Lead Stories

Dozens of Texas agencies say they can't afford to make state-mandated budget cuts

In July, Texas' top elected officials directed most state agencies, appellate courts and public universities to cut spending by 3% in their base budget requests for the next two years. Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows said those reductions will help Texas hold a "strong fiscal position" by expanding property tax relief and maintaining public education funding when the legislature returns to Austin next year. Yet dozens of agency leaders have warned that the cuts, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, are not sustainable. They would cause Texas residents to lose "essential" services and lead to losses in state revenue, leaders said at the capitol and in budget documents. Texas A&M University System Chancellor Glenn Hegar, a former lawmaker and state comptroller, acknowledged the complexities of state finances before asking budget writers to oppose the 3% cut to his system, which includes 12 universities, eight agencies and other institutions.

"I've spent much of my career working on budgets from the other side of this table," Hegar said during a Sept. 25 hearing on the system's legislative appropriations request. "I understand that every request competes with other important needs and every dollar must deliver a return for the people of Texas." To avoid impacting student services, the university system plans to shrink several research programs if the funding cuts are enacted, according to university documents. "We are asking that the 3% reductions be restored for all institutions, so they can continue to protect education and the services students depend on without shifting additional costs to families," Hegar said. Other government institutions protesting the cuts include the comptroller's office, the attorney general, Texas' Cancer Prevention and Research Institute, state criminal justice agencies and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. This is not the first time state agencies have been asked to cut their spending. In the wake of a recession, state leaders mandated 5% cuts to budget requests in 2010 and required 4% cuts due to low severance tax revenues in 2016, according to Rahul Sreenivasan, a fiscal policy analyst at the nonpartisan think tank Texas 2036.

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In Texas Senate race, Talarico leans into growing rivalry with Elon Musk

A rivalry between the world’s richest person and one of the most prominent Democratic candidates is intensifying during the final stage of this year’s midterm elections. On the campaign trail in Texas, James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate, is increasingly criticizing Elon Musk over his role in the race. Mr. Musk made a huge contribution this fall to a group aligned with Ken Paxton, Mr. Talarico’s Republican opponent, recent campaign finance disclosures showed. The race in Texas, a pivotal contest that could determine control of the Senate, is now in part a test of whether Democrats can turn Mr. Musk into a political boogeyman and whether his infusion of cash can lift a Republican candidate who has lagged behind his opponent in fund-raising.

“Elon Musk wants our land. He wants our water. He wants our tax dollars,” Mr. Talarico said at a rally in San Antonio on Saturday, as the crowd booed in disapproval of Mr. Musk. “He wants his very own personal United States senator.” Representatives for Mr. Musk and Mr. Paxton did not respond to requests for comment. Mr. Talarico has stepped up his attacks on Mr. Musk after campaign finance filings revealed earlier this month that Mr. Musk, a Texas resident who has major business interests in the state, donated $158 million to a Republican super PAC that then flipped the same amount to a group allied with Mr. Paxton. At the University of Texas on Friday, Mr. Talarico said Mr. Musk was trying to “stop the movement that we are building in our state.” The day before that, Mr. Talarico’s campaign released a digital advertisement accusing Mr. Paxton of being beholden to Mr. Musk. “Let’s remind Elon: Texas is not for sale,” says the narrator of the ad. Mr. Talarico is betting that Mr. Musk’s connection to the contest will hurt Mr. Paxton. It’s not the first time Democrats have made such a wager.

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Russian diesel could be on its way to the U.S., but will it actually impact prices?

As diesel prices reached record levels last month across the country, an unconventional solution might be on its way to the U.S. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced he made a deal with Russia to bring over 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel to the U.S. — with millions more to come. Now, media reports say tankers are on their way from Russia to the U.S. But Texas is unlikely to receive that diesel — that is, if the U.S. ever receives it. Energy Secretary Chris Wright recently told reporters, including the Houston Business Journal, at an event in Houston that Texas produces a lot of diesel through its refineries, but other parts of the U.S. will need to benefit. “In the Northeast, they often get diesel and (liquefied natural gas) from overseas to bring into that region because (of) a limitation on energy infrastructure. So if you saw Russian diesel arrive in the United States, maybe it comes to New England,” Wright said.

But Ed Hirs, energy economist at the University of Houston, is skeptical that the diesel will even make it to the U.S. He said the country’s diesel prices are a result of global supply issues, but that local supply is relatively stable and that the U.S. is still exporting roughly 1.5 million barrels of diesel per day. “Why would we buy an inferior product?” Hirs said. “I don't think the diesel is going to make it here. It'll be traded off someplace.” Previously, Russian diesel and crude had been sold on the global market at discounted prices because it was sanctioned. With the U.S. bringing in shipments, even if they are sold off, Hirs said the diesel being sold at full price would simply benefit Russia. “In effect, what the president has done is he's given Vladimir Putin a huge bonus by allowing this diesel to be sold at the global market price at $185, $190 per barrel,” Hirs said. After Trump previously explored a ban on diesel exports and now is bringing in Russian diesel — both actions that have faced backlash — Hirs said the government doesn’t have the power to find easy solutions to global pricing issues. “You may be able to flout the laws of the land, but you can't flout the laws of supply and demand,” Hirs said.

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US political candidates tailor messages for AI models used by voters

US political candidates have been engineering their campaign messages to appeal to the AI chatbots that more voters have been using to answer questions about issues, and documents seen by Reuters have revealed some of ?their strategies. One Powerpoint presentation proposed a strategy for Mike Minogue, Republican challenger to Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. It aimed to convince ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and other chatbots to present him as ?the preferred choice on key issues, and went well beyond traditional search-engine optimization that candidates have used for years. As AI increasingly becomes a source of news, political campaigns must make greater efforts to control its output and become its recommendation when voters ask questions such as who is best on issues like taxes, housing and public safety. Some experts worry about fact-checking and misinformation in AI campaigns.

Fees can range from hundreds of dollars a month for small AI monitoring jobs to tens of thousands per month if consulting ?and buying media are included. The presentation proposed that Minogue's campaign should create hundreds of AI-friendly policy pages and citations across the websites frequently cited by AI chatbots. It proposed ways to track ?how major chatbots respond to political questions, and systematically alter content until the answers reflect the candidate's platform. At the center of the pitch was the idea that ?in addition to persuading voters directly, campaigns can increasingly shape the information environment by feeding the internet, and AI assistants, data that influences how candidates are described, compared and recommended. "Campaigns using AI-influence training are now a reality that ?we face and it will be ubiquitous by the 2028 cycle," which will include a presidential election, said Joe Bonilla, managing partner of Relentless Awareness. The New York-based creative strategy firm has worked with companies and political ?candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. "The public increasingly cannot and will not be able to discern what is created by systems like Claude and ChatGPT versus human-originated content," Bonilla said.

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State Stories

Republican Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker endorses Democrat Jon Rosenthal for Texas Railroad Commissioner

A month after multiple Republicans condemned Texas Railroad Commissioner candidate Bo French over a racist social media post, Republican Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker has endorsed his opponent, Jon Rosenthal. "Jon Rosenthal is the right choice for Texas Railroad Commissioner," Parker said in a statement shared by Rosenthal on X. "The Texas Railroad Commission is not a place for culture wars and bigotry - it’s the foundation of the Texas economy, and we cannot afford to hand it to the wrong leader." Parker additionally said Rosenthal has proven leadership, experience and a focus on regulation and policy in partnering with industry leaders and Texans. Rosenthal, a mechanical engineer who has worked in the oil and gas industry for more than 25 years, made his case for the office on Inside Texas Politics in June.

“Sometimes my opponents have tried to say that I’m a Democrat that wants to destroy the oil and gas industry. My answer to that is it’s literally how I make my house payments. I’m not looking to cut the legs out from my own household,” Rosenthal said at the time. “I’m the expert in this race. My opponent has no experience.” French drew widespread criticism on the night the University of Texas football team beat Ohio State in September, when he shared a photo on X showing a group of predominantly South Asian fans celebrating at the game. He referred to the fans as “foreigners” and described their presence as a “problem,” drawing condemnation from Democrats and prominent Texas Republicans. Rosenthal responded to the controversy by writing: “A man who can't tell a Longhorn from a foreigner has no business regulating anything in Texas.”

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Severe storms may bring flooding to Texas this week

After a rainy Sunday, wet weather will likely continue to drench a large chunk of West Texas to start the work week, with forecasters even warning residents that there's a chance of flooding. A large system whose tail has been hanging out across West Texas and the Texas Panhandle on Sunday will finally head north on Monday, according to the National Weather Service Office in Midland/Odessa on Sunday. But that tail will likely swing across West Texas, forecasters added, bringing possible showers on Monday afternoon. "This looks the best chance for rain this event," the forecasters wrote Sunday. High temperatures in the Midland and Odessa area will hover around 70 degrees Monday.

The tail of that system should also impact the Panhandle, said the National Weather Service Office in Amarillo on Sunday. There's currently a 50 percent chance of showers Monday, with wind gusts that could be as high as 25 mph. But that isn't all that Panhandle forecasters are watching. "Heavy rainfall rates could cause some localized flooding for these areas," the forecasters wrote Sunday. The NWS has issued a "marginal risk of excessive rainfall" for much of the Panhandle through Monday. As of Sunday afternoon, there was a 5 to 14 percent chance of flash flooding within 25 miles of all areas of the Panhandle for Monday. Highs should be in the upper 60s. Drier conditions are set to return starting Tuesday, with temperatures beginning to climb into the mid 70s. Another round of showers could arrive late in the week as a system is expected to move in from Baja California.

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Texas youth prison director resigns following controversial multiday lockdown

The director of the embattled agency that oversees Texas’ youth prisons has resigned, according to a message she sent to staff members on Friday morning. “I want you to hear directly from me that I have submitted my resignation,” wrote Shandra Carter, who has led the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) since 2022, in a message obtained by The Texas Newsroom. She added, “I will always be proud of TJJD, and I will always be rooting for your success.” Carter’s sudden departure comes just weeks after TJJD imposed an unprecedented multiday lockdown at all five of its youth prisons, confining hundreds of children to their cells day and night and prompting harsh criticism from advocacy groups.

An investigation by KERA and The Texas Newsroom published in September revealed scores of episodes of self-harm by the children during the first few days of the lockdown. The investigation also exposed numerous instances in which agency staff struggled to handle the situation and expressed an urgent need for more resources, detailed in thousands of pages of shift logs. Carter has said she ordered the lockdown to give staff across the agency time to evaluate their safety procedures following an “exceptionally brutal assault” against a juvenile correctional officer. TJJD declined to comment for this story.

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How water is defining the map for Central Texas residential development

Whiskey may be for drinking, but water is becoming worth more than just a fight. Water access is a growing challenge across the nation. But as utilities get more challenging for Central Texas residential developers to secure, water access is determining the local pathway for residential growth. When it comes to plotting out a potential neighborhood, utilities can be a defining factor for project viability. Specifically, water and wastewater each have a complicated flow chart of approvals and regulatory bodies that dictate access.

Developers want to help determine the path forward, said Grant Rollo, vice president at Randolph Texas Development. He sees one of the best ways for residential players to get involved is through coordination. Strategic partnerships with municipalities, water-focused agreements with other entities and frank communication are all needed. "I think there's a lot of ego to get through all across the board to really find a solution," he said. "That's going to be the battle." The city of Austin and its water utility are at the forefront of water strategy, said Daniel Oney, research director for Texas A&M's Texas Real Estate Research Center. But the vast majority of the metro's single-family development is going up outside of city limits, a sprawl that only accelerated in recent years. “Before COVID, the biggest thing was your wastewater company … water was never really a concern back then,” Rollo said. “Fast forward to today, and we have the great Texas miracle that happened. We had record numbers of people moving to Central Texas" and more utility needs than many suburban cities were prepared for.

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Texas dad deported by ICE to Ghana was then forced to go to Mali, a country that's unsafe for him, he says

From thousands of miles away, a Texas dad, hiding in a country he doesn't know, reminded his son to vacuum the carpet each week. Moussa Diawara is from Mali, but spent nearly half his life living in the United States, where he married, had two U.S. citizen children, worked and paid taxes. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported him to Ghana over the summer. Diawara has no connection to Ghana, but a judge had issued an order that he couldn't be deported to Mali, because it was likely he'd be persecuted there. Diawara said that within days of his arrival in Ghana, local officials forced him onto a flight to Mali. "I still say to myself, 'This isn't real,'" Diawara said.

Third-country deportations are a reality for many as President Trump's administration seeks to carry out the largest deportation in U.S. history. When the U.S. government decides an immigrant can't stay in the U.S., and can't be sent to their home country, it can send them to a third country. A 60 Minutes investigation found that some of the third countries accepting deportees from the U.S. are routinely sending them back to the very countries they fled — locations where U.S. immigration judges ruled they would likely be persecuted or tortured. Diawara, 57, came to the U.S. on a tourist visa when he was 32. He overstayed that visa, and later applied for refugee protection, arguing he would be persecuted if he were to return to Mali. Diawara had converted to Christianity, and Mali's a Muslim-majority nation with an Islamist insurgency. He has no criminal record. In 2012, a U.S. immigration judge ruled that Diawara could not be deported to Mali, but the U.S. could find a safe alternative if it ever wanted to remove him from the country. As a result of the ruling, Diawara was able to get a U.S. work permit. He worked as an Uber driver and was finishing a night shift on July 11 of this year when he found ICE agents waiting for him at the suburban Houston home where he lived with his wife and children, who are U.S. citizens. Diawara spent three weeks in ICE detention in Texas, unable to speak to his lawyer or a judge. He was loaded onto a plane and deported to Ghana, a country he never visited or had any ties to, on July 31. In Ghana, Diawara said he and others were detained in a hotel by armed guards and were not allowed to make phone calls.

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This Texas startup is turning oil well waste into EV batteries

Across the Permian Basin, the vast, mineral-rich swath of land in West Texas that supplies much of the nation’s crude oil, derricks pump out massive amounts of oil, roughly 6 million barrels a day. But that amount pales in comparison with the amount of dirty, brackish water that’s also extracted during oil drilling. Drilling in the Permian Basin also unearths roughly 26 million barrels of water a day, about the same daily water use as all of New York City. This water is often black-gray from oil residue, and has a funky odor from underground bacteria. Traditionally considered a by-product of energy production, this water, concentrated seawater from prehistoric oceans, is mineral rich. The Houston-based startup Element3 found that this so-called wastewater is a rich source of lithium, and endeavored to filter it to create a domestic source of this high-demand mineral.

(Lithium is the third element on the periodic table, hence the company name.) It’s a creative concept that, in a poetic twist, turns a waste product of petroleum drilling into the raw materials for EV batteries and a clean energy future. “It’s a wonderful circular economy, waste-to-value story,” said the company CEO and founder, Hood Whitson. Founded in 2021, Element3 is commercializing U.S. Department of Energy research from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on ways to filter this oil by-product, and is working across Texas to figure out ways to scale up production. The firm has raised a little over $20 million and has 15 employees, per PitchBook. For years, DOE researchers have been looking into what Whitson called “unconventional brine mining,” finding ways to extract lithium from California’s inland Salton Sea, for example, or pull rare earth metals out of industrial waste sites. Aged for hundreds of millions of years, the Permian Basin water is five times as salty as today’s oceans, boasting lithium as well as magnesium and strontium. Whitson discovered the properties of this water, and realized that energy companies had built up a massive infrastructure to move it; in effect, paying for the infrastructure for extraction and returning filtered water to the larger system. It seemed like an ideal way to meet the rising demand for lithium, and build a domestic source for the metal, which is mostly processed in China. The U.S. imported more than $16 billon worth of lithium-ion batteries from China in 2024. “This is one of our nation’s largest untapped natural resources,” said Whitson. “It’s really a grand opportunity.”

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Plans to make driving easier between Texas and Colorado just got a million dollar boost from the federal government

$1 million in federal funds are heading to Raton to help plan a potential interstate highway connecting Texas to northern New Mexico. The so-called Raton planning project will evaluate possible ways to connect Interstate 27 in Texas with Interstate 25 just south of the Colorado border. The proposal involves upgrading the existing path of U.S. Highway 87. Local and state officials in New Mexico say this upgrade would provide farmers, ranchers and energy producers with a more reliable way to get their goods to market. Also, they say it’ll help businesses grow in Northern New Mexico by bringing more travelers and commerce through communities like Raton and Clayton.

“This is about more customers walking into Raton’s restaurants and stores, more opportunities for small businesses to grow, and more good-paying jobs so our children can build their futures here,” New Mexico Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández wrote in a statement about the funding. “Our farmers, ranchers, and energy producers need reliable roads to get their products to market. This million-dollar investment brings us closer to those opportunities, and I will keep fighting for additional funding to complete this project.” The new interstate connection is part of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor, which is designed to support trade with Mexico and Canada by connecting North America’s agricultural and energy core. The funds came through a process in the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations law and “will support studies, environmental review, and preliminary design to help Raton prepare for the future highway connection and development around it.” It’s likely years before this road is built.

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From the bleachers to the ballot box, a community weighs a changing Texas

In the bleachers at any high school football game across Texas, you'll be hard-pressed to find something fans love more. Eric Schultz called high school football in Texas a "function of the community." He came to the Deer Park High School homecoming game in the suburbs of Houston with his wife and kids even without a player on the field. "No matter if you're in a big city or rural, rural Texas where I grew up everybody goes to the game," Schultz said. "You know it's the same principle as going to church." The football field remains common ground for Texans in a state where the political tide appears to be shifting. Once reliably red for Republicans, this year Texas is flashing shades of blue. From the economy to immigration, voters across the Lone Star State are wrestling with the top political issues while they consider the candidates.

On the ballot this midterm election are two historically close races. Democrats Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico are forcing their Republican counterparts, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, into ultra-competitive contests for governor and Senate, respectively. Recent polling from the Texas Politics Project shows Talarico a few points ahead of Paxton and the race between Hinojosa and Abbott effectively tied. Emily Taylor, who came to the game to watch her niece Sydney cheer, said this cycle feels different to her. "The other day, I took some back roads leaving a restaurant that I had never taken before, and I saw two houses that had Talarico and Gina Hinojosa signs outside, and it made me so hopeful because I do not remember seeing that during Kamala Harris’s run," Taylor said. Taylor is a Democrat living in Deer Park, a traditionally conservative suburb of Houston. She said her faith is important to her and that she believes Talarico spotlighting his Christian values on the campaign trail will help him win the support of more moderate Republicans. "So many people in Texas feel like they have to vote red because their parents did [and] their grandparents did," Taylor said. "It’s instilled in them their Christian beliefs that they have to vote red, and that’s not the case." A Democrat has not won statewide in Texas in more than three decades. Democrat Beto O'Rourke energized the party in 2018 when he came within striking distance of beating Republican Senator Ted Cruz, but ultimately fell three points short. This cycle, however, Talarico has polled ahead of Paxton, a milestone O'Rourke never achieved, infusing the Democrats with renewed hope.

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Texas school policing report prompts Crockett to seek federal review

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett has called on a federal watchdog agency to examine school policing practices nationwide, citing a joint investigation from the San Antonio Express-News and the New York Times. Crockett, a Democrat who serves as the ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, on Monday urged the U.S. Government Accountability Office to make recommendations to prevent unnecessary use of force against students. In May, the Express-News and Times reported that school discipline has transformed in Texas following a multi-billion-dollar investment in school policing. School police have tackled students, blinded them with pepper spray or shocked them with Tasers, at times over seemingly minor misconduct.

In a letter to the GAO, Crockett noted that reporters had identified at least 2,600 use-of-force incidents in Texas schools from January 2022 to December 2025, but that the full extent was unknown because some districts did not disclose data. This month, the newsrooms reported that the influx of school police officers and a crackdown on misbehavior had routed an increasing number of elementary and middle school students into the justice system. Children ages 10 to 13 were referred for prosecution after incidents in schools more than 47,000 times over the last decade, the investigation found. “As Texans, we should be raising the bar for other states, not setting up our children to end up behind them,” Crockett wrote in a statement to the newsrooms. “A mistake in the hallway at school should not lead to the start of a criminal record that could follow them for the rest of their lives.” Crockett represents the predominantly Black and Hispanic 30th Congressional district, covering much of the city of Dallas. A former public defender and the daughter of a teacher, she is an outspoken civil rights advocate, known for sparring with Republican lawmakers.

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Nadira Goffe: I’m begging Matthew McConaughey to go back to what he does best

(Nadira Goffe is a staff writer of culture at Slate.) On Sunday, actor and Texas native Matthew McConaughey, posted a six-minute video to social media imploring people to consider voting independent in the upcoming midterm elections. With the stunningly maverick caption “Independent counts,” McConaughey says that he is endorsing two things, “fairness and reality,” because, to him, a “fair fight” is “not just two fighters throwing the same punches at each other for 50 years.” At some point, he states, “Here’s a fact: The No. 1 political identity in America today is not Republican. It is not Democrat. It is independent.” For the rest of the video, McConaughey goes on to use an unsurprising number of football metaphors—he refers to the percentage of House seats decided in party primaries as “not a competition” but “more like a scrimmage”; he compares the existing parties playing in their own “end zones” to independents who “keep the game between the 40s” (as in yard lines) “where most of America actually lives”—to uplift the independent candidacy. In his plea, he also praises former Sen. Joe Manchin’s organization, the Independent Leadership Council, which really tells you all you need to know.

Finally, he ends his message with some uninspired wordplay about America’s foundation: “America’s brand was never R or D, it’s independence. Enjoy yours.” This statement earned McConaughey tsk-tsks from notable Democrats such as Hillary Clinton and San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones. Many of his fans also responded to the video with disapproval over McConaughey’s display of cowardly both sides–ing, effectively throwing his vote away to the advantage of the Republican Party. (Yes, he insists voting independent isn’t a waste, but in reality where the rest of us live, we all know that—to quote one of my colleagues’ reactions, referencing the sitcom 30 Rock: “That’s Republican; we count those.”) McConaughey is entitled to his own opinion, but frankly, I don’t want to hear it. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I really don’t care to hear from him again unless it’s him announcing that he’s gone back to where he belongs: starring in romantic comedies. (Or another Magic Mike. I’d take that, too.)

