reforms to how ICE and the Border Patrol operate,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “While I welcome the incremental measures the majority has included in this bill, which make progress toward some of the reforms necessary to protect our communities … they still fall far short of what is required to earn our support.” Under the measure, DHS will receive just shy of $100 billion in the coming fiscal year, with about $28.4 billion going to disaster relief. The measure also provides considerable funding for immigration enforcement activities at the department. Those funds come in addition to the reconciliation bill signed by Trump that allocated roughly $70 billion to cover ICE and CBP operations during the current fiscal year. That money would pay for the hiring of additional border agents and security technology through 2029.

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Mamdani was to meet with Colombia’s leader until Trump administration stepped in

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani was planning to hold his first meeting with a foreign leader this week, but the Trump administration effectively nixed it in a behind-the-scenes effort that marks a new flashpoint between the mayor and President Donald Trump, said four people familiar with the matter. Mamdani was poised to meet with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a fellow democratic socialist who has accused the White House of meddling in his country’s upcoming elections. For New York’s young mayor, the engagement was intended to discuss democracy in the Americas, though many would probably see it as a sign of Mamdani’s ascendance as a leader of the global left, said the people, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

But the Colombian government quietly called off the event following a meeting between U.S. and Colombian officials in Bogotá in which State Department officials made clear that this week’s engagement was unacceptable, a move Colombian officials interpreted as a threat to arrest Petro on site if he proceeded, said two people. A State Department official told The Washington Post that the visit would violate visa restrictions the U.S. imposed against Petro following his comments last year criticizing U.S. support of Israel’s war in Gaza and imploring U.S. soldiers to disobey presidential orders to kill. “A visa is a privilege, not a right,” said the State Department official. “Any individual’s U.S. visa is at risk of revocation if they visit America and outrageously implore U.S. soldiers to disobey orders of the duly elected president of the United States.” The meeting was first conceived as a part of Petro’s itinerary tied to events at the United Nations in Manhattan. Colombia holds the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council in June, and although the Trump administration revoked Petro’s visa last year for his public comments, it continues to allow travel to the U.N. under its responsibilities as the host of the world body’s headquarters.

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The IRS cut staff. Now it's rushing to hire thousands.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called any concerns over the cuts to IRS staffing “a complete fallacy” in a testimony to Congress earlier this month. Frank Bisignano, the IRS CEO, told lawmakers that the “pundits out there saying IRS is going to fail” as a result of sweeping staffing cuts are wrong. “I feel good about the number of employees I have right now,” Bisignano said in March. Internally, however, the agency is projecting an entirely different picture. While the Trump administration publicly stated that the IRS has suffered no ill effects from the staffing cuts, the agency was sounding the alarm that it would be unable to handle tax season, requesting special permission to hire thousands of employees on an expedited basis.

The IRS ultimately requested, and received, special authority to hire 8,000 employees on an expedited basis, according to an internal memorandum obtained by NOTUS. The agency has “seen massive cuts to its staff in 2025 through workforce reduction initiatives” and “ongoing staffing shortages put the 2026 Filing Season at risk,” Alex Kweskin, the agency’s top human-resources official, said in the late-February memo to the Treasury Department that was later passed on to the Office of Personnel Management. “Processing of tax returns, return information, balance due, delinquent returns, and correspondence for taxpayers and practitioners remains an on-going issue,” he said in the memo, noting that the agency is still dealing with backlogs. The Trump administration allowed the IRS to use a hiring authority that’s available to federal agencies when a “critical hiring need or severe shortage of candidates exists.” An Office of Personnel Management official confirmed that it has granted the accelerated hiring authority to the IRS, which declined to comment. The IRS will have the approval through September, though Kweskin said in the memo the need would remain through that time “at a minimum.” The authority empowers agencies to bypass the normal steps that typically bog down federal hiring, such as consideration of veterans’ preferences or a full rating and review of top candidates.

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Iran responds to a second day of US strikes by firing at Gulf states and Jordan

The U.S and Iran traded strikes for a second day, pushing the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. The American attack, which lasted into Thursday morning in Iran, appeared more intense and wider than the day before, but Tehran released little information on the extent of the damage. An Indian official said a U.S. attack on an oil tanker allegedly trying to violate Washington’s blockade on Iranian ports killed three Indian mariners, underscoring the danger to seafarers. It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have rattled the Middle East. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the U.S. and Iran, which hit countries in the region that host American bases.

The new exchange of fire came as efforts to negotiate an end to the war appeared stuck, with U.S. President Donald Trump warning that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire ... meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it. Central to the negotiations is Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region. Iran announced Thursday that the strait was closed — but it was unclear what that meant since it has severely restricted traffic through the waterway since early in the war and only a trickle of ships have gotten through. The U.S. military’s Central Command disputed the claim — and Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. has undertaken a secret mission in recent weeks to sneak ships through the passage. The two sides also remain at odds over Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran insists is peaceful but which the U.S. and Israel fear could be used to build an atomic weapon due to its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The U.S. and Israel said a major reason they went to war on Feb. 28 was to ensure that Iran would never be able to do that.

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Lead Stories

House passes $70 billion bill to fund immigration enforcement for 3 years

A bill to provide nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement narrowly passed the House on Tuesday and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, bolstering the administration’s deportation agenda for the remainder of his time in the White House. Republicans used their majority to get the bill over the finish line, funding a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the next three years. The bill passed by a vote of 214-212, over the objections of Democrats. Trump is expected to sign it into law on Wednesday. The White House says the bill will provide $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs. It frontloads routine annual funding, ensuring a virtually uninterrupted flow of money as the Trump administration seeks to deport some 1 million people per year.

Speaker Mike Johnson needed near-perfect attendance and unity on his side to complete weeks of action. The legislation got sidetracked over $1 billion for White House security, including for Trump’s new ballroom, and a $1.8 billion fund to compensate his allies who claim they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Those proposals proved politically toxic and were scrapped. Now, the bill is focused entirely on immigration enforcement, a topic that Republicans have treated as a defining issue between the two major political parties and one they hope will carry them to victory in this year’s midterm elections. “It’s long overdue,” said Johnson, R-La., of the bill. “We have to fund border security and immigration enforcement, and it’s sad that Republicans have to do it on our own.” But Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas called it a “slush fund for ICE.”

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Congress’ watchdog finds major lapses in oversight at El Paso ICE facility

Congress’ watchdog identified serious oversight problems at the country’s largest immigration detention center, including unsanitary conditions and inadequate tuberculosis screenings and health assessments. A new Government Accountability Office report follows an Immigration and Customs Enforcement inspection that found dozens of safety violations at Camp East Montana. Three immigrants have died at the tent detention center near the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas, since it opened in August. City officials also reported two cases of tuberculosis and 18 COVID-19 cases earlier this year, The Texas Tribune reported. “ICE did not identify these issues because it did not inspect the facility prior to housing detained noncitizens there, as required by ICE policy,” the report states. “After the facility opened, ICE reported additional problems, including gaps in medical services, the loss of a loaded firearm, and unsanitary conditions, among other issues.”

In March, the Trump administration dumped the contractor it had hired to run the facility, Acquisition Logistics LLC, which didn’t have experience operating detention centers before landing the $1.3 billion contract. ICE repeatedly warned the contractor about problems, including a document in February that said evidence associated with the homicide of Geraldo Lunas Campos was missing or destroyed, according to the GAO report. ICE’s investigation of Campos’ death is on hold because of an ongoing criminal investigation. A security guard at the detention center also lost a loaded gun in January that hadn’t been found as of March. ICE documented the contractor’s inadequate weapon control. Democratic lawmakers Sens. Jack Reed (Rhode Island), Gary Peters (Michigan), and Dick Durbin (Illinois) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (Mississippi) requested the report from GAO. Durbin called the report damning. “We now know even more details of how dangerous and irresponsible the Trump Administration’s mass deportation campaign truly is,” he said in a statement. “Not only is the Administration often wrongly detaining people, those detained are experiencing conditions that shock the conscience.”

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Judge delays showdown over City Hall's future after council member complaints over relocation plans

Dallas' high-stakes debate over City Hall hit a legal roadblock Tuesday after a judge sided with council members seeking to delay a vote on the building's future. State District Judge Eric Moyé ruled that Dallas failed to provide adequate public notice for several agenda items tied to City Hall relocation and redevelopment plans, forcing the city to postpone Wednesday's special council meeting. Moyé said two agenda items involving the potential relocation of city operations were too vague to satisfy the Texas Open Meetings Act because they did not adequately explain how the proposals could affect the public. A third item involving redevelopment of the City Hall site was too broad, he said.

“There's virtually nothing that the city could not do in this context, including sale of the property to anyone for any price,” Moyé said from the bench. The judge found that only one agenda item, authorizing repairs to City Hall, provided sufficient notice. But he issued a temporary restraining order that blocked action on all four. The lawsuit was filed by council members Paula Blackmon, Adam Bazaldua and Cara Mendelsohn, who accused city leaders of trying to “ram through this momentous decision” without adequate public notice or council review. Mendelsohn withdrew from the lawsuit hours before the hearing. The court fight unfolded as city officials released a new financial analysis that suggests relocating City Hall would cost less over the long term than repairing the aging downtown landmark. The ruling came a day before council members were scheduled to consider measures that could advance plans to relocate City Hall, redevelop the 12-acre downtown property and continue evaluating alternatives to the aging building.

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Trump previews fall strategy with baseless claims of California vote fraud

For President Trump, any Democratic election victory is suspicious on its face. Even, apparently, in one of the most liberal cities in America. “Not possible for Spencer Pratt to have lost the L.A. runoffs after the big lead he had,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media on Monday. “3rd World Nation.” On election night last Tuesday, Mr. Pratt — the reality-television personality and Trump-endorsed Republican — led the progressive city councilwoman Nithya Raman for second place to advance to November’s mayoral runoff, behind the incumbent, Mayor Karen Bass, who is also a Democrat. But as election officials spent the following week counting late-arriving mail ballots, which were disproportionately from Democrats, Ms. Raman edged ahead of Mr. Pratt. On Monday evening, The Associated Press said that she had indeed prevailed.

Such fleeting Republican leads are common enough to have a name — the “red mirage” — yet Mr. Trump, as he did in his own 2020 loss, cast the slow count as proof of theft. By baselessly framing Ms. Raman’s rise as a Democratic scam, Mr. Trump extended his long-running project to erode public faith in elections — and gave an unusually clear preview of how he could greet any disappointing results for his party in November, when control of Congress is at stake. He has been anything but subtle about his desire to limit the ability of Democrats to vote by mail, implying, with no evidence, that simply choosing that widely used means of casting a ballot is inherently suspect. Addressing a gathering of Republican lawmakers in March, he said the way to hold their majority was to pass a strict voter identification law cracking down on mail ballots. “It’ll guarantee the midterms,” he told them, warning that failure would bring “big trouble.” Privately, according to one senior adviser, he has pressed aides to find ways to “stop them stealing it from us.” What is striking so far is how little of this has survived contact with reality. Voting legislation he has championed, the SAVE Act, cleared the House but stalled in the Senate, where Republicans lack the votes to break a Democratic filibuster. Among other things, the bill would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and would compel states to share voter rolls with the federal government.

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State Stories

Dallas CFO says repairing City Hall could mean tax hikes, service cuts

Dallas’ top financial official has outlined an analysis that favors relocating City Hall over repairing the aging downtown building. Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland suggested relocation as the less costly long-term option in materials prepared for a special City Council meeting that is now delayed. A Dallas County state district court judge granted a request from two City Council members to postpone Wednesday's special meeting to discuss moving operations out of City Hall. It's unclear when the meeting on a City Hall vote will be rescheduled.

The council members argued the public didn’t receive adequate notice and the city hadn't followed its financial policies ahead of one of the biggest decisions Dallas has faced in decades. Ireland's presentation says an estimated decade-long effort to repair and modernize the nearly 50-year-old I.M. Pei-designed building would come at a steep cost. Financing the work with debt would crowd out future spending on streets, parks, housing and economic development, while paying cash would likely require property tax increases, deep service cuts or both, the presentation said. The analysis arrives as Dallas weighs one of the most consequential decisions it has faced in decades. City leaders are deciding whether to invest hundreds of millions in City Hall repairs or pursue alternatives that could relocate government operations and redevelop one of downtown’s largest publicly owned properties.

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'We don't do this to your people': San Antonio leaders call on Mamdani to protect Spurs fans after NYC assaults

San Antonio Spurs fans celebrating their team's Game 3 victory over the New York Knicks were harassed and assaulted following Monday night's NBA Finals matchup at Madison Square Garden, prompting condemnation from San Antonio leaders and warnings for fans traveling to New York. The New York Police Department said a 39-year-old Spurs fan was attacked and robbed of his jersey while walking back to his hotel after the Spurs' 115-111 win. Police said a group surrounded the man in Midtown, punched and kicked him, and stole his black Spurs No. 21 jersey. The man suffered cuts and bruises and was taken to a hospital in stable condition. Videos circulating on social media also showed other Spurs fans being harassed and assaulted in the hours after the game.

NYPD says it is investigating the incidents. Asked about the incidents Tuesday, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama said rivalries should never cross the line into violence. "We're just playing a game out there, and I am all for passion, but to the respect of each other, it's unacceptable," he said. Actor and longtime Knicks fan Ben Stiller also condemned the incidents, writing on social media: "Being a Knick fan doesn't mean being disrespectful to Spurs fans in any way ... we get caught up during the games but we gotta show respect to our fellow humans." New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani shared Stiller's post, writing: "Couldn't agree more. We'll win this series on the court (even if the refs refuse to call a flagrant on Wemby), not by targeting, harassing, or attacking Spurs fans. Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez posted a video urging Mamdani to do more to protect Spurs fans. "We don't do this to your people," Gutierrez said. "These folks went up there to enjoy themselves, just like your folks come down here to enjoy themselves."

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Texas cattle association urges vigilance, not panic, over screwworm outbreak

The leader of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, the largest and oldest organization of its kind, urged ranchers to report suspected cases quickly and not panic as Texas responds to an outbreak of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that can infect livestock and wildlife. Stephen Diebel, president of the Fort Worth-based Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, was among the speakers at a gathering on Monday at the newly opened Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville, where researchers study pests including New World screwworm. "The quicker we report, the quicker we have solutions," he said. "A really big component of this is landowner communication and communication with our agencies."

He said state and federal officials have a plan in place that has worked before. New World screwworm was eradicated from the United States in the 1960s using a sterile-fly program. The current strategy similarly relies on monitoring and reporting infested animals and releasing millions of sterile flies to disrupt screwworm reproduction. Diebel said reporting suspected cases quickly is critical to making that strategy work. The emphasis on reporting comes after Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller suggested some ranchers might be reluctant to report infestations because of the quarantine restrictions that follow a confirmed case. During Tuesday's briefing, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins rebuked Miller's remarks, calling them "dangerous" and stressing that reporting suspected cases is critical to containing the parasite. Federal officials say rapid reporting is critical to stopping the flesh-eating parasite from becoming established in Texas. Miller suggested some ranchers may hesitate to report cases because of quarantine restrictions. Diebel said the industry can carry on during the outbreak.

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How much oversight should the state have over local ordinances? Texas legislators weigh impact of 2023 law

In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed a sweeping regulatory measure designed to prevent cities and counties from adopting local ordinances that conflict with various sections of state law. Three years later, there is confusion about what local governments can and cannot do under the law, advocates told state lawmakers June 4. House Bill 2127, a 2023 state law deemed the “Death Star” bill, barred local officials from enacting or enforcing rules that go beyond state statute in broad areas, including agriculture, finance, labor and property law. The measure impacts all of Texas’ 1,200-plus cities and towns. At the time, some legislators and other proponents of the bill said it would ensure consistency among Texas cities, citing ordinances passed by “liberal blue cities” that they said made it hard to run a business. Opponents of HB 2127, including some local leaders, said the law would prevent cities from addressing residents’ needs while undermining local worker safety provisions and nondiscrimination ordinances.

The cities of Houston, San Antonio and El Paso challenged the law in court shortly after its passage in 2023, arguing it was too vague and broad. The law was deemed unconstitutional but allowed to take effect, Community Impact reported. In 2025, a group of Dallas residents sued their city over dozens of ordinances that they said conflict with state law, and that case remained in court as of press time. During the June 4 hearing, the law’s critics said it has had a “chilling effect” on some local actions, while those who support the law expressed concerns that cities have not removed ordinances that are preempted by the state. The Texas House Governmental Oversight Committee heard invited and public testimony on HB 2127 as lawmakers considered whether changes should be made to clarify the law or adjust how it is enforced. The next state legislative session begins in January. Rep. Cody Vasut, an Angleton Republican who chairs the committee, said HB 2127 was meant to help local governments prioritize “local issues” and provide certainty for local business owners. “The main principle of the bill was to get local government to focus back on local issues,” Vasut said June 4. “When something is regulated by the state, we have a ‘one size fits all’ [policy] for business, so that people can do business freely and predictably here.”

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Hays County backs off data center pause amid water, legal concerns

Hays County has pulled back — again — on a plan to temporarily suspend approvals for data centers and other water-intensive large-scale developments. The back-and-forth comes as Hays and other counties across the state are looking for ways to manage the rapid growth of data centers and their impact on local water supplies and other issues.

On Tuesday, Hays County commissioners tabled a decision on a proposed 180-day pause on approvals for industrial projects in unincorporated areas over fears it would open the county to a possible lawsuit. Just a day earlier, County Judge Ruben Becerra had “guaranteed” it would be decided Tuesday. In February, the commission tabled a 30-day moratorium proposal, also because of legal concerns. “We want to do this right,” Gregg Cox, a Hays County assistant district attorney, told commissioners Tuesday. “And we want to do it where it is legally defensible in court in case the lawyers for these developers come after us like they did in Hill County.” Hill County, a rural county south of Fort Worth, was forced to rescind its one-year data center moratorium last week after a developer sued for more than $100 million in damages. The developer said Hill County “exceeded its lawful powers.” Other rural counties, including Hood and Van Zandt, have faced fierce opposition from state lawmakers and the state attorney general’s office for attempting temporary bans or moratoriums.

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Thousands of vaccines, medication destroyed as Houston Pets Alive loses power after vandalism

The nonprofit Houston Pets Alive was without power most of Monday, causing a major disruption to its operations and destroying thousands of vaccines and vital pet medications. The building where the group leases space was vandalized in the early hours of Monday, according to Executive Director Shannon Parker. Due to the heat in the facility, 70-to-75 animals had to be quickly relocated causing logistical strain for the staff. The power was restored by CenterPoint in the late afternoon Monday, but operations are still coming back together after the urgent event. "We have power now, but most people don't understand what goes into it. It may seem like only one day with no power, but the logistics, the planning and the communications when you have live animals in the building, it is more than one thinks," she said.

Staff members arrived around 7 a.m. Monday to find their space without power. As Parker arrived on the property around 7:30 a.m., they discovered that someone pried open their electric boxes and cut wires. A large six-inch metal pole was sawed through in the parking lot as well. The electrician who assisted them believes the vandals were seeking copper wiring, but Parker said the building is older and their wire is aluminum. Pictures on the group's Instagram page show power lines cut and the pole sawed in two. Due to the heat in the building, 50 cats and 15 dogs were placed with foster families and other rescue groups. Parker said as they continue to clean up melted ice from the freezers and sort the many donations that came in Monday, they will begin accepting the animals back on Wednesday. Even with the power on, the group still faces challenges going forward, especially with the clean up and the destruction of the vaccines and medications. The organization hoped its main clinic refrigerator remained cool enough to save the vaccines. However, three more refrigerators with vaccines and pet medication were lost. "It is in the thousands of vaccines lost. All of the medications that have to be refrigerated are gone, about 10 to 12 large bottles of refrigerated medications," she said.

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Ken Paxton accuses James Talarico of flip-flopping on transgender care

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico says he opposes gender-reassignment surgery for minors, an apparent move to neutralize GOP attacks on him based on past votes. Talarico was asked on a podcast about accusations that he is too liberal to represent Texas in the Senate and that he is "pro sex surgery for minors." Talarico pushed back. "I oppose gender-reassignment surgeries for minors," the four-term Texas House member from Austin said. The comments appear to be at odds with a vote Talarico took in 2023 against legislation outlawing "procedures and treatments for gender transitioning" for children regardless of whether parent and doctors believe such treatments would be live-saving.

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton accused Talarico of flip-flopping. “This is just the latest example of Talarico masquerading as a moderate when the truth is he’s the most radical Democrat to ever run statewide in Texas history,” Paxton, the three-term Texas attorney general, said in a news release. “(Talarico) has proven he will lie time and time again because he knows his radical policies are extreme and completely out-of-touch with the people of Texas.” Talarico's spokesman said he opposed the 2023 bill, known as SB 14, because it went far beyond just banning such surgical procedures for children younger than 18. "He voted against SB 14 because it did more than ban gender reassignment surgeries for minors – it stripped critical healthcare away from Texas children suffering from rare genetic diseases that have nothing to do with being transgender,"said JT Ennis, Talarico's communications director. "It’s why he supported amendments to fix the bill while banning these surgeries – amendments that were ultimately shot down." Some of those failed amendments would have kept the ban on gender-reassignment surgery for minors but still allow minors to access to treatment for rare genetic disorders, such as some "born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development," Talarico's camp noted.

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Austin burger chain P. Terry's will start sharing profits, ownership with employees

Austin-based fast food chain P. Terry's Burger Stand is moving to employee ownership and creating a profit-sharing program for workers. Kathy and Patrick Terry, the husband-wife duo who founded the chain, announced they're creating an employee ownership trust in a video on social media Tuesday. An employee ownership trust holds company shares for employees and "ensures that the company prioritizes employee benefit as part of its core purpose," according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The move will affect 1,800 workers across 38 locations, according to a press release from Common Trust, a company that works with businesses on employee ownership models.

The profit-sharing program is open to employees who have worked at P. Terry's for at least two years. The company said eligible workers will split 5% of operating income starting this year, "with plans to increase that amount to as much as 20% over time." "From the very beginning, we have always believed that taking care of people and building a great business are not competing ideas," Kathy Terry said in the video. "So this transition is the most honest expression of that belief we've ever made." The Terrys said they don't have plans to leave the company. "This move is made to preserve the core values of P. Terry's for future generations," Kathy said. P. Terry's opened its first location in Austin in 2005. The chain is known for its charitable efforts, which have spanned donating profits to help July 2025 flood victims to organizing "Giving Back Days" in support of nonprofits across Texas.

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Dallas advocacy group urges fall tax election to help pay for childcare

A Dallas advocacy group is calling for a countywide tax to fund childcare – and get more parents back into the workforce. The relatively new Dallas Childcare Works coalition wants Dallas County commissioners to place a 3% childcare property tax on November’s ballot. If voters approve, it would generate $132 million for scholarships to help cash-strapped parents pay for childcare, and therefore, return to jobs outside the home. The Texas Women’s Foundation and Every Texan on Tuesday jointly released a white paper declaring a childcare crisis for Dallas and Texas. The report argues that without funding assistance to help pay for childcare, thousands of Texas women — and at least 6,900 mothers in Dallas County who would hold salaried jobs — aren’t able to work because they’re caring for a child or children at home.

That has a cascading and negative effect, according to Coda Rayo-Garza, senior researcher of the study. “Texas's female labor force is growing faster than its male labor force, ” Rayo-Garza said. “Women are increasingly the ones sustaining that workforce expansion.” She said women are also outpacing men in educational attainment, so employers are not just leaning on women for skilled, educated talent — they “depend on mothers to meet workforce demands and drive growth.” But the crisis is worsening, she said, not improving, because childcare costs so much. The research reveals a minimum-wage employee would need to work 37 weeks, 40 hours a week, to pay for a year of childcare. At roughly $11,000 a year for one child, that’s more than a year’s tuition at a state university. During Tuesday’s presentation, Hillary Evans, vice president of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, said “nearly 19,000 work-willing parents are not able to enter the labor force due to these childcare barriers,” adding that thousands of parents miss work because of childcare issues.

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UT leads 10-state push to fill semiconductor jobs

The University of Texas is leading a semiconductor project across 10 states that will prepare students to fill 29,000 new jobs by 2030, rising to meet the significant expansion of a high-demand industry. The project — the National Network for Microelectronics Education South — seeks to “build a stronger, more connected semiconductor workforce” by fixing a common disconnect between students, employers and colleges. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Commerce, UT’s Texas Institute for Electronics, or TIE, is charged with leading a coordinated strategy among southern states to ensure new jobs don’t go unfilled — and that the country can produce the chips it needs.

“We’re not worrying about whether or not those jobs will exist, they’re here, but the real question is, are we going to be able to fill them,” said Alyssa Reinhart, director of workforce development with TIE. “We’re making semiconductors more visible and navigable for people who’ve never had that clear way in. We’re also aligning training with what employers actually need.” Semiconductor manufacturing produces computer chips that power electronics, from iPhones to cars and defense technology. The Semiconductor Industry Association projects there will be 115,000 new industry jobs across the country by 2030, but association officials estimate more than half could go unfilled. The southern region where UT’s project will take place is expected to house one-third of those new jobs, including 29,000 new positions. “These technologies are moving rapidly. The skills needed to advance them also have to keep pace across the industry,” said Raja Swaminathan, corporate vice president of AMD, a semiconductor manufacturing company. “The demand for talent is already real.” With 104 partners — including 32 semiconductor companies — UT will streamline access to those jobs by ensuring training and programs are directly aligned with employer needs and that more people know about available job opportunities.

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Tarrant commissioners call proposed honor for LGBTQ+ Health a ‘political stunt’

Tarrant County commissioners declined to commend the HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health’s 30 years of service with a resolution at their meeting Tuesday. Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare said the proposal was an organized political stunt. Two of the Republicans who voted against the recognition said they could not in good faith associate the county seal with the HIV prevention organization due to their promotion of gender-affirming care and certain holidays like National Kink Day. The resolution was proposed by Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons to celebrate the organization’s three decades of work to stop the spread of HIV and other transmissible diseases. The HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health was founded in 1994 by two Catholic nuns and the mother of an AIDS victim, according to the drafted resolution. In Tarrant County, resolutions are a formal statement of recognition, congratulations or honor. They do not equate to policy or law.

Other resolutions passed on Tuesday included a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, recognition of Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County for delivering the 30 million meals and recognition of Mayor William Tate for 50 years of service to the city of Grapevine. The drafted resolution states the county commends the HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health “for its outstanding service, compassionate care, and enduring contributions to the health, dignity, and wellness of the people of Tarrant County.” Krause, O’Hare and fellow Republican Manny Ramirez voted against the resolution. Democrat Commissioner Roderick Miles and Simmons voted in favor. O’Hare said the resolution was a political stunt organized by Simmons, before telling her “all that you ever do here in political theater.” O’Hare said he could go on and on about what the HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health has promoted, but he specifically named National Kink Day, International Non-Binary People’s Day, Polyamory Day and a fundraiser for out of state travel for healthcare. “This court is focused on cutting taxes, improving county services, strong public safety and bettering the lives of our citizens,” O’Hare said. “It’s not the business of this court to put the county’s name and seal behind a divisive social agenda that glorifies a group that supports transitioning children.”

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Texas AG Ken Paxton opens investigation into FIFA over 2026 World Cup ticket sales

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has opened an investigation into FIFA over allegations that soccer fans were misled about the location and quality of seats purchased for matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The move comes just days before World Cup matches are set to begin. Arlington and Houston, two of the tournament’s host cities, are scheduled to host their first matches on Sunday. Paxton announced the investigation Tuesday, saying his office received complaints from fans who claim the seats they ultimately received didn’t match up to how the seats were represented at the time of purchase.