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Frisco Muslims vote in Texas midterms marked by anti-Islam rhetoric

As the Nov. 3 midterm elections approach, political observers are watching the U.S. Senate race in Texas because it could be key to Democrats taking control of the upper chamber. As Democratic State Rep. James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton battle for the seat, even small swings in turnout could lead to Texas electing its first statewide Democrat in the last 32 years, experts say. On Saturday, during the early voting period, members of the Islamic Center of Frisco hosted their first “BBQ and Ballots” event, where they grilled burgers and halal hot dogs in a park near a Collin County polling center. It was like any weekend barbecue, the only difference was members of the congregation sporting “I voted” stickers on their sleeves as they sprinkled cajun seasoning and drizzled mustard on their burgers.

The mosque is a nonprofit and does not officially endorse candidates, but most attendees, regardless of whether they were Democrats, Republicans or Independents, agreed that Muslims in Texas need to get more involved in politics. For months, Republicans in Texas have been campaigning on promises to ban Shariah, the Islamic religious code, although the U.S. Constitution already precludes it from taking hold. Gov. Greg Abbott designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights organization, a terrorist group. This summer, the State Board of Education approved a social studies curriculum that predominantly portrays Islam as a religion connected to conquest and conflict. Locally, city council meetings in Frisco and McKinney have grown heated when zoning approvals for new mosques were on the agenda. One of the candidates in Frisco’s June mayoral runoff made national news for calling Islam a “terrorist group.”

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Ken Paxton’s anti-abortion influence already extended beyond Texas. He could take it further in the Senate

Early in his tenure as Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton issued a statement commemorating what he believed was a national tragedy. “It’s impossible to fill the void of more than 50 million missing human beings,” he said in 2016. He was marking the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that protected abortion rights — and had long stood in the way of efforts to ban terminations in early pregnancy, when most abortions occur. Paxton spent the years that followed testing Roe’s limits and ultimately prevailed where others had failed: In 2021, he defended a near-total abortion ban that Texas legislators had designed to evade conventional legal challenges. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed it to take effect while Roe remained in force. After the justices overturned Roe the following year, Paxton kept pushing, pursuing new ways to extend the reach of Texas’ restrictions. He prevailed against the Biden administration, picked fights with states that protect abortion access and pioneered strategies that his peers later adopted or expanded.

While Paxton’s tenure as attorney general has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum for his personal scandals and alleged misuse of the office, detractors and allies alike agree that his signal achievement as the state’s top legal official has been advancing restrictions on abortion. A close look at his record shows a clear pattern in his successes: He relentlessly tests the limits of the law and employs novel legal strategies to advance his goals. Paxton’s national role as an anti-abortion warrior would change if he wins his U.S. Senate race. As Texas attorney general, he has been able to act largely on his own authority. If he prevails in November, he would become one of 100 senators in a chamber where most legislation needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. But allies who have witnessed his victories see an opening. “He’ll have the ability to use some of the laws that he’s defended in Texas as influence to draft legislation in the U.S. Senate,” said Mary Elizabeth Castle, director of government relations at Texas Values, a Christian advocacy group that supports a national abortion ban.

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National Stories

Brazil’s Lula completes shock comeback to win reelection, as Trump ally Bolsonaro rejects result

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was reelected to a historic fourth term Sunday, but his defeated rival and Trump ally Senator Flávio Bolsonaro said he would not accept the results and would mount a legal challenge. The 80-year-old leftist leader won more than 51% of votes, securing a runoff victory that bucks a broader rightward political shift across Latin America and comes after a campaign dominated by concerns over the cost of living, crime and corruption. Bolsonaro, who trailed Lula by about 4.4 million votes, said his team would challenge the result after the Supreme Court’s last-minute ruling to extend voting by two hours. “It is impossible to recognize the election result given how these events unfolded,” Bolsonaro told supporters in the capital Brasilia after Lula’s victory was declared. “We will take legal action. We will ask for this election to be annulled.”

The vote marks the first time since the return of direct presidential elections in 1989 that a candidate has won the presidency after finishing second in the first round. “I can assure you that we are going to change the way we govern this country. We are going to give the people a greater role in our decisions,” Lula said after his reelection. Lula thanked the Brazilian people for their “generosity,” especially the country’s youth who “took to the streets to defend democracy.” In Rio de Janeiro, Lula’s supporters were seen hugging, beeping their car horns and raising the “L” sign. And in Belo Horizonte, capital of the key swing state Minas Gerais, supporters could be seen chanting and singing following Lula’s victory. Lula’s win is a major setback for the Bolsonaro political movement, with Flávio failing to accomplish what his father, imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro, also couldn’t to do in 2022: defeat Lula at the ballot box. But the results came after a turbulent election day, with voting being extended by two hours following last-minute pleas from both candidates to electoral authorities. Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin granted a request from Lula’s campaign, which asked for an extension citing “incidents” affecting buses that provide transportation to polling venues in several states.

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U.S. energy execs say they quit startup over undisclosed Russian funding

A group of American executives has quit an energy startup that aspired to liquefy and export natural gas out of Alaska, alleging they recently learned it was secretly being funded by Russian gas giant Novatek. Polar LNG, the startup, was launched in March with what seemed like a long-shot goal. The U.S. company wanted to get a license to import a half-finished piece of equipment from the Russian company, with the goal of exporting a geyser of gas from beneath Alaska’s North Slope. The massive structure—as tall as the Statue of Liberty and suitable for frigid conditions—had fallen under sanctions during the Biden administration in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. But Polar hoped its project would find favor with the Trump administration’s goal of “energy dominance” for America. The sanctions also meant the equipment was available at a knockdown price, people involved in the project said. Securing it would mean Polar wouldn’t have to build its own from scratch.

Then the plans hit a snag: It turned out the project was being run and at least partly funded by Russian energy company Novatek, former Polar executives said. Joel Riddle, Polar’s CEO until September and a former ExxonMobil employee, says he resigned after the discovery, which he said emerged in budget discussions over the summer. “I felt uncomfortable that the Russian company Novatek was financing and ultimately controlling the strategic direction of the company,” Riddle said. Other executives left with Riddle. Their departures and the alleged Russian funding were earlier reported by the Financial Times and the New York Times. Novatek didn’t respond to a request for comment. The White House, the Treasury Department and the State Department didn’t return calls for comment. Novatek isn’t sanctioned by the U.S., and Europe has continued to buy its LNG since the invasion of Ukraine. Unlike many other Russian companies, Novatek has continued to have a presence in the U.S. and in European capitals during the war, paying lobbyists and elite law firms to try to influence sanctions and energy policy. Polar’s project required convincing the Treasury Department to give it a license to buy the infrastructure from a sanctioned entity, Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 business. It hasn’t received the go-ahead.

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Jamieson Greer on being tasked with rebuilding Trump’s unpopular tariff wall

Ask a Washington insider to nominate the most consequential figure in the Trump administration and you’ll get a mix of responses, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent or even ever-present aide Natalie Harp. But as he wandered through the White House gardens in April, mingling with giddy children and their parents gathered for the annual Easter Egg Roll, President Donald Trump offered his own pick. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have the most powerful man in government with us today, Mr. Jamieson Greer. Have you heard of him?” the president asked the crowd. “Come on over here, Jamieson. How are we doing on trade?” Trump’s US trade representative, who at age 46 with a beard looks more like a suburban dad than a power broker, stepped forward. “We’re doing well, sir,” he answered confidently, citing a historic high in US exports. Greer was clearly surprised by the compliment from his boss, though in one of two in-depth interviews with Bloomberg Businessweek this month he played it down. “He says that to all the girls,” joked Greer, noting that Trump often flatters members of his cabinet.

Still, for anyone tracking Trump’s efforts to engineer a new economic order, the message was clear. One year on from his chaotic “Liberation Day” tariff rollout, the president was publicly acknowledging the capable and increasingly influential general directing his trade wars. Over the course of his 20 months on the job, Greer has racked up victories but also defeats. The average effective US tariff rate now stands at 11.2%, the highest since the 1930s. That’s created leverage with trade partners that the administration has exploited to negotiate 20 or so deals, rolling back some duties in exchange for commercial concessions and investment pledges. (Some remain no more than outlines at this point.) Yet Trump’s initial plans to construct a protectionist wall around the world’s biggest market were set back earlier this year, when the US Supreme Court ruled that a raft of duties the administration introduced at the beginning of his term were illegal. Now, with elections approaching, Greer, who was confirmed on a largely partisan vote of 56 to 43, is confronting what could quickly become an uncomfortable political environment. If the Democrats win even one congressional chamber, the party may act on bills they’ve drafted to reclaim tariff authority. At the very least, Greer and Trump’s trade policies will be subject to scrutiny at oversight hearings.

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Blanche defends DOJ lawsuit blocking Alaska Senate results if Republican loses

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche Sunday defended his department's lawsuit seeking to stop Alaska from automatically certifying the results of its Senate election if the Republican incumbent there loses. Earlier this week he had said the Justice Department could get involved in the vote certification process in a "doomsday" scenario. Pressed on CNN about whether the suit was setting the stage for President Trump to challenge the outcome of next week's midterm elections, Blanche denied it. The seat is seen as one vital for Republicans if they are to maintain control of the Senate for the second half of President Trump's term in office. The Justice Department claims that potential confusion over candidates with similar names is the reason for the suit, though some Democrats have argued that it is actually an attempt to interfere in the democratic process.

A candidate on the Nov. 3 ballot is a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg, named Daniel J. Sullivan, with a remarkably similar name to the current Republican senator, Dan Sullivan. Republicans have accused Daniel J. Sullivan of running as a spoiler to try and divert votes away from the incumbent. But the other Sullivan has said the decision to run was his own and denied his candidacy was intended to confuse voters or siphon votes in Republican Sullivan's tight race against Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman. The Justice Department has argued in its suit that the name overlap risks confusing voters. "We're not laying any groundwork for the president to do that," Blanche told anchor Dana Bash on CNN's State of the Union, after she asked whether the administration was positioning Trump to overturn a result he did not like. "President Trump is not trying to take over a state election in any way, shape, or form," Blanche added.

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Trump escalates rhetoric against El-Sayed in Michigan

President Donald Trump intensified his anti-Muslim rhetoric against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday, portraying him as a threat to national security and questioning his loyalty to the United States in remarks that drew a sharp rebuke from a former top Arab American ally. Trump called El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, a “jihadist” who was “on the side of the terrorists” and would “have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate.” He also repeatedly invoked the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, drawing a comparison between stopping El-Sayed from entering the Senate chamber and the passengers who fought back against the hijackers aboard United Flight 93.

El-Sayed, who would become the nation’s first Muslim senator if elected, has called attacks on his loyalty to the country “shameful” and repeatedly denied any ties to extremist groups. The Republican president’s remarks were condemned by Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, the group that helped lead the president’s outreach to Arab American voters in 2024. “The president’s statements are out of line,” he said in a phone interview. “They are crossing a red line. They are racist.” With Republicans on the defensive over inflation, soaring fuel prices and the Iran war, the president has been trying to generate turnout by claiming that El-Sayed and other Democrats are existential threats to America, instead of electoral rivals. Michigan’s Senate race between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers is among a handful of contests that could determine control of the chamber. Trump made his remarks in Port Huron, a Canadian border city about an hour north of Detroit and near communities where he made significant gains among Arab American voters in 2024. He became the first Republican presidential candidate since 2000 to win Dearborn, a city with one of the nation’s largest concentrations of Arab Americans.

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U.S. measles cases more than double what they were last year as outbreak spreads

The U.S. is grappling with its worst resurgence of measles in decades, with cases particularly high in the state of Pennsylvania. New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there have been more than 4,580 measles cases reported in 2026 across the U.S. as of Oct. 22, which is more than double the number for the whole of 2025. The vaccination status of 96% of those who contracted measles in 2026 was "Unvaccinated or Unknown," according to data from the CDC. A measles outbreak across Pennsylvania has grown as officials urge residents to get fully vaccinated against the disease. At least 1,338 cases of measles have been confirmed in 44 counties across the state so far this year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Friday. There were 21 new measles cases as of Oct. 21. More than 250 people have been hospitalized and 5 people have died, the department also said.

In Lancaster and Mifflin counties, two of the counties with the highest number of cases, local Amish communities, which have low vaccination rates, are being impacted the most. Of the five who have died, three lived in Lancaster County On Thursday, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen held a roundtable with Mifflin County healthcare providers to assess their needs in combatting the disease. "Our state metrics and data tell part of the story of the measles outbreak in Pennsylvania, but listening to the people on the ground caring for people in affected communities like Mifflin County is essential to refining our public health response," Bogen said in a statement. One of the best ways to protect oneself from getting the measles is vaccination, according to health officials. Two doses of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine known as MMR, is nearly 97% effective against measles, according to the CDC. One dose is about 93% effective.

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Poll shows government graft is one of the defining issues of the midterms

President Trump walked out of the White House on Thursday afternoon and delivered a warning to his political allies. “I want my people to be honest, and if they’re not going to be honest, they have to be prosecuted,” he said. “If people are not honest, they’re stealing from me as president.” Trump’s rebuke came in response to a question about his longtime adviser, Corey Lewandowski, who The Wall Street Journal earlier reported was facing a Justice Department inquiry into allegations that he profited off his top position at the Department of Homeland Security. It was the latest in a series of damaging stories that have contributed to growing voter concerns about alleged government corruption less than two weeks before the midterm elections. Trump and White House aides have privately expressed frustration about the negative headlines that have been plastered across newspaper front pages and on cable news in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.

The stories have prompted hand-wringing from Republican campaign operatives, who worry that the alleged self-dealing could make an already challenging midterm election even more difficult for GOP candidates. Among the headlines: Trump’s ambassador to Greece resigned after being accused of soliciting $100,000 from a donor; the family of a billionaire Venezuelan banker who was angling for a pardon offered the president’s former personal lawyer a deal worth $50 million; a Russian businessman funded a lavish wedding afterparty for one of Trump’s sons; and two of the president’s top political advisers flew abroad to consult for a Russia-aligned government. Democrats have put Trump at the center of their allegations of corruption, pointing to the extraordinary growth of his wealth since he took office, including earning $1.4 billion last year from crypto ventures. They have promised to launch investigations into his efforts to get large companies to cut checks for projects such as his White House ballroom, his decision to accept a gifted luxury jet from Qatar, and his pardon of Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the crypto exchange Binance. Government corruption has climbed the list of voter concerns in recent weeks.

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Lead Stories

As Republicans brace for election losses, Musk prepares for war

Elon Musk has adopted a war posture in response to looming threats of congressional investigations: If Democrats win control of Congress in next month’s midterm elections, Musk has signaled he is bracing for a fight. “Live by the sword, die by the sword,” he said Wednesday in a post on X, responding to a Politico report that cited Democratic lawmakers seeking to investigate him. “Those who pick fights with me should understand that I will find out who is really pulling the strings and come for them, not just their puppets,” said Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk’s battle-ready stance comes as a host of Democrats have said they are eager to wield the power of their office to investigate the world’s richest person should they win either chamber in the midterms.

As Republicans’ election prospects have soured, lawmakers are building momentum for probes looking into the tech mogul, his companies or the work of the U.S. DOGE Service, which Musk oversaw and which was instrumental in dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said in an interview Thursday that he would investigate Musk and DOGE if Democrats win. Blumenthal led inquiries relating to the cost-cutting group but was in the minority and did not have subpoena power, which could be used to compel the attendance of witnesses, as well as the production of documents and records. “The American people have a right to know the cost, the consequences and the chaos resulting from DOGE and … what he may be concealing,” Blumenthal said. “There is a web of potential corruption here that needs to be explored.” He dismissed Musk’s threats of retaliation, expressing surprise at his strong reaction.

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Why Texas’ early voting totals don’t match what counties are reporting

Counties across Texas have reported record-breaking turnout during the first week of early voting, including tens of thousands of mail-in ballots. But as of Friday, the totals on the state’s election website didn’t match many of those being touted by local officials. In Bexar County, for instance, only eight people voted by mail, according to the state’s site. In reality, according to Michele Carew, the county’s election administrator, nearly 18,000 people have cast ballots by mail. “We do not leave this office until we report numbers to the state,” she said. The state’s turnout data continues to lag significantly for many large urban counties, especially for mail-in ballots, an error that local election officials say is linked to the same flawed system that caused a massive backlog of voter registrations in recent weeks.

In person vote totals have also lagged. Election officials in Fort Bend County – one of the state’s most competitive districts – reported more than 75,000 ballots cast in person as of Friday morning while the state’s website shows just over 41,000. Local election officials said they are still confident in the state’s election night reporting system, which functioned without any issues or delay in the March primary, but are frustrated the turnout numbers aren’t being accurately reported. “It's not that we haven't entered the data, it's just not reflecting here,” said Kristin Miles, the election administrator in Bastrop County and the president of the Texas Association of County Election Officials, referring to the Secretary of State’s portal. Local elections officials have said the problem lies with the state’s online voter system, Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM), which was was overhauled in July 2025. In February, they wrote to Jane Nelson, then the Secretary of State, noting that “counties face daily challenges with TEAM’s core functionality.”

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State reps now investigating Aqua Texas after hundreds complain about soaring water bills

Hundreds of customers have contacted KPRC 2 about soaring Aqua Texas water bills. Now, state lawmakers are looking into how the increases were allowed and whether state rules need to change. State Rep. Gary Gates says he is working with Rep. Cody Harris to examine the rules governing water rate increases and whether Aqua Texas adequately invested in its infrastructure before raising rates. “I want to know the guidelines that allows a utility company that has monopoly to overnight to be able to raise their rates 100%, 200%, 300%,” Gates told KPRC 2. The lawmakers’ efforts follow KPRC 2’s reporting on customers who say their water bills have doubled or tripled, including residents in the Lakes of Mission Grove subdivision in Richmond, where the issue first came to light.

Why are Aqua Texas water bills increasing? Aqua Texas received approval for interim rates from the Public Utility Commission of Texas in March 2026. The new rate structure includes tiered water charges based on consumption and changes to wastewater billing. The company told the PUC that its infrastructure investments include replacing water mains, drilling new wells, building water and wastewater treatment plants, and upgrading storage tanks. Gates wants to know whether the utility adequately planned for those costs before seeking higher rates. “I think we’re going to probably find out that just like CenterPoint, I believe Aqua did not do, especially when they’re sitting there saying that we have all these capital needs,” Gates said. Those are Gates’ concerns, not findings that Aqua Texas failed to maintain its system.

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U.S. evacuates Mideast outposts after suspected Iranian plot to target Americans

U.S. intelligence suggests Iranian preparations to attack Americans throughout the Middle East have reached “advanced stages,” prompting a sudden exodus of personnel from embassies and military bases throughout the region, officials said. Jay Clayton, the director of national intelligence, summarized that finding in a brief memo Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel. The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” he wrote. The U.S. in recent days ordered the departure of diplomats and staff from the embassy in Saudi Arabia and other countries, initially citing threats from the Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen. The U.S. also has evacuated personnel from military bases across the region in preparation for renewed fighting, according to U.S. officials familiar with the planning.

A U.S. official said Friday that suspected Iranian terror plots targeting U.S. personnel informed the decision to order embassy staff from their posts. This month, the U.S. evacuated bomber aircraft from a base in the U.K. because of intelligence about an Iranian plot to attack aircraft and personnel, the Journal has reported. The State Department on Friday updated its travel advisories for 13 Middle Eastern countries over concerns about Iran and the Houthis. Tehran has long promised retaliation if the U.S. resumes attacks. “Last time you wanted to ‘finish the job’, Iran emerged even stronger. Want to try your luck again? Be our guest. But be careful; we have unfinished jobs too,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on social media in recent days. U.S. officials confirmed the memo and the intelligence, which was reported earlier by Axios. Before the war began in February, Trump administration officials warned about the potential for Iran to strike American targets first, adding that it necessitated the U.S. to begin pre-emptive attacks on Iran alongside Israel.

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Cornyn voters become key prize in Texas Senate race

They lost their candidate. Now they could help decide who wins. Republicans who backed John Cornyn in his bitter Senate primary fight against Ken Paxton are among the most coveted voters in Texas. But many are struggling with where to land in November: Stick with Paxton, cross party lines for Democrat James Talarico or sit out the race altogether. About 910,000 Texans voted for Cornyn in the March Republican primary. A little more than 500,000 backed him in the May runoff, which he lost to Paxton by nearly 28 percentage points. They make up only a sliver of the Texas electorate, but in a Senate race this close, the Cornyn bloc has become one of the biggest prizes in the Nov. 3 election.

Paxton, the attorney general, has leaned on President Donald Trump’s endorsement to rally the GOP base, while Talarico, an Austin state representative, has emphasized unity and affordability to attract disaffected Republicans. Cornyn’s supporters are squarely in the sights of both campaigns. Interviews by The Dallas Morning News reveal deep divisions among them over Paxton’s character, loyalty to the Republican Party and Democrats’ efforts to win them over. Adora Gnuschke, a 39-year-old Cedar Park real estate agent, voted for Cornyn in the Republican primary, putting aside her concerns that he wasn’t always aligned with the president. She also questioned the longtime senator’s record on issues such as illegal immigration and Second Amendment rights. Still, she recognized the value of his seniority and had reservations about Paxton’s personal conduct stemming in part from his 2023 impeachment. “Integrity is important in politics,” Gnuschke said. Gnuschke plans to vote for Paxton despite her earlier hesitancy because it’s “way more important” for Texas to maintain its Republican identity. She also supports his positions on issues, such as transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports.

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State Stories

Longhorns used AI against Florida — a 'new wave' of tech for Texas Athletics

Chris Del Conte was buzzing as he geared up for a board meeting Thursday. Texas’ athletic director was giddy, less than 18 hours before the department he leads was set to announce a major new initiative — one he says will change college athletics. “This is the new wave,” Del Conte said in an exclusive interview. In the fourth quarter of last week’s game against Florida at Royal-Memorial Stadium, the Longhorns put the new initiative to use. Down 20-17 and facing a fourth-and-2, Texas needed a spark. So, coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff turned to their new artificial intelligence data analytics platform, Bevo Lab. While the Longhorns ultimately failed to convert after quarterback Arch Manning lost three yards on the play, Del Conte said the moment was a pivotal embrace of the new tech. “It’s happening,” Del Conte said. “They’re bought in.” College football coaches using AI isn’t new. But Texas isn’t turning to traditional chatbots.