“I will work to ensure that FIFA is engaging in ethical and honest business practices so that Texas fans are treated fairly,” Paxton said in a statement. “Sports have a unique power to bring people together, and FIFA must understand that Texans take their competition—and their consumer rights—seriously.” According to the attorney general’s office, some fans purchased “Category 1” tickets expecting premium views of the field. Complaints allege FIFA later changed seating maps, moving those seats into sections with less desirable sightlines. Paxton said the investigation will determine whether FIFA violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a state consumer protection law, by misrepresenting ticket categories or seat locations during the sales process. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, is the international governing body for soccer and oversees the World Cup. Tickets for the 2026 tournament are selling for thousands of dollars, with some seats for the July 19 championship match in New Jersey selling for more than $10,000 under FIFA’s dynamic pricing model. A FIFA spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

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National Stories

The fading fun of Trump 2.0

New York Knicks fans in Madison Square Garden received President Trump, a longtime fan and once one of their own, the same way they welcomed the visiting San Antonio Spurs ahead of Game Three of the NBA Finals. A chorus of boos rained down when the president appeared on the jumbotron saluting from a private box during the national anthem. It wasn’t unexpected given New York City is a liberal enclave. But it comes as Trump’s grip on the culture shows signs of slipping. “It is ridiculous that he is coming to this game,” said ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith in complaining about the tightened security and lengthy lines Trump’s presence created around the stadium. “If it causes the New York Knicks to lose tonight, I’m blaming him.” The celebratory air that Trump brought to the party has dissipated ever since his cultural cachet hit its zenith around his second inauguration. Country music superstar Carrie Underwood sang at the ceremony after rapper Snoop Dogg performed at a ball days before it.

Podcasters and influencers, who propelled him into office, cheered him unabashedly while professional athletes celebrated big plays with “the Trump shuffle.” Now Trump’s influence in entertainment circles shows signs of waning. Several artists recently pulled out from a semiquincentennial concert series—organized by the Trump-aligned group Freedom 250—over concerns about its political ties. Trump’s takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hit a wall. A judge last month ordered his name stripped from it and halted his plan to close it for renovation. The snag prompted the president to retreat and say he would turn the center over to Congress. Trump’s setbacks on the culture front come amid a dip in his approval ratings and growing concerns over his handling of the economy. Several high-profile podcasting allies have turned on Trump over the war in Iran and his administration’s handling of the Epstein files, among other issues. “I can’t imagine going out there singing ‘Easy like Sunday morning’ basically at a MAGA rally when I look at what’s going on,” said Brent Carter, the co-lead singer of the funk and soul group the Commodores. The band originally signed on to perform at the Freedom 250 concert series and pulled out, Carter said, after seeing backlash online. Trump still has several high-wattage events on his summer calendar, namely an Ultimate Fighting Championship match in a massive structure on the South Lawn set for his 80th birthday Sunday. He has also arranged for a Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar race on the streets of downtown Washington, D.C.

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Takeaways from the primaries in Maine and South Carolina

Graham Platner won the Maine Democratic primary for Senate after weathering allegations about his past, formally setting up the November bout for a seat that could be pivotal in determining which party controls the Senate. The liberal upstart will face longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a closely watched race that will show whether the Democratic and independent voters whom Platner has courted will overlook his baggage in the general election. In Maine, as well as South Carolina, Republicans competed in crowded congressional and gubernatorial races. Backing from President Donald Trump elevated some GOP candidates over prominent politicians, including Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina), who did not make it out of her primary race. Here are the top takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries:

Platner advanced to the November election despite revelations about his past resurfacing throughout his campaign — including about a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol that he later had covered with another design and allegations of troubling conduct in former relationships with women. Political insiders were watching the margin closely to see whether there would be a protest vote for Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who appeared on the ballot despite suspending her campaign in April. She had about 20 percent of the vote when the Associated Press called the race Tuesday night. Collins, the incumbent who is seeking a sixth Senate term, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. She will try to keep her winning streak alive in a state where Trump lost to Vice President Kamala Harris by nearly seven points. Some Democrats are questioning Platner’s general-election odds. They once saw the oyster farmer as the party’s best shot at unseating Collins because he had cultivated a strong base with his populist, antiestablishment pitch. But his recent spate of bad publicity has added a dose of anxiety. Republicans are hoping a former Maine governor returning to the political scene this year as a House candidate with Trump’s endorsement will help them flip a pro-Trump district held by a Democrat. Paul LePage, who is known for his brash rhetoric and served two terms as governor, ran unopposed in the Republican primary for Maine’s 2nd District, which favored Trump three times. The district is represented by Rep. Jared Golden (D), who is not seeking reelection.

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Trump wanted to star at the World Cup, but politics may spoil the party

Donald Trump thought he’d miss out on the chance to stride the globe’s biggest sporting stage, lamenting in 2018, when the US won the right to co-host this year’s World Cup finals, that “I won’t be here” owing to presidential term limits. But the historic political comeback that made him only the second president to win two nonconsecutive terms bought him political extra time and a role in the massive soccer extravaganza. Trump has always had a flair for inserting himself into the global zeitgeist. So he seized his chance.

He proudly displayed a gleaming replica World Cup that complemented the golden decor of his Oval Office; he welcomed soccer supremo Gianni Infantino into his global MAGA orbit; and after presenting Chelsea with the trophy in a FIFA club tournament in the US last year, he celebrated with the team like he’d scored the winning goal. But the 2026 World Cup finals that open on Thursday may serve to highlight the discord of his politics more than his enthusiasm for the beautiful game. While Trump may be looking for a new chance to promote his global ubiquity, many overseas critics are likely to be alienated by contributions that epitomize the turbulence and discord of his second term. The finals come at a moment when Trump’s political star is waning due to growing unpopularity at home and reverses overseas. Infantino’s award of an inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to Trump — after his friend was passed over for the Nobel version — now looks awkward after the president launched military strikes against another World Cup qualifying nation, Iran.

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Black Democrats are scrambling to find someone to run against Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Black Democrats in Florida and Washington are infuriated with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Two weeks after Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida) announced she will be seeking reelection in Florida’s new 20th Congressional District, four Black Democratic candidates competing in the race are hoping to stop her from winning the nomination in a district that has historically been represented by a Black lawmaker. Democrats were surprised by the senior Democrat’s move, which followed Gov. Ron DeSantis signing legislation that redrew the state’s congressional maps in an effort to bolster Republicans’ chances to pick up seats in the 2026 midterms. Wasserman Schultz’s current district was effectively eliminated.

In a four-hour meeting on Monday in Pompano Beach, the four candidates — former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness, rapper Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus McCormick and activist Elijah Manley — voted 3-1 to consolidate behind one candidate to defeat Wasserman Schultz. “It was a long conversation,” Manley — who declined to say who voted against consolidating — told NOTUS. “We had to get real, egos had to be put aside.” “We had to be honest with ourselves, you know, maybe the math is not mathing with all of us in the race,” Manley added. He told NOTUS that the candidates cross-examined each other during the meeting, with each having to explain what their strengths and weaknesses were. The candidates did not decide who they would back in the Aug. 18 primary, but Holness said he expects candidates to make a decision by “no later than Wednesday morning” because some candidates are considering filing for different congressional races or potentially for statewide offices, and they might need a few days “to get our paperwork to Tallahassee to finalize what we’re doing.” He did not name which candidates are considering those options.

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Willy Rice, Florida pastor and abuse crisis skeptic, elected SBC president

A Florida pastor who has argued that the nation’s largest Protestant denomination has become too woke and liberal was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday (June 9). Willy Rice, senior pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida, received 5,217 votes — 57% of the votes cast. His opponent, Josh Powell, lead pastor of Taylors First Baptist Church in South Carolina, received 3,821 votes, or 42%. Rice’s election is a triumph for critics who claim that the denomination has lost its way in recent years. He has alleged that the SBC’s sexual abuse crisis was more hoax than reality and said that the denomination’s leaders had followed the culture more than the Bible.

The two candidates were similar. Both are conservative. Both are in favor of a ban on churches with women pastors. Both are fans of missionary work and are lifelong Southern Baptists. Both claimed that concerns that the SBC had a sexual abuse crisis were overblown. But they offered disparate views of the state of the convention during a lunchtime forum, held a few hours before the election, during the SBC’s gathering at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando this week. “I’m afraid, you know, if we are not careful, we’re going to hug ourselves to death,” Rice told the audience at the forum, hosted by Baptist21, a group of younger pastors. “All we are going to do is talk about how great we are. We are going to wake up one day and be Kodak or Blockbuster.” Rice told attendees that Southern Baptist leaders were led astray by what he called a “cultural riptide” on issues of race, social justice and politics. That led to what he said were bad decisions that have undermined trust in the SBC’s leadership. He defended those who say the SBC has lost its way.

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Nevada is set to have one of nation’s premier races for governor as Democrats seek to reclaim seat

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, will face Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in a battle to hold onto his seat in November, setting up what is considered one of the most competitive governor’s races in the country. Both won their party’s nominations Tuesday as Nevada held primaries for several key offices, including a swing congressional seat in the Las Vegas area where the GOP nominated Marty O’Donnell, a composer known for writing the soundtrack to the video game “Halo,” to face Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in November. The voting came as Nevada grapples with an affordable housing shortage, exploding energy demand from data centers and federal cuts to key state programs.

The state has a closed primary, meaning only registered Democrats and Republicans voted in party contests after an effort to open them failed in 2024. Several primaries featured matchups between candidates backed by party leaders and political outsiders promising change. Come November, the governor’s race is considered one of the most competitive in the country, and holding on to the 3rd Congressional District is considered crucial for Democrats’ hope of retaking the U.S. House. Lomardo is considered one of the most vulnerable governors in the country this fall as both parties expect Democrats to do well nationwide. Ford, who had the backing of the Democratic congressional delegation and former Vice President Kamala Harris, beat Alexis Hill, a county commissioner in northern Nevada, in his party’s primary. Ford and Hill focused their campaigns on affordability, as the state continues to see a shortage of affordable housing, some of the highest gas prices in the country and cuts to federal healthcare and food assistance programs. Ford argued that both the governor and President Donald Trump are responsible for Nevadans’ economic woes. At his victory party, he promised to lower costs for families.

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Trump officials lay out aggressive timeline to build triumphal arch

Federal officials are laying more groundwork to begin construction on President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot-tall triumphal arch, sharing additional documents that detail the project’s scope and an aggressive timetable for potentially completing work before Trump’s term ends. According to National Park Service documents posted this month, the administration envisions 20 hours per day of construction on the arch, year-round, in hopes of completing the project within two to three years. Construction experts said that timeline — which would involve two 10-hour daily shifts — is unusually aggressive for a nonemergency project. The arch also would be built with concrete clad in granite, unlike the nearby Lincoln Memorial and other monuments that were constructed with natural stone like marble and limestone — another way to expedite its construction, experts said.

“He’s obviously in a hurry to try to get this all done before he leaves office,” said Matthew Bell, a University of Maryland architecture professor, commenting on the timeline and materials. “Most of the major monuments in D.C. are stone.” The Park Service said the project would require large cranes, including one that may be 320 feet tall and another that could be as high as 300 feet. The planned site for the arch is on a flight path to nearby Reagan National Airport, where planes can sometimes fly at around 500 feet of altitude, raising concerns about safety. The Federal Aviation Administration has said it is reviewing whether the arch’s planned height would present risks to airplanes transiting the area, concluding in a preliminary report last week that the arch would need red blinking lights to alert planes at night. An FAA spokesperson said Tuesday that the agency was still conducting a full study on the project. FAA, Transportation and Interior Department spokespeople did not respond to questions about whether the additional height of the cranes would pose further risk. The White House declined to comment on the Park Service documents. Officials said they planned to begin construction as soon as all approvals are received.

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Nithya Raman: progressive who bested Spencer Pratt eyes Hollywood ending

On election night, Nithya Raman seemed as if she was prepared to lose the second spot in the Los Angeles mayoral race to the reality TV star Spencer Pratt, whose viral campaign appeared on track to upend the contest. “Many thousands of votes will be counted in the days ahead, and we may not get an answer we like. But regardless of what happens next, nobody can take away what all of us have built together,” Raman, a progressive Democrat who sits on the LA city council, told her supporters. Now in a twist fit for Hollywood, it is Raman who will be advancing to the November election to face off against her one-time political ally, incumbent mayor Karen Bass, for the chance to lead the second-largest city in the US. It was a shake-up in a race that has been defined by the unexpected. Raman rocked the Los Angeles political establishment in February when she threw her hat in the ring hours ahead of the deadline and just weeks after endorsing Bass in her re-election campaign.

Raman, an urban planner, said she had felt a call for change across the entire city from Angelenos, and that the city was at a “breaking point”: unable to manage the basics and adequately respond to homelessness and a housing shortage. Media outlets were quick to draw parallels between Raman and and New York’s Zohran Mamdani, another democratic socialist. Given Raman’s political history, she was instantly one of the most recognizable candidates in the race. She had a high profile since winning her first election in 2020, when she unexpectedly defeated an incumbent Democrat endorsed by Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton. But as the race unfolded, it was Pratt’s campaign that grabbed headlines. Pratt, best known as the bad boyfriend on MTV’s The Hills, lost his home in last year’s deadly Los Angeles wildfires. He became one of the most visible and vocal critics of the city’s response to the disaster and Bass’s leadership, arguing the city did not do enough to prepare for the fire and was falling short in helping residents with recovery. In January, he launched his campaign for mayor, putting wildfire frustrations front and center, while also harnessing anger over longstanding issues in the city, including the cost-of-living crisis and an enduring homelessness emergency. Polling has found that the majority of Los Angeles residents feel the city is headed in the wrong direction. Los Angeles remains one of the most expensive cities in the US, and is short 270,000 affordable housing units.

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Lead Stories

As USDA finds new cases of screwworm, Rollins calls Sid Miller's approach'dangerous'

Three more cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed, including one outside the main cluster in Texas, demonstrating the difficulty of stopping a resurgent pest that could devastate the nation’s cattle industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday. The screwworm is actually a fly larva that eats living flesh instead of dead material. The flies lay their eggs in open wounds of animals like cattle, but wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans can be infested. The government has a program to breed sterile male flies and drop swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females, which kept screwworm contained at the southern end of Panama for decades. So far, there are five confirmed cases: three calves and a goat in Texas and a dog from neighboring Lea County, New Mexico. The small dog, which the USDA initially reported as a Texas case, lives in New Mexico and was reclassified as the first in that state.

The dog had not traveled to Mexico or Texas, so authorities were investigating around the property where the pet lived. If they find infected flies, animal inspections in the area will increase, New Mexico State Veterinarian Samantha Holeck said during a virtual news conference Monday. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Monday accused Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller of making "dangerous" suggestions that ranchers shouldn't report New World screwworm cases to authorities. Miller reportedly said last week that if he found an infection in one of his animals, he would treat it himself and would not tell anyone. "I don’t want to be quarantined. That means no cattle can move off my place, I can’t sell my cattle, I can’t ship them, I can’t move pastures," said Miller, who has been critical about the USDA's strategy to fight the parasite. Rollins was asked about Miller during a press conference at at a federal research facility in Kerrville. "That is a very unserious comment from a perhaps unserious AG commissioner," she said. "It is also a very dangerous suggestion."

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‘Shovels, not scapegoats’: Texas GLO says Harris County may have no chance of meeting flood project deadlines

Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said Monday there’s ‘likely zero chance’ Harris County will meet crucial funding deadlines to complete post-Hurricane Harvey flood bond projects, and urged County Judge Lina Hidalgo to set aside differences to eliminate delays. Buckingham accused Hidalgo of creating setbacks through disagreements with the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) leadership on project delays. She said the Harris County Commissioners Court created arbitrary procedures by compelling the flood control district to address the court for minor changes. “My advice is simple: get out of the way, work with the commissioners court and HCFCD to eliminate unnecessary delays, expedite processes, and deliver results for the citizens of Harris County,” Buckingham wrote. “You owe it to your constituents to put personalities aside and deliver.”

The flood projects were first authorized by Harris County voters in 2018 as part of a $2.5 billion bond after Hurricane Harvey. The bond was passed with significant funding gaps, and the county secured another $2.7 billion in partnerships from local, state and federal funding sources to complete the projects. Hidalgo, who did not immediately return a request for comment Monday, has been caught in public feuds with flood control director Tina Petersen over the status of 28 projects outlined in the flood bond. In April, Hidalgo said she had lost confidence in Petersen’s ability to break ground on several disaster relief projects before a looming Feb. 2027 deadline — jeopardizing more than $245 million. The Feb. 2027 deadline is one of several benchmarks set by the Texas General Land Office for Harris County to advance the projects before a final 2028 deadline to use funds granted by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. A recent report revealed most of the flood mitigation projects tied to the 2018 bond — six of 11 — likely won't be complete by the 2027 deadline.

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Brendan Sorsby ruling: College sports' brass enraged by Texas judge's decision

At a recent Big 12 administrative meeting, a fascinating discussion emerged. If a local Texas judge granted quarterback Brendan Sorsby's injunction to play this season despite wagering on his own team, the league's other member schools wondered something aloud: Should we play the Red Raiders? "We've had some serious conversation about it," Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor told Yahoo Sports. "There is still a lot to be discussed. We aren't scheduled to play them this year, but it's something we have to look at from a college football perspective. This is greater than the Big 12." On Monday, a Lubbock judge did, indeed, grant Sorsby his injunction against the NCAA, making him eligible to play this season — a stunning decision that many across the college sports landscape are referring to as another seminal moment in a turbulent time in an industry upturned by legal decisions.

Judge Ken Curry's ruling not only prevents the NCAA from enforcing its anti-gambling policy against Sorsby, but the judge himself delivered a two-game suspension for the quarterback as a condition of the injunction. Suspensions are normally handed down by the NCAA, conferences and/or schools. The NCAA plans to appeal, according to a filing it made on Monday. Sorsby has acknowledged in court documents that he placed dozens of bets on his own team while playing football at Indiana, as well as thousands more on professional sports. He violated a longstanding NCAA policy of which the listed consequence is a permanent ban — and he also broke multiple state wagering laws. "It's f***ing bulls***," Taylor told Yahoo Sports on Monday. "I know the kid has a problem. Well, get well and focus on your problem. It is absolutely devastating for him to be able to play when every other sport, no matter the level, deems an athlete ineligible or they are punished severely for betting on their team." The Big 12 athletic directors are expected to meet Tuesday. Big 12 presidents, also expected to meet this week, have the ability to penalize conference members for "actions detrimental to the conference." Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark released a statement describing the ruling as having "significant" ramifications across college sports and "creating concern amongst our membership." He's been consulting with "key stakeholders" on the issue. Even outside of the Big 12, high-level college administrators say they are left aghast by a decision that many describe as "disastrous" and "jarring" and, as the NCAA statement said, "corrupts the integrity of sports."

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US airline fuel bill spikes 78% as global profit outlook is slashed

U.S. airlines spent more than $6 billion on jet fuel in April, up 78% from a year earlier despite using slightly less fuel, government data released Monday showed. Meanwhile, the airline industry’s top global trade group warned that soaring energy costs could nearly halve profits in 2026. Since conflict erupted in the Middle East earlier this year after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, much of the shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical oil transit route bordering Iran — has remained effectively halted, pushing up the price of oil and jet fuel. In an effort to contain costs, airlines around the world have raised airfares and fees, cut other perks and canceled flights or trimmed schedules.

U.S. carriers spent nearly $6.5 billion on fuel in April, compared with about $3.6 billion a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Fuel consumption in April totaled 1.573 billion gallons, down slightly from 1.575 billion gallons a year earlier. The latest figures came as the International Air Transport Association released a report on Sunday saying it now expects airlines worldwide to earn a combined $23 billion in net profit in 2026, far below its previous forecast of $41 billion and down from $45 billion in 2025. “Airlines are bearing the brunt of the fuel price shock,” said Willie Walsh, director general of IATA, which represents most of the world’s carriers. “While airfares are rising, airlines are still absorbing part of the hike in their bottom lines.” The group said jet fuel prices are expected to average $152 a barrel in 2026, nearly 70% higher than in 2025, pushing the global airline fuel bill to about $350 billion from $252 billion a year earlier. IATA said that fuel is forecast to account for more than 31% of airline operating expenses in 2026, up from about 25% last year.

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State Stories

Three Dallas City council members sue to stop Dallas City Hall vote

Three city council members filed suit Monday to prevent the Council from convening a special-called meeting Wednesday that would, among other things, allow city staff to begin doing advance work on moving staff from City Hall and developing the property it sits on. The suit, filed by council members Adam Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon, and Cara Mendelsohn, is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the meeting. An agenda for a special-called meeting was posted late Thursday night. According to that document, the meeting is due to begin at 10 a.m. It has six items, which include the advance work on moving the employees and city functions, including the city’s 911 and emergency operations. Both items ask the Council to approve an unspecified amount of money for those efforts, with blank lines where a dollar amount would go.

“Shortcuts and gamesmanship cannot be used to write a blank check and avoid mandatory financial disclosures,” the suit reads. It says that the meeting is an attempt “to ram through this momentous decision at a special meeting called on short notice, without proper briefing of all City Council members, without compliance with the City’s own Financial Management Performance Criteria, and with agenda language that fails to provide the public with adequate notice of the scope and nature of the proposed action.” It also says that when Bazaldua asked to defer the fourth item on the agenda, which would allow City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert to “pursue opportunities” to redevelop 1500 Marilla, he was not allowed to do so. The suit, which was filed in the Dallas County 14th Judicial District, names the city, Tolbert, and City Secretary Bilierae Johnson as defendants. It will likely go before Judge Eric Moyé. “This is not about whether City Hall should be redeveloped,” Bazaldua said in a statement. “This is about whether the City of Dallas must follow its own rules. Dallas City Hall is an I.M. Pei masterpiece and an irreplaceable civic landmark. A decision of this magnitude deserves full transparency, proper process, and genuine public participation, not a rushed vote at a specially called meeting with two days’ notice. We are asking the court simply to require the City to follow the law. Nothing more, nothing less.”

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Hays County considers data center pause over water concerns

The Hays County Commissioners Court is set to vote Tuesday on a possible 180-day pause on approvals for water-intensive large-scale industrial projects in unincorporated areas while officials review emergency water protections. The resolution would also ask the Texas Legislature for greater authority over data center development amid rising concerns about water and power demand across the state, according to county documents. The resolution is reemerging after the county tabled a 30-day moratorium proposal in February over concerns the suspension could expose the county to lawsuits.

“The things that are in the books today are not the way we can act today,” County Judge Ruben Becerra said before postponing the moratorium vote. “I am looking for out-front, bold, creative ways to lean forward so that we can make a stance because we don’t have time to wait until 2027 for the Legislature to meet. We don’t have time.” The first time the proposal was introduced, Becerra said a development pause would give county leaders time to gather scientific data and coordinate with water providers across the region. The resolution being considered Tuesday would create a task force to do just that. The proposal came shortly after the San Marcos City Council rejected a 200-acre data center project within city limits. Hundreds of residents urged the council to deny zoning requests tied to the development, the seventh data center proposed or under construction in Hays County. Becerra and other commissioners have urged Gov. Greg Abbott to give counties more authority over data center development. “I have always been a pro-business county judge but this is something that is not necessarily pro business,” Becerra said in February. “We are in a moment of crisis.” Unlike cities, which have zoning authority, counties typically do not have the power to block development. Calls for data center moratoriums have surfaced in county commission meetings and state legislative hearings across Texas. Last week, Hill County rescinded a one-year data center moratorium approved in May after a developer sued for more than $100 million in damages. The lawsuit argues the county “exceeded its lawful powers.”

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James Skoufis: We New Yorkers are sick of subsidizing Texans' life insurance

(James Skoufis is a New York state senator.) There are far-right politicians – particularly in places like Texas – who love to opine about the sacrosanctity of the free market as they deride consumer-friendly policy choices of places like New York, where I serve in the state Senate. These red-state politicians have used the power of law to punish investors who don’t favor the oil and gas industry. They’ve spent tens of millions to bus migrants from the southern border into our cities. They’ve tried to use courts to make our doctors complicit in their assault on women’s healthcare. Yet despite this posturing and gamesmanship, it turns out they’re perfectly happy to let New Yorkers subsidize many of their states’ poor policy choices. One of those ways is life insurance. A hidden subsidy — invisible but very real — flows from blue state policyholders to red states every month.

Here’s how it works: Life insurance companies depend on national mortality tables to bury differences, instead of pricing premiums based on data from the state where the insured actually resides. That means every time an insurer prices a policy, millions of New Yorkers are averaged in with the shorter-lived residents of states like Texas. I’m introducing legislation to put a stop to that. Let’s look at the facts: In New York, we invest deeply in public health, workplace safety and consumer protections. Our reward? A life expectancy of 79.5 years, among the best in the nation. In Texas, life expectancy is 77.1. In Mississippi, a dismal 72.6. On average, we New Yorkers get to enjoy our families, friends and livelihoods for years longer than those states. This isn’t the South’s bad luck. It’s bad governance. By refusing to expand Medicaid and provide structural support systems, Texas politicians have created a state where 16.8% of adults have no health insurance compared to 4.9% of New York’s population — more than three times New York’s rate. Texans are also about three times more likely to die as a result of a firearm, and nearly three times more likely to die in a car crash. In 2025, the state’s permissive vaccine exemption policies helped fuel the largest U.S. measles outbreak in a quarter century — 762 reported cases and two dead children by a disease the country had declared eradicated in 2000.

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San Patricio Co. Groundwater Conservation District votes 3-2 to block emergency permits for Evangeline project

The San Patricio County Groundwater Conservation District board voted 3-2 Monday against a motion that would have allowed emergency or temporary permits for the Evangeline Groundwater Project, leaving Corpus Christi with limited options to move the project forward. Residents from across San Patricio County packed the meeting, using public comment to voice opposition to the project. San Patricio Co. Groundwater Conservation District votes 3-2 to block emergency permits for Evangeline project "This board has a duty not only to today's water users, but to future generations who will depend on this aquifer long after all of us are gone," Papalote resident Tiele Dockens said. "I respectfully urge you to proceed with extreme caution today."

Sinton resident Krista Boscamp also addressed the board. "What we are facing today will determine the future of South Texas for everyone," Boscamp said. Boscamp said access to clean water is critical to her daily life. "I need access to clean water to care for my livestock, pets and garden, as well as for drinking and washing. It is also a critical resource that helps me manage my disability at home," Boscamp said. KRIS 6 News has previously reported on opposition to the project from residents and city leaders in Sinton. An administrative law judge recently ruled that opponents should have the opportunity to present their concerns through a formal contested case hearing process. Despite that ruling, the City of Corpus Christi requested emergency permits to allow the project to proceed. After meeting in executive session, board directors considered a motion directing the district's general counsel to draft rules allowing emergency or temporary permits. The motion failed on a 3-2 vote. Because the agenda item failed, the district cannot process the emergency permit applications. Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni said the city's first option for moving the project forward is no longer available, leaving two remaining paths.

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Two Texans cleared of hantavirus risk after period of isolation

The two Texas residents being monitored for hantavirus have been cleared after completing their 42-day observation period infection-free. The two Texas passengers were exposed to the isolated outbreak of the Andes strain aboard the MV Hondius. Monitoring was recommended for everyone aboard the ship after some passengers became sick with the virus in April. The Texas passengers left the ship and returned home before the outbreak was identified. The two were evaluated in person twice daily by public health workers while isolating at home. They completed a 42-day observation period infection-free — the longest known period between exposure and signs of symptoms. They are no longer under public health restrictions.

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Austin Light Rail project moves forward, leaving some local businesses preparing for relocation

Austin’s multibillion-dollar light rail system is advancing toward construction, and some local businesses along the proposed route are preparing for relocation. Among them is the 1972 Women’s Sports Pub, a year-old establishment on The Drag that has quickly become a gathering place for women’s sports fans. Co-owner Debra Hallum said the pub was founded with a commitment to showing only women’s sports on its TVs. "It was from our heart to do something in the community for, again, women putting women on the pedestal, giving them a space of their own,” Hallum said. But the business is now facing displacement as Project Connect moves into its next phase in the light rail project.

Hallum told KVUE that the pub recently received a letter from the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) stating the property is needed for the proposed transit project. The site sits in the path of planned changes to Guadalupe and Dean Keeton streets as part of the light rail design. When signing a four-year lease, Hallum said the pub understood relocation was a possibility, but didn’t anticipate it happening so soon. “We're told that we will get a letter to vacate any day. We're still in limbo,” she said. “We've not received that letter. So we are waiting.” Hallum said while the pub will receive relocation assistance to help cover moving costs, it is fundraising to bridge additional expenses, including payroll. She noted that recent changes to U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan eligibility -requiring 100% U.S. citizenship among owners- have cut the pub off from a key source of support. “That’s been our biggest gut punch,” Hallum said. “I mean that’s what SBA funding and loans are for, is to help your small, local businesses, you know, get started and get established.”