Bevo Lab, which is being officially announced Friday, functions as the athletic departments’ personal AI sports intelligence platform. Coaches, trainers, nutritionists, student-athletes and analysts will use it to improve performance on the field, court and even pool. Sponsored by Dell Technologies Inc., Google and SHI International, it is also a living, breathing classroom for undergraduate students to shape the future of AI in sports. “I have no doubt this will fundamentally change how college athletics programs look at data and utilize data,” Deputy Athletics Director Drew Martin said. “Oh no doubt,” Del Conte said. “I’m fired up. I’m excited. This is earth-shattering.” In sports, there's always been an abundance of data. Game strategy, injury recovery, training schedules, rosters and scouting all rely on that data for success.

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Paranoia spreads as election officials prepare for federal intervention in midterm elections

“I think this is an environment where, if you’re not paranoid, you’re kind of crazy.” David Axelrod, the architect of Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential runs, offered this assessment during a Sept. 29 sit-down at the Economic Club of Chicago. Speaking beside his Republican counterpart, Karl Rove, Axelrod said he worries that Donald Trump will use the U.S. Department of Justice to try to steal this November’s elections. He speculated that Trump could declare a national emergency and send the military to patrol the polls and seize voting machines. Rove called his colleague’s concerns ridiculous, but Axelrod isn’t the only one worried. Recent pieces in The New York Times, NPR, Reuters, and Votebeat detail how election officials across the country are preparing for trouble this November.

Votebeat reported that Nevada election officials have put together a “Mad Libs of legal filings” in case they need to file any lawsuits against the administration’s actions come November. Reuters reported that California officials have developed their own response if Trump sends federal agents to polling locations. The Times reported that Utah officials have planned for federal interference. Other reports cited similar responses from Michigan and South Carolina officials. Former Justice Department attorney Gary Restaino described a “nightmare scenario” to NPR. “What if there was a search warrant executed a few days after the elections in which the seizure of materials and machines prevented the tabulation and counting and certification process from occurring?” Restaino asked. Trump is well-known for normalizing such ideas. The Times recently reported that the country’s top executive has cast doubt on its elections on 445 of the 632 days of his second term, as of Oct. 14. In January, he told Times reporters that he regretted not sending National Guard troops to seize voting machines in Georgia after the 2020 election. (About three weeks later, the FBI confiscated boxes of ballots from the state.) In February, he told a radio host that Republicans “oughta nationalize the voting” in at least 15 Democratic areas.

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Pflugerville candidate faces ‘Mister Rogers’ branding dispute

A Pflugerville City Council candidate who calls himself “Mister David Rogers” on his campaign website has received a cease-and-desist request from Fred Rogers Company over campaign branding that resembles elements associated with the “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood" TV show. The dispute centers on several elements of Rogers’ campaign that evoke Fred Rogers’ longtime persona on the children’s television show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” On his campaign website and signs, Rogers calls himself “Mister David Rogers,” but “Mister” and “Rogers” appear in larger lettering than “David,” making “Mister Rogers” the most prominent part of the name. His campaign also uses the slogan “It’s a beautiful day in Pflugerville,” echoing the “beautiful day” language associated with the opening of Fred Rogers’ show, and shows Rogers wearing a cardigan sweater, similar to the clothing Fred Rogers routinely wore on the show.

David Rogers, who is running for Place 2 on the City Council, said he has not done anything wrong. "I have not violated any trademark in using my own name," Rogers said. "I have great respect for Fred Rogers and have tried to live by his example because I respect his guidance." He said he had referred the cease-and-desist request to a lawyer. In an email, Fred Rogers Company said: "We are aware of Mr. Rogers' actions and have sent a cease and desist, as we would to any candidate regardless of political affiliation." The company owns the copyrights to "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." Fred Rogers hosted the children's television show from 1968 to 2001. Rogers is giving up his City Council seat in Place 6 to run for the Place 2 seat against incumbent Ceasar Ruiz.

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‘Too little, too late’: 41-month sentence in $1M fraud of University of Austin founder Lonsdale

John Robison, convicted in July of defrauding University of Austin founder Joe Lonsdale through a real estate scheme, has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay back the $1 million he took from the Austin-based conservative billionaire. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman called Robison’s crime brazen and the evidence overwhelming. The four federal counts on which he was convicted by a jury, including wire fraud and money laundering, stem from a deal he pitched to Lonsdale in 2022 to purchase 1,800 acres along the Colorado River outside Bastrop to develop a campus for the University of Austin. Lonsdale, a tech entrepreneur who co-founded Palantir, was then designing the conservative university he later launched.

In early 2022, Lonsdale gave $1 million to Robison’s Four Gates Property L.P. to be held in escrow. Robison agreed that the money would not be used until he had successfully raised at least another $1 million. The next day, though, $250,000 was transferred to Robison’s personal account. Federal prosecutors said Robison used the money to pay back other debts and fund his lifestyle. The sentence was handed down after two teary-eyed statements from Robison and his life partner, Jason Papp, 52. “Joe lost a million dollars and his wealth doesn’t make that loss less, and I am deeply sorry,” Robison said, saying he recognized that Lonsdale’s immense wealth, estimated at about $3 billion, did not ameliorate the crime. He spoke of finding religion again, joining his late mother’s church in Lakeway. He spoke of his shame and regret, saying that he would be serving two sentences: one handed down by U.S. District Judge Pitman, the other levied by shame and the knowledge that he must regain the trust of his community. Papp told the court that he had seen his partner change over the past year, that shame and regret had taken a toll. “He told me he was glad his mother wasn’t alive to see all this,” Papp said.

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AI ad mocks Talarico as Bible-defacing radical. Democrats bet it will backfire.

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico strolls through a dimly lit warehouse with rows of television sets arrayed on the floor in a recent campaign ad. The TV sets are airing Republican attack ads that portray the Democratic candidate as a Bible-defacing radical who advocates for sex change surgery for minors. “No, I’m not a member of the Chinese Communist Party,” Talarico says as he faces the camera and walks around the room TED Talk style. “No, I don’t support sex change surgeries for kids.” Talarico blasts the AI-generated ads as an effort by GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton and his allies to lie to voters about Talarico’s record. “I don’t have to use AI, because the truth about Ken Paxton is bad enough,” Talarico says in the ad.

The Talarico spot highlights a clear trend in the ad wars of the 2026 midterm campaign cycle. Republicans are going all in on AI-generated ads. Democrats, meanwhile, are shunning them and trying to turn the tables on the GOP, suggesting the ad campaigns are emblematic of a party that doesn’t care about the truth and can’t be trusted. Another Talarico ad, for example, accuses Paxton of “selling off Texas” for the construction of data centers. It includes the disclaimer: “Made by humans, not AI.” The 2026 midterms offered the first real showcase of AI campaign ads. Campaigns spent over $137 million on ads generated or enhanced by AI this midterm cycle, up from $50,000 in the 2024 elections, according to an estimate from the Wesleyan Media Project, which analyzes political advertising. Republican candidates and groups have aired the overwhelming majority of those ads, accounting for 88 percent of spending, or around $120 million. Multiple Democratic strategists and campaign advisers told The Washington Post they believed voters’ concerns about cost of living, corporate power and political authenticity outweighed the edge Republicans might gain from using synthetic video.

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How an education nonprofit is helping Margil Elementary students thrive beyond the classroom

At Margil Elementary, Communities In Schools of San Antonio (CIS-SA) has spent the past eight years helping make that support a reality for students and their families, addressing needs that go beyond academics. The nonprofit works to support the “whole child,” connecting students with resources, mentorship and emotional support so they can focus on learning and reaching their full potential. For Margil Elementary Principal Andrea Castañeda, the need for that support is something she sees firsthand. Before CIS-SA stepped in, school staff often used their own resources to help students facing challenges at home.

“You have to have a heart to be a teacher here at Margil,” Castañeda said. “Our teachers would buy clothes, buy food. We would always have little food drives. We would always have clothing drives, coat drives, but it wasn’t enough.” With 375 students enrolled at Margil Elementary, meeting students’ needs can mean addressing much more than what happens during the school day. That can include helping families access food and clothing, as well as recognizing when a child needs emotional support. Castañeda recalled one student who arrived at school carrying luggage and duffle bags. Staff checked in to see whether the student needed help — an example of how educators and support staff work to recognize when a child may be facing difficult circumstances. CIS-SA CEO Jessica Weaver says schools are focused on education, while the nonprofit helps connect students and families with additional support. “Schools do what they do best. And that’s academics. And then what we do is we bring in the other part of the support system that our kids and our families need,” Weaver said.

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Houston Hindus say Republicans are fueling anti-Indian 'demonization'

Vasant Bhatt, a 21-year-old political science major at the University of Houston, got 2.6 million views and a torrent of racist backlash Monday when he posted why he voted for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico. Until recently, Bhatt was a conservative. He interned with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's 2024 campaign and with the Texas Youth Summit in The Woodlands. He’s a second-generation Indian American and a lifelong Hindu; he cleanses himself and performs a puja, which includes prayer, every morning. In response to his viral post, Republican commentators called him disloyal to America and encouraged him to self-deport. “That reaction was disturbing, but I'm not shocked,” Bhatt said. He said that ever since debate over H-1B visas divided Republicans in late 2024, anti-Indian and anti-Hindu rhetoric within the party has grown louder.

“My biggest concern is the extent to which politics has become organized around just resentment,” said Bhatt, who now identifies as “politically homeless,” and expects to be voting for Democrats in the future. The share of Hindu Americans who describe themselves as Republican doubled from 2013 to 2025, reaching 14%, according to PRRI's religion census. But as denigration of Hindus and Indians becomes more common in online conservative spaces, some Hindu Republicans are reassessing their loyalties. A month ago, GOP Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French went viral when he shared a picture of what appeared to be Indian American students cheering at a Texas Longhorns football game. “The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined,” French wrote, adding: “I weep for the families in Texas who can’t get into UT because they prioritize foreigners over Texans.” The comments prompted some backlash from within the GOP. Republicans including outgoing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Karl Rove, deputy chief of staff to former President George W. Bush, said they wouldn't vote for French. President Donald Trump left French off of a Texas endorsement list he posted to social media this week, but state Republican Party officials have yet to publicly admonish French or any other candidates about anti-Hindu or anti-Indian remarks. D'rinda Randall, chair of the Republican Party of Texas, said she didn't want to comment on French's post.

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A man on a Texas ballot is dead. Why his opponent could still lose.

A recent text message sent to Brazoria County residents regarding votes cast for the late Brazoria County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace, Richard Davis, has caused confusion as early voting continues. Davis, who is facing Shenequa Harrison, died Sept. 14, but since he died after the 74th day before election day, Nov. 3, his name still appears on the ballot. If Davis receives a majority of the vote, the Brazoria County Commissioners Court will appoint a qualified replacement to serve a two-year term until voters select a permanent successor in the next general election.

Has this happened before? Yes. For example, in September 2020, former Conroe Mayor Toby Powell died after a battle with cancer. Powell's name remained on the ballot and faced former Councilman Jody Czajkoski at the polls Nov. 3. According to Montgomery County Election Central, Czajkoski garnered 55.61% of the vote to Powell’s 44.39%. If Powell had won, the city would have held a special election to fill the position.

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Texas sues OpenAI, Sam Altman over product safety

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday launched a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging they misled consumers about the safety of the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot and failed to protect users from harm. The lawsuit is the latest example of a growing legal offensive from states against the ChatGPT maker, as the federal government has largely maintained a hands-off approach to AI regulation. “With the rapid advancement of AI technology, OpenAI has the responsibility to protect users and warn them of the many dangers of its platform,” said Paxton in a statement. “I will fight to protect Texans from the harms of AI and ensure that powerful technology companies are not above the law.” The lawsuit, which was filed in a Texas state court, alleges that OpenAI’s business practices violated the state’s consumer protection and children’s online safety laws. It echoes the set of lawsuits filed by bipartisan attorneys general in eight states last week alleging OpenAI violated their respective state laws.

The complaint alleges OpenAI misled consumers by marketing ChatGPT as safe and failing to disclose risks, citing instances in which the chatbot allegedly encouraged self-harm and fostered unhealthy relationships with its users, including children. Paxton in the lawsuit also points to a series of incidents in which rogue AI agents from OpenAI hacked or attempted to break into the websites and systems of other private companies. The complaint argues that OpenAI has rushed its products to market for its own financial gain, disregarding internal safety warnings. The complaint asks the court to prohibit OpenAI from offering ChatGPT to minors in Texas and to block the company from releasing new AI models to Texas users without approval from an independent third-party evaluator. The state is also seeking civil penalties of $10,000 per violation of its consumer protection law. OpenAI spokesperson Jason Deutrom said in a statement that the company works with experts to continually improve ChatGPT, mitigate risks and build additional safeguards. “Governments have an important role to play in setting robust safety standards for AI, and we’re committed to working with Texas and other states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry - not just one company,” they said.

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Building evacuated after suspicious package delivered to Crockett’s district office

Dallas Police and a hazardous materials team from Dallas Fire and Rescue responded to the building at 1825 Market Center Ave. in the Design District after staff in Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s district office, located on the fourth floor of the building, reported receiving a suspicious package. The building, the first floor of which formerly housed a Chase Bank, is also where Dallas Voice offices are located (we are on the second floor) and where the district office of the late Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson was located (on the fifth floor).

Dallas Voice Publisher Leo Cusimano and Associate Publisher Leo Cusimano were in the office at the time. Mantooth said building officials asked everyone on the third floor and above to evacuate, and suggsted that those on the first and second floors should evacuate if they felt it necessary. Mantooth said that haz mat officers had secured the package and removed it from the building taking it away with them for further investigation. We have no other information at this time, but we will post updates as information becomes available.

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Amphitheater developer used El Paso property to secure $20 million loan for another Texas project

The company planning to build a 12,500-seat amphitheater in Northeast El Paso used land it acquired from the city as collateral for a $20 million loan to help finance construction of another amphitheater near Dallas, according to federal securities filings. Venu Holding Corp., the Colorado-based entertainment company developing the Sunset Amphitheater at the former Cohen Stadium site, borrowed the money in July from Ryan LLC, a Texas-based tax consulting firm and business partner of the company. The 90-day loan carried an 18% annual interest rate.. To secure it, Venu pledged properties and other assets connected to several projects, including its 20-acre El Paso site. The arrangement highlights how Venu’s construction spending far outpaces the revenue its existing operation generates – meaning the company has to seek funding from investors, lenders and real estate transactions while its new amphitheaters remain under development.

The city of El Paso provided Venu incentives worth nearly $31 million and conveyed city-owned land for the project. “VENU is developing several amphitheaters at once. Like any developer building at that pace, we use our full balance sheet to keep every project on schedule,” the company said in an emailed response to questions. “Pledging assets to support a short-term construction facility is a common tool and does not change our commitment to any market.” Since putting the El Paso property up as collateral in July, Venu has strengthened its short-term finances with a $60 million sale-leaseback transaction involving the company’s McKinney, Texas, property with STORE Capital, a real estate investment company. Under the sale-leaseback arrangement, Venu sold the land beneath the McKinney venue and parking garage before agreeing to rent it back. The sale-leaseback deals that Venu has also used elsewhere allow the company to raise cash from real estate without issuing new shares, although it also creates ongoing rental expenses.

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The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have unionized

The DCC is the most famous squad in the world, and the newly formed Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association (DCCA) could very much pave the way for other cheerleading squads to fight for compensation and benefits that better match the rigours of the job. This is a meaningful moment for the sport, and one that’s thankfully being documented for a wide-reaching platform like Netflix. Good for her, indeed.

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A Texas cop signed on to help ICE deport his neighbors. It tore the town apart.

The new patrol officer parked his black Dodge Charger outside a house off Main Street and approached on foot. A Mexican ballad was playing. Someone had called in a noise complaint, claiming it sounded as if people were fighting. But as the officer, Jaron Alexander, got closer, he found nothing of the sort. A middle-aged woman greeted him as her daughter, Joanna Martinez, petite and visibly pregnant, looked on. “What kind of party are you all having?” she remembers him asking. Behind her were three generations of an extended family. They were celebrating a 3-month-old’s baptism over pozole verde, horchata and beers. Alexander ran some IDs and found no issues. The music wasn’t even that loud, he thought. He told them to have a good night, and then he left. That encounter, in early October last year, was the first of many that Alexander and Martinez would have in tiny Ingram, Texas, a 1.5-square-mile town of 1,900 people beside the Guadalupe River. But it was the only one before Ingram signed an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would roil the town and tear Martinez’s family apart.

“Her and I, at the beginning, I felt like we were running into each other all the time,” Alexander told us, in one of eight conversations over four months that offer a rare window into the thoughts of one of the local police officers on the front lines of the Trump administration’s deportation campaign. In a town as small as Ingram, drivable in five minutes end to end, more run-ins were probably inevitable. Later that October, Alexander pulled over a work truck for rolling through a stop sign, and soon there Martinez was, demanding that he let her friends go rather than let immigration take them. He didn’t. He pulled over another driver in November who turned out to be her cousin, the father of the baby they celebrated at the baptism party. Alexander handed him over to immigration agents as well. Alexander, who is in his mid-30s, with dirty blond hair already turning gray, says he didn’t come back to Ingram to help deport his neighbors. In his telling, he just ended up making it part of his job. The town was where he started his law-enforcement career years earlier, before he took a better-paying position with the county, as a sheriff’s deputy. But things recently started to fall apart, first in his marriage, next at the sheriff’s office: A 185-page internal investigation found that he had an affair before his divorce was final and used a county vehicle to carry it out, then lied about it all. He says the investigator called him an “embarrassment to the profession.” The sheriff’s office fired him. (Alexander said at the time, and again to us, that he did not have the affair.)

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From the bleachers to the ballot box, a community weighs a changing Texas

In the bleachers at any high school football game across Texas, you'll be hard-pressed to find something fans love more. Eric Schultz called high school football in Texas a "function of the community." He came to the Deer Park High School homecoming game in the suburbs of Houston with his wife and kids even without a player on the field. "No matter if you're in a big city or rural, rural Texas where I grew up everybody goes to the game," Schultz said. "You know it's the same principle as going to church." The football field remains common ground for Texans in a state where the political tide appears to be shifting. Once reliably red for Republicans, this year Texas is flashing shades of blue. From the economy to immigration, voters across the Lone Star State are wrestling with the top political issues while they consider the candidates.

On the ballot this midterm election are two historically close races. Democrats Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico are forcing their Republican counterparts, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, into ultra-competitive contests for governor and Senate, respectively. Recent polling from theTexas Politics Projectshows Talarico a few points ahead of Paxton and the race between Hinojosa and Abbott effectively tied. Emily Taylor, who came to the game to watch her niece Sydney cheer, said this cycle feels different to her. "The other day, I took some back roads leaving a restaurant that I had never taken before, and I saw two houses that had Talarico and Gina Hinojosa signs outside, and it made me so hopeful because I do not remember seeing that during Kamala Harris’s run," Taylor said. Taylor is a Democrat living in Deer Park, a traditionally conservative suburb of Houston. She said her faith is important to her and that she believes Talarico spotlighting his Christian values on the campaign trail will help him win the support of more moderate Republicans.

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City of Canton mayor resigns after apologizing for 'gossip comment' in wake of back-to-back tragedies

The City of Canton announced the resignation of Mayor Lou Ann Berry on Friday, Oct. 23, one day after she apologized following backlash for a comment made during the press conference. The city had called the press conference after the tragic losses of a Van Zandt County Sheriff's deputy in a shooting and a deadly fire that claimed the lives of a mother and four children that happened hours apart. "The City of Canton has been informed today that Mayor Lou Ann Berry intends to formally resign from the office of Mayor," the town said in a statement shared to social media on Friday. "This process involves several legal steps and will be completed in conformance with Texas law. It is anticipated that a written letter of resignation will be formally received next week. Neither the City nor Mayor Berry have any additional statement at this time, but a public update will be issued when the letter is received by the City."

The statement was shared less than 24 hours after the City of Canton shared a statement from Berry that read: "I apologize for my 'gossip' comment that was broadcast after an interview this morning pertaining to the officer shootings and loss of lives in a fire. My comment had nothing to do with the unfortunate events of last evening," Berry said in the statement. "My biggest regret on this pop off comment is that it has become a distraction from the seriousness of the loss of these lives and the major injury to our city policeman. I am praying for all the families involved." The City of Canton held a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 22, in the wake of two tragic events in Van Zandt County that happened just hours apart. Van Zandt County Sheriff's Deputy Adam Al-Sherifi was assisting the Canton Police Department in serving a warrant around 10 p.m. on Tuesday when he was killed in the line of duty. The sheriff's office said the suspect, identified as Mi Van Nguyen, "fired more than 800 rounds" in the shootout. A few hours later at 12:30 a.m., officials said the housefire broke out that claimed the lives of Jasmine Henson and four of her children. Her seven-year-old Grayson and long-term partner Cody survived the fire, according to statement by the family. WFAA sister station KYTX was present at the press conference and livestreamed the event. "It's a tragedy for our city. It's a tragedy for our county. It's a tragedy for Henderson County for their deputies who came and helped to answer the call, and it's a tragedy for the man who was to be had the warrant served," Berry said during the press conference before her self-described "pop off comment."

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National Stories

GOP pushes for oversight of Musk’s dominance of space

Republican lawmakers alarmed over Ukraine’s loss of access to a Starshield, a critical battlefield tool, are pushing for more congressional oversight on what some view as Elon Musk’s “space monopoly,” fearing that Musk will have too much power over future national security operations. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Thursday said he’s concerned that U.S. national security has become overly reliant on Musk and his company, SpaceX, which owns Starlink and its military-oriented sister company Starshield. Cramer visited the Senate SCIF (Secure Compartmented Information Facility) to get a classified update on Ukraine’s loss of access to Starshield. He expressed “my concern” that “we’re putting too many eggs in one company’s basket when it comes to our space assets.”