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How a gun-rights extremist could soon represent Uvalde in Congress

On May 24, 2022, a Border Patrol Tactical Unit fatally shot 18-year-old Salvador Ramos inside a classroom in Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, 77 minutes after Ramos had entered the building to commit the third-deadliest school shooting in American history. Ramos, a former student at Robb, had purchased two high-powered rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition just days before he killed 19 students and two teachers. In the aftermath, several victims’ families pushed for gun control at the state level. Their efforts failed in Austin, but they won the support of Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales, who voted for the first federal gun-control legislation enacted in two decades. Now, four long years later, those families and the rest of their southwest Texas city of 15,000 may soon be represented in the U.S. House by a gunmaker, Second Amendment absolutist, and edgy YouTube personality by the name of Brandon Herrera. A man who has discussed, on camera, the relative merits of mass killers using the sort of rifle deployed in Uvalde rather than other weaponry; spread memes associated with an extremist movement; and rationalized or made light of lethal violence against people with certain political beliefs.

Also known as the “AK Guy”—a reference to his penchant for the Avtomat Kalashnikova (AK) rifle platform—the bearded 30-year-old is a celebrity in an online gun culture that has emerged on platforms including YouTube, where “gunfluencers” like him have amassed millions of followers through firearm reviews, meme roundups, gun-history content, and Second Amendment commentary. A relative newcomer to politics, Herrera first ran for office in the 2024 GOP primary against Gonzales, citing the latter’s vote for modest gun control as inspiration, as Herrera himself has said he’d oppose any new firearms restrictions, including red flag laws. He cast Gonzales then as an out-of-touch, too-moderate incumbent and forced him into a runoff, which Gonzales narrowly won. Vowing to “finish what we started,” Herrera announced in August 2025 that he would challenge Gonzales a second time. Again, Herrera forced Gonzales into a runoff, but this time, an explosive scandal was brewing around the incumbent congressman, who’d had an affair with a staffer who later committed suicide by self-immolation. Under pressure from House leadership, Gonzales suspended his reelection campaign soon after the March primary, clearing the path to the nomination for Herrera, and, in April, Gonzales resigned. That sets up a special election, the timing of which is set by Governor Greg Abbott. Now endorsed by major Republicans, including President Donald Trump, Herrera promotes an “America First” platform centered on gun-rights absolutism, antiabortion policy, border security, term limits, opposition to (some) foreign wars, and tax cuts. Despite his self-described libertarian leanings, he has largely aligned with the hard-right faction of the Republican party on most issues—including the Trump administration’s immigration agenda and “qualified support” for military action in Iran.

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Former New Braunfels councilwoman found in Guadalupe River identified by medical examiner

River in New Braunfels. Juliet Elizabeth Watson went missing on May 26. Family and friends were fearing the worst after the discovery of a body on June 2 in the Guadalupe in New Braunfels. Kathleen Tobin-Krueger has known Watson for over 26 years. “She was very, very compassionate, artistic, musical. She took her job on city council very seriously and, and you could tell that she had a real empathy for the people that she was serving," she told TPR. Krueger said the 59-year-old Watson, a former member of the New Braunfels City Council, was a beloved figure in the town.

“We often hear about the tragedy of missing persons, but to have someone so close to the heart of our town, someone still so young and vibrant, is really a tragedy that it will take a while for us all to get over.” According to New Braunfels Police, the cause of death has not yet been determined, but there are currently no signs of foul play. A final determination on cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner.

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Texas cautions parents about unregulated summer childcare

As thousands of Texas children head into summer break, state officials are urging parents to carefully vet childcare arrangements and warn against placing children in unregulated operations that may not meet basic health and safety standards. The press release from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission comes as the demand for childcare during the summer increases and follows growing concerns about the number of children being cared for in unregulated establishments. State officials are encouraging families to choose licensed or registered childcare providers that undergo inspections, background checks and safety reviews. The agency said regulated childcare providers are required to meet state health and safety standards designed to protect children. Parents can search for regulated providers and review inspection histories through the state’s childcare database.

The release comes following a recent KXAN investigation into unregulated childcare operations that examined the risks associated with the growing number of caregivers operating outside state oversight. Chart showing the total number of unregulated child care operations identified in each fiscal year from 2015 to 2024. Source: Texas Health and Human Services. (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey) Officials say choosing a regulated operation provides parents the ability to make informed decisions based on inspection reports, compliance histories and other information that is publicly available on the agency’s website. “Regulated providers follow health and safety standards designed to protect your child,” the agency said in its press release encouraging parents to seek licensed care for the summer. The state encourages parents to take their time, ask questions about supervision and safety procedures, and confirm a provider’s regulatory status before enrolling a child.

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Governor candidate Hinojosa vows to end school district takeovers

Changing the way Texas grades schools and stopping state takeovers of local districts are among the top education priorities for Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat running for governor. “We fight for our public schools because they are essential to the American dream,” Hinojosa said during a press conference Monday at the former Pease Elementary School in downtown Austin. The school closed in 2020. Hinojosa announced her education platform in her first campaign stop this week on a statewide tour to discuss public education. On the tour, she plans to promote Team Texas Public Schools, a group she described as helping train teachers and parents of both political parties to protect neighborhood schools.

The former Austin Independent School District trustee has made public education a focal point of her campaign as she seeks to unseat Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in November. Her push comes as multiple school districts across Texas slash staff positions and programming and shutter campuses to manage deficit budgets and declining enrollment. On Monday, she called for removing Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who oversees the Texas Education Agency; revising how the state evaluates the successes and failures of districts and schools; and eliminating state takeovers. “It is never the right answer to struggling schools to take power away from parents and communities,” Hinojosa said. “I will return those school districts back to communities.” The state largely draws from student scores on required standardized tests, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, to assign all public schools a letter grade annually. For middle and high schools, other factors may shape the letter grade, but for elementary schools, letter grades are entirely determined by STAAR scores.

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Cornyn, Tillis could create ‘wild card situation’ on Judiciary

Sen. John Cornyn’s loss to Trump-backed Ken Paxton in a primary last week means the Senate Judiciary Committee will have two Republican members who may feel less obligated to stick with President Donald Trump. Cornyn, R-Texas, joins Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., as Judiciary Committee members no longer facing reelection. Tillis announced his retirement last year after opposing Trump’s first reconciliation law. The committee presides over some of the most intense, highly partisan matters that Congress faces in the modern era, as well as processing judicial nominations and Justice Department officials. The current 12-10 partisan split allows one Republican defection to deadlock the panel.

A second potential defection “opens up even more of a wild card situation,” said Gregg Nunziata, former policy counsel to the Senate Republican Policy Committee and former general counsel and domestic policy adviser to then-Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. “I think we’re about to see something we haven’t seen in a generation, which is an unpredictable Judiciary Committee,” said Nunziata, now executive director for the Society for the Rule of Law. The change in dynamic comes as the Justice Department is lacking a Senate-confirmed attorney general, as well as an assistant attorney general for antitrust and 20 federal judicial vacancies that currently do not have nominees. Plus, there’s the prospect of a Supreme Court vacancy if a justice were to retire at the conclusion of the current term at the end of June. Lee Holmes, a former Senate Judiciary Committee chief counsel and staff director for then-Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Cornyn and Tillis are “committed conservatives” and can be expected to largely back the administration’s picks for judicial spots.

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Shops at Willow Bend: A struggling mall to $3 billion sports district

Long before the Dallas Stars emerged as a potential tenant, The Shops at Willow Bend was already searching for a new future. The 1.4-million-square-foot mall, the last enclosed mall built in Texas, opened in 2001. But despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent by previous owners, the property struggled to attract enough shoppers and stores. The most recent redevelopment plans called for transforming the site into a mixed-use project with less retail space, but the mall's challenges only intensified in recent years. The Neiman Marcus department store at the property is scheduled to close by the beginning of 2027. Another anchor, Macy's, backed out of the mall last year, and Dillard's closed earlier this year.

By the time Dallas-based Centennial Real Estate became involved in the property through its 2022 acquisition, the question was no longer how to revive the mall, but what would replace it. Steven Levin, founder and outgoing CEO of Centennial, said he and business partner Bill Cawley were discussing the site's future when a meeting with Dallas Stars team president and CEO Brad Alberts changed their thinking. “After this conversation, in my mind, I went back and thought there really isn't anything more dynamic and better as an anchor than a sports anchor of the caliber of the Dallas Stars and the NHL,” Levin said. “That became really one of one to us.” Levin said the idea offered an opportunity to do something unique in North Texas. “We weren't going to do something that was just like other projects that were out there,” he said. “There is no sports-anchored mixed-use development in Dallas-Fort Worth. This is an opportunity to do something that is absolutely unparalleled.”

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National Stories

Will Platner scandals dampen Democratic vote? What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries.

Voters in Maine will weigh in on one of the most consequential and high-profile Senate races in the country on Tuesday, when they are expected to cement a matchup between Senator Susan Collins, a vulnerable Republican, and Graham Platner, a scandal-plagued Democrat hoping to oust her. Their likely face-off in November could determine control of the Senate, and political observers will be watching this week’s result closely to see if Mr. Platner’s many controversies have dampened voter enthusiasm for his populist campaign pitch. Tuesday will also feature primary elections in South Carolina, Nevada and North Dakota. Here’s what to know about the races.

In an election cycle in which Democrats are eager for outside voices, Mr. Platner, a military veteran who operates a small oyster farm, seemed to offer an appealing, insurgent message. He held such a significant lead over Gov. Janet Mills, the pick of his party’s establishment wing, that she bowed out of the Democratic primary months ago. But Mr. Platner has been dogged since the beginning of his campaign by controversies, including over a tattoo on his chest recognized as a Nazi symbol, and old social media posts with offensive comments about women and rape. (He has apologized for past comments and said he was unaware that the tattoo was a Nazi symbol, which he has covered.) The latest scandal broke last week, when The New York Times reported that several former girlfriends said that he had engaged in unsettling and at times physically threatening behavior. Elsewhere in Maine, the race to replace Ms. Mills, who cannot run again because of term limits, has been crowded and competitive ahead of what is expected to be a tough general election. On the Democratic side, the two leading candidates appear to be Troy Jackson, a logger and state senator endorsed by Mr. Platner, and Dr. Nirav Shah, who led Maine’s coronavirus pandemic response. On the Republican side, Bobby Charles, who worked in the Reagan White House and the second Bush administration, has an edge over a field that includes a Bush relative: Jonathan Bush, a cousin of President George W. Bush and nephew of President George H.W. Bush. Jonathan Bush, a tech entrepreneur, grew up in Manhattan before moving to Maine. He is running as an outsider despite his family’s deep ties to the state, which is home to the Bush family estate.

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OpenAI files to go public in test of investor appetite for top AI startups

OpenAI, which kick-started the artificial-intelligence boom with the 2022 release of ChatGPT, is officially preparing to stage an initial public offering that will test investor appetite for AI companies. The company led by Sam Altman confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the startup said in a written statement. The filing sets up the company to potentially go public as soon as this fall, though OpenAI said it hasn’t yet decided on timing. OpenAI said in a written statement on Monday that “it may be a while” until it goes public because there are “things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company.” There are a “complicated set of tradeoffs” tied to going public, it said, without elaborating further.

OpenAI, SpaceX and Anthropic are all pursuing public listings at mammoth valuations. SpaceX is the farthest along, with plans to stage a listing later this week that will be the biggest IPO in history and could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. Anthropic said last week that it had filed to go public, putting it on track for a public listing this fall. Bankers have told both companies that whichever startup goes first will get to define the new industry and benefit from being able to access large pools of cash eager to back new AI companies. OpenAI executives have privately expressed concerns about Anthropic beating the company to an IPO, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. The company remains the leader in the consumer chatbot market, but recently missed some internal revenue targets and watched rival Anthropic pull ahead among business customers. Anthropic recently surpassed OpenAI’s valuation for the first time in the private market.

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Trump nominates Todd Blanche for attorney general amid controversy over DOJ fund

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Todd Blanche as attorney general, a position that he has held in an acting capacity for more than two months. Trump had said he would ask the Senate to confirm Blanche as attorney general to succeed Pam Bondi, whom the president fired on April 2. The nomination comes weeks after Blanche had the Justice Department give Trump, his family members, and the Trump Organization immunity from prosecution or enforcement actions by the Internal Revenue Service in connection with tax returns filed before a controversial settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.

Blanche, who is currently the deputy attorney general, previously served as a criminal defense lawyer for Trump when the president was out of office from January 2021 through January 2025. Since being named in the acting capacity, Blanche has faced strong criticism from senators, including some Republicans, whose support he will need to win confirmation. Those lawmakers and good-government advocacy groups, have blasted Blanche for authorizing the Justice Department’s creation of a so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund as part of the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS. The $1.8 billion fund was designed to compensate purported victims of prosecutorial overreach by the Justice Department during the Biden administration.

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Netanyahu and Trump are at odds over the war they started together

Israel’s latest strikes on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who started the war in lockstep, want different things. Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire. Israel then struck Iran, with which Trump has been engaged in weeks of high-stakes negotiations. The fighting has since died down, but the differences between the two leaders are likely to persist. That’s because Trump, whose party faces elections later this year, wants to wind down an unpopular war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ease gas prices. Iran says a full ceasefire in Lebanon is key to any deal.

Netanyahu, who also faces elections this year, is under pressure to stop Hezbollah’s attacks and prove that he is winning the war with Iran and its allies. He also needs to manage relations with Israel’s most important ally without appearing to kowtow to it. When the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the allies appeared shoulder to shoulder. Netanyahu said the goal was to degrade the Islamic Republic’s military, eradicate its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and topple its government. Trump announced the death of Iran’s supreme leader in the opening barrage and urged Iranians to “take back” their country. But it soon became clear that while Trump was seeking a quick win — like the one he secured in Venezuela — Netanyahu wanted to vanquish Iran and its allies, even if it required an extended conflict. As Iran withstood weeks of heavy strikes and kept the Strait of Hormuz closed, Americans and Israelis grew increasingly frustrated — but for different reasons. In the U.S., the price of gas and other goods soared as even some erstwhile supporters accused Trump of breaking a campaign promise and plunging the U.S. into another Mideast quagmire. He has pushed back against those critics as rising anger threatens Republicans in November’s congressional elections.

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Trump is greeted by boos at Madison Square Garden during the NBA Finals

There was no announcement inside Madison Square Garden when President Donald Trump arrived in a suite a few minutes before his hometown New York Knicks took on the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. Then, midway through the national anthem, the screen at center court showed Trump’s face, and the crowd drowned out the song: “Booooooooo!” The jeers were louder than the Spurs had received when they took the floor — a collective roar from fans who had shown up hours before tip-off to inch through lines, funnel through fences and give themselves over to a security protocol that resembled an airport more than a sporting event, all to accommodate the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

Trump found his way to the suite — the only one in the arena encased in security glass — just before the 8:30 p.m. tip, standing between his granddaughter, Kai Trump, and Knicks owner James Dolan, who appeared to smirk at the boos. The jeers subsided only when the Jumbotron image switched to Knicks star Jalen Brunson. Speaking to reporters after the game, Trump said he thought the reception he got from Knicks fans was “amazing.” “It was I think mostly cheers … It was loud and it was very enthusiastic,” he said. After stealing two games in San Antonio, the Knicks, riding a 13-game playoff winning streak, returned to New York for one of the most anticipated — and expensive — NBA games ever, needing just two more wins for their first title in 53 years. Trump’s presence disrupted the Game 3 experience for frothing Knicks fans, media members and arena staffers from well before the tip-off.

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GOP bill would make Pa. law from Trump administration accords on data centers

Last winter, the Trump administration signed accords with tech companies and 13 governors, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, whose states share the PJM Interconnection electricity grid, pledging to put people before data centers. A GOP lawmaker in the Pennsylvania House now says those agreements provide the solution to the commonwealth’s energy crisis. “When I saw these two documents come across my desk … I knew I had my answer,” said Rep. Craig Williams (R-Delaware). Williams, who spent part of his career as a utility lawyer, introduced legislation last week that would codify the principles of those agreements in state law. Data center developers would be required to “build, bring or buy” new sources of power; pay for upgrading transmission lines and other infrastructure; and to pay for the power and related costs whether they use the electricity or not.

The new legislation comes as electricity prices jumped by up to 20% in parts of the state at the start of this month, Williams noted. That’s on top of the $23 billion increase in electricity costs across the 13- state PJM Interconnection grid driven by data center development, according to an independent assessment of the region’s wholesale electricity markets. The reason, he said, is the commonwealth hasn’t been the site of significant new power plant construction in more than a decade. Pennsylvanians are competing with data centers for a severely limited supply of electricity and that’s driving up prices. Meanwhile, data center companies are entering long-term contracts with power generators to lock in current prices as they continue to rise. Williams said his bill would also require local electric companies to enter extended contracts as a hedge against future price increases. With greater certainty about demand, he added, investors would be more willing to build new generating assets. “All of these things will have an immediate downward pressure on price,” Williams said at a news conference where he introduced the legislation with House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford). But, Williams noted, the Trump administration’s principles and pledge have no authority in law.

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Nithya Raman advances over Spencer Pratt to face L.A. Mayor Karen Bass in a runoff

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will face City Council member Nithya Raman in a runoff election for Bass’ job in November, NBC News projects, teeing up a one-on-one matchup between two Democrats. Bass and Raman, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, emerged from a crowded all-party primary field that included former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican who ran an insurgent campaign focused on criticizing Bass for her response to the Los Angeles wildfires last year. Since no candidate earned more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers go to a runoff this fall. NBC News previously projected Bass would advance to the general election.

While Pratt was in second place behind Bass on election night, the successive vote tallies have been more Democratic-leaning, allowing Raman to surpass Pratt. It’s part of a pattern all over California in this primary, with late-counted votes leaning more Democratic after a late surge in turnout by party members. Bass, a former member of Congress, was first elected mayor in 2022, when she defeated real estate developer Rick Caruso in an expensive race. But she faced backlash during and after last year’s destructive wildfires, including for being out of the country when they broke out. The fires burned over 16,000 structures, and at times, fire hydrants and water tanks ran out of water, limiting efforts to fight the blaze. In March, 56% of respondents in a Los Angeles Times poll of the city said they had unfavorable views of the mayor. It was against that backdrop that Raman decided this year to launch a bid for mayor, despite close political ties with Bass. Raman had endorsed Bass for re-election before she entered the race herself, and Bass backed her during her contested City Council re-election campaign in 2024.

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Lead Stories

Ken Paxton’s impeachment defense lawyer endorses James Talarico

A Texas lawyer who helped lead Republican Ken Paxton’s defense during his 2023 impeachment trial is endorsing Democrat James Talarico in the state’s critical Senate race this November. Dan Cogdell, a Houston-based defense lawyer who represented the Texas attorney general in both the impeachment trial and a long-running securities fraud case, told NOTUS in a statement that his former client “has lost sight of his core mission, which is to represent the people of Texas.” “And unlike Ken, I believe to my core that James Talarico believes in unity over division and that he knows how to assemble not only Democrats, but Independents and Republicans, and we need that right now,” Cogdell said.

Cogdell has donated a total of $6,500 to Paxton’s campaign last year and then gave $1,000 to Talarico’s campaign in March, according to campaign finance reports. His endorsement of Talarico comes just after the third anniversary of Paxton’s impeachment by the Texas House of Representatives over allegations including bribery. The Paxton campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Despite representing one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent political allies, Cogdell has broken with his party and criticized the president publicly in recent years. The longtime Paxton confidant last year called Trump the “greatest threat to Democracy our country’s ever seen.” Cogdell’s comments were used in a now-deleted attack ad against Paxton released by the National Republican Senatorial Committee in September. The ad called Cogdell “a liberal Trump-hating trial lawyer.” Now Senate Republican leaders have fallen in line with Paxton after he defeated longtime Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in a primary runoff last month. The Paxton-Cornyn clash split the GOP, with Republican leaders backing Cornyn and Trump allies supporting Paxton. Trump ultimately endorsed Paxton a week before the runoff.

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In Texas cattle country, ranchers question if USDA can contain flesh-eating screwworm

Like many ranchers in South Texas, Susan Storey said nightmarish screwworm outbreaks were among her first childhood memories. Now 62, she still recalls seeing wriggling maggots as they burrowed into living livestock and smelling the burning carcasses of ?calves that were too far gone for her family to treat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week confirmed two infestations of New World screwworm in Texas — the state's first cases since the 1970s. However, local residents ?and ranchers remain split over whether to trust the agency's response, with some saying it's too slow or not far-reaching enough.

U.S. cattle ranchers have been bracing for a domestic screwworm case for over a year as the pest has advanced north through Mexico, with experts predicting that a widespread outbreak could cost the state $1.8 billion in economic damage and could be devastating for the state's wildlife. For Storey and other ranchers who lived through the last outbreak, the news has further eroded their trust in the USDA and prompted them to search for their own solutions. “We're fighting for this so our grandchildren can keep what we ?have,” she said as her pickup truck bumped down a dirt road past grazing cattle, sprawling green pastures and migrating butterflies. “I don't want my herd threatened." Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in wounds on any warm-blooded animal. Once ?the eggs hatch, hundreds of larvae use their sharp mouths to eat through living flesh, eventually killing their host if left untreated. They mostly spread through the movement of infested animals and ?pose no threat to food safety and rarely affect humans, experts said. The last time screwworm was endemic in the United States, it took the cattle industry 30 years to recover, according to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

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America is already losing the World Cup for hotel bookings

The World Cup starts later this week. U.S. hotels are already in last place. Hotel bookings in Canada and Mexico are outpacing all but one American city ahead of FIFA’s biggest soccer competition, which is unfolding across 16 North American cities starting Thursday. Vancouver and Guadalajara boast the top occupancy rates at 48%, according to CoStar. Toronto, Mexico City and Monterrey are also more than 40%-booked. San Francisco is the only U.S. city to crack that threshold at 44%. The data firm analyzed hotel business in 14 of the 16 host cities ahead of the games. Some U.S. hotel owners say they are getting decent rates. But the foreign host cities hold a number of advantages over their American counterparts, including often more rabid soccer fans and overall affordability.

Tickets to this year’s World Cup games in the U.S. reached record-high prices, with dozens of tickets to the final match already selling for more than $20,000 a seat, according to resale tracker TicketData. Transportation costs also soared. “When it got down to pricing and being able to make those decisions, there were a lot of aspirational travelers who were probably shut out of the marketplace,” said Dave Guenther, president of luxury sports travel company Roadtrips. Visa concerns and the U.S. political climate that many foreigners perceive as unwelcoming also dissuaded some international soccer enthusiasts from traveling to the U.S. The disappointing performance by hotels in U.S. host cities reflects a lost opportunity to boost local economies as much as anticipated. Cities have spent hundreds of millions of dollars related to this once-in-a-generation sporting event. Major investments range from security and stadium upgrades to transit improvements and marketing.

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Banks lay groundwork for mass workforce cuts as AI takes hold

In the hope he’ll land a job in finance, Andre Bonnick spends hours rehearsing what he’s going to say. He’s using key words from job listings, making eye contact — following advice he’s gotten from recruiters. But Bonnick, a student at Warwick University, isn’t preparing to talk to a human hiring manager. He’s tackling initial screening rounds done by artificial intelligence-powered software. With more firms adopting AI, students gunning for a career in banking and finance are preparing to be up against such technology at first interaction. If they get in the door, they’re then faced with the question of whether the jobs will be available to humans in the next few years. Most executives are in agreement: Jobs will be cut as AI is implemented. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said in December that the technology “will eliminate jobs.”

Jane Fraser, Citigroup Inc.’s CEO, said some jobs “will no longer be required,” while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President John Waldron referred to employees as a “human assembly line” ripe for automation. As Standard Chartered Plc CEO Bill Winters put it: “It’s not cost cutting; it’s replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we’re putting in.” (He later apologized for his remarks.) With those recent comments, industry workers have been left dazed about whether their jobs are safe. Even for those in higher levels, the risk that AI could eventually replace their roles has grown. And while executives, including Dimon and Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer CS Venkatakrishnan, have talked about retraining and reskilling employees to protect some jobs, it’s unclear how that would work in practice, said David Parsons, an employment lawyer at Mishcon de Reya. One investment banker in the United Arab Emirates, who asked not to be identified, joked he may not be needed in the next five to 10 years, after he used Microsoft Corp.’s Copilot to help make a last-minute elevator pitch before a client meeting. “It’s fair to say middle office is vulnerable,” Parsons said. “That’s the difference with this wave of automation, it impacts jobs higher up the chain.”

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State Stories

Could Democrats gain votes from ‘lifelong Republicans’ upset over data centers?

Scout Moseley doesn’t shy away from the challenges of bull riding and “rodeoing,” and he’s now joining the fight against data centers locating in Johnson County. Moseley, 26, who has two children, lives in Cleburne, and he describes himself as being against “big government.” He said he will support candidates, even Democrats, as long as they oppose data centers. He recently created a Facebook page, Joco Citizens Against Data Centers, and also created bumper stickers with the slogan, “Keep Texas green.” “I don’t care if you run and what you run on. As long as you stick to your guns on opposing data centers, I will support you. This is the biggest issue,” he said Moseley is joining a growing number of people throughout Texas and the U.S. who are raising their voices against data centers locating in their communities. According to the Texas Tribune, half of the 248 data centers planned in Texas will be in rural areas where there are few regulations, and counties have little authority to stop them from moving forward.

In Hood County, where an Amazon data center called Project Spectrum was approved on a 3-0 vote on May 26, residents Cheryl Shadden and Craig Jackson also said they will “flip their votes.” Shadden, who helped organize an election to incorporate an area called Mitchell Bend in an attempt to regulate noise and pollution from Mara Digital Holdings, a cryptomining operation near her home, said local and state officials are not protecting the citizens. The vote to incorporate failed, but Shadden is undeterred. “The whole community is behind us. We will absolutely flip our votes,” she said. “We’ve gotten to the point where we feel like we’ve been bulldozed over by Texas politicians. It’s about time now that the politicians listen to their constituents.” Shadden said she has accepted an invitation to speak to the Hood County Democrats. Craig Jackson, who lives in Granbury, is among four residents suing city officials alleging Open Meetings Act violations and that they hid details concerning Project Patriot on approximately 2,000 acres annexed into Granbury during a Jan. 6 meeting despite vehement opposition from residents. The lawsuit described City Council members taking a tour of a Dallas data center days before the annexation vote. In April, the council voted to rezone the annexed land for a data center power plant, operated by Bilateral Energy.

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Former Dallas mayors outline how city can stay dominant

Former Dallas mayors Tom Leppert, Mike Rawlings and Laura Miller agree that Dallas can remain the region's dominant city. But each offered a different take on why neighboring cities are gaining ground in landing big companies, investment and major projects. The city faced a tough round of setbacks last week, from the Mavericks' planned move from downtown to North Dallas and the Stars' pursuit of Plano for a new arena to Neiman Marcus' decision to shutter its downtown store. In interviews and a commentary piece, here’s what they said Dallas must do to respond: Tom Leppert, mayor from 2007 to 2011, said Dallas must become more responsive and competitive.

“Dallas has to compete,” he said. “To compete, you've got to perform.” Leppert said businesses and residents increasingly have options across North Texas and will not wait for Dallas to make decisions. He said delays, uncertainty and a lack of follow-through can cost the city opportunities. For Leppert, the solution is straightforward: city leaders must identify priorities, move quickly and deliver results. Mike Rawlings, mayor from 2011 to 2019, said Dallas risks losing confidence among businesses and investors when leaders fail to focus on fundamentals. He called downtown's struggles both an emotional and financial issue, noting it generates about half of the city's property tax value. He also criticized what he sees as excessive attention to small but vocal groups and said elected officials must concentrate on the factors that drive economic growth. “A citizen needs to be voting for somebody that can make things happen,” he said. Laura Miller, mayor from 2002 to 2007 after previously serving on the City Council and, before that, working as a reporter at The Dallas Morning News, said Dallas' challenges stem from the way the city is governed. In a recent D Magazine column, Miller said Dallas' council-manager form doesn’t work. Under that system, the mayor is elected citywide and the council members are elected from 14 districts while the council-hired city manager oversees daily operations. Miller said too much power rests with the city manager and senior staff, while elected officials often struggle to set a unified direction.

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In Texas, Muslim voters mobilize against anti-Muslim rhetoric

Mohammed Ayachi was 3 when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred. In fifth grade, he was asked by a teacher how many mothers he had. Now an entrepreneur, he says he gets strange looks when he tells his customers his name. Fatima Khan, who wears a hijab, was eating at a pizza restaurant with her family when they were approached by a man cursing and screaming at them. Aftab Siddiqui was called a terrorist and told to “go back home.” He has lived in Texas for 30 years. Muslim Texans say they have felt anti-Muslim hate since 9/11, but that it has risen significantly from politicians running their campaigns from an anti-Muslim viewpoint.

“They just want everybody to get gung ho and go after a witch hunt. This is basically just the Salem witch trials all over again,” Ayachi said. Ali Anwar was at a local Republican Party meeting that featured a speech from Mayes Middleton, the Republican candidate for Texas attorney general. On May 4, Middleton put out an advertisement called “No Sharia in Texas,” where he said that he would outlaw Sharia Law. Sharia Law is a set of religious principles for Muslims to follow. During the meeting, Anwar asked Middleton several specific questions regarding his policies on Sharia Law. “I asked him, ‘Hey, what is this policy about traditional family values?’ He said that we support heterosexual relationships. I asked him about the explicit materials in the library books, and he said that we’re against it. So I kept asking him questions about abortion. He said that we’re against abortion,” Anwar said. “So I said, ‘You know that Sharia — that you are against, and trying to ban — also supports all of these points that you just stated.’” Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton also ran on an anti-Muslim campaign by filing a lawsuit against the Council of American-Islamic Relations, investigations into the Islamic Tribunal and ran ads accusing his opponent, Sen. John Cornyn, of supporting “Muslim mass immigration.” A study by the Pew Research Center in 2017 showed that about two-thirds of Muslims identified with the Democratic Party. Siddiqui said that political participation in the Muslim community has significantly increased over the years.

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New report makes the case for a unified Valley MSA

A new report commissioned by the Council for South Texas Economic Progress makes the case for a unified Metropolitan Statistical Area for the entire Rio Grande Valley. Currently, the Valley has two MSAs: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, which incorporates all of Hidalgo County, and Brownsville-Harlingen, which includes all of Cameron County. If the four-county Valley was redefined as one MSA it would rank 42nd nationally, with a population of 1,479,873. The regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be $40.9 billion, the report states. The total civilian labor force would be 657,962. The regional unemployment rate would be 6.5 percent. The average median household income, population-weighted, would be $54,771, and the poverty rate would be 26.6 percent. The report was produced for COSTEP by Allied Consulting Group.

A table from COSTEP's "Rio Grande Valley Regional MSA Economic Report." According to Wikipedia, an MSA is “a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the region.” Wikipedia points out that MSAs are defined by the Office of Management and Budget, which is part of the Executive Office of the President. MSAs are used by the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal government agencies for statistical purposes. COSTEP’s new report covers 24 pages. Its executive summary states: “The Rio Grande Valley - comprising Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr and Willacy counties - forms an economically interconnected region. When analyzed as a unified metropolitan area, the region's combined indicators reveal a significant economic engine comparable to recognized MSA across the United States. With a combined population of 1,479,873, the Rio Grande Valley would rank No. 42 among 393 US metropolitan statistical areas, on par with Louisville, Memphis, and Richmond.”

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For Mavericks and Stars, why is American Airlines Center obsolete?

The Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars haven’t agreed on much in recent months, but they agree on this: American Airlines Center is outdated. The Mavericks have decided on Valley View as the site for a new arena and entertainment district. The Stars have also made their decision, choosing to build their new arena and mixed-use development in Plano. It begs the question: How can an arena become obsolete in just 25 years?

Stadium experts say the answer reflects a larger industry trend and has as much to do with societal changes as it does with business. As tech advancements accelerate and expectations of modern-day sports fans evolve, the life span of many arenas is increasingly shorter. “It seems like the life cycle of a stadium or arena is moving towards 20 to 25 years,” Craig Sloan, the CEO of Playfly Sports, which has worked on numerous stadium projects and mixed-use development districts, told The Dallas Morning News. Franchises are striving to create in-venue fan experiences that rival at-home viewing experiences, which have never been more convenient and sophisticated. Modern-day fans, particularly from the Gen Z demographic, are not merely looking to go watch a game, they are in search of a social experience. And teams are looking to bolster their revenue by tapping into dollars from mixed-use districts, which surround arenas with 365-day-a-year entertainment options. Mark Williams is partner and executive vice president at Dallas-based HKS, which designed prominent stadiums like AT&T Stadium and Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, among many others. While times and technology have evolved, the arena remains a coveted destination, one where the transformation of the fan experience requires a transformation of the venue itself.

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Army Corps to shift major Houston Ship Channel dredge disposal offshore, sparing Pleasantville sites

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is scrapping a plan to dump much of the sludge it dredges up from the Houston Ship Channel onto sites near the historically Black Pleasantville neighborhood, opting instead to deposit the waste offshore, according to a letter Port Houston sent local officials this week. The letter, dated June 2, said the Army Corps' own design process led to the revision. For years, the federal agency had planned to pipe the slurry of mud and water it pulled up during Project 11, a billion-dollar project to help the channel fit larger ships, into disposal sites in residential communities. There, the sludge would be held in by levees made of soil. The agency now plans to move the material it dredges from the project's final two segments, between Sims Bayou and Turning Basin, into a disposal site "located in the Gulf, approximately two nautical miles outside the Galveston Entrance Channel," the local port authority said.

The Corps' about-face comes years after community groups assembled the Healthy Port Communities Coalition to push back against the federal government's previous plan to reopen two long-defunct disposal sites called Glendale and Filterbed, among other Project 11 decisions. These sites sit on either side of Houston's historic Pleasantville neighborhood, which was conceived during segregation as the nation's first master-planned community for middle-class Black residents. Glendale is in Pleasantville proper, while Filterbed sits nearby in an area known as Denver Harbor/Port Houston. "I'm really glad for the news we received, but at the same time understand that there's still other communities that will continue to have concerns," said Bridgette Murray, a Pleasantville resident and founder of the group Achieving Community Tasks Successfully. The placement areas, which look like artificial hills against Houston's flat topography, carry traumatic memories for some generational families in the area. In 1957, one of the levees of the Glendale mound collapsed, sending a flood of oil-filled silt and water into "a 40-block area of the addition" and damaging at least 100 homes, according to Houston Chronicle articles from the time. City health officials advised typhoid shots for victims, and homeowners said the sludge was a corrosive substance that left many of their possessions useless.

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Texas’ healthcare workforce has increased 123% in 30 years. State officials say it isn’t enough

Texas’ healthcare and social assistance sector has grown 123% in the past 30 years, adding more than one million jobs – but it hasn’t kept pace with the state’s growing demand. State officials outlined the state of Texas’ healthcare workforce during a House Committee on Public Health hearing last week. Despite being Texas’ largest and fastest growing industry, the healthcare industry’s need for workers continues to “outpace supply” across the state, officials said. Mariana Vega, director of labor market information at the Texas Workforce Commission, said the healthcare sector has grown faster than all other industries combined, driven largely by “population expansion.” “Texas continues to lead the nation in population growth, adding hundreds of thousands of new residents each year,” Vega said. “As a result, demand for healthcare services continues to grow across all regions of the state.”

Texas’ population growth significantly slowed last year, but it still had the largest increase in the county. In North Texas alone, the population is expected to reach nine million people over the next year. In addition to a growing population, Kristen Benton, Texas Board of Nursing’s executive director, said the population is also aging. “As we get older, we have more demand for healthcare,” she said. Nearly 1.4 million Texans are employed in healthcare occupations. But, Vega said in many regions in the state only about 30 to 50% of healthcare employers' needs are being met, while in other regions as little as 25% of the need is met. “Texas is facing a growing imbalance between healthcare workforce supply and demand,” she said. “This gap is clearly reflected in real-time job demand.” Healthcare workforce shortages are seen in both the high skill and “entry level” ends of the industry, affecting dozens of occupations statewide, according to Vega. Registered nursing positions, or RNs, are one of the most in-demand jobs in Texas, accounting for more than 158,000 postings statewide. Home health and personal care aids also ranked among the highest in demand with more than 43,000 job postings. At the same time, Vega said the healthcare and social assistance sector is projected to add more jobs than any other industry in Texas – nearly 294,000 by 2032.

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Miami's jail reduction model could help Dallas County — but parts aren't legal in Texas

Dallas County officials spent part of last week learning about Miami-Dade County's successful jail diversion program to determine whether modeling it could reduce jail crowding here. Retired Florida judge Steve Leifman, the creator of Miami-Dade diversion program, led a days-long summit in Dallas to explain how it could work here. Leifman and his team were invited to present the successful 26-year old Criminal Mental Health Project model as a less-expensive alternative to sending Dallas County officials and staff to Florida. A key element of the Miami-Dade model is how people experiencing mental health issues are handled by law enforcement, jails and courts. Leifman and other county leaders who implemented the project eventually were able to get Florida laws changed so that people in mental health crisis could be held in deflection centers involuntarily.

That offers time for evaluation, court processing and possibly starting substance use and mental health treatment. In Texas, law enforcement agencies like the Dallas Police Department and DART police must convince a person to go to a deflection center — and stay there — before going to jail. If a detained person is taken to Dallas’s one jail-diversion center, they are free to leave almost immediately. Laws passed in Ohio and Florida changed that. “They set up a situation where for 48 hours, the person's not free to go,” Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins said. “Then, within that 48 hours, that person is assessed to see whether they can go or what the next steps would be. That's really not much different except for it's focused on mental health and good outcomes of what happens when we pick up your average person.” Convincing Texas legislators to pass similar laws here would be a key first step to effectively apply the Miami-Dade process to the Dallas County jail and courts system.

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How the Kerrville Folk Festival became a hub for recovery — and hope

The Kerrville Folk Festival is known for its music. But in the aftermath of last year's tragic Fourth of July flooding, it became something else entirely. Deb Rouse runs the Kerrville Folk Festival, an 18-day music festival held at Quiet Valley Ranch, about eight miles southwest of Kerrville. For more than half a century, the festival has helped launch the careers of emerging musicians. But on the morning of the flood, Rouse quickly realized the ranch would serve a very different purpose. “As I was sitting at my desk, my phone started ringing, both my cell phone and my office phone,” Rouse said. “And I can hear every other extension in the office ringing, and it was people from all over the country calling and saying, ‘We're members of the festival community. How can we help? What can we do?’”

These were folk festival supporters who had seen news coverage of the flooding and wanted to help. Rouse initially directed people to organizations such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army, but eventually added a donation button to the Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation website. “I anticipated we might get $10,000 just putting that button on our website. We raised $100,000 in about a two-month period,” she said. But the festival wasn't just raising money. “We also made the decision to open the ranch up to displaced individuals who might need a place to go,” Rouse said. Another call came from a nonprofit looking for a place to set up a kitchen to feed people affected by the flood. “I said, ‘Well, actually, I have a commercial kitchen that's not in use. Would that be helpful?’ And he was like, ‘That would be amazing.’”

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‘San Antonio has a culture like no other’: Spurs’ Finals run creates economic opportunity

It takes one glance to know that Spurs fans have a home at Bakwood BBQ and More. A giant San Antonio Spurs logo adorns the Eastside restaurant’s wall. Vernie Hurd’s family owns the establishment and a Spurs logo adorns his face, too, in the form of a temporary tattoo on his right cheek. He’s a fan, but the Spurs are also good for business. Demand increased by 500% as basketball fans flocked to the restaurant ahead of the San Antonio Spurs clash with the New York Knicks. Hurd prepared five times the barbecue he usually does for the NBA Finals and it was snapped up by fans stopping at Bakwood BBQ, less than three miles from the Frost Bank Center on the corner of Commerce and Hackberry streets. “We notice more people coming out before the game starts,” he said. “We have a lot of Airbnbs here. We have a lot of New Yorkers show up.”

“When the Spurs win, you see traffic out here,” he added. Fans will drive down Commerce Street, honking and waving flags. Hurd said it’s as busy as other big downtown events, like Fiesta or concerts at the Alamodome. It’s one of many businesses that has seen a spike in activity as fans from in and out of town gather to watch the final round of the NBA season. Many business owners are either incredibly busy as fans gather under their roofs, or quickly pivoting to make sure guests have a place to watch games and keep up with the action. It doesn’t matter if you are inside the Frost Bank Center or watching on television — it can be tough to find a seat for the Spurs’ playoff run. San Antonio’s bar owners are happy to be a part of the excitement and to give people spaces to celebrate. But patrons can often wait hours to get a table. Doug Ackerly owns Stout House, The Stetson’s San Antonio and The Hangar bars, all of which have been crowded by fans in recent weeks. Stout House Grayson has hosted popular watch parties and has a 50-75% increase in sales on nights when the Spurs play, he said. The location near Pearl has plenty of TVs and a large outdoor screen. His other bars have had sales jump between 20-40%. “It’s been such a fun team to watch. As a bar owner, I hope we go to Game 7 and win Game 7. As a fan, I hope we sweep the New York Knicks,” he said on Tuesday, before Spurs’ 105-95 loss in Game 1.

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Austin sex trafficking survivor sued hotel giants. Settlements stopped a Texas trial.

When police raided the Days Inn motel room, the woman inside was shocked, but relieved, she recalled years later. For seven months, she had been trafficked for sex at Austin hotels along Interstate 35 and U.S. 183. She was strung out on drugs much of that time. Images posted without her consent by at least three different men on the now-defunct Backpage.com website advertised her availability. She was controlled through physical violence and forced to perform sex acts, she said in a suit filed in federal court. When police burst through the door of that motel room in February 2014, the first words out of the then-26-year-old woman’s mouth were: “I’m pregnant.”

Now nearly 40 and married with children, the woman identified in federal court documents only as H.E.W. wants accountability from the companies she says benefited from her exploitation. The list includes a half-dozen Austin hotels and their parent companies — including some of the nation’s biggest hospitality brands. “Because the hotels would — I feel workers and hotel, you know, front desk people — turned a blind eye to me being trafficked,” she said in a deposition. According to the lawsuit she filed in U.S. District Court in Austin, “She was beaten, drugged, sexually assaulted, and mentally abused” under their noses. It was one of an increasing number of lawsuits filed under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act against the hospitality industry for what plaintiffs describe as a willing blindness to the victims in their hotels. In the legal language of such complaints, they “knew or should have known.” “Defendants have failed, at all levels, to take appropriate action in response to their knowledge of widespread and ongoing human trafficking in their hotels,” H.E.W.’s suit said. “Instead, they have continued financially benefiting.”

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For Texas cities, collecting visual data brings privacy concerns

Cities are turning to visual data and AI-powered technology to better understand dangerous intersections, illegal dumping, weapons monitoring in crowds and other facets of urban life. And while these insights can help improve operations, the technology demands clear governance around data management and access. Brownsville, in south Texas, uses technology from SHI International, a smart city technology provider, to monitor crowds, illegal dumping, vehicle thefts and other events. The technology makes use of AI to analyze visual data for particular incidents. “For example, tell me when somebody dumps trash in a public space. Tell me when there is an animal that is being aggressive, a person with a weapon, a car standing in an unauthorized location … people falling in parks and not getting up, things like that,” Brownsville CIO Jorge Cardenas said in March, explaining how the technology fits in the city’s tech ecosystem.

As a border city, Brownsville is on the watch for stolen cars that may be heading into Mexico. The city’s cameras are able to scan license plates and compare the data to stolen car databases. Illegal dumping has also been a problem, with residents dumping debris in and around waterways and other areas. “Now we have cameras in strategic locations where people will do this a lot of times, and we have caught lot of people dumping mattresses, dumping tires, just trash,” Cardenas said. Similarly, he said, crowd monitoring “helps us to control the crowd, and identify things like weapons detection.” That level of surveillance may be helpful for city operations, but it may also not sit well with the public or digital privacy advocates. The data, Cardenas stressed, “never leaves our city data center, and access is strictly limited to assigned city employees.” “We intentionally chose to keep everything in-house, both to ensure the privacy and security of our community’s information, and to avoid the significant costs associated with external services,” he said in an email.

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National Stories

A flesh-eating pest threatens Trump’s beef price hopes

A devastating parasite is threatening to upend President Donald Trump’s efforts to lower beef prices ahead of November’s midterms. The New World screwworm, which often kills untreated livestock, has been discovered in two calves near the Mexican border in south Texas in the past week. The pest’s reemergence in the U.S. is alarming agriculture officials, ranchers and beef industry leaders who have spent months attempting to prepare for its anticipated arrival as ground beef and steaks fetch record-high sums. Administration officials insist the screwworm’s return does not threaten the country’s food supply and is not a hazard to public health. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told POLITICO it is not clear how the screwworm will affect beef prices, which have already skyrocketed due to high demand and a decades-low cattle herd diminished by severe weather, industry consolidation and high operating costs.

“None of us have a crystal ball, so none of us really understand what this is going to mean for the cattle herd,” Rollins told POLITICO on Thursday after a House Agriculture Committee hearing. “The cases should be isolated,” she said. “We’ll see. We don’t know.” A potential infestation is the latest obstacle clouding Republican goals to rein in consumers’ grocery bills and calm anxiety in farm country. The average price of a pound of ground beef was approaching $7 in April, according to federal data, while a pound of uncooked steak averaged roughly $13. An outbreak of the New World screwworm, a fly that lays eggs in open wounds that hatch into flesh-eating larvae, threatens to cause $1.8 billion in losses to the Texas economy and cost the state’s farmers $732 million per year if it spreads similarly to a 1976 infestation, according to a USDA estimate. “We probably have a lot more cases that are not being reported,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told POLITICO. “If it’s positive, they’ll quarantine you, so no one’s reporting them because no one wants to be quarantined.”

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Platner supporters unfazed by allegations of misconduct

Graham Platner held a town hall Sunday evening where voters could ask him about allegations of past misconduct. No one did. Instead, voters doubled down on their support for the Democrat. At one point, when he went to speak to an overflow crowd outside the building, a man could be heard yelling “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” “We’re not, don’t worry,” Platner responded. “Don’t drop out,” another woman followed. The event was the first where voters would have been able to ask him questions after reports of misconduct, including of abuse by one ex-girlfriend. The woman also disputed Platner’s account that he only recently learned a tattoo he wore on his chest for 18 years was a symbol adopted by the Nazi’s SS paramilitary. Platner has denied the allegations of abuse and continues to say he didn’t know the tattoo’s meaning.

The Wall Street Journal last weekend reported that Platner engaged in sexually explicit texts with other women while married. Platner had sought to tamp down concerns about more allegations of misconduct during a private meeting with some of his biggest Senate backers, The Journal reported last week. Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer running as a progressive, has both captivated and terrified some in the Democratic Party. He is on track to win the Democratic nomination in the state’s primary Tuesday and is expected to face off against Republican Sen. Susan Collins, 73, in November. The state is one of Democrats’ best pickup opportunities, but allegations against Platner have worried many Democrats who fear he is putting the seat at risk. But inside his town hall Sunday, Platner didn’t face a single question or acknowledgment about the allegations. Instead, the crowd doubled down on their support of him. At one point during the event, a supporter passed around a poster board that said “We are your Grahamily! and we’ve got your back” to gather messages and signatures. People wrote messages like “Everyone has a past! Keep Going!” and “Stay strong, one day at a time.” After his speech she presented it to Platner, who teared up.

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Donald Trump ends tense 'Meet the Press' interview, walks away from host

President Donald Trump abruptly ended an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" and walked away after moderator Kristen Welker challenged him about unsubstantiated claims of "cheating" in the California primary elections. The dustup between Trump and Welker arrived during a rain-heavy sit down, full of weather-related interruptions, amid the president's pre-midterms visit to Wisconsin, a crucial swing state for both parties that he won in 2024. After Welker noted that "Republicans are doing well in California" following the June 2 primary contests, Trump said "they're dropping fast because it's a rigged election," which led to a tense back-and-forth in the interview that aired June 7. Republicans have criticized the dayslong, ongoing counting process in California's primary races.

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, a conservative, and Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton are both in second place standings in their respective contests, but Democratic foes have gained ground. California has what's known as "jungle primaries," in which all candidates regardless of party compete against each other, and the top two hopefuls advance to the general election. As Welker and Trump discussed the California races, including the vote-tallying process, Welker noted "that's how they count the votes in California." Trump responded, asking, "Do you know why they're doing that? Because they're cheating on the election." Welker then asked Trump if he had evidence to support his claims, and the president responded that "all I have to do is look" and "I listen to people." The NBC anchor again asked for evidence of election fraud and repeated that the typical dayslong process is "how they count the votes in California." Trump then questioned if it's appropriate to count votes five days after Election Day, and Welker said California officials are urging a quick vote count but have pointed out that the process is slow.

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Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt in tight race for Los Angeles mayor runoff

Days after California’s primary, Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt are still waiting to see who makes the November runoff for Los Angeles mayor against incumbent Karen Bass. The race was still too early to call on Sunday as the vote tally showed Raman moving into second place behind Bass for the first time since Tuesday, when voting ended and the count began. That puts Raman, a progressive city council member, ahead of Pratt, a former reality television personality from “The Hills.” Raman had been running in third, but she has gained more votes than Pratt with every update provided by election officials in Los Angeles since Tuesday.

Vote counting in California is a notoriously slow process because state law practically mandates a drawn-out tally. Ballots are mailed to every eligible voter and they are counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive at an election office within seven days. Los Angeles, like other counties in California, processes and counts mail ballots in roughly the order they are received, so the last ones returned are the last ones counted. On Tuesday night after polls closed, Los Angeles released results from mail ballots that had been returned early and already processed as well as votes cast that day. Since then, the county has been processing and releasing results from mail ballots that arrived later. Election data shows that large numbers of Democrats held onto their mail ballots and returned them in the race’s final days, which helps explain why Bass and Raman have been doing better than Pratt in the votes counted since primary day. The mayor’s race is nonpartisan, so none of the candidates had party identification next to their names on the ballot. Raman and Bass are both Democrats, while Pratt is a Republican.

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As American elections become more tense, officials are turning to local police

When Chris Davis first started working in law enforcement over 30 years ago, elections would come and go relatively unnoticed. "Election Day was something, as a police officer, you may not even realize was happening," he said. "It wouldn't even come up on roll calls." Davis is now chief of police in Green Bay, Wis. And elections have rapidly become a big part of his job, something he plans for year-round. "I think a lot of that is just because we're right in the middle of the Wisconsin battleground," Davis said. "I remember really being struck when I came here at just how, almost, nervous a lot of city staff were about elections." Davis' experience reflects a trend experts have noticed across the country: Since the 2020 election, local law enforcement has increasingly been playing a bigger role in helping local officials secure elections.

"The number of threats that election officials face, that jurisdictions face, that election workers face all mean that law enforcement does have a heightened role to play and a longer-term role to play," said Katie Reisner with the nonpartisan States United Democracy Center. "It's not a matter of just tapping in for Election Day and tapping back out." According to a survey of local election officials conducted earlier this year by the Brennan Center for Justice, 32% of local election officials reported experiencing "threats, harassment, or abuse because of their job." Threats and harassment increased notably for election officials after President Trump's unfounded claims that the 2020 election was rife with fraud. The last few years have also seen historic rates of turnover among voting officials. In Green Bay, Davis said it became clear to him after talking to city officials that the police department needed to take "a more proactive role" during elections.

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Can a social media post nullify your vote? Indiana recount tests obscure law

A Trump-backed state senate candidate is still fighting to win a tight election by making an unusual legal claim that voters' social media posts exposed that they voted illegally under an obscure state law. Republican Paula Copenhaver was one of many primary challengers seeking to defeat Indiana senators who defied U.S. President Donald Trump's demand to redraw Indiana's congressional district boundaries to favor Republicans. She was vying to unseat incumbent state Sen. Spencer Deery of West Lafayette, but lost by three votes in the May 5 primary. In her request for a recount, Copenhaver argues that social media posts and interviews with a journalist prove that several Democratic voters wrongfully crossed over to the Republican primary, swinging the election in Deery's favor. The crossover voting warrants investigation, she claims.

Her argument hinges on a largely unenforced Indiana law that many voters, advocates and experts say they have never heard of. Her method of challenging voters in a recount is likely a first in Indiana and appears to conflict with the state's enforcement interpretation. "It’s unprecedented to challenge voters the way Copenhaver is, even wanting to comb through their social media," said Amy Courtney of voter advocacy group MADVoters in an email. "The real question is whether we want a government spending time and energy monitoring our social media statements and inspecting our private votes." One of the affected voters was Noemi Ybarra, who lives in Tippecanoe County. Copenhaver initially challenged her vote, but suspended the challenge after it became clear that Ybarra lived outside of the senate district. Ybarra said on Facebook that she thought about potentially pulling a Republican Party ballot, but she didn't end up doing so. She only learned her vote was challenged when a local journalist reached out.

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National redistricting battle could come to state legislatures and city councils

After a blitz of congressional redistricting ahead of the midterm elections, a national battle for partisan control is about to enter a new phase that could affect representation on everything from tax rates to social safety net programs, teacher salaries, housing regulations and local road repairs. Georgia’s Republican-led Legislature will convene June 17 for a special session focused on redistricting for the 2028 elections. The agenda includes new voting districts not only for Congress, but also for the state House and Senate — and potentially even the state’s utility regulatory commission. It will mark the first time since a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling weakened minority voting protections that a state legislature will attempt to redraw its own districts. Mississippi Republicans and New York Democrats also could undertake legislative redistricting before their 2027 and 2028 elections, respectively.

It remains to be seen, though, how many legislatures will follow, and whether the outburst of mid-decade redistricting will extend down to county commissions, city councils and school boards that make myriad decisions affecting people’s lives. The impact could be widespread. “The stakes here are not political, they are deeply human,” said Joe Kennedy III, founder of Groundwork Project, a nonprofit that supports local civil rights and democracy organizations. What’s fueling the redistricting movement? Voting district boundaries typically are redrawn once a decade after each U.S. census to account for population changes. But last summer, President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans to redraw congressional districts to try to win additional seats in the midterm elections. Other states followed with their own partisan gerrymandering. Then a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in late April jumpstarted even more redistricting. The court struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana as an illegal racial gerrymander, providing grounds for Republicans in other states to reshape districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.

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Lead Stories

Texas oil CEO Josh Cohen arrested, accused of organized crime

Law enforcement officials in Texas and New York arrested Josh Cohen of Vision Oil & Gas on Friday, charging the Texas oilfield executive with theft and engaging in organized crime, Reeves County District Attorney Sarah Stogner said. Stogner, whose West Texas office assisted in the arrest in Nassau County, New York, said her team investigated the case involving more than $1.2 million in stolen services. Investigators accuse Cohen of contracting for services such as oilfield remediation, trucking and equipment rentals “without the intent or ability to pay for them,” pushing some firms to “near financial collapse,” law enforcement documents show. "... the evidence indicates the scheme extends broadly across the State of Texas,” investigators said.

Stogner said she began investigating the case after alleged victims shared their experiences online. “There's a fine line in the boom-or-bust industry … between good faith, ‘got in over your head’, and a con man,” Stogner said. “If you commit crime in my counties and try to defraud my constituents, we will investigate you, and we will go arrest you, no matter where you are, regardless of county lines or state lines.” Cohen lives in New York but operates in the Permian Basin. Cohen is being held in New York and is expected to be extradited to Texas, Stogner said. He is charged with one count of theft of services and one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, according to arrest warrants. Cases like Cohen’s are challenging for law enforcement in small counties, Stogner said, noting the investigation remains ongoing. “For rural prosecutors – where most of the oil and gas operations are – they just don't have the manpower to get into these really forensically challenging ... electronic cases,” Stogner said. “It's very time consuming.” An attorney for Cohen, Lane Haygood, declined to comment. “All our talking is done in court,” he said.