He said he would appeal to Republican leadership that “we pour a lot of resources … into making sure there’s a lots of competition both for satellite production and satellite launch.” Cramer said SpaceX has too much of a stranglehold on the commercial space industry and expressed concern that it could have major future implications for U.S. national security. Cramer said he has significant concern that Musk “has as much power as he does as one individual and one company over America’s ability to protect the domain of space, which is a war-fighting domain.” A Senate Republican aide, who requested anonymity to comment on the sensitive topic, confirmed it’s “a concern” that Musk’s SpaceX has become too dominant. Musk’s dominance over space operations was crystalized in March of 2025 when NASA needed a SpaceX dragon capsule to rescue astronauts Suni Willias and Butch Wilmore, who had been stranded for 286 days on the International Space Station because of a critical propulsion failure suffered by Boeing’s Starliner, which was originally scheduled to pick up the crew.

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ICE said a man jumped on the hood of their vehicle. Video — and police — say otherwise

When footage of a man being hit by federal immigration officers’ SUV in Northern California became public, the Department of Homeland Security responded by saying the man had jumped on the vehicle’s hood. Local police raised doubts about federal officials’ account as they announced a criminal investigation into Tuesday morning’s incident involving the pedestrian, 37-year-old Antonio Moreida, citing video footage that contradicted DHS’ statement. Footage from a nearby surveillance camera, a bystander’s cellphone recording and Moreida’s GoPro, which had already been made public at the time of the agency’s statement, told a different story of what happened on a residential street in Woodland, an agricultural city just outside of Sacramento.

The incident is the latest in which DHS’ account has been contradicted by officials and video evidence amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. In a statement Wednesday morning, DHS said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers didn’t hit a pedestrian. “An agitator jumped onto the hood of an ICE vehicle and the officer driving applied the brakes,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement in response to CNN’s request for information. “The agitator slid off the hood. ICE immediately contacted EMS and the Woodland Police Department. Flopping for the camera is dangerous, especially when it interferes with a federal law enforcement operation,” apparently accusing the man of faking his injuries. After the incident on Tuesday, Woodland Police Chief Ryan Kinnan said in a statement he found footage of the incident troubling. Investigators were working to gather evidence and statements and to review available audio and video related to the incident, including video taken from multiple perspectives, police said in a Facebook post. Woodland Police didn’t take part in the ICE operation the agents were involved in that morning, police said. The following day, Woodland Police called DHS’ account “inconsistent.”

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Obama seeks to shore up Abdul El-Sayed with Black voters at Michigan rally

Former President Barack Obama rallied for Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit on Saturday as the bitterly fought contest could come down to the city’s substantial Black vote. “We’re clear about the choice in this election,” Obama said. “Abdul is fighting for change, real change, change that will bring an end to this war. Change that will get money out of politics and put money in your pocket. Change that will finish the job we started with the Affordable Care Act and guarantee quality, affordable healthcare to every single American.” “You hear people say this is somehow radical,” Obama continued. “What is radical about that?”

The former president, who rallied earlier Saturday in Cleveland, was joined by El-Sayed, gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson and downballot Democrats less than two weeks before Election Day. Like his speech earlier in the day, Obama lambasted President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for “broken promises” made during their 2024 campaigns and criticized Trump’s handling of the Iran war and tariffs, both of which he said have had an outsize effect on Michigan. “Does anybody really think this guy is spending that much time thinking deeply on these issues? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he is very focused on home renovation. He should be on HGTV,” Obama said of Trump’s extensive changes to the White House. “You remember — roll back the tape: ‘We’re gonna drain the swamp,’” Obama added. “The only thing they drained is the reflecting pool on the National Mall because some no-bid contract got it all messed up.” The Black vote has become a focus in the race as both El-Sayed and his Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., have sought to improve their standing with the critical electorate. Detroit, a city where 75% of the population is Black, is crucial to statewide victories for Michigan Democrats. In the Democratic primary, El-Sayed underperformed there compared to his opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich.

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Police and protesters clash in Paris as an estimated 410,000 demonstrate across France

Clashes erupted in Paris as a mass march drew to a close Saturday, with more than 400,000 people rallying across France over school funding and soaring living costs in a fresh challenge to President Emmanuel Macron. Police made nearly 1,000 arrests, the government said. The Paris march began peacefully, a week after widespread rioting and looting during protests across the country. But near the demonstration’s endpoint in eastern Paris, masked protesters hurled objects and fireworks at police, who answered with clouds of tear gas, deafening sound grenades and jets of water cannons. Officers with megaphones urged protesters to disperse. Some demonstrators panicked as tear-gas canisters landed in their midst, scattering with screams. Veteran protesters shouted after them: “Don’t run!”

The Interior Ministry put nationwide turnout at 410,000 — fewer than the 550,000 it said protested last weekend — while the CGT union that helped organize some of Saturday’s protests estimated nearly 800,000. The ministry’s estimate included 110,000 in Paris, where authorities confined the march to the city’s southeastern edge, away from the center. The CGT put the number of protesters in Paris at 250,000. More than a month of unrest that started with protests in high schools for more funding and teachers is testing Macron’s authority in the final months of his presidency before voters choose his successor in May. The stakes are high: The far-right National Rally party has accused his government of failing to protect the public and urged people to channel their anger into votes for its candidate Marine Le Pen. On the far left, presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has backed demonstrators and criticized policing that has left some teenage protesters with life-changing injuries. As dusk fell Saturday, violence erupted at the end of some of the 289 protests counted by the Interior Ministry nationwide. Street fires burned in the cities of Marseille and Lyon. Police used tear gas in Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Strasbourg and Bordeaux and water cannons in Nice and Nantes, French media reported. In Nice, far-right extremists fought with demonstrators downtown and 11 people were arrested, regional authorities said.

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With jet fuel prices near a record, holiday airfares soar higher

Herb and Latasha Williams flew from Dallas to Baltimore/Washington International Airport this week for a quick vacation to celebrate his birthday. But their plane tickets cost hundreds of dollars more than they expected. And Latasha Williams is now wondering if they can afford to travel for the holidays. “I kind of wanted to go somewhere warm. Florida, I’m thinking,” she said. Then she looked at airfares. “Maybe next year. Maybe,” she said with a laugh. “Fingers crossed.” Those planning to fly this holiday season, should be prepared to pay more than they did last year. Experts expect airfares for this holiday travel season will be the highest in years as airlines scramble to cover the rising cost of jet fuel, which is one of their biggest expenses.

The average price of jet fuel in the U.S. topped $4.75 per gallon this week, according to the tracking firm Argus. That’s close to an all-time high, and almost twice what it was a year ago. “Airfares right now are at what we see as a 10-year high because of the high cost of jet fuel,” said Hayley Berg, the lead economist at Hopper, a travel tech company. “Airlines have to pass on these super high jet fuel prices in the form of higher fares to consumers.” Airfares for Thanksgiving are up about 30% compared to last year, according to Berg. Tickets for the Christmas holiday are up more than 20%. But so far, Berg said, travelers seem willing to pay, at least for their big holiday trips. “We’re at the time of year where travel is really sticky. Even with higher prices, travelers are unlikely to make major changes to their traditional holiday home for the holiday trips,” Berg said in an interview with NPR. U.S. airlines say demand is holding steady even as fares have gone up. In an earnings call this month, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said consumers have put up a “limited amount of resistance” and still view airfare as “reasonably affordable” even after fare increases.

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12 people, including 6 minors, injured in shooting near Florida university stadium

At least 12 people, including six minors, were injured in a shooting near Florida A&M University’s stadium in Tallahassee late Saturday, police said. Eleven of the injured sustained gunshot wounds, the city’s police chief, Lawrence Revell, told a news conference. The twelfth person — a grandmother of one of the victims — injured herself while fleeing the scene, he added. At least three of the victims were seriously injured, including one in critical condition, Revell said. The others are in stable condition.

Six of the victims are juveniles and the youngest is 11. One victim is believed to be a Florida A&M University student, Revell said. He said no arrests have been made. The incident took place shortly before 8 p.m. at the intersection of two streets near Bragg Memorial Stadium, Revell said. The Florida A&M’s football team had played a homecoming game against the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff at the stadium earlier that evening. Preliminary findings indicate that “an altercation occurred” before the shooting, Revell said. Police believe it was an “isolated incident between two or three individuals.’ About two dozen officers had been in the area before the shooting, he said. In a statement on social media, Florida A&M University said the campus “remains safe” but advised people to avoid the area to allow police investigate.

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Government contractor arrested for allegedly leaking national defense information

Federal authorities arrested a government contractor and charged him with leaking classified national defense information, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday. FBI investigators have accused 42-year-old Ian Brinksman, an employee of a third-party company which provided services to a government agency, of leaking national defense information to his girlfriend, who writes an online publication on Substack. “A fundraising article reportedly published by Individual 1 in September 2026 claimed Individual 1 had “published reporting based on classified [relevant U.S. government agency] assessments.” Individual 1 posted on her social media profile, “I also accept leaks,” the DOJ said in its release. Brinkman was arrested following a search of his Washington, D.C., home.

Quotes included in the affidavit match the description of posts to the Capital & Empire Substack, a Congress and defense publication written by Aida Chavez. Chavez did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. Chavez’s past work has appeared in The Hill, according to her bio on the social platform X. In the DOJ’s statement announcing Brinkman’s arrest, FBI Director Kash Patel said any employee caught leaking classified information will “be met with the full weight of justice.” “Protecting America’s secrets is a top counterintelligence priority of this FBI – and anyone caught abusing their position of trust within the government by jeopardizing national security and putting our brave warriors at risk will be met with the full weight of justice,” Patel said. Identifying and prosecuting leakers has been a priority for the second Trump administration, threatening prosecution of both the government employees and media organizations that publish leaks. In July, the DOJ moved to subpoena four journalists from The New York Times for their reporting on a luxury jet gifted to the president by Qatar, which was used as Air Force One but has periodically been pulled for security concerns.

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Lead Stories

3 Democratic Texas sheriffs deny endorsing Abbott

Three Democratic sheriffs whom Gov. Greg Abbott said had endorsed him say they have not. Zapata County Sheriff Ramon Montes; Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez; and Webb County Sheriff Marin Cuellar all told Border Report on Wednesday they have not endorsed Abbott. Abbott earlier this week named them in a list of endorsements that included nine other Democratic sheriffs. Cuellar is the brother of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. When Border Report spoke with Sheriff Cuellar on Wednesday, he said, “How can I endorse the governor when he’s supporting my brother’s opponent?” Republican Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, whom Abbott endorsed, is running against Congressman Cuellar in Texas’ 28th Congressional District.

Sheriff Cuellar said no one from the governor’s office called to ask him for an endorsement and he was shocked to see his name on the governor’s list. “I’m not supporting him. How can I support him? And it’s confusing people,” Sheriff Cuellar said. On Wednesday afternoon, a list with names of all those Abbott says endorsed him — including the 12 sheriffs — was amended on his campaign website. Sheriff Cuellar’s name was removed but Martinez and Montes’ names still appeared. Martinez told Border Report: “I want to make it unequivocally clear that I have not issued a political endorsement of Gov. Greg Abbott, and I did not authorize anyone to use my name as an endorsement.” Zapata County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Juan Molina told Border Report that Sheriff Montes “is not endorsing anyone at this time.”

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Transgender group seeks court order to uncover who sent mailers as registered agent drops fake group

A transgender advocacy organization is seeking a court order to uncover who is behind mailers and text messages on the topic that ignited anger and confusion as early voting opened this week in Texas. The mailers, which were sent to some Texas voters and purport to help transgender children with information, have sparked an election mystery, calls for a state investigation and squabbling among conservative influencers and politicians on both sides. Mimi Marziani, an attorney for the Transgender Education Network of Texas, or TENT, called the messages and mailers “dirty, unethical tricks” and said she wants to uncover the identity of the sender by Election Day on Nov. 3. TENT, a state advocacy organization, said it did not print or distribute the mailers and knows nothing about them.

“Someone is spending millions and millions of dollars to induce division and strife among Texas voters,” Marziani said. “And they’re doing so while hiding behind a shell company.” According to the return address, the mailers were sent by the Texas Transgender Student Union from an address in Meadows Place, near Houston. That organization, which is not affiliated with TENT, was formed last month in Wyoming, a state that allows registered agents to create businesses without disclosing the owners. On Thursday, Northwest Registered Agent in Wyoming told The Dallas Morning News in a statement that it is in the process of resigning as the group’s agent. “We have no way of knowing someone’s intent when they’re forming a new company, and Northwest Registered Agent has no knowledge of, or involvement in, our clients’ business operations,” the company said. “We follow all state and federal laws, and we cooperate fully with law enforcement investigations.” The request for the court order, filed Thursday in Austin, asked a judge to compel testimony from the Texas Transgender Student Union and Infobip, a digital messaging company tied to one of the phone numbers that sent the message. It is not clear when the judge will issue a decision. Infobip did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday. Northwest Registered Agent, which is not named in the request for a court order, declined to comment on the petition.

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TWIA moves to dismiss class-action lawsuit over Hurricane Beryl claims

The defendants in a possible class-action lawsuit against the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and others have moved to dismiss the suit filed by three Galveston County homeowners. The TWIA, Hansen Scott Holdings, Ryze Claims Solutions, James Jarasczeski and David DeVilbiss claim the McCarran-Ferguson Act prohibits the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations — or RICO — Act lawsuit filed by Ernestine Bell, Alicia Stuart and David Mohun. The suit was filed in August in the Galveston Division of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. It alleges willful underpayment of claims after Hurricane Beryl, accusing staff of TWIA, the state’s insurer of last resort for Texas’ coastal regions, of conspiring with personnel of Colley-based adjusting firm Leading Edge Claims Service LLC to secretly alter the windstorm damage claim estimates for their homes made by a field adjuster. Those changes resulted in a combined $96,000 less than what the adjuster had appraised for damage to the three homes, the suit claims.

Defendant Hansen Scott Holdings is the successor of Leading Edge, according to the plaintiffs. The McCarran-Ferguson Act established that the authority to regulate the insurance industry belongs primarily to the states. In its motion to dismiss, TWIA also claims that since it did not deny the homeowners’ claims, the only available remedy to challenge the amount of the loss was through appraisal and that the plaintiffs’ attorney, Shaun Hodge, failed to correctly request one. In an email to the Houston Business Journal, Hodge said the plaintiffs’ team anticipated the defendants would raise those issues in a motion to dismiss. “We believe we have properly pled the essential elements for RICO and have ample strong evidence to support our claims,” he said, adding that the facts show that the McCarran-Ferguson Act does not preempt the plaintiffs’ claims.

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Trump excludes Bo French, Nate Sheets from Texas midterm endorsements

President Donald Trump has endorsed just about every statewide and congressional Republican on the Texas midterm ballot by name except for 10. In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump told Texas voters to get out to the polls and vote Republican in every race all the way down the ballot. Then on Wednesday evening, he gave 36 statewide and congressional Republicans his “Complete and Total Endorsement — They will never let you down!” The 10 excluded Republican candidates were Bo French, Nate Sheets and eight U.S. House hopefuls. Trump did not explain why only those 36 candidates were endorsed or why the 10 statewide and congressional candidates were left off of his list in the Truth Social post.

French, who is running against Democrat Jon Rosenthal for Texas Railroad Commissioner, has been criticized multiple times by members of the GOP for discriminatory social media posts. The most recent was one about the demographics of students at the University of Texas. He is the former Tarrant County GOP chairman. Sheets, the Republican nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner running against Democrat Clayton Tucker, has been called out by the current agriculture commissioner, Republican Sid Miller, for his various admitted addictions and an inappropriate relationship that ended his career in ministry. Neither Sheets’ campaign nor French responded to a request for comment. The eight U.S. House candidates not named in the president’s endorsement list are all running against a Democrat incumbent or are in a race with no incumbent. They were: Alexander Hale in District 7, Adam Bauman in District 16, Ronald Dwayne Whitfield in District 18, Edgardo Rafael Baez in District 20, Martha Fierro in District 29, Everett Jackson in District 30, Patrick David Gillespie in District 33 and Lauren B. Pena in District 37.

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State Stories

San Antonio attorney Thomas J. Henry endorses James Talarico for U.S. Senate

San Antonio-based personal-injury attorney Thomas J. Henry on Wednesday said he will vote for James Talarico in Texas’ U.S. Senate race — even though he supported Republican Ken Paxton in the GOP primary. In a minute-long video message posted to his social media channels, Henry said his early support for Paxton stemmed from his belief that the candidate’s primary opponent, incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, had been in office too long. However, Henry added that he asked for a one-on-one meeting with Talarico as he became more aware of Paxton’s laundry list of scandals.

“That meeting was extremely valuable because it taught me the values Talarico has: the values for respect, fairness, safety, good economics for Texas, and our country, and a balanced approach to all the issues,” Henry said. Henry’s endorsement comes amid record early-voting turnout in Bexar County ahead of the 2026 midterms. Both Talarico and Paxton will visit San Antonio before Election Day. Talarico will hold rallies on Oct. 24 and Nov. 1, while Paxton will conclude his “Come and Take It Tour” at the Alamo on Nov. 2. Early voting continues through Oct. 30. Polls will reopen on Election Day, Nov. 3.

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Bud Kennedy: Tarrant County Republicans may pay for cutting Election Day polling places

If Republicans lose a Texas or Tarrant County election Nov. 3, they have a ready-made list of scapegoats from Washington to Southlake. But as Democrats came pouring in to vote at a rate comparable to 2018 — when Beto O’Rourke brought Democrats their best vote totals in a generation — Republicans began to wonder aloud whether any Tarrant County offices might really flip to Democrats. The worry is real. After the first few days of early voting, those voters who are regulars in the Democratic Party primary made up the largest portion of voters, more than a third. The next largest group showed no party history, and Republicans lagged with about one-fourth of the vote. Nobody I know thinks Democrats will keep that margin up. Republicans will vote. They’ll just wait for the lines to subside.

But that Democratic edge doesn’t even allow for the 6% of Republicans who tell pollsters they won’t vote for U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton, or more who won’t but may not admit it to pollsters. So Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico probably has an inside track in Tarrant County. At least three Republican Texas House seats are at risk. State Rep. John McQueeney‘s district in southwest Fort Worth and Tarrant County has been purpling in recent years, so he has TV ads up now against Democrat Beth Llewellyn McLaughlin. Open seats are at risk of flipping to Democrats in Arlington (Cheryl Bean vs. Democrat Katie O’Brien-Duzan) and in the Mansfield-Burleson area (Ellen Sorrells Fleischmann vs. Democrat Ebony Turner). Democrats would love to flip the county judge’s seat. Personal-injury lawyer Tim O’Hare of Southlake has been antagonistic and sometimes openly hostile while presiding at Commissioners Court. But even if Commissioner Alisa Simmons wins the gavel, the Arlington Democrat will be on the wrong end of 3-2 votes. That is, unless either Arlington Republican Tony Tinderholt or northwest Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez is upset by Fort Worth Democrats Dr. Jared Williams or Nydia Cardenas.

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Counties race to regulate groundwater amid data center boom

A couple of years ago, when Williamson County Commissioner Terry Cook tried to form a local groundwater conservation district, the overwhelming reaction was: “Don’t tell me what to do with my land, my water.” “We got nowhere,” she said. Then came the data center boom. Now, as rural and suburban areas like Cook’s see an explosion of interest from developers of the massive computing centers, many are scrambling to form the voter-approved districts, which manage aquifers and issue permits for groundwater withdrawals. Groundwater supplies the state with half of its water, and nearly all drinking water in rural Texas comes from below ground. But in areas without groundwater conservation districts, or GCDs, landowners are free to pump without limits or disclosure.

That lack of oversight may be a draw for some data center developers. Nearly a quarter of the 630 data centers planned, under construction or operating in Texas are in areas without groundwater conservation districts, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis. The analysis found that nearly a hundred data centers operating or under construction are in areas not covered by GCDs. An additional 61 data centers are planned in these areas, as of October 15. Communities across the state are now rushing to create these districts in order to have some control over groundwater. “There’s been a huge increase in interest,” said state Rep. Cody Harris, a Palestine Republican and the chairman of the committee that oversees groundwater regulation. There are 98 groundwater conservation districts in Texas, covering 70% of the state. Adam Foster, the executive director of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts, counted at least 10 active efforts to form new districts across the state, including a proposed district spanning 17 counties in northeast Texas. Foster said the growth of data centers across Texas has been the “main driver” of efforts to form new GCDs, as communities worry the large computing centers will drain their aquifers.

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Republican Tim O'Hare confident Tarrant County can stay red if GOP base votes

Despite a strong showing from Democrats on the first few days of early voting, Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare is confident his party will win out on Nov. 3. In the first three days of 2026 midterm early voting, Tarrant County voters exceeded the numbers from the last midterm in 2022. At a Metroplex Republican Women club meeting Thursday, O’Hare said the Republican Party expected Democrats to outpace the GOP voters in the first few days. The Democrats turned out more than estimated, he said. “What I think you’re going to see is you’re going to see us catching up over the next several days, and I think you’re going to see us pass, if we all do our part,” O’Hare said at a Republican club meeting. “And here’s the great news: I have never, and I haven’t been here as long as some of y’all, but I have never seen Republicans so engaged, so energetic, working together so well.”

O’Hare is running in one of the most prominent races in Tarrant County this election against Democrat challenger and commissioner Alisa Simmons. The two have dueled on commissioners court a multitude of times since they were elected to their seats in 2022. “There has never been a sharper contrast between candidates for county judge ever in the history of this county, bar none,” O’Hare said Thursday. He added that “the stakes have never been higher,” but many Republicans in the county aren’t aware of that. O’Hare raised alarm bells at a True Texas Project meeting in September, telling attendees his seat could flip blue. The county party has been employing several outreach methods to contact low-propensity voters and remind them to go to the polls. O’Hare said there are more Republicans in the county than there are Democrats, so the issue is one of turnout. “If we don’t do our part, and we see Democrats take Tarrant County, you never get it back,” O’Hare said. “Dallas County never got it back. Harris County never got it back. Are we going to let that happen in Tarrant County? No way.”

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TCEQ closes online permitting system, after watchdogs accuse agency of violating data center pause

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has shut down its online permit application system after watchdog groups accused the agency of approving permits related to data center projects, in violation of a recent directive from the governor. Watchdog groups Public Citizen and FracTracker said earlier this week that the TCEQ had continued to process permits for data centers, despite an order from Gov. Greg Abbott to halt approvals for these facilities until an audit is completed. In particular, the groups identified a handful of construction stormwater permits related to data centers that they said the TCEQ had approved. Public Citizen and FracTracker said after they publicized their findings, the environmental agency suspended at least 17 stormwater and wastewater permits for data center projects.