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Paxton’s Senate bid raises the stakes in his war on Latino voting groups

For years, Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, has been waging war on Democratic and Latino-led groups over “election integrity,” leaving a trail of ransacked residences, shellshocked volunteers, struggling organizations and indictments behind him. But the stakes of the fight with groups determined to mobilize Texas’ fast-growing Hispanic electorate changed significantly last month when he won the Republican Party’s nomination for Senate. Now it is personal and could help determine his own political future — and which party controls the Senate. “It doesn’t look good for us,” said Gabriel Rosales, the Texas director for the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, which is one of the nation’s oldest Latino civil rights organizations. “But we are going to keep fighting.” Long a voice amplifying baseless claims that noncitizens are voting in huge numbers, Mr. Paxton went beyond rhetoric in 2024, using a new restrictive voting law to target left-leaning Latino groups and wielding corporate statutes that allow him to target entire organizations, not individual officers or employees.

In the name of election integrity, the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature criminalized what had been fairly routine tools for civic groups, churches and political campaigns, particularly in Latino communities. The new law made it a felony to pay staff or give volunteers benefits — such as stipends or gas money — or to drop by the homes of voters. The measure also made it illegal for volunteers to help fill in ballots for, say, elderly or bilingual voters, and bring them to polling sites or drop boxes. Volunteers are allowed only to read mail-in ballots to those they would assist. Lawsuits and investigations followed, along with raids on home offices and private residences. At least 15 Latino Democratic officials and volunteers were indicted last year in Frio County alone, a place with only about 20,000 people. They include a county judge, two city council members and a former county election administrator, charged with contravening the new Texas voting law by illegally “harvesting” ballots that otherwise would not be cast and with tampering with evidence. “Under my watch, there will be no stolen elections in Texas,” Mr. Paxton said in February. The groups remain defiant. Four prominent Latino civil rights and political organizations formed a strategic alliance in May, seeking to stem the Republican Party’s gains among Hispanic voters. In a separate initiative, seven national and state-led Latino rights and progressive groups announced on Tuesday that they will coordinate canvassing and voter outreach.

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How Dallas lost its grip on North Texas' biggest wins

In February 2025, Dallas business and civic leaders gathered outside Neiman Marcus' downtown flagship to celebrate a temporary reprieve for the iconic retailer and show that downtown could keep moving forward. New housing projects were planned or underway. City leaders promised progress on long-standing challenges. Supporters were hopeful about the future of the city's urban core. Today, the outlook is far less certain.

Neiman Marcus is leaving downtown. The Mavericks plan to move to North Dallas. The Stars have chosen Plano for a new arena. Earlier this year, AT&T announced plans to relocate its headquarters to Collin County and Fifth Third Bank selected a campus on the northern edge of town for its regional headquarters. The decisions are largely unrelated. But together they’ve stirred anxieties about whether Dallas is keeping pace with a region where neighboring cities increasingly are competing for jobs, investment and prestige. “The wolf is not in this room,” Mayor Eric Johnson said at last week’s City Council meeting. “The wolf is up the tollway.” As suburbs gain ground, downtown Dallas continues to struggle with empty offices, changing work patterns and pressure to keep pace. City leaders are scrambling not only to keep major employers and institutions, but also to attract new ones. The latest blows have been jarring, said Walter Bialas, head of research at Goodwin Advisors, a local real estate firm. “There's a shot to the kidneys, and there's one to the midsection. Then there's an uppercut, then there's another one to the midsection,” he said. “Oh my goodness, this is just crazy.”

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Texas drought, shrinking herds reshaping cattle country

For the past five years, Texas ranchers have been struggling against drought. Now, those with cattle to sell are finding a bright spot — but it’s one causing pain for consumers and politicians. It’s not a clear win for ranchers, either. Despite dried-up pastures and shrunken-down herds, ranchers like Lew Thompson, who runs nearly 3,000 head near Pearsall, are reaping what he called “prolific sales.” “Usually when the drought is on, you just keep getting kicked in the teeth on the price,” Thompson said. “We have a very unusual situation.” This time around, ranchers are cashing in cattle for all-time high prices as inventory in the United States has plummeted to 75-year lows. The result is retail prices that have surged more than 18% from a year ago, pushing the average price of a pound of ground beef in American cities to $6.90 in April, the highest on record. A year earlier, it was $5.80, also a record. As recently as early 2021, the price was less than $4.

Prices are projected to keep rising, too, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasting another 10.1% increase by the end of the year. Ranchers aren’t reaping all the price increases in profit, though. Their margins are being squeezed by difficulties spurred by the lingering drought and record-high costs for feed, fuel, fertilizer, equipment and supplies as Trump administration tariffs, war and persistent inflation take their toll. Thompson, for example, said his costs are up about 25% in recent years, wiping out the 12% average increase in cattle sale prices seen across the U.S. in the past year. The steadily rising prices are rattling consumers and, increasingly, elected officials who are beginning to understand the political impact of declining affordability in the U.S. This spring, a group of congressional Democrats introduced a bill designed to break up the heavily consolidated U.S. meat industry, which they blamed for a lack of competition and high prices. Later, the U.S. Justice Department said it was investigating potential antitrust violations in the cattle and beef industry. Then, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office was launching its own investigation.

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The great American job-creation machine comes back to life

Economists had written off the great American job-creation machine. Now, it is revving back to life. Hiring has surged this spring, with employers adding more than half a million jobs between March and May. Factories, restaurants and city halls have all shifted into hiring mode, a pivot from last year, when the healthcare industry almost single-handedly propped up job creation. Friday’s May jobs report showed the labor market has now notched its best three-month stretch in more than two years. The momentum is a sea change from last year, when hiring was weak in many sectors. Many companies reported then that the economic outlook was too iffy for them to expand. Meanwhile, the Trump administration was clamping down on immigration in high-profile raids, which sharply curtailed the number of people available to work and added another hurdle to strong hiring.

Now, however, President Trump isn’t making as many rapid changes to tariff policy as he was last year, giving businesses an easier time planning. AI companies are rushing to build data centers, creating a boom in that corner of the construction industry. Though many Americans are gloomy about high gasoline prices and rising inflation, well-heeled consumers continue to spend robustly, supported by a roaring stock market—Friday’s selloff notwithstanding. The resurgence poses a puzzle for economists. Many came to believe that the immigration crackdown had pushed the economy into a new, more sedate equilibrium, where even a trickle of new jobs each month would be enough to employ an American workforce whose growth had slowed substantially. The country, some economists proposed, simply didn’t need to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs a month anymore to keep the economy stable, a trend called a falling break-even rate of job creation. If that downshift were happening, slower job creation wouldn’t lead to more unemployment—but weaker growth and a less dynamic economy would likely follow. More recent data is calling that conclusion into question.

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State Stories

‘The knives are out’ for Dallas as rivals chip away at its regional clout

Can Dallas still compete? That’s the question confronting local leaders after a series of high-profile departures rattled a city whose image has long been built on growth, ambition and swagger. Get the latest political news, analysis and policy decisions shaping Texas and the nation. “The knives are out for our city,” Mayor Eric Johnson said last week. His warning reflects an intensifying scramble in North Texas for prestige and influence. Neighboring cities that once played supporting roles are now winning marquee projects that once seemed destined for Dallas. The Mavericks and Stars put that shift on full display when they announced plans to leave downtown. Now, a larger debate has broken out about whether Dallas is moving quickly enough in a region where it no longer stands alone. The stakes reach from City Hall to downtown and Dallas' place in North Texas.

For some civic leaders and residents, the problem isn't that Dallas lacks resources. It's that it lacks alignment. Sana Syed, a downtown resident and former City Council candidate, told council members Wednesday that Dallas' recent losses were not isolated events. “Downtowns rarely die from a single blow,” she said during the public comment segment. “They fade when vision is replaced by complacency, when short-term politics outweigh long-term stewardship.” Her complaints echoed a frustration that surfaced throughout the meeting: that the council has become too distracted by internal fights and too slow to act as neighboring cities aggressively pursue businesses, investment and major projects. Council members have traded barbs on social media, while supporters packed council chambers wearing shirts urging leaders to “save City Hall” or move employees into a “safe City Hall.” Tensions escalated after a 9-6 council vote in March directing city staff to study relocating government functions from the aging downtown building. At the end of Wednesday's meeting, Johnson urged council members to stop questioning one another's motives and focus on making decisions as suburbs make inroads.

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Dallas mayor supports moving out of City Hall ahead of key vote

Dallas leaders are nearing a pivotal decision on the future of City Hall, with the City Council set to vote next week and Mayor Eric Johnson now publicly backing a move from the aging downtown landmark. Johnson, who made his position clear for the first time on Thursday, said the escalating cost of repairing and modernizing the 50-year-old I.M. Pei-designed building is too high to justify staying. City Council members are expected to receive a briefing Wednesday on relocation costs and financing options before voting on a series of proposals that could authorize negotiations for new office space, redevelopment of the City Hall property and repairs to the existing building.

Consultants told council members this week that repairing and modernizing City Hall would cost between $532 million and $611 million over the next decade. They said the building’s infrastructure and code deficiencies make a limited repair strategy unrealistic, leaving leaders with the choice of investing heavily in the building or pursuing relocation alternatives. “The numbers have now been proven multiple times to be accurate and it would be very costly to stay,” Johnson said in an interview that aired on KTVT-TV (Channel 11). “I would be in favor, for sure, of us saving the taxpayers considerable money by leaving this obsolete building.” Johnson’s comments mark the first time he has publicly said he favors moving out of City Hall. The mayor’s position adds momentum to a debate that has increasingly become intertwined with questions about downtown Dallas’ future. The discussion comes after a week of high-profile announcements, including Neiman Marcus’ plans to close its flagship Main Street store, the Mavericks’ decision to pursue a new arena district in North Dallas and the Stars’ selection of Plano as the leading contender for a future arena.

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Hill County drops data center moratorium after lawsuit, adopts new review requirements

Hill County commissioners reversed course on a controversial moratorium on new data center development Thursday after a developer sued the county, arguing the ban was illegal. During a special meeting, the Hill County Commissioners Court unanimously voted to rescind the one-year moratorium it approved in May. County leaders said the move was intended to protect taxpayers from potential liability stemming from a federal lawsuit filed by developer RCM Hill LLC. The company is planning a large-scale data center project near Hillsboro and argued the county lacked legal authority to impose the temporary ban. According to the lawsuit, RCM Hill spent more than 16 months and invested nearly $1 million pursuing a proposed 1,235-megawatt data center known as Project Aquila.

The company says it secured contracts to purchase more than 800 acres in unincorporated Hill County for more than $80 million and obtained key electrical planning approvals through the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT. The original moratorium was approved on a 3-2 vote and paused new data center, power generation and large battery storage projects in unincorporated areas of the county. Supporters said the pause was needed to study potential impacts on water resources, electrical demand, emergency services and local infrastructure. County Attorney David Holmes warned commissioners during the May meeting that Texas counties may not have the legal authority to enact such moratoriums. RCM Hill later filed suit in federal court, seeking to have the measure declared invalid. In its complaint, RCM Hill alleged county officials were aware of those legal concerns before approving the moratorium. The lawsuit cites comments made during the May 12 meeting in which County Judge Shane Brassell reportedly said the proposal was "illegal," Commissioner Jim Holcomb said it was "against the law," and Holmes advised commissioners that he did not believe the county had authority to enact the moratorium.

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John Moritz: Jane Nelson's political legacy in the Texas Capitol

Jane Nelson was a North Texas school teacher raising five daughters when she won a seat on the State Board of Education. She would later say that her biggest accomplishment on the panel was helping to correct some 5,000 errors in school history books and working to pass higher standards for all textbooks. Not a bad start to a political career for a working mom from the suburbs who was still in her 30s. By the time the present chapter in public service comes to a close next month, when her resignation as Texas secretary of state becomes effective, Nelson can rightfully boast that she's been one of the Texas Capitol's most effective female political figures of her generation, and perhaps even of its history.

Let's review. After two terms on the state board starting after the election of 1988, Nelson won a seat in the Texas Senate. Nelson was a Republican back when the Legislature was dominated by Democrats, as it had been for much of the past century. Hers would be a canary-in-the-coal-mine election, toppling Sen. Bob Glascow, one of the many long-serving Democrats of the era who would be swept away as the Republican tide in Texas was beginning its ascendancy. Nelson would also start her Senate service in the minority when it came to the male-female ratio. She was joined by only three other women in the 31-member chamber, and she was only the 10th woman elected to the state Senate in Texas history. While her party would make great strides in the chamber, holding the majority continuously since 1997, only 14 woman would follow Nelson to the Senate over the next 33 years. But even though she was always outnumbered by men, Nelson was hardly in the Senate as window dressing. As a member of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, including four years as chair, Nelson played leadership roles in overhauling the state's foster care system, expanding access to mental health care, and shepherding more than 30 bills into law to protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.

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Lawmakers protest removing immigrant truckers from roads: 'Texans will be paying more for their goods.'

Governor Greg Abbott and many Republicans argue that cancelling the commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) held by many immigrant truck drivers in Texas is necessary to make our roads safer. Critics, including state Representative Ramón Romero Jr., D-District 90, say it means Texans will be paying more for their goods. “It’s not just the truck. It’s the 20-plus thousand dollars a year that you’re paying in insurance. And now, if you owned a trucking company that hired several of these drivers, now those trucks are sitting still. If they’re not moving, they’re not moving goods. If they’re not moving goods, they’re not moving our economy. This is going to have a huge impact on our economy,” Romero Jr. said on Inside Texas Politics.

There are around 6,400 fewer truckers on Texas roads since the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) began canceling licenses given to noncitizens who are legally in the United States last December. This includes asylum seekers and DACA recipients. DPS also says it will no longer issue what it calls “nondomiciled CDLs” and it will review nearly 3,500 more after they expire in the near future. In November of 2025, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles also implemented a new rule requiring stricter photo ID requirements for vehicle registrations and renewals. Rep. Romero says the governor is “legislating through rulemaking” because he couldn’t get lawmakers to pass bills that would have implemented the same requirements, choosing instead to change the rules. And Romero argues it is impacting a long list of people. “These are not unemployed people. This is a part of our economy. He’s figured out a way to make things more expensive for Texans, not less expensive,” argued the Democrat.

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Texas BBQ joints are struggling with sky-high beef prices. But there’s another way.

A gaggle of press armed with cameras and microphones formed outside Smokey Joe’s Bar-B-Que, in South Dallas, this week. Senate candidate James Talarico had invited us there to announce his plans for lowering beef prices to provide relief to Texas barbecue joints. Ending the war in Iran, suspending the federal diesel tax, and fully staffing the USDA were on his list of priorities, but his real reason for being there was the photo op inside. Countering accusations of being vegan from his opponent Ken Paxton, who nicknamed him “Talafreako,” Talarico sat beneath a BBQ Freak sign with Smokey Joe’s owner, Kris Manning, to share an overflowing tray of smoked meat. He cleaned the meat off a spare rib with his teeth and ate brisket slices with his hands. Smoked sausage, brisket boudin, and Texas Twinkies beckoned while Talarico savored a South Dallas specialty called brakes. Sometimes spelled “breaks,” they are usually the end pieces of meat sliced on the chopping block, but at Smokey Joe’s, Manning smokes the raw trimmings from his rib racks and seasons them liberally with lemon pepper. They’re delicious.

Along with the omnivorous overtones, the message from Talarico was that the high price of beef is making the barbecue business unsustainable. (Paxton has his own plans to combat the issue.) His proposed solutions highlighted that everything is too damn expensive. When barbecue joints close, it’s the beef prices—or more specifically, the brisket prices—that are blamed, but grocery, fuel, and utility bills at home are whittling away at the profitability of every restaurant. The National Restaurant Association has collected data on customer traffic and found that operators reported a net decline during fourteen of the last fifteen months. Diners are staying at home more often. Rising beef prices and the threat they represent for struggling barbecue joints has been covered ad nauseam by national media of late. I talked with The Washington Post for a Memorial Day story that built on my reporting from January about some beloved Texas barbecue joints that have called it quits. Other outlets like The Independent, the New York Post, and Men’s Journal echoed that reporting, and the Today show visited Iron Works Barbecue, in Austin, over the weekend to tell a similar story. Evidently, barbecue stories sell when barbecue isn’t selling so well. Brisket prices are a culprit, for sure, due to ridiculously high demand. If all the Texas-style barbecue joints opening across the country haven’t affected supply enough, major chains are getting in on the action too: Panda Express just unveiled its new Cantonese BBQ Brisket entrée. And beef prices are elevated across the board thanks to low cattle-herd counts and the Big Four meat companies—Cargill, JBS Foods, National Beef Packing Company, and Tyson Foods—controlling about 85 percent of the country’s beef supply. To add to the concern, this week brought news of the first detection of New World screwworm in the U.S. beef supply since a 1976 outbreak. There are a whole lot of market forces restaurant owners can’t control, but they can put a dent in demand. But what is Texas barbecue without brisket?

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'It's a free country': TPUSA responds to reported protests outside Women's Summit downtown

Turning Point USA released a statement for their Women's Leadership Summit in downtown San Antonio after protesters reportedly gathered outside the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel. In the video posted on X by Savanah Hernandez and reposted by Turning Point USA, San Antonio police officers can be seen detaining at least one person during an altercation with protestors.

In a statement, TPUSA spokesperson Matt Shupe said, "It's a free country. If a few protestors want to waste their weekend, shouting vile obscenities and making fools of themselves outside of an event with 3,000 young, positive, patriotic women, they can have at it. It's just further proof TPUSA is over the target." The Women's Leadership Summit is being held in downtown San Antonio June 5-7th.

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Ann Killion: Why the 2026 World Cup feels completely different — and not in a good way

(Ann Killion is a sports columnist at the Houston Chronicle.) Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, isn’t shy about grand proclamations. He says the upcoming World Cup will be “the greatest event that humanity, that mankind, has ever seen and will ever see.” That this will be the “biggest, most inclusive and greatest” tournament of all time. Yes, it will be the biggest, with 48 teams and 104 matches. It will be the longest, spread over 39 days. It will surely be the greatest, from a fan expense standpoint. It may also be the most absurd and infuriating. But the most inclusive? Many are calling the upcoming tournament the most exclusive, based on exorbitant prices, travel concerns and a primary host — the United States — that isn’t exactly welcoming to the rest of the world.

Here we go again, 32 years later, trying to host a World Cup in a place not exactly built for the event, either in mindset or geography. This time around we have two co-hosts in Canada and Mexico, the latter a soccer-mad country that has hosted two World Cups in the past. We still have the big stadiums we had in 1994, which led to record attendance. We still have the travel barriers because of our enormous size. In a new twist, we’ve added an official position of hostility toward foreigners, a stance that didn’t exist in 1994. The majority of the games will be played in the United States, across 11 host cities, including Houston. And even though soccer has experienced tremendous growth in the U.S. over the past three decades, a recent Pew Research poll found that most Americans don’t seem to care about the “greatest event that mankind will ever see” and a majority (66%) say they are unlikely to watch. Apathy is one emotion surfacing in the run-up to this event. Another is anger. Anger over ticket price-gouging, the financial burden placed on host cities, the unbooked hotel rooms that are double or triple the normal rate, the cost or absence of parking, the lack of transportation. A new development this week: anger over not being allowed to have reusable water bottles inside stadiums.

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Texas hemp companies sued by medical marijuana operator

As Texas lawmakers and regulators grapple with the future of hemp-based products, an operator in the state’s medical marijuana program says several companies are selling illegal drugs under the guise of legal hemp. Austin-based Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation has filed a lawsuit seeking to block several companies from doing business in Texas and recover damages for lost revenue. The case was moved to Texas Business Court last week by one of the defendants. Since 2017, Texas Original has had one of the rare and valuable state licenses to sell low-THC medical marijuana through the state’s Compassionate Use Program. Often referred to as TCUP, it was signed into law in 2015 to help Texans with conditions like intractable epilepsy, cancer and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

But the value of that license has been degraded, the company says, by “wildcat” operators in the hemp space it says are increasing THC levels beyond the legal limit and lying about it. The largely unregulated market is now competing with the highly regulated TCUP market to the detriment of its licensees, Texas Original argues. Under House Bill 1325, passed in 2019, hemp-derived products are legal if they contain less than 0.3% delta-9 THC. The state’s Compassionate Use Program formerly allowed products with up to 1% THC before switching to a 10-milligram-per-dose limit. Texas Original’s lawsuit alleges that 10 companies are selling marijuana products as legal hemp, marketing them deceptively and offering products that may contain contaminants. It also claims many are poaching Compassionate Use customers through false advertising while operating outside the regulatory framework imposed on medical marijuana providers.

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Austin’s communications spending tops $10M. Tracking it is harder.

A new city report describes a sprawling and inconsistent communications system across Austin government, identifying inefficiencies that could become a target as City Hall looks for ways to close a projected $26 million budget shortfall. The report, released this week by Austin Communications and Engagement, found that the city’s public communications work is spread across 28 departments, 176 communications staffers and more than $10.4 million in reported marketing and communications spending over fiscal years 2024 and 2025. It is part of City Manager T.C. Broadnax’s citywide Shared Services Optimization initiative, which is examining whether internal city functions can be delivered more consistently and cost-effectively.

The communications report does not recommend layoffs or attach a dollar figure to potential savings. But it describes a decentralized system where departments set their own marketing budgets, define campaigns differently, use inconsistent performance metrics and often buy and track advertising independently. That structure, staff wrote, creates an opportunity for the city to use its collective purchasing power, reduce administrative work and get more value from advertising dollars. The city’s communications system is currently split across departments with widely varying levels of staffing and funding. Austin Communications and Engagement, known as ACE, leads citywide communications policy and supports the City Manager’s Office and 13 departments that do not have dedicated communications staff. Another 21 departments have one to three communications employees, while nine departments have larger teams that generally include a communications manager, public information staff, community engagement staff and marketing or graphic design employees.

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Red River leaders question Austin enforcement visits that left venues feeling targeted

The Red River Cultural District's executive director questioned visits Friday night by the Austin Fire Department and accompanying agencies to at least 12 venues, saying some businesses received citations. In an email obtained by the American-Statesman, Nicole Klepadlo said Austin Fire Department and code enforcement officials visited venues across Red River and Sixth Street, issued citations and directed operators to make changes as part of what she described as "the city manager's goal to complete an 'audit.'"

City officials say the visits were part of ongoing safety and licensing efforts downtown, but Red River leaders say the approach left venues feeling targeted as businesses navigate one of their slower stretches of the year. Klepadlo asked what the audit was about and reported that businesses had been questioned extensively, asked to move equipment, told they would be cited or shut down if changes were not made, and subjected to what she described as "threatening remarks." "What is this regarding and why is [there] a target on the Cultural District in such a state of vulnerability?" Klepadlo wrote, referring to what she later noted was a slow period for business due to the summer season. Assistant City Manager for Public Safety Ramón Batista told the Statesman that Friday night's activities were "not related to an audit by the city."

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Cruz partners with Democrats to protect military bases like Ellington

One of the oldest military aviation installations in Texas is at risk of losing a powerful tool because of the ongoing war in Iran. That has U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz joining forces with Democrats, to craft legislation that would prevent the Air Force from repositioning MQ-9 Reaper drones and personnel stationed at Air National Guard installations like Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, just south of Houston. The MQ-9 drones have been called the “most valuable player” during Operation Epic Fury in Iran because of their ability to strike targets without putting pilots at risk. But dozens of the drones have been destroyed in the fighting, depleting the total number of available units.

While the Air Force hasn’t announced any plans to move the MQ-9 drones from Air National Guard Bases, Cruz and others are responding to concerns that it could happen to offset the losses in Iran. While the drones have been critical abroad, they’ve also been MVPs closer to home, Cruz said. “In Texas, they were invaluable after the devastating July 4, 2025, floods, when the Texas Air National Guard’s 147th Attack Wing deployed the MQ-9 to support search, rescue, and recovery operations along the Guadalupe River,” Cruz said about the bill he filed on Wednesday with U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin as co-sponsors. The 147th Attack Wing, which is estimated to have more than 1,000 soldiers, is based at Ellington. The air base is one of the oldest in Texas, and was established during World War I. Ellington isn’t the only base that could be affected if the drones are moved to Air Force Special Operations Command. Units in California, Arizona, New York on elsewhere could be impacted, which is why Kelly, from Arizona, and Slotkin, from Michigan, have joined on with Cruz’s legislation.

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Trinity Metro gets funding for TEXRail extension to hospital district

Trinity Metro has received the funding it needs to extend the TEXRail line from downtown to the hospital district. Michael Morris, the director of transportation of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said Thursday that the agency’s Regional Transportation Council has approved $40 million for the $100 million project. Construction is expected to begin within a year. Morris said this expansion would be a “game changer” for the hospital district that, according to him, is growing in restaurants and retail. The TEXRail line runs from downtown to DFW Airport, with stops near the Stockyards, Fort Worth, North Richland Hills and Grapevine.

“Having mobility options creates value, and overnight it would make the hospital district both retail, office, and residential, a terrific new opportunity for Fort Worth,” Morris said. Morris’ announcement came during a press conference as Trinity Metro announced its plans and preparations for the World Cup. “We have buses, we have trains, no need to rent that rental car, just hop right onto the Tex rail and ride downtown,” Rich Andreski, Trinity Metro President and CEO said. Trinity Metro is expanding its services during starting June 14 for the nine World Cup matches at AT&T Stadium through July. New bus stops, extended hours, and 911 capabilities to accommodate all languages are planned, according to Andreski. “Trinity Metro is going to connect all the major destinations, so we’re going to take people off the road. We’re going to make it affordable to get around while you’re here,” Andreski said. Andreski said he is looking at this like a trial run to see if there is “interest and ridership.” If so they would be happy to continue to provide these services if they can find funding. The World Cup services are built into the Trinity Metro budget, but at this time there is no funding to keep the services year round.

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National Stories

How can retail investors buy shares in SpaceX's IPO?

SpaceX's long-awaited initial public offering, expected to fetch a $1.75 trillion valuation, has set off a frenzy among retail investors clamoring for a share of Elon Musk's rocket, satellite and AI empire. It has become one of the biggest FOMO trades of the year, despite SpaceX's lack of profits, ?drawing so much investor demand ahead of the IPO that bankers have already received twice as many orders as available shares. SpaceX has reportedly earmarked ?as much as 30% or $22.5 billion in shares for retail investors, a rare move for a blockbuster IPO that is typically dominated by institutional buyers. Here's what investors need to know about buying shares in the IPO, who may get access and the risks of purchasing the stock once it begins trading.

Trading under the symbol SPCX, SpaceX has picked a ?handful of brokerage firms to distribute shares in the IPO to retail customers in the U.S. Investors typically need to have an eligible brokerage account, meet ?minimum funding requirements and submit an indication of interest before the IPO is priced. Requirements vary by brokerage and there ?is no guarantee your order will be filled. Fidelity lowered its eligibility requirements from holding $500,000 in a Fidelity account to $2,000 just in time for the SpaceX IPO. Fidelity Investments: $2,000 ?account minimum; Robinhood Markets: $0 account minimum; SoFi: $0 account minimum; E*Trade: $0 account minimum; Charles Schwab: $100,000 account minimum. Brokerages warn against "flipping," or selling IPO shares shortly after a stock begins trading. Investors who sell ?their stock within two to four weeks of the offering could be restricted from future IPOs.

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RFK Jr.’s movement was supposed to save the GOP’s majorities. It’s not even in the game.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement isn’t doing much to help Republicans maintain control of Congress. MAHA Action and MAHA Institute, the movement’s political organizations spreading Kennedy’s message on healthy food and vaccine safety, have largely stayed out of the races that will determine the makeup of Congress. Tony Lyons, the publisher of Kennedy’s books who’s taken a lead role in running the groups, has struggled to turn Kennedy’s appeal into the juggernaut Republicans had hoped would enable them to hold onto their House and Senate majorities. “The majority of those candidates that got that endorsement were going to win anyway,” said John McCarthy, founder of McCarthy Strategic Solutions, a Republican political strategy firm in Kentucky, about elections where MAHA Institute got involved in his state. MAHA groups have endorsed just one Republican, freshman Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett, in a battleground House district so far, ignoring the rest of the competitive races that will determine control of the chamber.