"TCEQ retroactively suspending construction stormwater approvals in the wake of FracTracker and Public Citizen’s scrutiny means that any clearing, grading and excavation at these sites must stop immediately," Sam Law, researcher and manager of communications at FracTracker, said in a news release. "The confusion surrounding these approvals further proves the need for a moratorium: TCEQ is proving itself incapable of meeting complex regulatory challenges posed by data centers without further study." TCEQ spokesperson Victoria Cann said the watchdog groups identified stormwater permits known as notices of intent, which are approved through "automated authorizations," prior to construction. Cann added that all notices of intent related to data centers have been suspended, along with the agency's online permit application system. "To ensure all applications are thoroughly reviewed by agency staff to determine if they are related to data centers, applications must be physically provided to TCEQ," she said in a statement.

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Harris County Judge candidates face off in debate over ICE, Flock cameras, and the future of the Astrodome

The two candidates for Harris County judge faced off Thursday evening in a debate, tackling issues from immigration and public safety to administrative issues and the future of the Astrodome. The debate, presented by Houston Public Media and in partnership with the Houston Chronicle, N+ Univision 45, and the University of Houston's Hobby School for Public Affairs, brought Republican Orlando Sanchez and Democrat Letitia Plummer head-to-head just before election day on Nov. 3. "As a dentist by trade, I understand the challenges in healthcare," Plummer said in her opening remarks. "As a single mom, I know the challenges that many of us are experiencing, taking care of our families and our children. And being able to spend six natural disasters and our first pandemic with many of you, I know what we need to do to make sure that Harris County moves in a direction where every single person has the opportunity to thrive."

"Back when the county was chock full of money, we had money in the Rainy Day Fund, the county had not raised the property tax rate in 25 years," Sanchez said in his opening statement. "Unfortunately, we’ve seen the tax rate rise precipitously here in Harris County over the last eight years — 60%, and just in the last 36 months by 41%. To me, it’s intellectual dishonesty when you talk about affordability, and you hammer those who can least afford it." Both of the candidates came to something of an early agreement when they stated that county law enforcement officials should not be required to act as immigration officers in partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Sanchez, who immigrated as a child from Cuba with his family, said he was "very sensitive" to the issue of immigration enforcement in Harris County. He recounted a story in which his mother was pulled over by a constable and asked her citizenship status, which Sanchez called "unacceptable." Harris County currently holds a contract with Flock, a controversial surveillance company that uses automated license plate readers. Incumbent Judge Lina Hidalgo has called for the county to reassess its contract. Commissioner Lesley Briones decommissioned the Flock cameras in her precinct. As the contract currently stands, Plummer stated she did not support it. "Right now, with the contract the way that it is, I will rescind it immediately," she said. "As your county judge, we're going to have to make sure that when we bring any AI technology in, although we understand it's necessary to assist with public safety issues, we cannot do it against the privacy of our residents."

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Fort Bend tax assessor federally indicted for allegedly using county funds to pay for her mother’s caretaker

Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector Carmen Turner was arrested on Thursday after she was indicted on federal charges of misusing public funds. Prosecutors said she employed two tax clerks who were tasked with caring for her 81-year-old mother. Turner, a Democrat who was first elected to the office in 2020, faces federal charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. Representatives for Turner did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Federal prosecutors accused Turner of employing two individuals as tax clerks, tasking them "to care for [her] then 81-year-old mother ... who is wheelchair bound and living in an apartment in Houston, Texas," according to the federal indictment.

One of those caregivers, Shemerrylyn Fields, was also indicted for her alleged role in the scheme. As of Thursday afternoon, Fields did not have an attorney listed in her case records and could not be reached for comment. The other caregiver, who was not identified in the indictment, is cooperating with federal authorities, according to U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz. Turner is also accused of employing Victor Ewing, the father of her adult son, as a "department coordinator," tasked with, among other things, managing special projects and providing educational information and training. At the same time Ewing was paid as a full-time employee of the county, prosecutors said he was working in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as a materials specialist. Ewing, who also did not have an attorney listed in his case record, could not be reached for comment. Prosecutors allege that the three defendants falsified timesheets as part of the scheme. The unnamed individual working with prosecutors said they were instructed to tell anyone who asked that they worked "on the 2nd floor at the Missouri City tax office location," according to the indictment. Though Reitz did not give an official figure, he said his office believes the scheme involved "tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars."

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El Paso County GOP Chair plans to sue Sacha Baron Cohen: ‘A liar and a pervert’

The chair of the El Paso County Republican Party has said he intends to sue Sacha Baron Cohen over footage of the local politician used in new satirical comedy Ali G: Who Iz I? In the film, Michael Aboud is shown taking part in a training programme with another Cohen character, ex-Mossad terrorist expert Col Erran Morad, who instructs Aboud and fellow Maga sympathisers in self-defence techniques including the wearing, over clothes, of protective plastic buttocks. He also schools them in how to fire bullets from the middle of these buttocks by the repeated up and down manipulation of a rubber penis. Aboud and a fellow student, former preacher and aspirant actor Joshua Loudermilk, are then recruited by Morad to help in a mission to prevent the birth in the US of the baby of a (fictional) South American drugs kingpin.

This involves Aboud and Loudermilk abducting his heavily-pregnant girlfriend and driving her in a phoney ambulance to a remote unstaffed medical facility, where she gives birth (to a lifelike prosthetic). They then abandon her, Morad having placed her live baby in a zipped bag, and drive with it towards Mexico. Loudermilk is later seen attempting to discharge fire from his fake buttocks, while Aboud takes the decision to drop the baby – at that point being dangled from a drone at a substantial height – to the ground to prevent it touching US soil. The actions could not be anything other than extremely serious for a real infant. Until the Guardian contacted Aboud on Tuesday, the businessman was unaware of his participation in anything other than what he believed to be a nonfiction film. In a statement, Aboud called Baron Cohen “and his entire film crew … a bunch of liars [who] deceive people to benefit themselves. They claimed that this would be a documentary about the illegals crossing the border. Then they said they were adding in this self-defence guy from Israel.” He added: “It is my opinion that Sasha Cohen [sic] is a pervert. Plus he talked about how Muslims are all gay because they follow the sex practices of Mohamid [sic]. No one should spend one penny watching anything he produces or appears in. I plan to sue him.”

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Texas Christian University chancellor resigns, university confirms

Texas Christian University (TCU) Chancellor Daniel Pullin is resigning, according to a statement from the college. Pullin notified the university’s chair, Kit Moncrief, of the resignation. In a statement, the now-former chancellor wrote, “I would like to thank the entire Horned Frog family for the support and encouragement during my time at TCU.” Pullin's run as TCU Chancellor has been brief, he was named to the position in June 2025, marking just under a year and a half with the job. Previously, Pullin was also the university's president from February 2023 to June 2025.

In his statement, Pullin added that he thinks TCU is building the model for the future of higher education. “I love our students and couldn’t be more proud of what their futures entail as they graduate and become outstanding TCU alumni,” Pullin said. “Thank you to everyone at TCU. I will always be invested in what TCU stands for.” Victor Boschini, Pullin's immediate predecessor as chancellor and TCU's chancellor emeritus, has been appointed to fill the role effective immediately. “Victor’s proven leadership will ensure our Lead On: Values in Action strategic plan continues to be successfully implemented on behalf of our students, faculty, and our supportive community, while he and our team steward our daily campus life,” Moncrief said.

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Drivers say Carla Wyatt had no insurance during car crash

A pair of Houston residents involved in a four-vehicle wreck that officials say Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt caused last month alleged Thursday that she was driving without insurance at the time of the crash. Amanda Byford and Diamantina Uribe, two of the three drivers involved in the Sep. 18 crash, urged voters to oust Wyatt as they revealed new details about the incident at a press conference with Marc Cowart, the Republican running against Wyatt in the Nov. 3 election. The women said they have not received damages for the crash and have not heard from Wyatt or law enforcement since the incident.

Though officers found no indication that Wyatt was driving under the influence, per a crash report, Uribe and Byford each said they believe she may have been intoxicated and showed no apparent concern that she had been in a car crash. “She looked dazed and confused to me,” said Byford. “She was trying to put the airbag back into the steering wheel column, and I thought, ‘well that’s strange.’” Wyatt also sought to leave the scene immediately despite significant damages to her car. “I got off and checked on her, and she was like, ‘You need to move. I’m running late to a meeting,’” said Uribe. Wyatt initially alleged to police that the three other vehicles had been stopped on Interstate 45, but dashcam footage and a diagram of the crash included in the crash report showed Wyatt aggressively changing lanes and rear ending all three vehicles before coming to a stop. No one was badly injured in the crash, according to the report. The incident was Wyatt’s fourth run-in with the law since her election in 2022. The embattled Democrat was twice arrested for drunken driving, and last December was charged with burglary of a vehicle, though a grand jury later declined to indict her on that charge.

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How Texas data centers could reverse years of air pollution progress

Data centers will likely make Texas’s air less breathable by reversing two decades of progress on curbing air pollution, according to a report released this week by the Houston Advanced Research Center. The Woodlands-based sustainability nonprofit predicted a range of data center-related pollution outcomes, depending largely on how many are eventually built and what power sources they use. Most of the outcomes are bad for Texans, said Carlos Gamarra, a vice president for HARC and one of the report’s authors. The new data centers would roll back years of reductions in air contaminants linked to increased rates of asthma, heart attacks and cancer. Driving these outcomes is a rush to build data centers as fast as possible to keep up with rising demands for computing capacity for artificial intelligence. The breakneck pace is pushing companies to use dirtier energy sources, primarily natural gas plants, to power their projects, Gamarra said.

“What’s happening with the data centers is they are building with profitability in mind, not so much with sustainability in mind,” Gamarra said. Levels of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter in the air have dropped dramatically since the start of the century, according to HARC data — upwards of 60% in some cases. The group attributes the improvements to a combination of emissions controls on power plants, stricter vehicle emissions standards and the replacement of dirtier coal-fired plants with natural gas and renewables. But the AI boom could change the tide, HARC said. Data center development in Texas is in flux after Gov. Greg Abbott directed environmental regulators to indefinitely pause data center permitting last month. But in the long term, development is expected to continue. In 2025, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state's grid, estimated Texas would add 24 gigawatts of new data centers by 2031, requiring roughly as much energy as the entire Houston region this year

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Central Texas healthcare is booming. Can the workforce keep up?

Healthcare employment grew by 35,411 jobs in five years across Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties from 2021 to 2026. Meanwhile, nearly $10 billion was invested into the sector by venture capitalists and private equity firms. And the region has dozens of major healthcare projects in the pipeline. Healthcare and its related tech innovations are poised to become one of the region's next major business pillars. But hurdles and bottlenecks pose major challenges to the region reaching its potential. That includes expanding training programs for nurses, as well as limiting turnover. Meanwhile, population growth in some areas is outpacing the establishment of new clinics and resources. Those are a few key takeaways from a new Austin Healthcare Council report that examines a broad spectrum of healthcare and demographic data from recent years.

"Population growth is shifting healthcare demand beyond Travis County, physician and specialty capacity remains concentrated in the urban core, and shortages of faculty, preceptors and clinical placements constrain how quickly the workforce can expand," the report said. "The next stage of development will depend less on whether healthcare continues to grow than on whether capacity, access and talent can keep pace with Central Texas’ population and economic growth." The Austin Healthcare Council is a nonprofit founded in 2016 by local healthcare leaders to help make Austin a global healthcare innovation center by connecting competitors and collaborators across hospitals, digital health, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and academia. Healthcare worker recruitment, training and retention is perhaps the most significant challenge cited in the new report. For example, the report says that Austin Community College, which says it is the area's largest educator for the healthcare workers, has about 9,000 students in pre-health pathways. But its capacity for health sciences slots is only about 1,100. And turnover rates for some roles remain a significant issue. For example, in 2025, turnover rates for nursing assistants came in at 90%. For medical assistants, the turnover rate was 58% and registered nurses were at 41%. The report also shows doctor-to-resident ratios vary from one county to the next. It said Travis County had 5,166 physicians in September 2026, or 371.7 per 100,000 residents, compared with 268.9 across the five-county Central Texas region and 250.5 statewide.

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National Stories

Owning a home comes with a hidden price tag, and it's getting more expensive

The hidden costs of homeownership are rising and have increased by nearly one-third in the last five years as expenses like insurance, maintenance and property taxes take a bite out of homeowners' budgets. A new report by Zillow and Thumbtack found those costs amount to about $16,566 per year, which amounts to roughly $1,380 a month in addition to a mortgage payment. Within the $16,566 total cost, the typical U.S. homeowner faces about $11,171 in annual maintenance, $2,266 for homeowners insurance and $3,129 on property taxes. "Many households focus so much on winning the home and underestimate what it costs to live in it," said Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng.

"Long after they receive the keys, insurance, taxes and upkeep are recurring expenses to plan for. Since these homeownership costs vary so much by market, home shoppers should run the numbers and understand what they can truly afford before they make an offer." Hidden costs have risen in recent years, with the biggest jump occurring in homeowners insurance premiums, which are up 54% over the last five years. Maintenance costs had the second-fastest growth rate and are up 32% over the past five years, while property taxes grew 19% in that period. Overall homeownership costs increased 3% in the last year but are up 32% over the past five years. The Zillow and Thumbtack analysis found that maintenance costs showed the clearest slowdown, as annual increases in maintenance costs eased in each of the last five years, slowing from 9% in 2022 to 1% in 2026. Insurance is following a similar pattern, with premiums rising just 0.3% between February and June 2026. "The slowdown in maintenance cost growth is welcome news for homeowners managing a lot of competing expenses," said Kendra Sinclair, Thumbtack's home trends expert. "Planning for regular upkeep throughout the year can help prevent bigger repair bills and protect your savings when something unexpected happens."

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Politicians are turning against AI, but your pension is riding on it

The artificial-intelligence boom is driving a wedge through America’s multitrillion-dollar public-pensions system. AI-crazed markets have turbocharged hundreds of state and local public-employee pension funds, whose combined assets have grown from $5.8 trillion in 2023 to $7.3 trillion in June, according to Federal Reserve data. Across 13 of the largest funds that manage their investments in-house, a basket of domestic AI-linked stocks fueled $138 billion in paper gains between the end of 2022 and June, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of securities filings. But while those pensions were racking up AI-fueled returns, officials from many of those same states have begun to throw up barriers to data centers and are criticizing the industry in the final stretch of the midterm campaign. The pushback has left fund managers and boards scrambling to gauge the risks of one of the most polarizing industries in the U.S.

In Pennsylvania, a gubernatorial candidate who sits on the board of a teachers’ pension fund is hammering the incumbent on data-center development. California union representatives are pushing fund managers to account for threats posed to workers and communities. New York state instituted a moratorium on many new data centers, even as pension funds’ AI holdings have surged. “It’s so contradictory,” said Joseph Hernandez, GOP candidate for New York state comptroller. “We’re on both sides of the bet.” In March, New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, trustee of the state’s Common Retirement Fund, urged 18 tech companies including Amazon.com to engage residents and allay concerns around power prices, land use and water consumption. DiNapoli, a Democrat, wrote in a letter that the approach would “protect shareholder value and ensure sustainable growth.” But the backlash has only grown, culminating with the state’s July moratorium on many new projects to study regulation. In a recent hearing with representatives for Meta, Alphabet and other tech firms, New York City Council Member Shekar Krishnan grilled the companies on retirement-fund risks.

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Inside Vivek Ramaswamy’s historic Ohio flameout

The mood at the Vivek Ramaswamy rally was upbeat—confident, even—but the cracks started to show before it began. The town hall in the small Cleveland suburb of Parma was entitled “Pierogis, Pabst, and Patriots,” and there were plenty of all three on hand at the Union House Bar and Restaurant. But we weren’t really supposed to be here. We were supposed to have convened at the Cleveland Harley-Davidson outpost for a “Christians, Bikers & Patriots” campaign event, before a sudden cancellation necessitated a shift to this woodsy sports joint. There was no word on what had gone wrong with the bikers. Still, the energy was real in this crimson-tinged bar, bustling with elderly Ohioans in OSU jerseys and MAGA merch alongside watery tubs of PBR. (Among the T-shirts: a red-ink outline of Charlie Kirk raising his fist, and a Trump-Vance shirt where the year was crossed out and replaced, in Sharpie, with 2028.) Alfred, a 60-year-old Filipino immigrant who was raised in Shaker Heights and works in the Parma public school system, told me he didn’t think, whatever the national narrative, that too many of his fellow conservatives were disaffected with Donald Trump or the current Republican Party.

He loved the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement was operating, and anyway, as devout Catholics, he and his wife would never vote for a pro-choice Democrat like Amy Acton—Ramaswamy’s opponent in the bitter race for the Ohio governor’s mansion. Others I spoke to were similarly unbothered. Mark, a retired Air Force technician sitting at the bar, was planning on attending church that very evening and claimed to be far more concerned about property taxes than Ramaswamy’s Hinduism, one of the many issues that may work against the candidate in this very Christian state. To him, Ramaswamy’s religious objectors were just “morons who say stupid shit.” Once the actual event kicked off, however, even the speakers couldn’t help but strike notes of concern. “If you choose not to decide in this election, you are supporting a cast of characters that wants to take our state in a fundamentally dangerous direction,” said Secretary of State Frank LaRosa, invoking Rush’s “Freewill” as he opened for the guest of honor and promoted his own campaign for state auditor. “The Democrats are feelin’ chippy,” he warned. “But there will be no blue wave. There will be a bright-red Ramaswamy tsunami!” Ramaswamy finally took the stump to raucous applause and harped on his finely honed campaign planks—improving public schools, reducing property taxes and everyday costs, welcoming legal immigrants—while firing some culture-war drive-bys at the evils of “wokeism” and “transgenderism.” Former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel subsequently took the mic and felt the need to emphasize Ramaswamy’s devotion to God. “I’ve been with Vivek at churches all over the state. There’s this band of Christian warriors who are following and supporting Vivek because he supports them,” Mandel stressed. The sentiment proved to be a bellwether for the audience Q&A. An answer Ramaswamy gave condemning sanctuary cities wasn’t enough for a hoarse-voiced attendee who repeatedly interrupted: “Damned immigrants are hurtin’ everybody! We gotta get all of ’em out of here!”

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The oppo mastermind who could take down Roger Marshall

Early in September, a New York Times investigation rocked the Kansas Senate race. The incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, the paper revealed, had sued some 700 patients over his previous, decadeslong career as an obstetrician-gynecologist in rural Kansas; in 81 of the cases, patients had gotten arrested over missed court dates. In an agricultural state already hard-hit by Donald Trump’s tariffs, and in a cycle with affordability as voters’ top issue, the revelation of struggling patients facing legal peril over medical debt — in one case of as little as $101 — changed the map, putting Republicans officially on the defensive in a state that had looked safe only months before. The story was a coup for the paper and veteran health care reporter Sarah Kliff who, as the paper noted, “reviewed thousands of court records and interviewed eight people whom Roger Marshall sued over medical debt.” But many also suspected a particular hand behind the initial tip: Tyson Brody, a 39-year-old opposition researcher and an alum of both the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns, who moved home to Kansas to work for Marshall’s Democratic challenger, Rev. Adam Hamilton.

Brody is “the kind of guy who, forget a skeleton in your closet — he will find every single dust bunny in your closet,” said Caitlin Legacki, a senior fellow at Third Way and a Democratic strategist who has worked with Brody in the past. The Times declined to comment, as did both Brody and the Hamilton campaign. Kliff has said on Kansas City public radio that she will not reveal who gave her the tip, as is standard journalistic practice. But journalists and operatives familiar with Brody’s work think it’s no coincidence that the Hamilton campaign’s oppo game is exploding as it happens to employ one of the Democratic party’s top practitioners of the craft — in his own home state. Marshall has said he treated every patient regardless of ability to pay. But in the weeks since the story ran, polls have tightened, prognosticators have moved the race toward Democrats (the Cook Political report now rates it a toss-up) and millions of dollars have rushed into what suddenly looks like a battleground on the prairie — in a state so associated with conservativism that Democrats use the book title What’s the Matter With Kansas? as shorthand for benighted farmers voting against what liberals see as their own interests. Giddy Democrats and despondent Republicans alike are contemplating the possibility that Kansas could send a Democrat to the Senate for the first time since 1932. And central to that phenomenon — along with a damaged incumbent and a unique challenger — is the old-fashioned, dark art of oppo research.

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Flashy AI campaign ads use religion to stir emotions and attack candidates

In a recent campaign ad for Ken Paxton, the Trump-endorsed Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas, his Democratic opponent James Talarico appears to sit at a desk while he scribbles on a Bible page. “I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity,” says the ad’s Talarico before adding that God was a “radical feminist” who “never asked people to worship him,” a reference to Talarico’s liberal Christian views, which have drawn criticism from political opponents. The scene seems realistic and pulls quotes from Talarico’s speeches and his sermons at his Presbyterian church. Yet, it is not an actual clip of Talarico. It was created with artificial intelligence.

The 30-second clip, which has 2.6 million views on X since its release in September, is part of a flurry of AI-generated political ads airing on cable, streaming and digital platforms across the country ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. As AI content spreads online, political strategists have used the technology to create glossy campaign videos. According to a Wesleyan Media Project report released in September, 164 ads generated or enhanced by AI have been released this election cycle, costing $80 million. In some key races, AI has been used to depict candidates’ religious views and convey religious messaging through campaign ads ranging from highly realistic to provocative and eccentric. Layering catchy music, colorful images and provocative captions, the AI campaign ads can elicit strong emotional reactions, said Heidi Campbell, author of “Digital Creatives and the Rethinking of Religious Authority” and a communication professor at Texas A&M University. “Political ads have always tried to get you to respond out of your gut to either like or not like a person,” she said, adding strategists now “use the features of AI to kind of get people to bypass thinking and focus on emotion.”

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Iran threatens wider strikes on economic and civilian targets if U.S. attacks

Iran’s message is stark: If the U.S. and Israel restart their air campaign, Tehran will respond with strikes not only on American bases and warships but on airports, pipelines and other civilian targets in the neighboring countries of the Persian Gulf. The warnings, issued publicly and in private diplomatic communications, are clearly aimed at deterring any attack with tough talk. But they also signal a real threat. Iran retains significant missile and drone stocks and the ability to use them. Analysts estimate Iran has hundreds to thousands of ballistic missiles, and U.S. and regional officials believe it has resumed production of ballistic missiles in limited numbers using stockpiled components and working in underground facilities. In the opening phase of the war, Iran inflicted significant damage on U.S. air bases, embassies and the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain. It also hit energy and industrial facilities in the United Arab Emirates, a major gas plant in Qatar and airports in Dubai, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Tehran says it would seek to cause more pain in any new round, at a time when stockpiles of the air-defense interceptors the U.S. and Arab militaries need to absorb any attack have been running down. Israel’s interceptor supplies have also been under pressure. Raising the ante in any new fight would expose Iran’s infrastructure to attack when its economy is teetering. Its missile arsenal and launchers were battered by U.S. and Israeli attacks early in the war—the Pentagon said in September the U.S. had destroyed up to 90% of Iran’s drone, ballistic missile and naval industrial base—limiting its ability to sustain a long exchange. Still, analysts believe it would run the risk. “The consensus in Tehran now believes that deterrence requires imposing immediate, sustained and substantial costs on its adversaries,” said Sina Toossi, an Iran expert at the Center for International Policy, a Washington think tank. Yemen’s Houthi militants, working with training and technology from Iran, have hit Saudi Arabian refineries and shut down air traffic to the capital with a series of long range missile and drone attacks that Tehran could replicate. Drones fired from Iraq knocked the kingdom’s East-West pipeline out for days, threatening oil supplies.

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Experts say Venezuela's claim to 300 billion reserve oil barrels is a stretch

A single figure sets Venezuela apart from the rest of the world: 303 billion barrels of so-called proven oil reserves. But experts say the country’s estimate is inherently problematic and far from proven — rooted in exaggerated, aging data from a corrupt government. The number has long been touted by politicians and investors as an important measure of untapped energy potential, most recently by President Donald Trump’s administration in detailing a sweeping deal for the U.S. to take control of some Venezuelan reserves. But a more realistic estimate of the country’s proven reserves — a gold standard metric, representing the amount of oil that can reasonably be extracted under current conditions — is about one-third of what it has reported, half a dozen experts told The Associated Press. They put the likely figure at 60 to 120 billion barrels, a vast amount but not enough for Venezuela to remain the world’s largest holder of reserves.

The distinction is an important one as Venezuela and the U.S. attempt to attract new investment into the country’s dilapidated oil industry, and it suggests that the deal Trump announced in August claiming the U.S. would ultimately control more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves is much less profitable than he asserted. “That’s a funny, funny proposal,” Evanan Romero, a former Venezuela energy official now based in Houston, said of the deal, adding that he believes the Trump administration didn’t fully research the South American country’s claims before wading in. “If the U.S. government called them and asked them to testify to how they did the procedure — well, the whole world will know that that’s a funny number, an absolute lie.” Venezuela’s government didn’t respond to a request for comment from AP. Trump has said that under the deal, the U.S. will control 65 billion barrels of proven reserves — a figure exceeding the entirety of U.S. crude reserves. He’s repeatedly cited the 65 billion barrels number and called the oil deal the biggest in history, a way to refill U.S. strategic reserves and lower gas prices that surged during the Iran war.

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MAHA activists jaded by top ally’s departure from White House

The abrupt resignation of one of the leading Make America Healthy Again advocates from the Trump administration on Thursday is a threat to discourage swing midterm election voters who want reforms to federal food policy. Calley Means, one of the founding figures in the MAHA movement, resigned from his position in the Trump administration on Thursday after reportedly clashing with members of the White House inner circle over delays in advancing food policy reforms central to his agenda. Means’s departure comes as Republicans are struggling nationwide in polls ahead of the elections on Nov. 3. His resignation is likely to spark disillusionment with President Donald Trump and the GOP among MAHA voters who voted for him in 2024.

Kelly Ryerson, a food reform and anti-pesticide activist, told the Washington Examiner that Means’s resignation “is a strong signal that the administration is falling short on their commitments to our MAHA cohort,” but it might not be enough to tip the scales in favor of Democrats. “President Trump is surrounded by smart, shrewd industry players that hold enough power to silence the demands of our diseased population,” Ryerson said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that MAHA voters will run and vote Democrat. It’s more a renewed, deep distrust in the entire political system that continues to leave our kids sick and medicated.” Means was one of the central figures in the summer of 2024 who connected Robert F. Kennedy with Trump, who at the time were rival presidential candidates. After Kennedy was appointed health and human services secretary, Means has been a key adviser to Kennedy, including helping with the revision of the dietary guidelines and negotiations with food companies to remove artificial dyes from certain products.

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Lead Stories

Musk’s move to flood Texas Senate race with cash plays into Talarico’s hand

Elon Musk’s move to spend millions of dollars to support Republican Ken Paxton in his US Senate race is opening up a potent line of attack about money in politics from Democratic challenger James Talarico. Musk’s America PAC has now spent $31.6 million on the Texas race, according to the latest federal filing, on top of the $149 million a different Musk-funded PAC has funneled into the contest. The spending has cemented the world’s wealthiest person as the biggest political donor for the second straight election cycle. As of Wednesday, Musk’s total known spending on the midterms is $369 million. “Elon Musk is trying to buy this Senate seat in Texas,” Talarico said during a recent rally. “In all likelihood, if you’ve seen an attack ad on your TV, that was Elon. If you’ve gotten lies in your mailbox, that was Elon. If you’ve received a text message saying scary things about me, that was Elon too.”

Billionaire-bashing has been fundamental to Talarico’s campaign since its inception. In his launch video in September 2025, Talarico said the wealthy try to divide people over social issues so they can cut taxes for their donors. As Musk has stepped up his political spending — and personal insults directed at Talarico through his social-media accounts — it’s given the Democrat a face for those attacks. Talarico, who maintains a slight edge in recent polls, has framed the political divide as working people versus the wealthy, with an anti-corruption message about getting big money out of politics. Musk has a lot riding on the tight race, which Texas Democrats believe might be their best opportunity to win a statewide election for the first time in three decades and could be key to Democrats’ chances of flipping Senate control. Musk has lived in Texas since 2020, and Tesla and SpaceX — which are studying a mega-merger — are expanding operations in the state. SpaceX is a key contractor for NASA and the US military, and got about one-fifth of its revenue from the federal government last year. Both SpaceX and Tesla are also vulnerable to government regulations on everything from environmental restrictions around rocket launches to fuel-efficiency standards for autos. Besides his financial contributions, Musk is also using his platform on X to bash Talarico, often over unfounded accusations about transgender policy. Musk has said that “Talarico hates Texas” and amplified baseless theories about the Democrat’s health to his 241 million followers. On Facebook and Instagram, America PAC is running digital ads about “Talafreako.” Another ad shows a person putting on makeup with the caption: “He made his plan to vote. Did you?”

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Texas loses 19,000 jobs, prompting Dallas Fed forecast cut

Texas lost nearly 19,000 jobs in September, according to figures published this week by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, representing the state’s largest monthly net jobs decrease since June 2025. The rough month also helped push the Reserve Bank’s 2026 Texas employment growth forecast downward to less than 1% — a significant drop from recent months and far below the state’s historical average. September’s weak job numbers come as the country faces numerous economic headwinds, including high energy costs, interest rates that continue to weigh on homebuilding and an immigration crackdown restricting hiring in some key industries. “Texas employment declined in September, slowing year-to-date job growth to 0.8%, well below the state’s long-running average of 2%,” Luis Torres, a Dallas Fed senior business economist, said in a statement. “The moderation in job growth is consistent with current labor supply constraints that partly result from sharply lower immigration.”

The September jobs numbers were a major factor behind the bank’s new projection of a 0.9% jobs increase for the year, down from 1.2% a month ago and 2% in July. The forecast is based on an average of four models that include national GDP, oil futures prices and other economic data. In 2025, Texas’ job growth rate was 0.8%, a significant slowdown compared with recent years that economists blamed in part on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which squeezed the state’s labor market, as well as tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty. Early this year, the bank’s model projected Texas employment would grow by 1.1% for the year. “It’s not back to trend growth,” Pia Orrenius, a senior economist with the bank, said at the time. “I don’t think that trend growth is really achievable given the labor supply constraints that we’re experiencing right now.” For much of the year, though, even as soaring fuel prices and lower immigration contributed to a largely stagnant national labor market, in Texas — a state that’s long outperformed the national economy — jobs gains seemed to defy early expectations.

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New $4.2 billion Texas gas pipe to supply fuel for data center

Kinder Morgan Inc. formally committed to building a $4.2 billion pipeline that will haul fuel across West Texas and the Panhandle to help power a data center complex. The project dubbed Permian Link will have a capacity to ship 2.8 billion cubic feet of gas daily across a 434-mile (700-kilometer) expanse, according to a statement Wednesday. Kinder counts an unnamed “A-list hyperscaler” as a major customer for the network, which is expected be in-service in late 2030, the statement said.

The pipeline will capture a “compelling opportunity” by moving cheap Permian Basin gas north to emerging data center clusters in the Panhandle, Kinder Chief Executive Officer Kim Dang said during a conference call with analysts. Permian Link is the latest giant Texas pipeline to reach a final investment decision in recent months amid booming demand for power to run data centers and supply export terminals. While Kinder is looking to accommodate multiple customers with Permian Link, the unnamed hyperscaler is the anchor tenant and “obviously is driving the need for speed,” said Sital Mody, president of natural gas pipelines. Separately, the company greenlit the 470-mile Southeast Connector pipeline that will haul as much as 2.6 billion cubic feet of gas daily.

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Higher deductibles, bigger premiums: Rising healthcare costs hit employees

Corporate America is getting hit by healthcare sticker shock—and companies are passing a greater share of the cost on to workers. The trend is accelerating. New data shows that this year, the average cost of a family health plan crossed $28,000, rising by 5%, according to an annual survey from the nonprofit KFF, which provides the broadest picture of U.S. employer health coverage. The share coming out of employees’ paychecks shot up even faster—to $7,471, an increase of 9% from 2025. Kevin Cole, chief executive of Mid Oregon Credit Union, was stunned when he got the company’s new healthcare cost projection: Mid Oregon was expected to spend 38% more on coverage in 2027. “It was horrific, much worse than I expected,” said Cole.

Cole had to make changes to the health coverage offered to the credit union’s roughly 170 employees. Among those changes: raising workers’ premium payments in tandem with the overall cost increase, raising deductibles and offering a new high-deductible plan. Still, the changes are only expected to bring Mid Oregon’s cost increase down by about 2 percentage points. Next year is likely to be worse, according to health benefits consultants and actuaries. The cost increases for 2027 follow two or three years of steep rises, and the drivers aren’t going away. Hospitals have been able to raise some prices and use artificial-intelligence tools to boost billing. High-cost drugs for an array of conditions, including cancer and weight loss, are driving up spending. Some employers are reacting by dropping coverage for popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs, though some are now helping to fund pretax accounts that workers can use to buy them on their own. Denver-based Cerebral Brewing, which makes its own beer and owns tap rooms, is budgeting for a 20% cost increase on its health plans, which renewed on July 1. The company is also facing cost increases for aluminum and fuel, and it hasn’t raised its overall beer prices.

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State Stories

The Texas Attorney General's race is worth watching

A crucial midterm contest is happening right now in Texas, one that could determine the future of the state and its influence on federal policy and national politics. No, not the U.S. Senate race—though everyone is watching that one, and with good reason. The Republican, Ken Paxton—who has served as Texas’s attorney general since 2015—is an unusually weak candidate, beset by personal and financial scandals and a reputation for using his office for right-wing culture-war fixations, and weighed down by a deeply unpopular president. On the other side is James Talarico, an unusually strong Democratic candidate, fluent in the language of faith and without the cloud of scandal that haunts his opponent. “This is the most competitive election that we have seen in Texas” in decades, James Henson, the executive director of the University of Texas at Austin’s nonpartisan Texas Politics Project, told me. But the race I’m talking about is downstream of that: Who will succeed Ken Paxton? The two major-party candidates vying to be attorney general are Nathan Johnson, a Democratic state senator from Dallas, and Mayes Middleton (“MAGA Mayes,” as his own ads call him), a Republican state senator and GOP mega-donor whose district covers parts of Harris, Brazoria, and Galveston counties.

An October poll from the Texas Politics Project shows a dead heat, with Johnson at 48 percent and Middleton at 47 percent. The Texas attorney general is a very powerful position, one that has frequently been a springboard to higher office—John Cornyn held the job before becoming a U.S. senator, as did Greg Abbott before becoming the state’s governor. The AG is meant to defend the laws of the state, and has certain specific responsibilities, such as enforcing child support and investigating Medicaid fraud. Over the past few decades, however, the role has become something more: a way for ambitious politicians to wage culture wars, cultivate a national profile by taking on right-wing causes, and shape law and policy not just in Texas but nationwide. The attorney general “helps set legal policy across the country,” Justin Nelson, a Democrat who came within a few points of unseating Paxton in 2018, told me. The race between Talarico and Paxton may be capturing everyone’s attention right now, but “when you’re a senator, you’re one of 100,” Nelson pointed out. There’s only one attorney general of Texas. An entire accounting of Paxton’s use of the AG’s office to further extreme conservative causes would take too long. But you get the idea. The Texas AG’s office is the “largest legal power in the conservative movement, nationally, period, end of story,” Adam Piper, who runs the Republican Attorneys General Association, told The Texas Tribune earlier this year. Ali S. Zaidi, the former director of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, told me that “simply removing a Republican” from the Texas attorney general’s office “could have enormous ripple effects across the country for, frankly, generations to come.”

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Trump administration asks Supreme Court to let Big Bend border wall construction continue

The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow construction on border walls and other barriers across the Big Bend region of West Texas to continue amid an ongoing legal fight. The administration’s emergency request to the nation’s highest court comes just weeks after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued an injunction blocking border barrier construction — and the use of federal regulatory waivers expediting the project — for the entire Big Bend region. The area, known for its rugged canyon lands and desert vistas, makes up nearly a quarter of the U.S.-Mexico border but has historically seen among the lowest numbers of border crossings in the Southwest. The Center for Biological Diversity, a church preservation group and a local river guide are suing the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection over its border barrier plans for the region.

In the emergency application filed Wednesday, the government called the injunction “baseless” and argued that its border security and operation interests “vastly outweigh any aesthetic, recreational, or cultural injuries” suffered by the plaintiffs. The administration is asking for both a stay of the lower court injunction, which would allow construction to continue, and for the court to “summarily” take up the case and reverse the original injunction order. For now, the judge’s block on construction remains in effect, after Judge Cardone on Tuesday rejected the government’s separate request in the lower court for construction to continue. The Trump administration claims the construction pause is costing over $460,000 a day due to the “scale” of the project. “Workers there had already constructed about three quarters of a mile of border barrier, and temporary field offices, supply yards, a water delivery system, and a temporary concrete batch plant had been installed,” the emergency application read.

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Texas state senator raises concerns about ‘loophole’ in new school voucher program

State Sen. José Menéndez is questioning what he calls a "loophole" in Texas’ voucher program that allows families to receive taxpayer dollars even when their children attend private schools that don’t participate in the program. A Texas lawmaker is questioning a provision in the state’s new school voucher program that allows families to receive taxpayer money even when their children attend private schools that aren’t participating in the program. At a recent Senate Education Committee hearing, Democratic state Sen. José Menéndez of San Antonio questioned how families can qualify for up to $2,000 through a category called “homeschool/other.”

Menéndez raised concerns after reviewing a Facebook exchange in which Travis Pillow, who oversees the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program for the Comptroller’s office, explained that the homeschool/other category isn’t limited to traditional homeschool families. “Basically you’re telling folks, check homeschool or other, you’ll get the money and you can still use whatever school you want,” Menéndez said during the hearing. Pillow explained that families can qualify for the $2,000 award even if their children attend private schools that don’t participate in the voucher program. Instead of tuition, the funds can go toward approved educational expenses, including tutoring, therapy, educational materials and extracurricular activities like karate or piano lessons. “Every dollar that is spent through this program needs to be for an approved and qualified educational expense,” Pillow told lawmakers. Menéndez said the distinction raises questions about accountability, particularly when students move from the private school category into the homeschool/other category. “My concern is that by dropping to the home school it is a big, big loophole the size of a Mack truck to use it for almost anything,” Menéndez said. “And so I think it’s something we need to be thoughtful and careful with.” The hearing was held as lawmakers evaluate the first year of the voucher program and prepare to potentially double its $1 billion budget during the upcoming legislative session.

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Tony Gonzales’ campaign paid wife’s companies thousands after leaving office

Since resigning this spring amid scandal, former U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales has sent tens of thousands of campaign dollars to companies recently created by his wife that don’t appear to have any physical or online presence, according to records reviewed by the Express-News. Between April and September, Gonzales’s campaign and an associated PAC reported paying $54,350 to two companies, Adulting Consulting and Casagrande LLC, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. Both businesses were registered with the state after Gonzales stepped down and include the same San Antonio address as Gonzales’s campaign committee, which appears to be a UPS store about a seven-minute drive from Gonzales' house. Gonzales’s wife, Angel, is listed as the manager for each.

Neither company appears to have a website. In their incorporation documents, they each include the same generic business description. Federal law allows former candidates to pay companies that are operated by family members. But the services provided must be necessary, legitimate and billed at standard commercial rates, said Michael Beckel, director of money in politics reform at the nonpartisan group, Issue One. It’s illegal to use campaign funds for personal use. In FEC records, Gonzales’ campaign said the money went toward “data management,” “compliance” and “compliance consulting.” Tony Gonzales is the only candidate whose campaign has reported paying the organizations. In a statement to the Express-News, Gonzales’ campaign said the spending was in compliance with federal law. The statement did not answer questions about the specific services provided by Adulting Consulting and Casagrande LLC. “As the campaign transitions from active status there remain ongoing administrative expenses to include but not limited to compliance requirements, storage, data management, and others,” the statement said. It was unsigned.

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Talarico presses anticorruption agenda, targeting both Paxton and Elon Musk

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico made one of his final swings through the Houston area Wednesday ahead of November's U.S. Senate election, taking direct aim at trillionaire Elon Musk for bankrolling his Republican rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Speaking before a crowd at the UH Hilton on the main campus of the University of Houston, Talarico framed the Senate race as a fight against corruption. "Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party, by his fellow Republicans for using his public office — his position of public trust — to enrich himself and his donors at the expense of the people of Texas," Talarico said. "Ken Paxton represents everything that’s wrong with this broken, corrupt system. He doesn’t serve us. He serves himself."

Paxton’s campaign has been dogged by multiple scandals, including his past indictment for felony securities fraud, as well as his 2023 impeachment on charges of abuse of office, which ultimately ended in his acquittal by the Texas Senate. Talarico pledged to pass a raft of anti-corruption measures if elected. Specifically, he advocated for legislation to ban corporate political action committees and super PACs; to bar members of Congress from trading in stocks; to outlaw partisan gerrymandering by state governments; and to enact congressional term limits. As a first-term lawmaker, Talarico would likely have limited power to push for any of these measures. Talarico also took aim at Musk, pointing to the nearly $190 million in donations Paxton received from Musk through the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC tied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. "In all likelihood, if you’ve seen an attack ad on your screen, that was Elon. If you’ve gotten lies in your mailbox, that was Elon. If you’ve received a text message saying scary things about me, that was Elon too," Talarico said. "Elon Musk wants our land. He wants our water. He wants our taxpayer dollars. He wants his very own personal United States Senator. He is trying to buy Texas. But on Nov. 3, we are going to send a clear message to the world’s first trillionaire: Texas is not for sale."

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Die-hard Dems face dilemma in Harris County Treasurer race

Can a county official with a boatload of baggage and relatively low name ID get re-elected in November? It’s certainly possible. Since Carla Wyatt was elected Harris County treasurer in 2023, she’s had two drunk-driving arrests, a burglary charge that was later dismissed and a pending case alleging she caused a four-car pileup on Interstate 45. Some might think that Wyatt would sit out the November election and pursue another employment opportunity, but that’s not the case. She’s on the ballot seeking another two-year term and she also brazenly asked in August for a salary increase from $139,547 to $305,000.

Harris County’s Salary Grievance Committee instead recommended a 30 percent raise, which would have hiked Wyatt’s salary to $181,411. Commissioners Court denied the recommendation last month. The court had already voted in February 4-0 to prioritize abolishing the treasurer’s office as part of its legislative agenda in 2027. County Judge Lina Hidalgo was not present for the vote. The action came after Wyatt’s office approved two fraudulent checks totaling nearly $53,000. The funds were recovered, but the incident prompted commissioners to move key fraud-prevention duties out of the treasurer’s office and into the Office of Management and Budget. Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, has said that if Wyatt is re-elected, “it will effectively be a signal for removal.” Tarrant, Bexar, Collin and El Paso counties have all eliminated the treasurer’s office in recent years. The Harris County Treasurer’s Office is similar to a comptroller or controller, responsible for managing bank accounts and public money. It handles the receipt, disbursement and deposit of county funds and keeps records of how money is spent.

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San Antonio City Council curb's mayor’s power over bond picks

In a direct jab at Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, the City Council is curtailing her power over who will oversee San Antonio’s next bond program. Council members voted 7-3 on Wednesday to give themselves the authority to pick and approve the three chairpersons who will guide the city’s 2027 bond process, breaking with precedent. Before Jones, mayors were free to unilaterally name the so-called tri-chairs, who usually are business and civic leaders. Jones had announced her chairs on Monday: Jim Perschbach, president and CEO of Port San Antonio; Jelynne LeBlanc Jamison, president and CEO of the Center for Health Care Services and chairwoman of the San Antonio Water System’s board of directors; and Mario Obledo Jr., chief of government and public affairs at the San Antonio Food Bank. Wednesday’s vote nullifies those appointments.

Council members Teri Castillo, Marina Alderete Gavito and Marc Whyte forced the special meeting by filing a three-signature memo last week requesting that Councilwomen Sukh Kaur and Phyllis Viagran review the mayor’s selections and that city staff draft an ordinance requiring the council to green-light the nominees. But the ordinance sets up Kaur and Viagran to go further than weighing in on Jones’ selections. It gives the two councilwomen the authority to recommend tri-chair candidates, who will then go to City Council for approval. The five council members behind the measure have repeatedly clashed with Jones over a variety of policies and protocols. She has accused her colleagues of ignoring her budget proposals and recommendations for the city’s contributions to Project Marvel, the sports and entertainment district downtown. They, in turn, say she’s been unwilling to hear their feedback and hasn’t sought their support for her initiatives. Jones’ recent proposal to allocate most of the 2027 bond proceeds to Council Districts 1 through 5, the city’s poorest, fell flat.