In the Senate, where Republicans need to defend seats in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, MAHA hasn’t backed anyone, much less provided money or grassroots support. Aides to President Donald Trump have credited Kennedy with helping Trump win the popular vote in 2024 and were banking on him helping GOP candidates this year. Lyons has played up the savior role. In February, he declared MAHA a “once in a generation political gift to the GOP” in a memo to the Republican National Committee and the party’s Senate and House campaign arms. His MAHA PAC has committed $100 million to support Republicans in this year’s election, although campaign records show it has less than $400,000 in available cash. Of the 40 candidates MAHA groups have endorsed, only four are running for Congress, Barrett, Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.), Michael Alfonso, and Brandon Herrera. Alfonso and Herrera are pursuing solidly Republican House seats in Wisconsin and Texas where the incumbent isn’t seeking reelection, while Letlow is running for Senate and expected to win. The rest of MAHA’s endorsees are running for state offices.

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Amid mounting Democratic concern, Platner says his past is being ‘weaponized’

Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, moved to quell mounting Democratic anxieties about his candidacy on Friday, telling supporters in a defiant speech that his past behavior was being “weaponized” by his political opponents. A day after The New York Times reported that three women — a conservative and two Democrats — who had been romantically involved with Mr. Platner described volatile and “toxic” relationships, Mr. Platner addressed a crowd at a theater in Bar Harbor, expressing confidence that Maine voters would stick by him. “When politically motivated, serious and false accusations are made against me, Maine, you have my back,” Mr. Platner said. “The state of Maine raised me, and the state of Maine saved me, and to all of you out there, Maine, I will always have your back.”

Mr. Platner’s appearance came at a tense moment in one of the year’s premier Senate races. With just days left before Maine’s primary on Tuesday, revelations about Mr. Platner’s personal history have caused escalating discomfort within his party, while drawing intensifying attacks from Republicans. The rally also took place less than a week after The Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, had sought to warn his campaign last year that her husband had been exchanging sexual messages with multiple other women. Onstage, Mr. Platner referred to Ms. Gertner by name, drawing chants of “Amy!” It was one of the strongest responses from a supportive but relatively sedate crowd that included attendees who said they were anxious about Mr. Platner’s candidacy and still getting to know the candidate. Mr. Platner said from the stage that he had gone through a period of “darkness” after his military service.

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Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim say they’ll stay at ‘60 Minutes’

“60 Minutes” correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim said Friday that they planned to stay on at the newsmagazine, capping days of turmoil for the show. “We have had a hard time deciding whether to stay,” the three wrote in a memo to their colleagues at the program, before adding: “We don’t want to see ‘60 Minutes’ die.” They wrote that they were still “deeply upset by the firings” of executive producer Tanya Simon and high-ranking producer Draggan Mihailovich, whom they called “strong leaders who everyone respected.” Their colleague Scott Pelley was fired earlier this week after he challenged the newsmagazine’s new executive producer over the recent firings. The longtime correspondents said that “as far as we can tell,” those leaders were fired because “they fought for our ‘60 Minutes’ values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity.”

“Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships,” they added in the memo, obtained by NBC News. “Collaboration and argument are the way we have always worked at 60.” Stahl, 84, has spent most of her career at CBS News and joined “60 Minutes” in 1991. Whitaker, 74, spent three decades as a CBS reporter before joining the newsmagazine in 2014. Wertheim, 55, joined three years later. The trio’s statement is the latest beat in the turmoil engulfing “60 Minutes,” America’s top-rated and most prestigious newsmagazine, which just ended its 58th season. The upheaval started last week, when several key senior staff members were let go. Tensions between “60 Minutes” staffers and management reached a fever pitch during a Monday meeting to introduce executive producer Nick Bilton, where Pelley openly challenged leadership and accused CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the storied newsmagazine that debuted in 1968.

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At least 12 people shot at an Ohio street festival and suspects remain at large, police say

At least 12 people were wounded as gunfire erupted Saturday near a busy street festival in Ohio. Some people at the event in Toledo scrambled for cover while others rushed to help the victims. No suspects were in custody hours afterward, Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said. He said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons and they were “probably shooting at each other.” The shooting happened near the Old West End Festival, an annual two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district that includes live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping. The remainder of the festival was canceled Sunday. Organizers said “it would not be compassionate, responsible or possible to continue.” “We are heartbroken about those that were injured at the Old West End Festival,” the festival said in a statement.

Two of the victims were in critical condition, Heffernan added. The ages of the victims ranged from 14 to 61, with most of them in their early 20s. “I am deeply concerned about the situation in Toledo tonight,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement. “Summer festivals should be safe spaces for families to spend time together without fear of violence.” Officials urged people who were at the festival to come forward with any photos or videos. Multiple videos posted to social media showed people running amid the sound of gunshots and emergency officials tending to others who appeared wounded. Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said it was difficult to get to the hospital due to closed roads and traffic from people leaving the festival, but emergency responders were able to transport all patients from the scene within an hour. Kevin Berry was sitting in the neighborhood arboretum listening to live music with friends when he heard a handful of gunshots ring out. “Everybody hit the deck,” he said. When Berry looked back up, he saw a gun being tossed to the ground less than 50 feet (15 meters) away from him. Officers who were already on site for the festival responded immediately. Berry, who has medical training and served in the Navy, walked around looking for anyone who might need help and saw at least five people with gunshot wounds. “The folks who were hit were spread out around the arboretum area,” he said. George Kral, the city’s safety director, said the Old West End Festival is one of the most iconic festivals in Toledo. “And it’s a shame that something like this had to ruin it,” Kral said.

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Fetterman vows to ditch hoodie for suit if Graham Platner proves he didn't send 'd--k pics' to minors

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) pledged to wear a suit “every day” if embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner can prove he didn’t send “d–k pics” to minors. The extraordinary hoodie challenge came during Fetterman’s appearance on Fox News Saturday in America, where he referred to Platner, who admitted he had an active Kik account while newly married, as “P-Hustle” – Platner’s user name. The term drew a head-shake from interviewer Kayleigh McEnany.

“P-Hustle, here’s a great chance. You can just prove that all these people that you’re dropping those d–k pics and saying these things to were over 18. “I will wear a suit every day in the Senate,” said Fetterman, who has become Platner’s foremost critic in Congress. He wore his signature black hoodie during the interview, and regularly wears shorts when working in the Senate. “You can set the record clear and provide all of those texts and all of those conversations that you were having as a newlywed just before you were going to run for the Senate,” Fetterman said. “Transparency,” he added, noting the site has been probed for hosting underage users. Democrats are scrambling to contain the damage after Platner admitted to sexting women “soon” after getting married, then faced a New York Times report where ex girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield accused him of twisting her arm during an argument and locking her in a bedroom and keeping her there until she was “calm.”

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Why ceasefires haven’t stopped deadly strikes in Gaza, Lebanon or the Gulf

Across the Middle East, three separate ceasefire deals are currently in effect. In all three, deadly strikes are still a frequent occurrence. The contradiction has exposed a growing question: What does a ceasefire actually mean when the fighting never fully stops? On Wednesday, President Donald Trump appeared to suggest that promises to stop fighting in the region cannot always be trusted, as he addressed the continued exchanges of fire with Iran in the Gulf. “It’s a different part of the world, you know,” he told reporters. “I’d say in that part of the world a ceasefire is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.” The same day Trump made his comments, Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least nine Palestinians overnight, according to local hospitals in Gaza, where a ceasefire deal has been in place since October as part of a peace plan brokered by Trump.

While the heaviest fighting has subsided, Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fired on Palestinians, killing more than 936 since the agreement took effect, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Both Israel and Hamas have accused the other of breaching the ceasefire and their commitments under the agreement. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that he would like Israel to increase its control over territory in Gaza, despite a stipulation in the peace plan that the Israeli military would initially withdraw to a demarcation line, known as the “yellow line.” Netanyahu said he had directed the military to increase control over Gaza to 70%. “We were at 50. We moved to 60,” he added. Further progress toward peace in Gaza has largely stalled, with no signs of the disarmament of Hamas or the further withdrawal of Israeli troops indicated under Trump’s full 20-point peace proposal. The situation is similarly uncertain in Lebanon, where a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Lebanese government announced in April has not prevented near-daily airstrikes on people and targets Israel says are linked to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

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CIA officer who had millions in gold bars accused of creating fake spy program

The former senior CIA official found with more than $40 million worth of gold bars in his house allegedly created a fake, highly classified intelligence program that he used as a conduit to funnel millions of dollars for his personal use, according to people familiar with the criminal investigation. David J. Rush, who was arrested last month and charged with one count of theft of public money, constructed what is known as a “special access program,” a sort of black box for the most secret intelligence operations, the people familiar with the investigation said. Even intelligence personnel with the highest security clearance cannot access an individual SAP, as they are known, without specific authorization. The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation, said the criminal probe found that Rush “read in,” or initiated, two colleagues into the highly secretive sham program, effectively cultivating them as perhaps unwitting accomplices and preventing them from talking to others about it.

He persuaded one of them to transfer millions of dollars to the program via a government contract that was also fraudulent, they said. “He made up a contract,” one of the people said. Rush, who worked in the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology, has not pleaded to the charges against him. At a detention hearing in federal court in Alexandria on Friday, a judge ruled that Rush posed a significant flight risk and ordered him to remain detained at the local jail pending trial. The CIA, meanwhile, has put several agency officials on leave as FBI and spy agency investigations continue, two people familiar with the matter said. NBC News first reported that development. The people familiar did not disclose those officials’ names or positions. The science and technology directorate is the arm of the agency that creates technical espionage tools to aid U.S. spies and their agents abroad. The account of those familiar with the criminal probe appears to raise serious questions about secrecy guardrails and vetting at the CIA.

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Lead Stories

Senate passes party-line reconciliation bill, sidesteps attempts to kill ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

The Senate voted mostly along party lines to pass Republicans’ multibillion-dollar immigration enforcement package early Friday morning, after blocking multiple efforts to bar or limit President Donald Trump from establishing an “anti-weaponization” fund. The measure was approved 52-47, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) siding with Democrats in opposition after a nearly 18-hour series of votes. The House is expected to take up the bill next week and send it to Trump’s desk, blowing past his June 1 deadline. The bill would provide $70 billion to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, agencies that were left out of a bipartisan deal to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security in April following the longest-ever shutdown of a government agency.

Republicans beat back a number of amendments that would have limited or done away with the “anti-weaponization” fund during the “vote-a-rama.” The $1.8 billion fund was announced last month as part of a settlement between President Donald Trump and the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax forms. But this week acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department would not move ahead with the fund amid bipartisan blowback. The “voting marathon followed a two-week delay after Senate Republicans abruptly dropped plans to vote on the immigration enforcement spending, expressing grave concerns about the “anti-weaponization” fund. Some senators had hoped to put guardrails or restrictions on it as part of the broader spending bill. However, a push by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to send the immigration enforcement bill back to the Senate Judiciary committee with instructions to nix the fund was open for more than three hours on the Senate floor. It had support from three Republicans up for re-election in 2026 –– Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Jon Husted (R-Ohio).

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Has Texas ‘Death Star law’ gone too far? Lawmakers weigh changes

Lawmakers conduct a review of a law designed to establish statewide regulations among local governments. Opponents call it the “Death Star Law”, arguing it strips cities of autonomy and invalidates city laws. Republicans and Democrats are divided over how much power the state should hold over local governments. Thursday, the Texas House of Representatives Committee on Governmental Oversight met to examine how the law is being implemented. The “Death Star law” – formally known as the Texas Regulatory Act– created a set of regulations that prevented local governments from enforcing laws or ordinances that exceed or conflict with state laws in broad areas, such as Business and Commerce, Finance, Insurance and Labor. When advocating for the bill in a Senate committee hearing in April of 2023, former State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, described the bill as preventing “a patchwork of regulations that are popping up at the local level.” The bill advanced through the House and Senate and was eventually signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in June 2023.

James Quintero, the Policy Director at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told lawmakers Thursday that urging states to repeal conflicting local laws has been challenging. “We don’t necessarily see cities and counties executing the law faithfully to rightsize their regulatory framework in the spirit of (the Act),” Quintero claimed while asking lawmakers to “empower the attorney general to ensure that localities are maintaining compliance with state law.” General counsel for the Texas Municipal League, Bill Longley, argues the opposite. “I don’t think cities are ignoring the law; cities call our legal department regularly to ask about how this law might apply to various ordinances that they are considering adopting,” Longley testified. If there is a challenge to a local law, Longley says the only way to know if it conflicts with a state law is to go through the courts. “That’s what the bill set up, if somebody thinks that the state occupies a field, they can notify the city, have three months, and then they can sue the city.”

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Gov. Abbott's office blasts Corpus Christi city council after inner harbor desalination project delay

Less than 12 hours after Corpus Christi City Council voted to delay a decision on the Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Treatment Plant, Gov. Greg Abbott's chief of staff sharply criticized the council's handling of the project. In an exclusive statement obtained by 3NEWS on Wednesday afternoon, Robert Black, Gov. Abbott's chief of staff, accused council members of failing to address the city's long-term water needs. "The moment for leadership arrived, but the Council met it with a whimper and a complaint," Black said. "For the second time in six months, the Council could have taken meaningful steps to meet the long-term water needs of their citizens. Instead, they chose to bicker, blame, and hide behind excuses and 'studies' rather than take action." The comments come after a marathon Corpus Christi City Council meeting that stretched from Tuesday morning until 2:20 a.m. Wednesday.

After more than 15 hours of discussion, council voted 7-2 to postpone consideration of the Inner Harbor desalination project until Sept. 1. Mayor Paulette Guajardo and At-Large Councilman Roland Barrera were the only members to vote against delaying the item. Guajardo says that postponing the vote could impact state and federal funding for the city's water projects. "The outcome of yesterday's meeting was critical because everyone was watching," Guajardo said. "Credit agencies, state agencies, federal agencies, everyone was watching, and they wanted to see where we were going because it's been said we need to have a strong path forward and move forward." Guajardo says that the project is the only drought-proof option currently on the table, and delaying it again puts state and federal water support at risk. "Every delay creates more uncertainty. State and federal partners want to see commitment. They want to see progress and a clear path forward. So while tabling the item last night did not cancel it, it does slow momentum on a project that is critical to our long term water security and of course our economic future," Guajardo said.

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Potentially explosive gas leaks reported thousands of times in Texas

Excavators in Texas have damaged pipelines more than 4,800 times since the beginning of 2026, frequently causing highly explosive gas leaks. That includes over 1,000 incidents in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties. A KERA analysis of Railroad Commission of Texas “pipeline accident and incident reporting” data also found that many excavators had not contacted a notification center that arranges for the marking of underground utility lines free of charge. Investigations into the cause of Thursday’s explosion at an Oak Cliff apartment complex that killed three are in the preliminary stages, but initial reports point to damage to a natural gas line and a possible leak. Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Justin Ball has said that a fire engine had arrived within two minutes of a gas leak being reported. As the firefighters were going through standard set up procedures, the building exploded right before they were about to enter.

Atmos Energy told KERA in an email that the fire department had reported that “a construction crew unrelated to Atmos Energy damaged a natural gas pipeline near 409 E. 9th Street in Dallas." And the prospective purchaser of the apartment complex told KERA that her company had contracted with another company, Engineering Consultant Services, to provide a “geotech report,” which typically analyzes soil conditions, bedrock depth and groundwater levels. Reports indicate that a boring rig damaged the pipeline. A damaged truck that appears to be a boring rig could be seen near the apartment complex after the explosion. ECS told KERA in a statement that Texas 811 reported that utility locating was performed at the site before drilling was done. But the company also said its knowledge of the event is limited because none of its workers were there when the explosion happened. Accidental damage to underground pipelines and utilities in Texas frequently can be attributed to one of two factors. It can be difficult to determine the exact location of what may have been buried years — even decades — in the past. Even when excavators have followed the law and underground pipes have been marked, accidental strikes still happen. And in many cases, excavators start digging without taking those precautions.

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State Stories

American journalist and son of Texas politician pleads guilty to acting as unregistered agent for China

An American who worked as an editor and commentator for state-run media in China, Thomas Pauken II, pleaded guilty Thursday to working as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government in the U.S. During a roughly 40-minute hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, Pauken, 51, told U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema he was unaware of the legal requirement to register before acting for a foreign government, but he also said he understood that his lack of knowledge was not a defense to the charge. The hearing shed no light on one of the mysteries of Pauken’s case: the identity of a Trump administration official Pauken helped connect to a Chinese government contact Pauken knew as “Cathy.” That U.S. official, described as “Person 1” in court filings, was still working in the government as of February, according to an affidavit an FBI agent filed in support of the criminal case.

The agent alleged that Pauken gave a cell phone and a laptop to the administration official while believing there was about an 80 percent chance that person would share classified information with “Cathy,” although Pauken told the FBI he discouraged the U.S. official from doing so. As POLITICO first reported, the affidavit suggests Pauken took part in an FBI-monitored sting operation involving the official at a Washington hotel in February, shortly before Pauken’s arrest. Justice Department and intelligence community spokespeople have declined to comment on whether “Person 1” still works for the administration or is facing any consequences. As Pauken stood in a dark green jail jumpsuit and responded to Brinkema’s questions, he referred to one of the documents on the courtroom lectern as a “cooperation agreement.” The judge quickly cut in, saying: “We’ll strike that word.” She later sealed the hearing for about five minutes, ejecting reporters and other observers unconnected to the case.

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Rep. Patterson pushes plan to rename Dallas North Tollway after President Trump

A North Texas State Representative says he wants to rename the Dallas North Tollway after President Donald Trump. In a social media post Thursday, Texas House Rep. Jared Patterson says he intends to introduce a resolution in the next legislative session to rename the 30.2-mile stretch of highway to the "Donald J. Trump Tollway." "Few places in America better represent the success of President Trump's pro-growth, pro-business, and pro-family agenda than the corridor stretching from Dallas through Collin and Denton Counties," Patterson says. "Naming this iconic roadway after President Trump would be a lasting tribute to a President whose leadership helped fuel unprecedented growth and prosperity across our region."

Patterson represents Texas House District 106, which covers eastern Denton County, including Frisco, The Colony, Aubrey, Pilot Point, Sanger and parts of Denton. Earlier this month, Senator John Cornyn introduced new legislation to rename U.S. Highway 287 as "Interstate 47," or "Trump Interstate." The proposed interstate would run from Port Arthur through Texas and north to Montana. The Dallas North Tollway is owned and operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority, a political subdivision of the State of Texas. According to the NTTA's Roadway Naming Policy, its Board of Directors holds ultimate authority when it comes to renaming a roadway under its jurisdiction.

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Jay Dean: Texas small businesses deserve real choice for health coverage

When I was mayor of Longview, we worked hard to make our city one of the best places in America to start and grow a business. That’s why Forbes magazine ranked Longview among the top 10 U.S. cities for cost of doing business while I was at this office. But one cost was always beyond what a city government could touch, and it's the same cost crushing Texas small businesses today: health care. This year, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows tasked the House Insurance Committee, which I chair, with studying that exact problem. Small employer insurance premiums in Texas are rising 15 to 20% in 2026, far above the national average. Texas is now the fifth most expensive state in the country for health care. Only about 38% of Texas small employers still offer health benefits to their workers.

Behind those numbers is something we've done to ourselves over the past three decades. The Legislature has piled on more state insurance mandates than nearly every other state, far beyond what federal law already requires. And these state mandates only apply to a very small slice of the employer market. The largest employers in Texas operate under federal law, where state mandates don't apply. Four out of five Texas workers with employer coverage are covered by these plans. The benefit coverage is just as comprehensive as what small employers buy, but because of fewer regulations it costs about 19% less. Small businesses can't easily access these plans that are only federally regulated. Instead, they're stuck in the state-regulated market, paying for every Texas mandate in addition to every federal one. This overregulation is crushing. Texas itself as an employer doesn't even pay for these mandates. When the state buys coverage for state employees or for teachers, the state exempts itself and its own plans from most of these mandates. Texas recognizes that mandates drive up costs and makes sure its own coverage is protected.

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CPS Energy announces interim CEO Frank Almaraz after Rudy Garza’s exit

CPS Energy named an interim CEO and started its official search for a new leader. In a short announcement at its Thursday afternoon board meeting, CPS Energy Board Chair Francine Romero thanked outgoing CEO Rudy Garza and named Frank Almaraz as the public utility’s interim head. Garza announced his retirement from CPS Energy on Monday. He will lead the Lower Colorado River Authority, a state-created water and power agency based in Austin. Almaraz has no plans for drastic changes, he said in a CPS Energy press release. “Our team is committed to continuing on the strategic path laid out by the board over the past several years,” he said. Almaraz has served as chief operating officer for five months when he was hired on from the private sector. He’s still a familiar face, though. It’s his second time working at CPS Energy, according to the utility’s website.

Between 2011 and 2021, he served in a variety of leadership roles, focusing on financial and business planning and natural gas and power trades. He left the position of chief power, sustainability and business development officer at the end of 2021. Almaraz was CEO of Braya Renewable Fuels, a company focused on producing diesel from corn and soy oil at its refinery in Canada, until 2025. He then served as interim CEO for Young Brothers, LLC, an inter-island freight company in Hawaii between January 2025 and February 2026, before returning to CPS Energy. “The Personnel Committee has confidence that his background and experience make him the appropriate leader to serve in this interim role. We believe Mr. Almaraz will successfully continue advancing our strategic priorities,” Romero said. Romero said CPS Energy’s board had activated its CEO Search Committee, a part of its Personnel Committee which will head its leadership search. Romero and fellow board member Erika Gonzalez will lead that effort. “We will have a robust process that selects the right candidate to continue moving CPS Energy into the future,” Romero said. Romero praised Garza’s service to the utility, noting his work building CPS Energy’s executive team and crafting strategic plans that look as far out as 2050.

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Constable seeks county-backed patrols for donor Tilman Fertitta’s River Oaks district

Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen wants to assign a sergeant and eight full-time deputies to patrol a ritzy Galleria-area shopping district owned by one of his top donors, billionaire Tilman Fertitta, in a proposal that would be subsidized by all Harris County taxpayers. Rosen first suggested dedicating deputies to the River Oaks District the month after Fertitta bought it in 2024, but commissioners did not approve the contract. Recent legislation Rosen and other elected constables supported, however, stripped commissioners of their authority to regulate patrol contracts.

Policing and political experts said the proposal validated their concerns that the legislation would worsen existing inequities in the county’s long-controversial contract patrol program, granting constables limitless authority to direct public safety resources, including for the benefit of wealthy donors. “I am entirely against this, and always have been, because why should you be able to rent cops because you have money?” said Jay Coons, a Sam Houston State University criminology professor who retired as a captain at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in 2018. “The whole thing stinks to me.” The patrol contract will appear on the Commissioners Court agenda next week, but court members may have no say on it. None of them responded to requests for comment Thursday. The contract patrol program for decades has let homeowner’s associations and some other groups, such as school districts, pay 70% to 80% – and sometimes 100% – of the salaries of the deputies assigned to their area, with the remainder covered by the county. It has fueled the growth of the constables’ offices, which handle about two-thirds of the contracts; the sheriff’s office runs the other third.

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Waymo robotaxi batteries to help power Texas grid

Some of Waymo's first Texas robotaxis are headed for retirement soon. Their batteries, however, will get a second life on the electric grid. The Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company announced a partnership with B2U Storage Solutions, a California-based energy storage company that repurposes old electric vehicle batteries to help power local electricity grids. Waymo, which is taking steps to cut costs and rapidly scale deployment of its driverless vehicle fleet, plans to retire some of its Jaguar I-Pace AVs later this year. The company currently operates more than 450 robotaxis in Texas, including about 300 in the Austin metro area, according to the company’s website.

Those vehicles will be replaced with new Waymo robotaxis, according to a company blog post. Earlier this month, Waymo launched one of its new robotaxi models for select riders in California and Arizona. The minivan-like robotaxis, dubbed Ojai, are essential to the company's cost-cutting and scaling goals. Ojai and Waymo’s previously announced Hyundai Ioniq 5 will begin to replace Waymo’s Jaguar SUV robotaxis over time. The partnership is launching first in Texas and California, with the company saying it expects to “deploy hundreds of megawatts of storage capacity over time.” “Our shared fleet of EVs provide a massive opportunity to support the growth of clean energy on the electricity grid while expanding the circular economy,” Adam Lenz, head of sustainability and environment for Waymo, said. “Through this partnership, we can repurpose our batteries for local grid storage and ensure our batteries continue to provide economic and environmental value to the community long after they’ve retired from the road.” The battery packs from Waymo will plug into the grid and capture excess renewable energy flowing through the grid, B2U said. The batteries will store that energy and dispatch it back into the grid during times of peak demand, which typically occur in mid-to-late afternoon in the summer months.

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How a police security leak turned into a San Antonio City Hall whodunit

The City Council will meet behind closed doors on Wednesday to revisit whether council aides must cooperate with internal investigations — along with a long list of other administrative directives that typically only apply to other types of city employees. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones made the request last month in response to allegations that a top aide to one of her council rivals, Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), declined to be interviewed about a leak involving the mayor’s personal security detail. Now the council will consider the changes on Wednesday in executive session — the latest chapter in a City Hall whodunit that may never be resolved.

Last fall’s security detail leak revealed that Jones would be receiving more police security than past mayors, at the same time the city was discussing whether to fund more officers in the coming year. The change came after at least one credible threat was made on her life, however, and the leak made public details about police security protocols at Jones’ private residence. First San Antonio Police Chief William McManus blasted television media for publishing the reports, then called for an internal investigation to identify who on his team shared the details with the press. The city’s Internal Affairs Unit interviewed a total of 115 police officers in an effort that didn’t turn up a leak — but led one of them to identify District 7 chief of staff James Branch as having also had access to the information.

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Parkinson’s disease is consistently linked to pesticide exposure. Farmworkers — and nearby communities — are at risk in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.

When neuroscientist Kelsey Baker hears the low buzz of planes over her home in the Rio Grande Valley, she grabs her dog and hurries indoors. The drone means the crop-dusters are back, spraying pesticides over the citrus, melon and other crops that surround her planned community. Baker is an assistant professor and assistant dean at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The city of McAllen, where she lives, and neighboring Edinburg, where she works, sit in the middle of one of the state’s most productive agricultural regions, covering more than 4,000 square miles and fed by the Rio Grande. Baker moved here in 2018, expecting to continue her research into stroke and spinal cord injury. But as she sifted through medical records, she was struck by how many people had Parkinson’s disease, a progressive, neurological condition that has been linked to pesticides and other environmental toxins for at least 30 years.

Research shows that more than 80 percent of Parkinson’s cases have no genetic links and are likely explained by environmental factors. Studies have also shown that people exposed to pesticides have a greater risk of the disease. There is no cure for Parkinson’s. As the disease progresses, its most common symptoms — tremor, slow movement, stiffness and unsteadiness — can be accompanied by depression, difficulty concentrating and bowel and urinary problems. The disease is the world’s fastest growing neurological disorder, with more than 25 million people likely to be affected by 2050. A biomedical engineer by training, Baker started poring over maps of the Valley and found something striking. Homes and schools were often boxed in on all sides by crops, something she hadn’t seen in farming areas in other parts of the country where she had lived. Farmworkers are at special risk for Parkinson’s, because the fields where they work are frequently doused with pesticides. But people like Baker, who simply live near farms, are also in danger.

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Austin brewery Hi Sign Brewing files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Austin-based Hi Sign Brewing is trying to avoid becoming a victim of the craft beer industry’s continuing struggles, going to court this week to seek protection from creditors. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy but its Shady Lane taproom remains open. Hi Sign's Escondido HSB LLC affiliate also filed for protection. Its struggles mirror those across the craft brewing industry, which suffers closures and bankruptcies in an industry roiled by plunging consumer spending, market saturation and skyrocketing costs.

Production numbers have fallen across the craft beer landscape for the past two years and were down 4% in 2025, according to the Brewers Association, and nearly 3% of breweries called it quits. The number of U.S. brewers now sits at 9,578, with new openings not keeping up with closures. Several of those closures have been in Texas. Round Rock’s 3rd Level Brewing closed April 1, Texas Beer Co. changed ownership due to debts, San Antonio-based Alamo Beer filed bankruptcy well-known Austin brands like Independence Brewing have continued to struggle. Hi Sign, founded in 2017 by Marine Corps veteran Mark Phillippe, moved into its new headquarters in 2022. The 13,000-square-foot warehouse hosted RC Cola in the 1950s. Some of the debt it took on to make the move, which Phillippe said was the best decision the company made as a business, led to the debt servicing problems it faces today.