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Race for Tarrant County judge a barometer of region’s political dynamic, analysts say

After four years sharing the commissioners court dais, Tim O’Hare and Alisa Simmons face off Nov. 3 in the race for Tarrant County judge. O’Hare, the Republican incumbent seeking his second term, has focused his campaign on keeping property taxes low and bolstering public safety. Simmons, a Democratic county commissioner, wants to strengthen county services and has centered her campaign on empowering residents while holding government officials accountable. Both candidates took office in January 2023. Their tenure on commissioners court has been marked by repeated public clashes, as the two held opposing stances on issues including accountability for in-custody deaths at the county jail, local law enforcement’s role in immigration enforcement, last summer’s county redistricting and decorum at public meetings. The race for county judge is also a test of the county’s political dynamic, as O’Hare seeks to maintain and further assert Republican dominance in Tarrant County after the high-profile county redistricting he initiated last summer.

Political analysts told the Fort Worth Report and KERA News that county judge races are not typically the biggest drivers of voter turnout in midterm elections, but national attention on the high-profile governor and U.S. Senate races can generate a trickle-down effect on the down-ballot races. Although Democrats are primed for a good election year in Texas, Tarrant County candidates shouldn’t count on voters sticking to one political party up and down the ballot, said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. “This is a distinctively hard year for Republicans across the country and will be in Tarrant County as well,” Jillson said in a phone interview. “How far down the ballot that goes remains to be seen.” National unrest over Republican leadership, combined with Tarrant’s growing and diversifying population, could benefit Simmons’ bid for the countywide seat, Jillson said. Voters who split from their usual party — such as Republicans considering voting Democrat for Senate — typically revert to their political affiliation further down the ballot, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. He predicted an O’Hare win. “Honestly, it’s hard to bet against Republicans, especially down-ballot,” Rottinghaus said.

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Texas wedding venue settles lawsuit over $16K refund after groom dies

A Hays County wedding venue has dropped its counterclaim against a woman who filed a lawsuit this summer accusing the business of refusing to refund her after her fiancée died suddenly, months before the wedding was scheduled to take place. The counterclaim from Posey Meadows against the surviving fiancée was not part of an amended answer filed in the case Tuesday.

An attorney for the woman confirmed Wednesday evening the case was settled and she will be given a refund for the full amount. In a statement, Posey Meadows addressed the latest step in a suit that has brought a flood of negative attention to the venue. “Our thoughts continue to be with Diego’s family and loved ones, and we extend our deepest condolences. Posey Meadows is not pursuing any claim against (redacted) and is not seeking any further payment from her. When we were told of Diego’s passing, we wanted to help. We have always asked for confirmation of the circumstances when making an exception to our cancellation policy. When families have provided it in other difficult situations, we have made exceptions and refunded them in full. Our goal is to treat every family and every client fairly, compassionately, and consistently. In early May, we asked the family for a copy of the death certificate, and they told us they would provide it. While waiting, we wanted to do our part and searched for an obituary, a funeral or memorial notice, and any other public confirmation of Diego’s passing, but were unable to locate anything. We continued checking over the following months. We did not receive a copy of the death certificate until mid-August, after they had filed the lawsuit and after we had responded to it—as we were required to do. Our efforts were never meant to diminish the family’s loss. We regret that the litigation process has complicated what we hoped would be a speedy and compassionate resolution. We are hopeful an agreement will be reached very soon, and we sincerely hope it allows everyone involved to move forward with peace and healing.” An attorney for Posey Meadows, who confirmed she had earlier this week replaced the attorney who filed the counterclaim, told KSAT Wednesday morning the venue had offered to settle the case and is waiting to hear back from the plaintiff’s attorney.

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Saks sought $126 million from Dallas to keep Neiman Marcus downtown

Saks Global asked for $126 million in taxpayer dollars last year to redo — and keep open — the flagship Neiman Marcus store in downtown Dallas, newly released public records show. Saks, which acquired the department store two years ago, said it was going to pursue historic tax credits and city funding to renovate the building, bring the iconic Zodiac restaurant to the ground floor and reconstruct the top seven floors into office space and a “Luxury Accelerator” — a sort of incubator for fashion designers and fabricators. The company, now called Exemplar Luxury Group, asked for money collected in downtown’s tax increment financing zone. It presented the plan to the city over a year before Neiman Marcus permanently closed downtown. The proposal consolidated the retail store on the first two floors of the century-old building, where shoppers could’ve perused the work by the designers upstairs.

Downtown Dallas Inc., the nonprofit that oversees downtown, is working to use historic tax credits to save aging buildings in the city center. Neiman Marcus is one of many fixtures leaving downtown. Saks officials did not immediately respond Wednesday about why the deal didn’t materialize, but in the presentation the company said the project was not “financially viable without the requested incentive.” The city’s economic development officials told The Dallas Morning News the city “indefinitely paused” work on the application after the company filed for bankruptcy in January and didn’t do any “substantive work” reviewing the proposal in the months before the pause. The News received emails, slide decks and incentive documents this week after requesting the records from the city several times. The city attorney’s office requested the Texas attorney general allow city officials to withhold the records, but the AG’s office allowed a partial release. The records show the financial considerations in the fight to keep the store downtown. The city’s Landmark Commission kicked off the process to designate the property as historic and protect the building from demolition in August.

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As Texas Gov. Abbott targets Muslim groups, his PAC receives millions from Muslim oil exec

One of the largest donors to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s political action committee is a Pakistani American Muslim oil executive and philanthropist, who has given nearly $4 million to the PAC since 2025 alone. Over the same period, Abbott has launched investigations of Islamic organizations and escalated anti-Muslim rhetoric. Since 2015, S. Javaid Anwar donated more than $15 million to Abbott’s Texans for Greg Abbott PAC, making him one of Abbott’s top donors, according to Texas Ethics Commission filings. The founder of Midland Energy and Petroplex Energy, two independent oil drilling companies, Anwar has given $3.9 million and made $122,000 in-kind donations, such as providing private plane travel for Abbott, since 2025, filings show. Anwar, who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s, has been a major donor to Republicans, including contributing more than $1 million to Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to U.S. Federal Election Commission filings. The White House referred RNS to the Republican National Committee for comment, which did not immediately respond.

Anwar, a Houston resident, also has supported local Muslim groups, serving, for example, as one of the “grand sponsors” of Houston’s largest interfaith Ramadan Iftar since at least 2013, according to the organization’s website. “He’s giving millions to Abbott, to the GOP, to Trump specifically, and they in turn have harmed us in very, very real ways,” said Saleema Gul, a Houston-based activist who is Muslim. RNS made several attempts to reach Anwar. On Friday (Oct. 16), his executive assistant sent an email to RNS, saying, “Mr. Anwar is ill and not taking any meeting request or phone calls at this time.” Abbott has called for state and federal criminal and civil investigations into The Meadow, a proposed Muslim-centered real estate development in a north Texas suburb. In November 2025, he also designated the largest Muslim civil rights group, the Council on American Islamic Relations, a foreign terrorist group in Texas. The three-term governor has repeatedly said he is targeting Sharia law, though interfaith advocates have said his rhetoric has put a target on Muslims in the state. Abbott’s spokesperson referred RNS to Abbott’s campaign, which did not respond to a request for comment. Social media users on the right have also raised objections to Anwar’s donations for different reasons, saying that Abbott’s acceptance of the donations show he doesn’t take the “Islamification” of Texas seriously.

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Georgia GOP candidate Jackson loans $20 million to Texas oil refinery Trump touted

Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson loaned $20 million at 12% interest to a new oil refinery planned for the Texas coast that President Donald Trump has hailed as a major victory in his quest for “energy dominance.” The healthcare billionaire’s loan and ownership stake in America First Refining’s plan to build the first new, major US refinery in half a century were disclosed in a federal tax court hearing earlier this year. Jackson’s ties to the project have become a flashpoint in the contest to decide who will lead the nation’s eighth-largest economy. His Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 election, Keisha Lance Bottoms, has unveiled ads slamming his role in the fossil-fuel installation as well as his ties to Trump. An Atlanta Journal Constitution poll ranks the race effectively a dead heat.

Trump has been a robust supporter of America First’s proposed fuel-making complex in the Texas city of Brownsville roughly 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Elon Musk’s Starbase launch complex. The refinery will process solely Texas crude when operations begin toward the end of the decade. The White House has been seeking to boost domestic fuel output as wars in Iran and Ukraine spike prices globally ahead of the midterm elections. Retail diesel has soared almost 70% since the US-Iran war kicked off in late February, touching an all-time high of more than $6.50 a gallon late last month. The president is so bullish on America First’s development that the project is listed on the White House website as the single largest investment in US manufacturing and industry, pegging its value at $300 billion. Donald Trump Jr. has praised Jackson for stepping up to help finance the refinery. Jackson’s role in financing the refinery emerged during testimony in his United States Tax Court suit against the Internal Revenue Service over deductions tied to low-budget movie productions. In response to a question about whether any loans made by his investment firm, Jackson Investment Group, have been particularly successful, he alluded to the proposed Brownsville refinery.

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Camp Mystic given firm deadline to restructure how company is run or could lose control

A bankruptcy judge could appoint a trustee if Camp Mystic fails to meet requirements for independent oversight of its Chapter 11 case. After three days of hearings, a Houston-based Bankruptcy Judge gave Camp Mystic a deadline in their Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The Kerr County Camp and other debtors in the case have until September 28 to submit a number of documents, including who they want to appoint as an Independent Fiduciary and how they plan to oversee their Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

If they don't file them on time or Judge Christopher Lopez does not deem them up to standard by November 3, he will appoint a Trustee to oversee the case. Camp Mystic is where 28 people, including 27 campers and counselors, died in the July 2025 floods. Several of the families whose daughters died have asked for the Trustee to be put in place. The ruling comes about two weeks after Judge Lopez ruled the stay is lifted on lawsuits against the Eastland family, who own and operate the camp. Those can resume as of November 9. Camp Mystic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June after pulling their license application to open their doors for the 2026 summer camp season.

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National Stories

Hegseth wanted Eisenhower’s globe for his office. His staff broke it.

It was early this year when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wanted to move the world. A replica of it, anyway. Two floor globes said to be used by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II are housed in the Pentagon, where subsequent generations of Army leaders became custodians of the artifacts, according to people familiar with the globe’s lineage and an accompanying plaque dating them to the 1930s. The historical significance was attractive to Hegseth, these people said, and his staff requested that the secretary’s office become the new home to one of the 30-inch globes. Ordinarily, moving historical items within the building is a deliberate process overseen by trained curators. Instead, Hegseth’s staff dispatched its own team to relocate an Eisenhower globe. They lost control of the artifact and dropped it, sending the globe crashing onto its base and impaling the fragile shell near Antarctica, according to those familiar with the incident. The resulting gash appears to be several inches wide.

Pentagon officials denied The Washington Post’s request for a photo of the globe or to examine the artifact in person, but The Post separately obtained images of the damage. The Army, in an email to The Post, acknowledged that the globe was damaged and said it occurred during an “attempted move” Feb. 3. Aside from the hole, “the spherical portion of the globe was detached from the metal mounting that allows it to rotate,” spokesman Christopher Surridge said in response to questions. Ultimately, the damaged relic was not relocated, he said. Asked where the movers came from, Surridge referred The Post to Hegseth’s office. Spokespeople for the defense secretary did not respond to a request for comment. The Army office in possession of the globe had expected to consult with experts at the U.S. Army Center of Military History on how to ensure its safe transport and properly document its new relocation to Hegseth’s office, according to two people familiar with the matter. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a previously undisclosed incident that is viewed as an embarrassment within the Defense Department.

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It’s a blue state. It was ground zero for ICE’s brutality. It’s somehow also Democrats’ 2026 weak spot.

With less than two weeks to go before the midterms, the tale is the same as it has been all fall: It’s hard to find anything going Republicans’ way. Look around. While the GOP’s super PACs continue flooding Senate races in red states like Texas, Ohio, Kansas, and Iowa with ads, Senate Democrats’ super PAC is investing in Mississippi. In the House, Republican election groups are retreating from lost causes to defend core seats. But as Democrats put away House districts and Senate races in states like Georgia and North Carolina, one race is swimming curiously against the tide. On the same day that the election handicappers at the Cook Political Report shifted their rating of the Mississippi and South Carolina Senate races in Democrats’ favor, and fellow forecasters at Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved dozens of House races Democrats’ way, Cook made another change.

It moved the Minnesota Senate race, a contest between Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Republican former sports reporter Michele Tafoya, from “Likely Democrat” to “Lean Democrat.” Crystal Ball had made a similar decision the previous week. In other words, forecasters believe Flanagan is still the favorite, but not by much. What’s going on here? Why, in a great environment for Democrats, and in a consistently blue state like Minnesota, is this race looking like a squeaker? It’s not the same as New Hampshire, Democrats’ other misbehaving light-blue state that should be a shoo-in this year but somehow isn’t. In the Granite State, Republicans are running a former senator from the state’s Republican royal family, and Republican outside groups invested substantially, and early, in that race. Senate Republicans’ main super PAC, meanwhile, hasn’t put any money behind Tafoya’s bid; each candidate’s campaign has spent a civilized couple-million dollars each. And it’s not that Minnesota is a runaway train trending redder demographically. It’s dominated by the Twin Cities, and has a high percentage of adults with college degrees, the dividing line on which so much of Trump-era political realignment hinges. Instead, Democrats’ inability to pull away in this race is a matter of candidate quality, and seismic news stories from Minnesota that garnered immense national attention. What sets the race apart, aside from positions here or there, though, is that Tafoya, more than the average 2026 Republican in Trump’s America, has a lot of offensive material to work with. Flanagan is lieutenant to Gov. Tim Walz, who presided over a state welfare fraud scandal of such magnitude that it ended his bid for a third term. Tafoya has made this her central line of attack, arguing that Flanagan should be held accountable for the failures of the administration.

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Trump merchandise stores are closing: 'He has peaked'

When the Trump merchandise store here announced it was closing earlier this year, Wes Alker, a Trump superfan and retired auto mechanic, came by for some nostalgia and the going-out-of-business deals. They included everything from "Trump Won" caps for $9.99 to Trump pool floats for $19.99. Trump stores first emerged during the 2016 campaign. But with the president now in his second and final term, store owners say there isn't as much to fire up the consumer fan base and sales have softened. At least four stores have closed this year. The MAGA Mall, a big online retailer and wholesaler, reports sales of MAGA gear are down 30% compared to a presidential election year when Trump is on the ballot.

"He's no longer a viable business model for entrepreneurs because he has peaked," said Alker, who wore a gray T-shirt with a photo of former President Joe Biden and former Vice-President Kamala Harris which read, "Dumb and Dumber." Trump's lame duck status isn't the only drag on demand. When the Bensalem store closed – it still maintains an online presence – Trump's average approval rating had already fallen from 50 % when he took office to 44 %. Nine months later, when Bill Hays shut down his Trump super store outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, the president's approval rating had fallen five more points. Hays said unpopular policies – such as DOGE's massive government staff cuts – have had an impact. He noticed that instead of immediately putting on their new Trump gear, more buyers asked for bags. "People were not wearing their colors, so to speak, like they did before the (2024) election," said Hays, 80. When Hays opened his store in April 2024, business boomed. One day, he said, there was a line of 80 people out the door and sales hit $200,000 a month. By the time it closed in September, sales had fallen to just $20,000 a month. "After the inauguration, I think a lot of people felt that their job was done," said Hays. "They didn't have to promote MAGA or Trump."

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Vance ‘disgusted’ by Republicans decrying Ramaswamy ad with Acton’s mother

Vice President Vance criticized the response by some Republicans to a campaign ad for Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R), saying he is “disgusted” by those in his party who pushed back on the video. “I have to admit that I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” Vance said at a fraud task force press conference Wednesday. The ad features the mother of Ramaswamy’s Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, who accuses Acton of being a “liar” and saying “my daughter needs help.”

Acton’s brother released a statement and a competing video hours later saying that he and Acton have been estranged from their mother for years because she stayed married to the man who sexually abused Acton at a young age. Acton was removed from her mother’s care at the age of 12, something unmentioned in the Ramaswamy ad. Acton is in a competitive race for Ohio governor, but her lead has expanded in recent polls. Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, gives Acton a 60 percent chance of defeating Ramaswamy. Vance, a former Ohio senator, again defended Ramaswamy while rallying with him in the Buckeye State Wednesday. “Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar,” Vance said. “Whatever you think about any of the TV advertisements, focus on the substance and focus on the facts.” The personal nature and controversy surrounding the ad led Democrats and some Republicans to condemn it and call on Ramaswamy, who admitted Tuesday that the ad was from his campaign, to change course. Axios reported Tuesday that Ramaswamy’s campaign will now spend $4 million on airing the ad statewide. Vance said at the press conference that he is not concerned about the ad and is only focused on Republicans winning Ohio. “Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern,” Vance said. “What is my concern is who is going to govern the next generation of American government, who is going to win the Senate race in the state of Ohio, who is going to win the governor’s race in the state of Ohio?” “Politics is a tough business,” Vance added. “My message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.”

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‘There are no people’: Springfield, Ohio, faces loss of Haitian residents

The denizens of this once booming industrial Midwestern city were pining for something to rally people around when they coined the motto: “Speak a good word for Springfield or say nothing.” It was the height of the Depression in 1932 and the slogan sought to inspire unity among those living in a place where the Shawnee once roamed, European immigrants arrived and freed Black families found a home. Now some residents in Springfield, Ohio, say the city’s creed is being put to the test. Since thousands of Haitian residents lost their protection from deportation this summer, dozens have been arrested, scores have lost their jobs and others have either left the country or decided to hunker down at home, out of view. “Help wanted” ads for cooks, dishwashers and babysitters are going unanswered. Haitian residents are limiting their electrical usage as they worry about how they will pay the bills.

“I’m not sure there is precedent in U.S. history for this small a community to lose that much of its workforce and population cloistered at home,” said Tim Voltz, a Springfield resident who helps Haitian immigrants. “The situation is unsustainable.” Ohio’s Miami Valley region had been growing in recent years, after decades of decline that began in the 1950s when factories shuttered and the area’s population shrunk. New immigrants, including people from Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as Haiti, helped boost Springfield’s economy, adding thousands of new jobs. The county health department estimated the Haitian population grew to about 20 to 25 percent of the city over the last decade. Then Donald Trump targeted the city’s Haitians during his 2024 presidential campaign, falsely claiming that most had arrived illegally, were “destroying” the city and were eating people’s pets. The economy began to falter in Clark County, where Springfield is located, losing more manufacturing jobs in 2025 than it had gained the two previous years. Springfield now leads the state in year-over-year job losses. Federal job reports show the city’s labor force lost 1,100 manufacturing, leisure and hospitality jobs, contracting 2.2 percent in 2025. The downward trend has continued this year, preliminary data shows. Many factors, including rising transportation and child care costs, help explain why Ohioans are exiting the workforce.

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Trump pushback, Biden 'disaster' and gender surprise: 5 key moments from Kansas Senate debate

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton sparred over President Donald Trump, immigration, Iran, transgender athletes, artificial intelligence and personal controversies during a contentious Kansas Senate debate Wednesday night. The hour-long showdown came less than two weeks before Election Day as Marshall seeks a second term and Hamilton, a longtime pastor, tries to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Kansas since 1932. The race has drawn increased national attention as Republicans and Democrats battle for control of the Senate, with Trump traveling to Kansas earlier this week to campaign for Marshall â?? a topic touched on during the debate.

The debate wasted little time getting contentious, opening with questions about controversies that have fueled attacks against both candidates. Marshall was confronted with a New York Times review that found his former medical practice sued more than 700 patients over unpaid bills. "Every year we gave away $3 to $4 million of charity, but we also had a business," Marshall responded. "We had 300 employees, we had a mortgage payment, we had electric." Hamilton, meanwhile, was questioned about his handling of allegations involving a volunteer at his church's summer camp who was accused of sexual abuse. Hamilton acknowledged that he should have ensured the individual did not return to the camp following an initial investigation. Trump became part of the debate after moderators played footage from the president's campaign appearance for Marshall in Kansas earlier in the week. "And at this election, I'm asking you to pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot. Just pretend," Trump told the crowd. Marshall was then asked whether Trump's support meant Kansans should expect him to back every part of the president's agenda. "No," Marshall responded, saying there had been "multiple times" when he objected to Trump.

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Trump's redistricting gave Republicans a head start, now it goes to the voters

Voters across much of the South are casting ballots ahead of next month's midterm elections in congressional districts that were redrawn following calls from President Trump. He said it would help the GOP hold the House, where they currently outnumber Democrats 218 to 214. In state legislatures over the last year, Republicans tilted about eight more seats their way than Democrats did in response. But it's the voters who will decide whether it works. Here's the catch: Republicans redrew districts partly on how people voted in the presidential election in 2024. Now the political mood has changed and many who voted for President Trump two years ago could be voting for Democrats, or not voting, in the midterms. The Republicans could lose many of the districts they targeted.

Usually, states redistrict early in each decade after the census. But Trump called on legislatures to do it now. It set off a chain reaction of political crises across the country that threw legislatures into the national spotlight. Texas Republicans issued arrest warrants for Democratic legislators who'd left the state. The Louisiana governor suspended a primary after thousands of votes were already cast so the lines could be redrawn. In Missouri, the state supreme court found the Republican secretary of state in contempt for sticking with a GOP map that was not legally in effect. In California and Virginia, Democrats won approval in statewide votes for redistricting in response to the Republicans in other states – only to have the courts toss out Virginia's plan. And when the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act this spring, it fueled rushed legislative sessions to draw maps that often ended up weakening the voting power of minority communities. In a few places, Republicans rejected Trump's call to redistrict, including dramatic votes in the Indiana and South Carolina legislatures. But overall, Trump prompted a cycle of mid-decade redistricting unlike any since the 1960s, when courts set the current rules.

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Lead Stories

Texas continued permitting data centers after Abbott’s pause, report finds

Regulators in Texas did not stop processing permits for data center projects when Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a pause last month, according to an analysis of public records released Monday by the oil and gas watchdog group FracTracker. Amid an upswell of public opposition to the booming buildout of digital infrastructure in Texas, Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in a Sept. 21 letter “to halt all permits sought by data centers.” But FracTracker, in collaboration with Public Citizen, identified 35 permitting actions taken by the TCEQ for data center projects in subsequent weeks. “TCEQ has continued reviewing applications and issuing approvals that allow data center development to proceed,” the groups said in a press release Monday. “These actions do not signal an agency trying to pause.” Abbott’s office and the TCEQ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Abbott has described his moratorium on data center projects as an opportunity for state agencies to evaluate the facilities’ impact on water resources and grid stability. “No other state agency shall move forward with regulatory approvals related to data centers until this information is acquired,” Abbott wrote in his Sept. 21 letter to TCEQ executive director Kelly Keel. Since that letter, the TCEQ has fast-tracked or assigned engineers to 14 permits, approved stormwater coverage for 11, certified emissions estimates for seven and issued public notice for three, according to permitting documents collected by FracTracker and Public Citizen. The permits regard construction of gas power generation facilities for energy-hungry facilities. All of the largest gas power projects currently proposed in Texas are specifically intended to serve data centers, which are primarily planned to run artificial intelligence. The projects would release tens of thousands of tons of regulated pollutants, according to permitting documents, as well as more than 100 million tons per year of greenhouse gases—an enormous amount roughly equal to the annual emissions of a mid-sized industrialized country.

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Cryptic group behind transgender mailers formed weeks ago in Wyoming

Mailers from a mysterious group purporting to represent transgender students have riled up voters in Texas as early voting gets underway. But the Texas Transgender Student Union that sent the brochures and similar text messages that went out to voters earlier this month appears to have been created just weeks ago — and is registered as an LLC in Wyoming. Texas transgender advocacy groups have denied sending out the material, leading many to believe they may be coming from someone hoping to stir up Republican voters, rather than offer aid to transgender youth as they purport to be doing.

The mysterious group emerged as Republicans have again seized on warnings about Democrats supporting gender-affirming care for children as they seek to boost voter turnout in what appears to be a highly competitive midterm. The group’s “Texas Trans & LGBTQ+ Student Resource Guide” appears to have been sent in recent days to many past GOP voters, including a handful of prominent right-wing influencers who posted images of them on Monday. The brochure looks to be written for students and encourages those considering hormones or gender-affirming care to reach out to trusted organizations before trying to find medication on their own. It includes websites for the Transgender Education Network of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. “This was sent to my home. Addressed to the ‘students’ of our family from the “Texas Transgender Student Union,” wrote Sara Gonzales, a conservative commentator with more than 500,000 followers on X. “It coaches minors on what to do if their parents are not supportive of their ‘trans’ identity and walks them through getting emancipated. THIS IS EVIL!!!!!”

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In Texas, extreme surgical errors leave some patients with few options

A Hays County couple is listening as the OB-GYN explains what just happened. It was a miscommunication, he tells them. He thought she wanted to be sterilized. A San Antonio woman undergoes a biopsy, but the hospital workers do more than that. They stick a chemo port into the border of her heart — a chemo port meant for someone else. A Houston woman is rushing out of the doctor’s office, telling her husband she’s too upset to talk. Her surgeon was supposed to remove the cancerous tumor in her breast. He was supposed to, but it’s still there. And it’s grown. A Grand Prairie woman is hunched over in pain. She goes to the emergency room, where a scan shows something inside her abdomen, something that’s not supposed to be there. It’s metal and it’s curved, a few centimeters long. It looks a lot like a surgical needle.

There’s a category of extreme surgical errors called serious reportable events or, more colloquially, “never events.” Wrong procedure. Wrong patient. Wrong site. Unintentionally retained object. They’re called “never events,” but state data reveals Texas hospitals and surgery centers report around 200 errors in these four categories each year. That’s the reported number. The real number, patient safety advocates say, is likely higher. “A never event should never happen,” said Lillee Gelinas, patient safety director at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth. “So you have to ask yourself — we have to keep asking ourselves — why do they keep happening?” The Texans who experience one of these rare and shocking surgical errors may face another surprise if they seek justice through the courts. They may find the law is stacked against them. Texas has aggressive medical malpractice laws, which cap the amount of money that a patient can be awarded for pain, suffering and other difficult-to-quantify impacts of a medical error. There is no cap for medical bills or lost wages. The law’s original intent was to lower malpractice insurance premiums and keep more doctors in state. The caps for county hospitals are significantly lower, and apply to not just pain and suffering, but economic damages as well.

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School choice expansion fuels growth of classical Christian schools in Texas and beyond

Keith Castello spends a lot of time praying about available real estate. Driving in his white pickup under a glaring Texas sun, the classical Christian school administrator points out empty office parks, a shopping mall, and an old church — all locations he is scouting for new Christian schools. Demand is booming, he says. And part of that demand comes from a new state incentive: taxpayer money for kids who attend Christian schools. This summer, Texas began rolling out $1 billion in public funding that eligible families can put toward private education expenses. Republican-controlled state legislatures around the country have approved a cascade of similar programs in the past six years, alarming public school advocates. These programs mean half of school-age children in the United States are now eligible to apply for state money to attend private schools.

In the U.S., most private schools are religious. Securing public money for them raises issues over church-state separation but fulfills a longstanding goal for Christian conservatives, who lobbied for this funding. “I have been praying for 28 years for things that are coming to fruition right now,” said Castello, who is launching three classical Christian schools this fall under his Kyrie Christian Academy brand. Those suburban Texas schools are part of a larger network, the Association of Classical Christian Schools, which has ties to the Trump administration and was founded by Doug Wilson, a conservative Idaho pastor and writer. The schools offer a liberal arts education, with an added emphasis on virtue and a biblical worldview. The annual ACCS conference in June in Atlanta buzzed with talk of the historic shift in school funding, which bolsters a conservative Christian push to remake the education landscape. Critics worry it will drain public schools, which educate students of all religious backgrounds and political persuasions. When students leave their public school, state money allocated to educate each student goes away too. Conservatives are banding together to leverage these expanding taxpayer-funded scholarships.

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State Stories

Greg Abbott won't say if he supports selling state park to SpaceX

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday declined to say whether he supports selling a South Texas state park to Elon Musk’s SpaceX as the Republican governor’s appointees on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission are reportedly considering. Abbott said he does not know the details of the possible sale of Boca Chica State Park, a beachfront stretch adjacent to Musk’s Starbase near Brownsville. “What I know is that that's not coming up for a vote anytime soon,” Abbott said, before touting his record adding state parks. “No state in America has been adding more parkland than what I've done and what Texas has done,” the governor said. “I want to continue to preserve our parkland in the state of Texas.”

Texas Monthly reported on Friday that the commission planned to consider selling “1,300 acres” in Cameron County during a closed-door executive session at a meeting on Nov. 5. That vote has apparently been delayed, with a spokeswoman for the commission telling the magazine that it “is not considering the sale of the Boca Chica property at its November meeting.” Texas Parks and Wildlife did not immediately respond to a request for more information on Monday. Gina Hinojosa, Abbott’s Democratic challenger in the midterm election, seized on the potential sale as she continues to campaign against “corporate welfare.” Musk has been central to Hinojosa’s framing of the Nov. 3 contest as a fight between everyday Texans and Abbott’s ultrawealthy donors. Musk has given Abbott’s reelection campaign $500,000. “That is the people's beach — that is the working man’s beach in South Texas,” said Hinojosa, who grew up in Brownsville. “It is such a shame that the people of Texas are being sold out. Even our beaches are being given over to Greg Abbott’s biggest donor, or one of his biggest donors.” Hinojosa on Monday filed a lawsuit to force the governor’s office to turn over a batch of communications between Abbott and Musk that Abbott’s office had previously declined to release to the Texas Newsroom, arguing in part that they are of a private nature, not of public interest and potentially embarrassing.

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Dallas Morning News Editorial: Jeff Leach questions origins of suspicious transgender mailers in Texas

State Rep. Jeff Leach, who had called for an investigation into a mailer supposedly from a transgender support group that was sent to students and families across Texas, has followed up with a letter expressing concern about “the potential dissemination of misleading information, and the acquisition and use of thousands — if not millions — of Texans’ personal contact information.” Leach’s letter to Attorney General Ken Paxton, obtained by The Dallas Morning News, demands “a thorough investigation regardless of who is responsible, what their political affiliation may be, or which political interests they seek to advance.” “The investigation must follow the facts wherever they lead, without fear or favor,” Leach wrote.

Leach, a deeply conservative Collin County Republican, has a reputation for independence in his party. He helped lead the impeachment against Paxton, serving as a House manager of the case. And he stood with an El Paso Democrat, state Rep. Joe Moody, in pushing back against the planned execution of death-row inmate Robert Roberson, whose guilt has been called into doubt. Leach has long been a staunch advocate of conservative cultural causes. He was an early supporter of Senate Bill 12, known as the Texas Parents’ Bill of Rights, which requires that schools obtain parental consent for participation in clubs and counseling. And he was quick to demand an investigation into the mailer that purportedly gives minor students advice on how to transition and even emancipate from their families. But the authenticity of the mailer quickly came into question. The organization it was supposedly from, the Transgender Education Network of Texas or TENT, almost immediately disavowed having anything to do with it. Far-right influencers had already seized on the mailer as evidence of “EVIL,” as Blaze TV and Texas Scorecard commentator Sara Gonzalez wrote to 518,000 X followers. In the days since it hit mailboxes, it has become the talk of conservative parents angry at its message. But as journalists looked into the mailer’s provenance, it became increasingly suspicious. Its origins are unclear.

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Some Tarrant County voters turned away after arriving too late to vote early in Fort Worth

Some voters at a Fort Worth polling location left disappointed Tuesday after arriving to cast their ballots after early voting hours had ended. At the Como Community Center, voters said they planned their day around voting, only to discover the polls were no longer open. “I planned my day to get out here and vote early,” said Patrick Schell. Crystal Russell came to the center to vote early and said “the line earlier in the day stretched all the way around the building just about.” The confusion came on the second day of early voting for the Nov. 3 election. According to Tarrant County’s early voting schedule, polling locations are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the first week of early voting, Oct. 19-23. Hours expand to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the second week, Oct. 26-30.

Schell said he originally thought polling locations were open until 7 p.m. “I thought I saw 7-7. I’m pretty sure I did on one of the websites earlier today,” he said. For others, the challenge was the wait. Chase Johnson and his son, Harvey, voted Monday and waited about 90 minutes to cast their ballots. “People are ready for change, and that’s something that I am certainly ready for, so yeah, it’s a long wait, but I think it was worth it,” Johnson said. The number of early voting locations in Tarrant County is in line with previous years. However, 92 former polling locations will be closed on Election Day, according to information shared during the reporting. Republican commissioners have argued that reducing the number of polling locations will save taxpayers money. Crystal Russell, who tried to vote at the Como Community Center, disagrees with the decision. “I don’t think they should’ve closed any polling places. It’s wrong,” Russell said. Despite the frustration, she said she planned to try again. “I live right down the street. If I have to walk up here with this thing, I will,” she said.

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Man shot by ICE in Austin federally indicted

A federal grand jury formally indicted Wilber Rafael Garces Perez with one count of Assaulting, Resisting, Impeding and Obstructing a Federal Officer. The indictment alleges he used his sedan as a deadly weapon during a traffic stop. The indictment follows a criminal complaint filed by the Department of Homeland Security that alleged Garces Perez hit an ICE agent with his vehicle while attempting to flee. He was shot by an ICE agent at the conclusion of a pursuit. The DOJ said Garces Perez faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. KXAN has reached out to Garces Perez’ attorney for comment and will provide an update if a response is received.

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North Texas water group begins work for 2031 plan

The group responsible for creating the Dallas-Fort Worth region’s 50-year water plan has begun preparing for 2031. The statewide water plan is updated every five years, and the Texas Water Development Board is in the process of approving its final version of the 2027 State Water Plan, which estimated avoiding a water crisis in the state could cost as much as $174 billion. The state plan is a combination of the board’s 16 regional planning groups. Each regional plan includes current water needs and supplies, the projected future need for water, the identification and recommended water management strategies (and the costs and impacts of them) and more.

All North Texas counties, such as Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant are in Region C. The Region C group met Monday to take initial steps in the 2031 planning cycle, which will inform the 2032 State Water Plan. The group voted to rehire Freese & Nichols as its technical consultant and authorized the Trinity River Authority to enter into a contract with the firm on behalf of Region C. Tarrant Regional Water District general manager Dan Buhman was reelected chairman. Jenna Covington, North Texas Municipal Water District executive director and general manager, was elected vice chair. The planning begins with data collection and the comparison of population growth and water need projections to water availability and existing supplies. This will determine where surplus and gaps exist. The state water board is expected to release nonmunicipal water demand projections in March followed by population and water demand projections in June or July. The regional groups can suggest revisions to the findings by the end of next year, and the board is scheduled to consider adopting them as final by April 2028. The group also discussed interregional water planning, which is of importance because Region C borders five other regions — B, D, G, H and I — and there is overlap between more than 50 water user groups across the different boundaries. The regions share some sources of water as well. Collaboration can hopefully help avoid interregional conflicts, like the one declared over the proposed 66,000-acre Marvin Nichols Reservoir that would be constructed in Region D. Members of the two regions agreed to delay the project and work together to conduct studies, including a comparison with Toledo Bend Reservoir.

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4 Dallas petition drives voters should know about

More than 19 million people (a record) are registered to vote in Texas, which isn’t surprising given how many high-profile races are on the ballot. And early voting totals are so far indicative of busy voting centers: Yesterday, the line to vote at Oak Lawn Library around 2:30 p.m. snaked around the block, and there were steady lines at many other polling places, too. On day one in Dallas County, 76,079 cast ballots, up from a little more than 59,000 in 2018. By 11 a.m. Tuesday, 15,259 had cast ballots. But when you pull up to your polling place, you could be asked to weigh in on something that isn’t even on the November ballot, because four different petition efforts are trying to collect enough signatures from registered voters to put their causes on a May ballot. While people with clipboards will also approach you at various events, the grocery store, and other places people gather, one of the best ways to collect petition signatures is to ask people before or after they vote. (They can’t approach you everywhere, though. Texas law requires petition gatherers to remain outside the 100-foot electioneering boundary at polling places.)

An effort is underway to recall Dallas City Council members Gay Donnell Willis and Chad West. Organizers of those efforts—the Neighborhoods First PAC and the Dallas Civic Accountability PAC—will need to collect roughly 9,600 and 6,900 signatures, respectively, to put those items on a May ballot. They have 60 days to do so. The Save Dallas City Hall Coalition is also collecting signatures to place a charter amendment on the ballot that would codify the city’s base of operations as the current City Hall at 1500 Marilla. If the group collects at least 20,000 signatures and the City Secretary’s office verifies that the signers are registered voters living in Dallas, the measure could appear on a May ballot. If it passes, it would take another charter amendment election to move City Hall. And then there is the “stronger mayor” effort, led by three former Dallas mayors: Ron Kirk, Tom Leppert, and Mike Rawlings. It is collecting signatures to put two charter amendments on the May ballot that, if they pass, would increase the mayor’s authority. The measures would not create a fully-fledged strong mayor, but one would increase the mayor’s responsibilities to include hiring and firing the city manager and city attorney.

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Robert Ahdieh closes Fort Worth chapter following Texas A&M campus launch

Robert Ahdieh is heading home to New York City to serve as president of Pace University, but after eight years in Fort Worth, he also feels like he’s leaving home. In 2018, Ahdieh moved to Fort Worth to be dean of Texas A&M Law without a pair of boots, or even jeans, in his closet. In just a few short months, he’ll pack up enough boots to fill a room in his new New York City apartment and leave Fort Worth after spearheading one of its most transformational projects in recent memory — a multi-building Texas A&M campus that could generate billions annually in economic impact. “It would be hard to imagine a profile that could be more easily dismissed than mine. This New Yorker, which is a little suspicious in Texas, Iranian, which is a little suspicious, child of immigrants, a little suspicious, so you put those pieces together, it would have been so easy for the community to have said, ‘okay, this crazy weirdo who’s come to town, he’s got all these lunatic ideas, let’s just look away’,” Ahdieh, who leads the Texas A&M Fort Worth campus, said.

“To the contrary, it wasn’t that at all. I can’t think of a moment in my eight plus years here when I ever felt like ‘the other.'” Ahdieh is leaving Fort Worth for the same reason he came here: an opportunity not just to build something, but put it on a path that continues long after he's gone. With the future of A&M Fort Worth’s campus secure, Ahdieh began engaging in conversations with Pace University around five months ago. “What motivates me is the opportunity to help an institution get to a place that it might not otherwise get to. It’s not that my work [in Fort Worth] is done, but that it’s as natural a moment as any for someone else to step in and take up those roles, take up those responsibilities and move the place forward,” Ahdieh said. “What I see in Pace University is a similar opportunity. This is an institution that has so many of the key ingredients necessary to be impactful and consequential and distinctive in all sorts of significant ways.” Ahdieh will assume the title of Pace University’s ninth president on Jan. 1. Before then, he’ll be soaking up every last bite at Belenty’s Love Mexican Vegan Restaurant — he takes all his visitors there — and 61 Osteria, for which he’ll take the occasional flight back.

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Harris County crushes midterm first-day early voter turnout record

More than 100,000 people cast an in-person ballot during the first day of early voting in Harris County on Monday, shattering the previous record of 63,188 set in 2018. According to the Harris County Elections Department, the county surpassed the 2018 record by 3:30 p.m. on Monday. When polls closed on the first day of early voting, three-and-a-half hours later, the county reported that over 104,600 residents had cast a ballot. This year's Texas Senate race shows some parallels to the 2018 midterm election. In 2018, Democrat Beto O'Rourke ran a tight race against incumbent Senator Ted Cruz. While O'Rourke ultimately lost, it was by a slim margin of just under 215,000 votes.

O'Rourke's campaign was also credited with boosting down-ballot Democrats, including then-Harris County judge candidate Lina Hidalgo, who flipped the county's highest office from Republican to Democratic control. Now, eight years later, Democratic Senate candidate and State Rep. James Talarico is in an even tighter race against Republican candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Recent polling — including one published Friday by the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs — has shown Talarico and Paxton in a statistical dead heat or Talarico in a slight lead. During the 2018 midterm election, 855,711 people cast a ballot in Harris County across the entire early voting period.

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Ed Emmett: My fellow Texas Republicans: Go vote. But vote wisely.

(Ed Emmett is the former Harris County Judge.) I admit that I am an angry Republican. After spending my adult life helping to build the Republican Party in Texas and Harris County, working alongside candidates, officeholders and armies of volunteers, I am disgusted by the self-inflicted damage being done to my party. This damage is not only hurting our candidates during this election cycle, but is undermining our next generation of voters. This damage is being done by candidates for major offices who refuse to address the issues of importance to voters and don't even have the courage to engage in debate with opponents. This sort of candidate is an embarrassment. Making outrageous claims over and over doesn't help the Republican cause.

Super PACs formed by a few billionaires to support certain Republican candidates are spending millions of dollars for negative ads that aim to scare ordinary parents over transgender issues — parents who know their own children and wonder why these billionaires are so focused on issues that don't affect them. Talk shows and social media influencers have become propaganda outlets for bizarre theories and, at times, pure hatred, relying on sources who are truly evil. President Trump seems to be living in his own world, claiming prices are down when they are clearly up, appeasing Putin in a war that he said he would end the first day of his second term, and seeming unable to end the war with Iran that he started. His childish name-calling might appeal to the people at his rallies, but the rest of the public is disgusted. Anyone who dares criticize him is attacked mercilessly, so Republican leaders are silent. As a result, voters view all Republicans as aligned with him. All these things make me angry. I am angry not because of any direct impact on me. I am angry because I know there are many solid Republican candidates for state, county and local offices who are extremely qualified and should be elected or, in some cases, re-elected. These candidates uphold conservative philosophies and ideals, and they’re seeking legislative seats, judgeships and county offices but don't have the money to get their own messages out. Their fortunes are tied to people and forces over which they have no control. Republicans need to turn out for their sake. Hopefully, independents and Democrats will take the time to get to know the candidates as individuals and make an informed decision in each race. A recent television ad featuring State Senator Angela Paxton, who is divorcing Ken Paxton "on Biblical grounds," tells Republicans who are reluctant to support her soon-to-be-ex-husband that they need to turn out and vote for the entire Republican team. I disagree. I, too, urge Republicans who aren't enthusiastic about the top of the ticket to turn out and vote anyway and make sure to vote all the way down the ballot. The solid candidates in down-ballot races need your support more than ever this year. However, for the sake of the Republican Party, let me encourage you to do your research and vote your conscience and principles. Otherwise, we’ll be defined by scandalous characters who seem to have no conscience or principles. Voting for our party’s good candidates will make future elections easier for those dedicated, honorable Republicans who want to serve in public office.

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Gina Hinojosa’s mother said she faced ‘voter suppression’ at Bexar County Elections Department poll site

Crisanta Guerra Lozano was excited to cast a ballot for her daughter, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa, on the first day of early voting. However, when Lozano showed up to vote at Bexar County Elections Department headquarters, election workers couldn’t locate her in the system, she said in a video detailing her experience, which was provided to the Current. Lozano, a San Antonio resident and a legal aid attorney, went to the polling site around 10:30 a.m. Monday. In her video, she describes the bureaucratic nightmare that came next. “I was told that I was not on the list, which surprised me,” Lozano said in her video statement, which was recorded by Democratic activist Kathy Vale. Lozano said the surprise came in part because county officials assured her ahead of time that she was cleared to vote.

The attorney had checked online two weeks before the Oct. 5 voter registration deadline and saw that she was no longer registered to vote, though she had lived at the same address for seven years. “I have voted at every single election. I’ve never had a problem,” Lozano said on the video while holding a handmade “Vote for my daughter Gina Hinojosa for Governor” sign. After the online system showed her as unregistered, Lozano went to the Bexar County Elections Department in person and presented her drivers license to re-register. “They took my license and said, ‘You’re fine. There should be no problem,'” Lozano said. However