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Wemby signals his politics as he’s spotted with dystopian novel 1984 at Finals

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has sent recent signals about his progressive political views, even if he’s shared some of them in a subtle way. In a move some might see as subtle act of resistance, he entered Game 1 of the finals in a sharp look while carrying a paperback copy of lifelong socialist George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. Eagle-eyed fans at the Bibliotech Public Library spotted the banned book in the 7-foot-4 forward’s hand and used the moment to introduce his fans to the classic novel via an Instagram post.

“This book remains relevant despite its publishing in 1949 and continues to be a contested book in libraries across the world,” Bibliotech wrote in the post’s caption. Could Wemby influence his legions of fans to read a work warning about mass surveillance, thought crimes, Newspeak, totalitarianism and other themes that sound eerily familiar in the context of the present day? Who knows, but Wemby’s history of subtle — and not so subtle — political expression suggests that the choice is deliberate. After all, this isn’t Wemby’s first dance when it comes to making a political statement. Last week, the French-born player was spotted in an Arab garment called a thobe in celebration of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, which some interpreted as solidarity with the Muslim community. Earlier this year, Wemby also spoke out against ICE, despite saying he’d received warnings not to from the Spurs’ public relations office. “PR has tried, but I’m not going to sit here and give some politically correct [answer],” he said at a January press conference. “Every day, I wake up and see the news, and I’m horrified.” “It’s crazy that some people make it seem like the murder of civilians is acceptable,” the star player said tactfully but unmistakably, after federal immigration agents killed Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Though not as outspoken as his mentor and former coach Gregg Popovich, it’s increasingly clear Wemby finds ways to take a stand. Seems as if the generation hoops talent is pulling off some intricate footwork, and we don’t just mean on the court. Perhaps he already knows that Big Brother is, in fact, always watching.

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RGV sees employment gains in professional and business sector; losses in government, education

Workforce Solutions released their April 2026 Labor Market Information (LMI) Report on Monday, showing a continuing downward trend in unemployment across the Valley. Since January, Hidalgo and Cameron counties have seen a steady decrease in unemployment, with Brownsville still leading at 6.6% (down from 6.8% in March), while McAllen stayed at the bottom at 4.4% (down from 4.5%). Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy and Starr counties, as a whole, displayed unemployment rates of 5.7%, 6.2%, 6.7% and 8.9%, respectively.

While the decline is positive and was seen across all four counties, the rates remain above the Texas and national unemployment rate of 4.3%. The April 2026 Regional Employment Change Estimates, included in Workforce Solutions’ report, also highlighted major shifts in different industries. The government sector, which encompasses public education and law enforcement, saw the biggest loss at 800 jobs for the McAllen (-600) and Brownsville (-200) Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). The second-largest loss was 200 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector reported for the Brownsville MSA. However, 800 jobs were gained in the professional and business service sector for the MSAs, and the McAllen MSA additionally saw 900 jobs added to the private education and health services sector.

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Texas and the Smithsonian are locked in a custody battle over a space shuttle

NASA was winding down its space-shuttle program during the Bush administration when Houston realized it had a problem: None of the four retiring space shuttle orbiters were bound for Texas, even though the Lone Star State was home to Mission Control Center and had safely guided orbiters like Discovery. At the time, Space Center Houston submitted a bid. But NASA decided it didn’t measure up to some of its rival institutions, and in 2011 instead sent Discovery, which traveled 150 million miles during 39 missions to space, to the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum. The rest went to museums in New York, Florida and California. Now, Texas is reviving its campaign for its own shuttle, led by a pair of Texas senators who earmarked $85 million in the federal budget to strong-arm the Nation’s Attic into forking over Discovery, which has long been on view at its auxiliary location in Virginia.

The result is one of the strangest custody battles to ever roil the aerospace and museum industries. “They’re raiding the Smithsonian,” said Joe Stief, a Virginia-based investment firm associate who oversees Keep the Shuttle, a 4,000-member advocacy group opposed to the move. “What’s to stop North Carolina from taking back the Wright Flyer or New York from reclaiming the Hope diamond?” The fight is unprecedented because usually museums like the Smithsonian only forfeit pieces in their collection if they or courts find the art was stolen or unethically acquired. In this case, the U.S. government passed legislation that includes a provision for NASA to move a “NASA flown space vehicle.” Senate appropriations rules prevented federal funding from naming Discovery, nor Texas as its final destination, but Sen. Ted Cruz believes Texas is the ideal spot because of Houston’s ties to space history. To outgoing Sen. John Cornyn, who lost a grueling bid for a fifth term in last month’s Texas Republican primary, it’s also a legacy bid to avenge what locals call the Houston Shuttle Snub. Texas is overdue to “receive the recognition it deserves by bringing the Space Shuttle Discovery home,” Cornyn said.

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National Stories

Several women who dated Graham Platner recall ‘unsettling’ behavior

On Tuesday evening, after a whirlwind day in Washington, Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, rushed home. Rumors were spreading from Portland to the Potomac about Mr. Platner’s messy personal life, after news reports that he had sent sexual messages to women while married. Democratic senators were pressing him about whether more damaging revelations were coming. Journalists were swarming, staking out his hometown. Amid the turmoil, Mr. Platner worked the phones, rolling through calls to ex-girlfriends who might publicly acknowledge that while he may have been a bad boyfriend, he was, in fact, a decent guy. In interviews with The New York Times on Wednesday, several women did just that, describing Mr. Platner as a fun and caring partner, and saying they felt safe with him. Some remain friends with him to this day, years after their relationships ended.

But in extensive conversations over the past two months, three other women who had been romantically involved with Mr. Platner offered a far more complicated assessment, describing volatile and “toxic” relationships that were unsettling and at times emotionally wrenching. Mr. Platner could be charming and charismatic, they recalled in interviews, but also demeaning to women and, in at least one case, even physically threatening. He drank heavily and was regularly unfaithful. Mr. Platner, 41, a combat veteran, has spoken openly about grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and drinking that he said resulted from his time in the military. As revelations about him have surfaced — including his dismissive remarks online about rape and derogatory comments about women, as well as a tattoo he had that is widely recognized as a Nazi symbol — he has said his past behavior does not reflect who he is today. Mainers, he has urged, should not judge him for “the worst thing I said on the internet on my worst day 14 years ago.” The critical accounts provided by three of the women interviewed by The Times, who were each in romantic relationships with him for years, give a fuller picture of Mr. Platner’s life. They shed light on an earlier era, when he has acknowledged intense struggles, but also raise questions about his more recent years in Maine, which his campaign has presented as a period of healing and personal redemption.

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‘Like two cats circling’: Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom weigh a 2028 showdown

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris have much in common, fellow Bay Area Democrats who insist they’re friends but don’t always act like it. They drew broad notice in the 2003 San Francisco election, leading an up-and-coming generation of California politicians—Newsom as mayor and Harris as district attorney—by turns bumping elbows over command of the microphone at news conferences. Newsom, 58 years old, and Harris, 61, have shared mentors, staffers, donors, friends and consultants for more than two decades, going neck and neck in the parochial world of Bay Area politics. They have exchanged endorsements and snubs, each wary of the other, according to people close to them. “They’ve been kind of like two cats, circling each other in an alley for years, politically speaking,” said Democratic strategist Garry South, who worked for Newsom.

The conspicuously liberal politicians live in exclusive locales at two ends of the Golden State —Harris in Malibu, Calif., and Newsom in Marin County—and appear on a collision course for the keys to the big white mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. “Their trajectories have been so fast and put them in places of such prominence, there’s only one step up electorally for either of them at this point,” said Brian Brokaw, a Democratic consultant who has worked for both. Newsom, who is wrapping up his second term as California governor, is widely expected to mount a 2028 presidential bid. People close to Harris say she is undecided, still stung by her 2024 loss to President Trump. In April, Harris got a warm reception in New York from Black activists who chanted Run again! Run again! “I might,” she said. “I’m thinking about it.” Most early Democratic primary polls show them holding top slots in the field of potential presidential candidates, in what would be their first head-to-head contest. In recent months, they have been on dueling book tours. Harris, promoting her book, “107 Days,” sold out event spaces around the U.S. more than six months after its publication. Newsom later released his own book, a memoir titled “Young Man in a Hurry.” He, too, made the rounds in a promotional tour that included New York, South Carolina and Georgia.

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‘Unbelievable how accurate’: How paid influencers hype Polymarket’s odds

When far-right influencer Nick Shirley posted a viral video in January alleging fraud at Minnesota daycares, he showed his 1.6 million followers on X something else too: a gray hoodie emblazoned with the Polymarket logo. Polymarket had made other appearances in the 24-year-old’s content, like in a series of man-on-the-street interviews about the “current state of America” posted in December. The first post came after Shirley started to receive money from Polymarket’s chief marketing officer, Matthew Modabber; the second came after he had taken in a total of $3,100 from Modabber, according to records reviewed by POLITICO.

Modabber, who once wrote that the key to growth is “a product people can’t shut up about,” was putting his money where his mouth is. The Polymarket executive used a personal PayPal account to send at least $350,000 to Shirley and other content creators between January 2025 and February 2026, an analysis of the transactions shows. That sum is almost certainly an undercount. Modabber used his personal PayPal account, which is registered to an email for a salad spot he co-founded, to send over $2.5 million to more than 800 people during the 14-month span, the analysis shows. POLITICO independently verified the identities of about two dozen content creators who received money from Modabber by using public records and analyzing their social media accounts. At least 20 of the content creators identified by POLITICO promoted Polymarket on social media after they started receiving money from Modabber, according to the payment records and POLITICO’s analysis of their social media activity.

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Trump's 'big beautiful bill' has a 'double taxation' trap for top earners, tax experts say

The “one big beautiful bill” came with many tax benefits for top earners, despite limiting how much they can deduct. However, lawyers and accountants for the wealthy said they have discovered a surprise buried in the footnotes of a tax law guide released last week by Congress’ policy staff that could amount to double taxation. The deduction cap is imposed on trusts and estates, the experts said, which was unexpected. Even if a trust gave all its income to its beneficiaries, it would have to pay taxes on a portion of that income, according to their interpretation of the document. While the consequences are steeper for trusts and estates of the ultra-wealthy, trusts with as little as $16,000 in income would also be subject to additional taxes, the experts said.

“There is potentially an element of double taxation,” said Dan Griffith, director of wealth strategy at Huntington Bank. “This is something that is going to affect somebody with a $400,000 special-needs trust. It’s not just going to be something that $100 million dynasty trusts suffer with.” Griffith said he is especially concerned about trusts that are obligated to distribute all their income. Trusts will either have to sell assets to pay the taxes, sacrificing future investment returns, or reduce their distributions to beneficiaries, he said. This provision creates a “mathematical nightmare” for tax lawyers and financial advisors, according to Justin Miller, national director of wealth planning at Evercore Wealth Management. Miller gave the example of a wealthy couple wishing to leave their estate to charity. “If I have to pay income taxes, that means I’m giving less money to charity because I’m giving money to the IRS. That means I now have to adjust my deduction even more because less money is going to charity,” he said. “Did Congress really intend to create an algebraic formula?”

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In reversal from first term, DOD officially drops 180 faiths from military's recognized religion list

Military.com has learned that the Department of Defense, for the first time in almost 10 years, has dramatically reduced its number of recognized religious faiths and belief systems by approximately 180. The reforms mark the first time the list has been officially revised since a memo was issued March 27, 2017, decreasing the total number of faiths from roughly 211 to its new number of 31. The changes were iterated in a May 20, 2026, memorandum issued by the Under Secretary of War and signed by Anthony Tata, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness of the United States, and obtained by Military.com. This latest revision to the faith codes comes at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to the Tata-signed memo, done to “streamline the DoW collection of religious preferences collection for service members to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy.” It calls for the previously instituted faith and belief codes to be revised within a 60-day period from the issuance of the memorandum.

“The new list will provide chaplains with clear, readily available information that will better enable them to anticipate the religious support needs of service members and to provide religious support activities that align with service members’ personal faith and practices,” Tata wrote. He added that members will not be limited to the list of “religious affiliation codes” when selecting information for their dog tags. The revised list, according to documents obtained by Military.com, include Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Islam (Muslims), Judaism, Sikh, and a wide range of Christian-based groups like Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists. This restructuring of faith codes, which help identity service members as well as the military in planning for appropriated religious coverage to include them, has now excluded minority faith/worldview groups including Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists and various Wiccans.

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Jan. 6 rioter is hired to work in sensitive Pentagon office

The Pentagon’s Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict office is a sensitive Defense Department branch responsible for uncovering and defending against terrorism plots and asymmetric warfare, and making sure that U.S. commandos have everything they need to carry out their missions. The office now has a new asset: a Jan. 6 rioter who pleaded guilty to climbing through a broken window at the Capitol and to other offenses. Elias Irizarry, who was 19 on Jan. 6, 2021, eventually apologized for his actions. President Trump pardoned Mr. Irizarry on Inauguration Day last year when Mr. Trump began his second term by granting blanket clemency to Jan. 6 rioters.

It was unclear who was responsible for the appointment of Mr. Irizarry, which was reported earlier by The Washington Post. But the Pentagon’s acting press secretary, Joel Valdez, said in a statement that Mr. Irizarry “is a qualified, patriotic young professional, and we are proud to have him as a political appointee.” Political appointees usually are selected by the office of the defense secretary or, in some cases, the White House. But one of the former leaders of the Special Operations office said the move could degrade public trust in the Pentagon. “The office he was hired for works with our most elite military units and on extremely sensitive national security issues,” said Michael Lumpkin, the assistant defense secretary for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict in the Obama administration. “It used to be that any possible negative perception about a hire like this would prevent it from happening. Today, it seems fealty is often more valued than expertise, sound judgment, or a strong moral compass.” On Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors said, Mr. Irizarry, a former student at the Citadel, a military college in South Carolina, entered the Capitol through a broken window on the Senate side, and roamed through the building armed with a metal pole. He found his way to a private conference room, where he was videotaped by one of his friends, Elliot Bishai, sitting in an armchair with the pole across his lap.

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Inside the UFC’s $60 million made-for-TV White House gambit

Dana White, the CEO of the MMA promotion, is betting that the unprecedented spectacle, sparked by a suggestion from President Trump, will deliver new fans to the sport and millions of eyeballs to Paramount+. The most audacious media spectacle in recent memory was hatched on the floor of Madison Square Garden, less than two weeks after the 2024 presidential election. On Nov. 16, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump walked into New York’s most famous arena to loud applause from a friendly crowd, as Kid Rock’s “American Bad Ass” played. Trump was there for UFC 309, and he was joined by Rock, Elon Musk and incoming Cabinet secretaries Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, among other dignitaries. But when he walked out, he did so alongside Dana White, the CEO of UFC.

Amid the fights, Trump took a moment to make a suggestion to White, a longtime personal friend dating back to the early days of UFC. “He leaned over to me and says, ‘We should do a fight at the White House,’” White recalls in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I said, ‘Yes, we should.’ I didn’t know what he meant … I was thinking maybe there’s some room that he’s thinking about where we’d have it. He’s like, ‘No, we’re gonna do it outside on the South Lawn.’” “When [White] initially mentioned the idea of putting on a UFC event on the South Lawn of the White House, I truly did not believe him. I thought he was kidding,” says Craig Borsari, the chief content officer of the UFC. “He’s funny, but he’s not a joke around kind of guy,” White says of Trump. “Literally, when he says something, consider it done.” And so that offhand suggestion will become a reality on June 14, when the MMA promotion hosts UFC Freedom 250 in a custom-built arena on the South Lawn of the White House, a made-for-TV (or at least streaming) event, the likes of which has never been seen before, and probably never will be again. A series of literal cage matches, set in front of one of the most famous buildings in the world, for an audience expected to include some of the most powerful people on earth, among them political leaders, celebrities and global CEOs, with UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings (led by CEO Ari Emanuel) betting on “Super Bowl-level” media exposure, and a defining moment for the company’s nascent $7.7 billion deal with Paramount Skydance (led by CEO David Ellison).

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Lead Stories

New World screwworm infestation detected in South Texas cattle: USDA

Officials with the Texas Animal Health Commission confirmed that an infestation of the flesh-eating New World screwworm parasite was detected in South Texas cattle, they said Wednesday. Officials explained on a call earlier Wednesday that the case was a ‘presumptive positive,’ which means preliminary tests were positive but that results needed to be confirmed, according to Reuters. A sample taken from two calves on a ranch in La Pryor, Texas, was tested at a federal government laboratory. The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that feeds on the tissue of warm-blooded animals and people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The feeding can create large wounds on animals that result in “serious, often deadly” damage.

The fly is typically found in South America and the Caribbean, but the species has been tracking northward through Mexico since 2023, according to the USDA. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller on Wednesday criticized the USDA for a “slow, bureaucratic, and incomplete response that allowed the pest to advance unchecked through Mexico and reach American soil,” according to a statement from his office. Miller urged President Donald Trump to deploy the Screwworm Adult Suppression System (SWASS) to combat the bug in Texas. The system uses bait and EPA-approved pesticides to cut down on the insect population, and was developed by the USDA. “Mr. President, I am asking you to take direct control of this response,” Miller said. “Cut through the bureaucracy, deploy SWASS immediately, and throw every available federal resource at this threat before it becomes a full-blown agricultural disaster.”

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H-1B crackdown on Indian workers erodes a Texas real estate boom

Zach Schneider points to a room just off the foyer of a $1 million model home north of Dallas. The 40-year-old builder has staged it with shelves and a dark wooden desk, done up like a typical study. But its tall, north-facing windows hint at the use it was designed for — as a puja room, a traditional Hindu prayer space. Down the hall there’s an area that could one day be redolent with turmeric, cumin and cardamom. “A spice kitchen,” he says, highlighting an optional upgrade that could appeal to a buyer from India. For almost a decade, South Asians have been the driving force behind this region’s building boom, one of the biggest in the US during the pandemic. They once accounted for 70% of sales at Schneider’s Tradition Homes. But in the past year they’ve dropped below 30%, leaving his family-owned company with a backlog of 125 luxury properties to sell. Since 2018 the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area has attracted more corporate headquarters relocations than anywhere else in the US, according to real estate company CBRE Group Inc., with manufacturing and tech firms leading the way.

Visa holders flocked to the new subdivisions spreading north through the suburbs of Prosper, Frisco and, most of all, Celina, where the population more than tripled in just five years. That helped make Collin and Denton the fastest-growing US counties among those with a population of at least 1 million, the most recent census data show. Collin also had the biggest percentage jump in Indian residents among large counties, climbing to an average of more than 116,000 in the five years through 2024, from 70,000 in the preceding five years. But the momentum is quickly reversing. Indian buyers are disappearing from the market as federal and state governments tighten H-1B restrictions and many of the tech companies that employed the new arrivals fire workers in favor of artificial intelligence. Prices in the Collin County suburbs north of Dallas in February dropped almost 9% from a year earlier, compared with a decline of 4% in the metro area as a whole, according to data from brokerage Redfin. The shift has knocked down home prices, slowed population expansion and risks eroding the tax base needed to fund schools and roads planned during a five-year growth streak. The changes also take a personal toll on immigrants because many have lived in the US for years and have established families and communities. Those on H-1B visas who lose their jobs not only face financial hardship but also risk having to return to their home countries if they can’t get sponsored for another position within 60 days.

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SpaceX’s IPO is set to be the biggest ever and could make Elon Musk a trillionaire

SpaceX says it plans to raise up to $75 billion when it goes public this month, setting the stage for the largest-ever stock market debut and putting Elon Musk on course to becoming the world’s first trillionaire. The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., said Wednesday it will sell 555.6 million shares at $135 a piece in an initial public offering. The estimated proceeds would easily top the $26 billion raised by oil giant Saudi Aramco in 2019. The offering would also give SpaceX a market value of $1.77 trillion. Only six companies in the S&P 500 are currently worth more, with Nvidia tops at $5.2 trillion. Besides the size of the offering and the expected proceeds, SpaceX’s amended prospectus updates details about how much control of the company Musk will have. As SpaceX’s CEO, chief technical officer and chairman, Musk’s voting power will come primarily through his ownership of 5.22 billion Class B shares, which give the holder 10 votes for every share held. According to the filing, Musk would have 82.4% of the voting power in the company.

Forbes currently values Musk’s net worth at $826 billion and his stake in SpaceX at $542 billion. The estimated value of his SpaceX holdings was based on an overall value for the company of $1.25 trillion. Based on those numbers, a $1.77 trillion valuation for SpaceX would boost Musk’s net worth by $223 billion, making him a trillionaire. However, much of Musk’s worth is in stock that he has yet to cash in. Even as it makes a bid for a blockbuster market debut, SpaceX is currently losing billions of dollars a year. The filing shows that the company lost $2.6 billion from operations last year on $18.7 billion in revenue, and the losses kept piling up at the start of this year, too. Time will tell how SpaceX fares on the market. Musk’s plans for the company are as fantastical as the money he hopes raise in the sale. Colorful, even frightening in parts, the IPO document strikes a contrast with the typically dry, technical prose in IPO documents, detailing plans to use proceeds from the sale to help put men on the moon again and perhaps even Mars. In one section, it talks of a need to build “a permanent human colony” on the red planet with “at least one million inhabitants” as existential threats loom that could consign man to “the same fate as the dinosaurs.” Musk has almost equally ambitious plans for his other publicly traded company, Tesla. His goal is to transform the maker of electric vehicles into a producer of robotaxis and humanoid robots. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities wrote in a research note that he expects Tesla and SpaceX to merge next year.

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Texas leads nation in flood insurance cancellations as costs rise ahead of hurricane season

As hurricane season begins, Texas is losing flood insurance coverage faster than any other state in the nation, raising concerns among flood experts and researchers in a state with a long history of devastating floods. Data from the National Flood Insurance Program shows more than 45,000 flood insurance policies were canceled across Texas over the past 12 months, a decline of roughly 7.2%, according to figures reviewed by KPRC 2. Nationwide, flood insurance policies also declined, but at a significantly lower rate. The trend comes despite repeated flood disasters across Texas in recent years and as many homeowners continue to face rising housing, insurance and living costs. “We know it’s raining more. We know it’s raining more intensely and that rain is more unpredictable now than ever,” said Emily Woodell, chief external affairs officer for the Harris County Flood Control District. “That’s why flood insurance is more important now than perhaps ever before.”

Flooding has long been one of Texas’ most persistent natural hazards. Houston alone has experienced numerous major flood events, including Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, the Tax Day Flood of 2016 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The region’s extensive network of bayous was designed to move water away from homes and businesses, but flood officials say no system can eliminate flood risk entirely. “If you live in the Houston area, you are at risk of flooding,” Woodell said. She said flood control projects completed since Harvey have significantly reduced risk for many residents. “If that were to happen today, hundreds of thousands of homes would be in a better position than they were then,” Woodell said, referring to Harvey. “However, that risk still exists.” Woodell said periods without major flooding can lead some residents to become less focused on the threat. “Unless you’ve been hit recently, you’re right. You become complacent and it becomes much more of a comfortable issue versus one that you think you need to take action on,” she said. Still, she believes flood insurance remains essential for families across Harris County.

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State Stories

After 53 years in Travis County, Margaret Gómez retires with a call to learn from one another

Margaret Gómez, the longest-serving Travis County commissioner in history, is retiring early. She will continue her post overseeing Precinct 4 until June 11, when George Morales, who won the Democratic primary election for the seat last month, will be appointed to take over, Gómez said. Gómez, 81, said she is ready to step down after serving as a Travis County employee for nearly 53 years. Gómez originally planned to retire in December when her term ends, but she said after suddenly losing her ability to walk, it was "time to turn it over to somebody else."

“That was kind of something I couldn't really deal with because my love is to walk door to door,” she said. “If I can't walk anymore, it's just kind of like, well, what am I in this for? Because that was the way I always campaigned.” Gómez said she’s looking forward to listening to music, reading and “learning how to relax.” “Not jumping every time the phone rings, that kind of thing,” she said. Gómez began her career in Travis County in 1973 working for former County Commissioner Richard Moya, who was the first Mexican-American elected to public office in the county. In 1980, she became the county’s first elected female constable after defeating a 14-year incumbent. She was reelected three times, and in her tenure, cleared a backlog of more than 30,000 criminal warrants. Gómez was sworn in as the first female Mexican-American commissioner in 1995 and has held the position since.

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Google announces $10 million Water Impact Fund for Texas projects

Google on Wednesday announced its intentions to invest $10 million into Texas water as part of its broader commitment to manage water resources in the communities where it builds and operates data centers. The company said its Water Impact Fund would support water stewardship and restoration in the state, including protecting already existing water sources and developing or improving infrastructure. “Our goal is to minimize our local impacts so that our growth does not come at the expense of the communities we call home,” the company said in its announcement. The investment is part of Google’s larger announcement of $17 million for seven new projects across the country. Other states receiving funding are Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska.

Water is critical to developing and operating data centers. As data centers generate heat from the servers and chips, companies will often rely on water to cut back on energy use needed for cooling. Water cooling can reduce data center energy use by about 10% compared with air cooling, according to Google, which said the aggregate water consumption of U.S. data centers is less than 1% of the water that Americans use on their lawns annually. “The science is showing that water can just have this really, really remarkable ability to reduce the energy consumption of data centers, which helps to support grid constraints and energy affordability in the communities where we operate,” Ben Townsend, Google’s head of infrastructure strategy and sustainability told The Dallas Morning News in an interview. “But, we also know that water is a vital resource, and it is plentiful in some areas and very scarce in others, and because of this, we know that water has to be prioritized.” Google’s new water stewardship commitments include replenishing more water than it consumes at its sites by 2030, helping to modernize water and wastewater infrastructure, protecting at-risk watersheds with air-cooled solutions, reporting its annual water use transparently and pursuing alternative and reclaimed solutions to protect water sources.

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Republican candidate for Harris County commissioner escalates effort to remove incumbent from office

A Harris County commissioner candidate has elevated efforts to remove Commissioner Adrian Garcia from office, arguing in a Texas Supreme Court filing that Garcia’s seat should have become vacant when he was appointed to the Gulf Coast Protection District. The filing in the state’s highest court came after the First Court of Appeals denied Republican candidate Richard Vega’s legal effort in April and ruled that Garcia can keep his seat on the Harris County Commissioners Court. Vega, who is facing Garcia in November’s election, is seeking a ruling to vacate Garcia’s position on commissioners court. He said such a vacancy could allow a special election to be called before a vote on the county budget and taxe rate in mid-September — potentially adding another Republican vote to the Democratically-held commissioners court during fiscal year 2027 budget discussions.

“The partisan split on Commissioners’ Court is currently 4-1, but if the election is held, it could again yield a 3-2 split,” according to the recent filing. “This is a choice for the voters to make. But it reflects how important it is for the Court.” According to state law, however, the county judge is charged with appointing a commissioner’s successor if their seat suddenly becomes vacant before the next general election. Similarly, commissioners court is charged with appointing interims when other county officials vacate their seats — including the recent appointment of former Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin to the county attorney's position. Scott Spiegel, a spokesperson for Garcia’s office, called the latest legal filing a last-ditch effort and a waste of taxpayer money. "It should be noted that two courts have already dismissed these baseless and ludicrous claims,” Spiegel said Tuesday. “The relief the plaintiff seeks is not allowable under the Texas Constitution. We will be having no further comment at this time." A spokesperson for the county attorney’s office said there is no provision in state law for filling a commissioners court seat by special election. The county clerk’s office, which manages elections, deferred questions to the county attorney’s office.

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Zapata County landowners say border wall contractors bulldozed property before agreements were signed

Landowners and border wall opponents in Zapata County say contractors bulldozed property near San Ygnacio this week before landowners signed right-of-entry agreements or went through condemnation proceedings, raising new questions about property rights and the pace of border wall construction in South Texas. Elsa Hull, who lives near San Ygnacio and has been involved in opposition to the project, said she went to the riverfront Tuesday after receiving reports of bulldozing near the Rio Grande. "I received a message that border wall contractors were dozing on private property without permission. That came as a big shock to me," Hull said.

Hull said an elderly landowner showed her where contractors had bulldozed through an irrigation line and cleared vegetation on his property. "He has a boat ramp, and he had an irrigation line, and they dozed right through his property, severed his irrigation line," Hull said. "Now he can't get water up there, he can't withdraw water, and they destroyed all these trees, cut a huge swath through his property." Hull said she later observed similar activity on two nearby properties and that two of the three affected landowners had received right-of-entry requests from the federal government but had not signed them. "Neither one of them had signed," Hull said. "No one had been taken to court to condemn the property, and nobody's received compensation." Hull said federal officials asserted that the land being cleared was already government property because it falls within a floodplain along the river. "They come back and they say that anything in the flood plain along the entire length of the river is federal government property," Hull said. Hull said the landowners possess deeds showing their property extends to the Rio Grande and questioned why right-of-entry requests had been sent if the land was already federally owned.

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Bell Textron lays off hundreds of Fort Worth and Texas employees

Bell Textron has laid off approximately 285 employees across its Amarillo, Fort Worth and Wichita sites, according to a letter from Bell Textron CEO Danny Maldonado. Bell Textron is an American helicopter and aerospace manufacturer based in northeast Fort Worth near Hurst. The letter says that these layoffs affect the members working on the MV-75 programs the most. The MV-75 is a tiltrotor aircraft being developed by Bell. The Star-Telegram reached out to Bell about the exact number of employees affected and no one responded immediately. According to Bell’s website, “The MV-75 strengthens every mission soldiers execute — speed and range cut medevac timelines to save lives, deliver long-range assault forces from safer launch points, and bring agility to humanitarian operations in the toughest terrain.”

Maldonado said as the company moves from design to production, it has to make “additional adjustments to align our overall cost structure with current funding and business needs.” Company officials shared that getting clarity from the government on the funding for this fiscal spending year showed them that layoffs were necessary to align with “current funding and budget realities.” The CEO made it clear that these decisions were based on funding and not employee behavior. “These decisions are not a reflection of the value of the team or the importance of the mission,” Maldonado said. “They are about ensuring we stay aligned to the program, protect long-term success, and position ourselves to deliver what matters most.” In addition to layoffs, Bell is entering a four-week furlough period for certain staff on the MV-75 team that begins June 14. Employees affected by the furlough are expected to receive notice within the next few days, according to Maldonado. Maldonado wrote that it’s “incredibly difficult” to watch colleagues leave who have made such an impact. “The first flight of the MV-75 remains paramount, and long-term prospects for 2027 and beyond remain strong. This is not about stopping momentum; it is about responsibly managing our resources to ensure we can deliver on our commitments,” he said.

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Here is who gave Mayor Jones her playoff tickets to see the Spurs

Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones cheered on the Spurs just a few rows away from the court last week thanks to Tullos Wells, co-chair of the Tobin Endowment and former outside legal counsel for Spurs Sports & Entertainment. A season ticket holder since the 1990s, Wells gave Jones two tickets to the Spurs' Game 6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder last week. He said he couldn’t make the game because he was visiting Boston. He had two tickets behind the Spurs' bench every playoff game, but he said he gave most of his tickets to friends. He said he doesn’t recall giving any to other elected officials during the Spurs' playoff run.

Wells, an attorney, said he has spoken to Jones only a couple of times. Jones reached out to him last month to pick his brain about San Antonio’s business community. They talked for more than an hour in the lobby of a downtown hotel. They didn’t talk about the Spurs or plans for a publicly financed downtown arena for the team. Jones has had a tense relationship with the Spurs organization. She unsuccessfully fought last summer to slow down City Council’s adoption of arena financing agreement with SS&E and Bexar County, and she has argued the team owner should share revenue generated from a new facility — which SS&E has called a non-starter. Wells offered Jones his tickets for Game 6 during their conversation. He recalled telling her that “the mayor needs to show up at a Spurs game and show the flag.” “I think it’s important that the mayor be there and understand better what role the Spurs play in this community,” he added.

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'A lot of concern': Mark Cuban expresses worry over future of Victory Park, downtown Dallas

Mark Cuban's transformative impact on the Dallas-Fort Worth multiplex could be most felt in the area of downtown Dallas known as Victory Park, in which Victory Avenue runs through, tucked snuggly between I-35E and the Woodall Rodgers Freeway. The crown jewel of this once-ascendant mix of business development, upscale entertainment choices, and high-priced retail became the American Airlines Center upon its opening in 2001. One of the people most involved in that stadium's development, and its earned status as the home for major league sports in Dallas, was the former Dallas Mavericks principal owner Cuban, now a minority owner, meaning he's basically in the same position as anyone else who is searching for answers in the wake of the Mavs' decision this week to purchase land at the former site of the Valley View Mall in North Dallas.

In an email exchange with WFAA, Cuban spoke of his concern for the future of what is expected to now be the former site of both the Mavs and the Stars, who right after the Mavs' announcement, made public their plans to develop a new arena in Plano at the former Shops at Willow Bend site. "A lot of concern," Cuban wrote to WFAA about his main reaction to the news. "And (concern) for the people that have businesses down there. Who live down there to be close to games." Even with his reduced influence on the Mavs' future plans, Cuban has remained an endorser of the Mavericks remaining in Dallas, he reaffirmed that belief in 2024 while at the same time stating that the chances of the Mavs staying at the AAC being "less than 50%." As news of the Valley View development choice emerged this week, Cuban told the House of Haymaker podcast that it was a "great choice" and an option he considered before selling his majority share of the team. Overall, Cuban sees the eventual choice made as potentially transformative for another area of Dallas, but he still tells us that he hopes both his team and the Stars retain some connection to the Victory Park area. "I hope both teams do something to help (Victory Park)," Cuban tells WFAA.

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Grimes County approves tax break for SpaceX chip facility

Grimes County officials approved a tax break for a SpaceX chipmaking facility on Wednesday, supporting a $55 billion project that could create 1,800 jobs and transform this rural area outside of College Station. More than 100 people attended Wednesday’s public hearing. They largely expressed concerns about their rural way of life, impacts to property values and local businesses, SpaceX’s lack of transparency and potential effects to the environment. A handful of people spoke in support of the project.

After hours of public comments, four of the five county commissioners, including the county judge, voted in favor of providing SpaceX with a tax abatement agreement. The deal waives the company’s property taxes in exchange for SpaceX paying $10 million to the county upfront and then $20 million a year for the 35-year period. The proposed facility, which SpaceX is calling Terafab, is still in its early stages. But Grimes County is poised to become home to a major chipmaking facility. “Texas is where the integrated circuit was born and where the future of the semiconductor industry is being built,” Andrew Mahaleris, press secretary for Gov. Greg Abbott, said in a statement released before Wednesday’s hearing. Chips, also commonly called semiconductors, are found in nearly all electronic devices. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is building Terafab to create chips for its Starlink broadband internet satellites and the data centers it plans to launch into space, according to John Federspiel, who said he’s leading the Terafab project for SpaceX.

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Patrick joins GOP leaders in lining up behind Bo French

Roughly a year after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Bo French's inflammatory comments did not reflect Republican values, he is now backing French for the Texas Railroad Commission. French, a hard-right conservative who last week won the GOP runoff for the three-member commission that regulates the state's oil and gas industry, said he spoke with Patrick by phone Monday night. “The takeaway is that Republicans are unified and working together to defeat the slate of radicals the Democrats have offered up,” French, the former Tarrant County GOP chairman, posted Tuesday.

Patrick had backed Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright in the runoff. French narrowly defeated Wright and will face state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, in November. The call is another sign Republicans are rallying behind their nominees after a bruising primary season. French earlier announced endorsements from GOP commissioners Christi Craddick and Wayne Christian, who also supported Wright in the runoff. Despite opposition from much of the Republican establishment in the runoff, French attracted strong support from Texas' MAGA base. His social media posts have often featured anti-Muslim rhetoric, calls for mass deportations and slurs targeting people with disabilities and LGBTQ people. Neither Patrick's campaign nor French responded to requests for comment about the call. Over the weekend, Patrick's campaign issued a statement endorsing the Republican ticket but did not mention French by name. “I said that if voters whose candidates lost the primary refuse to support the winners in November, Texas will turn blue,” Patrick said. “These races were tough on all sides. But we must come together as one party to defeat the crazy left, who are a threat to our great state.” Patrick's history with French is unusual. Last year, he called on French to resign as Tarrant County GOP chair after French posted a poll asking whether Jews or Muslims posed a greater threat to the country. French did not resign but he later deleted the poll and said he regretted posting it.

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Nearly 180 ICE detainees quarantined at Camp East Montana for possible measles exposure

Nearly 180 detainees are under quarantine for possible measles exposure at Camp East Montana, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Fort Bliss, city health officials told El Paso Matters on Wednesday. The facility initiated quarantine after 16 detainees were identified as contacts of two confirmed measles cases at a detention facility in Arizona, city officials said. The detainees arrived at Camp East Montana before the Arizona measles cases were confirmed, Dr. Hector Ocaranza, city and county health authority, said in an email statement to El Paso Matters. City, state and federal officials didn’t say when the quarantine began.

But it appears the quarantine started at the detention center several days before state and local health officials were notified of possible measles exposures. A Catholic group was turned away Sunday from a planned Mass and told there was a quarantine to protect against measles spread, said a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified. The chain of communication among federal, state and local authorities raises questions about whether ICE delayed notification on potentially serious public health matters. As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, there were no detainees at Camp East Montana showing symptoms of measles, and no indication of measles spread in the El Paso community linked to these exposures, Ocaranza said. Chris Van Deusen, a spokesperson for the state health department, said a group of detainees were also quarantined for measles exposure at the West Texas Detention Facility in Sierra Blanca. The detention centers are quarantining because of different possible exposures to measles cases in other states, he said in an email.

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David Brockman: ‘Fake’ Christian? or Faithful?

“One of the few openly Christian politicians in the United States who acts like a Christian.” That’s how conservative New York Times columnist David French recently characterized James Talarico and the Texas Democrat’s “faith-forward” campaign for the U.S. Senate. It should come as no surprise that Talarico walks the Christian walk: He’s currently on leave from his training for the ministry at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (APTS). However, given the MAGA Christian response to the young politician-seminarian, you might think it was the Antichrist running for the Senate. He’s been called “demonic,” a “fake Christian,” and “blasphemous,” with “very, very radical and extreme views.” One Newsmax host accused him of using “fake passages from the Bible, tortured and misrepresented.” Talarico has drawn fire for characterizing God as “nonbinary,” though he later explained he meant God is “beyond gender” (a common theological notion). U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson, an Amarillo Republican, said the statement showed Talarico is “a full-on RADICAL LEFTIST!!”

Such over-the-top rhetoric is a sad fact of life in this age of post-truth hyperbole. But the ferocity of anti-Talarico invective reveals a deep and very public clash between two distinct ways of being Christian. While MAGA Christians insist that the Bible dictates their anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-immigrant Christian nationalism, the Mainline Protestant tradition—of which Talarico’s Presbyterian Church (USA) is a part—has a very different understanding of what it means to follow Jesus, one that leads to a politics precisely opposite from that of MAGA Christians. Within this Mainline tradition, Talarico is quite orthodox. His campaign, then, and the shrill attacks it provokes from right-wing Christians, is a vivid reminder of just how varied Christianity is. And paradoxically, Talarico’s unabashedly biblical politics also underscore the imperative of defending our nation’s venerable, but now vulnerable, tradition of church-state separation. So strongly does Talarico’s campaign foreground his Christian faith that The New Yorker claims his platform is basically the New Testament. That’s a bit of an overstatement.

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Lisa Falkenberg: Mike Miles’ HISD reforms are hurting my daughter’s school: ‘Mom, I don’t even have an English teacher’

Stuck in traffic one morning in October, I tried to make small talk with my 13-year-old daughter in the back seat. “What are you reading these days?” I asked. “Nothing,” she said. Nothing. I felt a thud in my soul. This was the same big-eyed girl, the same consummate straight-A student who, just a few years earlier, had to have her nose physically dislodged from a book several times a day so the family could reacquaint ourselves with her face. In elementary school during the pandemic, she finished “Little Women” in two days. If you had asked her if she loved reading, she might have responded similarly to Scout Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird”: “I never loved to read. One does not love to breathe.”

“You’re not reading anything?” I prodded the middle-schooler. “Not even in English class?” She paused, giving me a look that said I should know better. “Mom,” she said. “I don’t even have an English teacher.” Ah, yes. I had forgotten. For months, I had written about other schools within Houston ISD, scrutinizing superintendent Mike Miles’ reforms in the state’s takeover, his closure of libraries and sidelining of storybooks, all the while harboring some relief that my own three kids’ campuses had been somewhat insulated from the changes. Until this year, that is, when the district’s instability, fluctuating expectations and teacher exodus hurt my kid, too. Some like to pretend that Miles’ move-fast-and-break-things approach is only affecting students at the poorest-performing schools for whom any change must be better than what they had. That's not true. The Houston Chronicle has reported that aspects of Miles’ controversial curriculum or instructional model have seeped into virtually all of HISD’s 274 campuses. That includes some of the highest-performing schools that never needed academic rehabilitation in the first place. These are schools for which families sweat lottery admissions to gain entry, and some even buy houses or rent apartments just to be zoned to them.

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Policy expert exits Mayor Jones’ office, upping total departures to 8

Policy expert Sophia Alejandro has become the latest staffer in Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ office to leave, bringing the total number of staff exits within the past year to eight, Jones’ office confirmed Wednesday. Even so, the mayor’s office declined to discuss the reasons behind the departure by Alejandro, a Baylor University alum with a master’s in public administration from George Washington University. Alejandro joined the office in October to help Jones implement her agenda. Word of Alejandro’s exit comes less than 24 hours after Jones’ office announced the hiring of TikTok realtor MarkAnthony Ball to help with the mayor’s social media presence. The departure also comes after both Jones’ chief of staff, Jenise Carroll, and deputy chief of staff, Pat Wallace, left within a week of one another.

Other staffers who have left Jones’ office within the first year of her four-year term include: Jordan Abelson, who served as chief of staff from June 2025 until July 2025; Anna San Miguel, who served as special assistant from August 2025 until October 2025; Rory Vance, who oversaw event services from June 2025 until September 2025; Gary Cooper, who briefly served as communications director in August 2025; Carlos de Leon, who briefly served as communications director during October 2025 Former staffers have complained about difficult working conditions on the 2nd floor of City Hall. One former staffer, who spoke to the Current on condition of anonymity after leaving the office, said Jones was disrespectful to staff and created a toxic work environment. Meanwhile, an ex-campaign staffer, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity after signing an NDA, maintained Jones was difficult to work with and often ignored her staff’s advice. Separately, a person familiar with City Hall matters recalled an incident in which Jones hastened a staffer’s resignation by publicly dressing the person down for taking a seat at a meeting.

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National Stories

AI data center demand “larger than we’re prepared for” despite “existential investment” - report

Data center demand “could be larger than we’re prepared for,” with vacancy entering record lows of two percent, and global AI usage surging, according to a report from Newmark. Newmark’s 2026 Data Center Market Outlook report showed that, in a scenario where AI usage reaches levels similar to Internet or smartphone adoption, an additional 250GW of capacity would be required, far exceeding currently planned AI-data center capacity. While conceding that this is an “aggressive but still plausible scenario,” the report argued that this prediction doesn’t even account for increases in enterprise workloads, Edge compute, or AI training, which Newmark said is forecast to grow by 3x annually through 2030.

“This scenario leaves the market in a catch-22: the binding constraint on mass AI adoption is new capacity coming online, and the binding constraint on new capacity is power,” the report said, “In the meantime, hyperscalers, developers, and their partners continue to pour capital into the buildout at an accelerating pace, considering it an ‘existential investment.’ As constraints sharpen and demand rises, the goalposts for spending continue to move higher.” Various firms and organizations have tried to put an estimate on the amount of investment required to meet rapidly growing data center demand, with some suggesting staggering sums of up to $3 trillion over the next five years. Last year, data center investment topped $580 billion and beat investment in new oil supply for the first time. And in 2026, hyperscalers alone are expected to spend $700bn to meet their data center commitments. Newmark’s report also examined the boosted demand for core industrial real estate driven by the level of spending on data center construction, termed the “halo effect.” Spending on data center construction is now up by nearly 400 percent since 2020, significantly boosting demand for warehouses, industrial outdoor storage, and manufacturing facilities.

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The meltdown inside ‘60 Minutes’

Emotions were running high again at CBS News. Longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley had delivered a rebuke of CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss at a staff meeting Monday, accusing her of “murdering” the storied news show. He also criticized her choice of Nick Bilton as a new executive producer. In the hours after his remarks, Weiss and other senior leaders debated how to proceed, people familiar with the matter said. The executives believed Pelley’s behavior was insubordinate and a fireable offense, but decided to speak with him to discuss his future at the network. David Ellison, CEO of CBS parent Paramount spoke with Weiss about how she would approach that conversation, people familiar with the situation said. The fraught circumstances of Pelley’s departure illustrate a broader moment of crisis within CBS News and its signature show.

So went another wild week at CBS News. In the past six days, “60 Minutes,” its signature show, parted ways with three high-profile correspondents, turned over its top editorial and producing ranks and sparked a staff mutiny. Just three of the show’s correspondents, who introduce themselves to viewers at the start of each episode, remain: Lesley Stahl, Jon Wertheim and Bill Whitaker. Weiss has made significant changes to CBS News’ roster of talent, programming and operations since taking over last October following Paramount’s purchase of her news and opinion platform, the Free Press, for $150 million. In the process, her editorial choices and growing pains as a new TV executive have drawn the ire of many longtime staffers, particularly at “60 Minutes.” Spats between Weiss’s roster of deputies and the show’s stars have morphed into a fight over the future and soul of the program. The most recent season of “60 Minutes” had a 9% increase in viewership from the year prior, according to Nielsen data. Weiss’s supporters see her strategy at CBS as a painful but necessary retrofitting of a stultified news operation to compete in a modern era, one in which waning audience trust and splintering viewership are challenging broadcasters. Her detractors say the decisions are politically motivated and have further eroded the credibility of a long-successful network.

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Senators privately ask Platner whether new allegations will emerge

In a private meeting Tuesday with some Senate Democrats, Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner attempted to quell growing concerns from some in the party that a string of negative revelations about his life had jeopardized his candidacy. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders asked Platner if any additional allegations would emerge against the embattled Democratic candidate, according to people familiar with the discussion. Platner said there weren’t any. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who also attended the meeting, followed up and said there is a big difference between marital issues and allegations of sexual assault, the people said. Platner agreed and denied any credible allegations of assault were forthcoming. “It’s not a secret I’ve had a messy, complicated life,” he told the senators, one of the people said. “The worst of the rumors we’ve all heard are not true.”

The meeting with some of Platner’s biggest supporters in the Senate (Sanders and Warren have both endorsed him), ended with most of the group continuing to express support for the neophyte politician. But the gathering also underscored that Platner’s campaign had entered crisis mode. Over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal reported Platner engaged in sexually explicit texts with other women while married, prompting concerns among Democrats that his personal life could imperil the party’s shot at flipping one of the Senate’s most competitive seats. “I have no idea” if more shoes will drop, Sen. Peter Welch (D., Vt.) said a day after attending the meeting. Asked if Platner had been reassuring, Welch said, “He was very explicit that he accepts the right of Maine voters to ask him questions about his personal life and his responsibility to answer those questions.” Others who attended the meeting said they remained convinced Platner was the right candidate. “I didn’t go in needing assurance and I left feeling confident,” said Sen. Tina Smith (D., Minn.), who described herself as “excited” about Platner’s candidacy.

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Senate GOP leaders’ rough day ahead

President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday night that he’ll formally nominate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for the post full-time. This will be a difficult nomination for Senate Republicans. There’s no guarantee that Blanche — Trump’s formal personal lawyer — can even get through the Judiciary Committee, much less get confirmed by the full Senate. More on Blanche and Senate Republicans below. Reconciliation now. It’s going to be a really long day for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso. The GOP leadership duo is in for a marathon of twisting arms and whipping votes on two pieces of legislation that have little in common except for this: Trump has made passing them much harder than it needed to be. Trump is causing Senate Republicans a ton of heartburn right now. GOP senators really want to wrap up the reconciliation bill funding ICE and Border Patrol, find a long-term solution for FISA Section 702 and move on to other priorities, like the long-stalled bipartisan affordable housing bill.

Vulnerable Republicans are desperate to show they’re trying to address the high cost of living, the top issue for voters. And GOP leaders want to be talking about their economic program — mostly the One Big Beautiful Bill’s tax cuts — amid a Democratic barrage over affordability. Instead, Trump is lobbing problems at Senate Republicans in the middle of crucial legislative fights. Just in the last few weeks, the Trump administration tried to secure $1 billion for White House ballroom security, unveiled the “anti-weaponization” fund as the reconciliation bill was about to pass and tapped Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence days before another FISA deadline. All of these moves derailed elements of the GOP’s agenda while heightening tensions between Trump and Senate Republicans. The Pulte standoff is far from solved and could tank FISA reauthorization altogether. Yet Trump isn’t showing any signs he cares much at all about Congress. Now Trump wants to formally confirm Blanche as the nation’s top law-enforcement official. This comes just weeks after a hostile meeting between Blanche and Senate Republicans over the “anti-weaponization” fund that left GOP senators fuming and delayed the reconciliation bill. And for Senate Republicans, Trump’s move on Blanche could pave the way for the president to further erode their power on nominations. Floor action. First up today is the GOP reconciliation bill, which has been stalled for two weeks over the weaponization fund fiasco. Despite assurances from Blanche that the fund won’t move forward, some GOP senators want to codify that promise into law, especially as Trump is still actively defending the fund. Several Republicans have indicated they’d oppose the bill on final passage if it doesn’t include such language. GOP leaders can’t lose more than three votes on final passage. “We need to take action here. It’s creating headwinds that we don’t need,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who told us it’d be “hard” for him to support the reconciliation bill without language on the fund. “If we’ve got the acting AG saying it’s done, then let’s just stick a fork in it.”

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Trump says he plans to nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he planned to formally nominate acting attorney general Todd Blanche for a full term as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, signaling confidence in his former personal defense lawyer’s leadership of a department over which the president has sought to exert unprecedented control. Trump announced his intention to move forward Thursday with the nomination during a White House dinner Wednesday evening, according to a video of his remarks posted to social media by deputy White House chief of staff Dan Scavino. “We are going to make him permanent attorney general,” Trump said. Blanche has held the job on a temporary basis since Trump fired former attorney general Pam Bondi earlier this year.

Trump’s decision to back Blanche for a permanent term will kick off a Senate confirmation process that could face tough headwinds. Some Republican senators have already expressed hesitation about supporting Blanche for the job, raising questions about recent comments in which they believed he appeared to excuse violence committed during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. More recently, Blanche faced open revolt from some portions of the Republican caucus in the Senate, as he unsuccessfully sought to defend a deal struck to settle legal claims Trump had filed against the government with the creation of a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who believe they have been victims of politicized prosecutions. Facing bipartisan backlash, Blanche returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to announce that plans for the fund had been scuttled. Trump has repeatedly expressed approval for Blanche’s performance in his temporary post, including the day after Blanche‘s reversal on the settlement deal. “Todd’s doing a very good job at DOJ,” the president said during an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of the New York Post podcast, Pod Force One. Trump added, “I wanted to see how he’s received. ... We put him as acting, and he’s done a very good job, but I’ve known him a long time.”

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House passes Iran war powers resolution in bipartisan rebuke to Trump

The House on Wednesday voted to direct President Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the conflict with Iran or win approval from Congress to continue the war, after four Republicans sided with Democrats in a striking sign of growing opposition to a military campaign now in its fourth month. Adoption of the resolution was a remarkable rebuke to Mr. Trump and his handling of the conflict, after he has repeatedly dismissed any effort by Congress to curb his power and as the G.O.P. has largely ceded its prerogatives to do so, deferring to him time and again. Republicans had abruptly postponed the vote two weeks ago, recognizing that they did not have sufficient votes to defeat the measure and wanting to spare themselves and the president the affront. But they made no headway over the ensuing days in winning converts, as the conflict has dragged on and Mr. Trump has made little progress toward ending it.

G.O.P. leaders were unable to delay the vote any longer because Democrats had invoked the War Powers Resolution, which requires consideration of such measures within a limited period of time. The move was also the latest reflection of divisions between Republicans in Congress and the president on a range of issues as their interests diverge in the run-up to the midterm congressional elections. It came after Senate Republicans have in recent days forced Mr. Trump to abandon his request for $1 billion in security funding for his ballroom project and a plan that the Justice Department announced to create a federal fund to pay claimants who accuse the government of having victimized them. The vote was 215 to 208 to adopt the war powers resolution, sending it to the Senate. Even if it were to pass both chambers, the ability of lawmakers to force a president to withdraw troops remains a contested legal question, and Mr. Trump and his senior aides have dismissed any effort by Congress to limit his war powers as unconstitutional.

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New York Democrats give preliminary approval to redistricting amendment

New York Democrats gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a constitutional amendment allowing them to redraw the state’s congressional lines in advance of the 2028 elections. The state Legislature’s vote formally kicks off what’s likely to be several years of bitter partisan feuds over whether blue New York should join the national redistricting wars. “You have Black members of Congress being specifically targeted,” Senate Deputy Leader Mike Gianaris said during the floor debate, referring to new maps that have been drawn in Republican-dominated states. “Of course Republican members of this body will say, ‘No, don’t fight fire with fire, don’t respond.’” The amendment to allow mid-decade changes to the maps can’t be finalized unless the Legislature approves it again next year and voters pass it as a referendum in November 2027.

Republicans and Democrats are expected to pour tens of millions of dollars, if not more, into that vote that could move up to four GOP seats to the Democratic column. And Democrats are doing everything they can to ensure that goes as smoothly as possible — they’re poised to approve a separate bill on Thursday that would give them the power to determine the wording of the referendum. “There is going to be a rigging of the system,” Republican Sen. George Borrello said. “We’re going to say the words just right, pour a ton of money into the propaganda, and try to convince people this is in their best interest.” Democrats decided to take an aggressive approach with the amendment after months of debating how far they should go. Not only would it allow for new lines before the next Census, but it’d permanently remove the state’s restrictions on maps drawn to benefit parties or incumbents. Wednesday’s state Senate debate was largely an argument over history. Republicans repeatedly dusted off quotes from Gianaris and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins from when they worked with former New York City Mayor Ed Koch 15 years ago to call for more independent redistricting. Lines like “voters choose their elected officials rather than elected officials choose their voters” repeatedly resurfaced.

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Republicans rocked by Trump’s midterm approach

Republicans hoping to keep control of Congress in a tough election year have been thrown off-balance by President Trump’s focus on foreign policy, pet projects, and statements dismissing the importance of the midterms and cost-of-living issues. To be sure, Trump’s team is putting its shoulder into the midterm operations. The president has helped to catapult fundraising and clamp down on primary infighting that could distract from a unified message. But as Republicans were trying to roll out messaging on tax cuts, Trump’s actions in Iran dominated the headlines and national attention. And Trump in recent weeks has outright said cost of living and keeping control of Congress are not a part of the calculus in his approach to Iran — saying “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation” and “I don’t care about the midterms.”

That’s left some Republicans scratching their heads. “Of course, that was frustrating,” one GOP operative said. “There is going to be a need to talk about the economy no matter what, because that’s always going to be the top issue.” Trump’s defenders note the president made the comments in the context of U.S. negotiations with Iran, and Republicans publicly insist his team is active in the 2026 fight. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that Trump is “absolutely” focused on the midterms. In a three-hour meeting with the president Monday, Johnson said, “we talked about domestic policy almost the entire time.” “This president is more laser focused and more dialed in on domestic issues here in the homeland than any president in memory,” Johnson said. “He spends more time working on domestic issues in one day than Joe Biden did in four.” The Republican National Committee (RNC) referred to Trump as “the party’s strongest messenger, biggest turnout driver, and the key to Republican success in the midterms.”

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Copyright June 11, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved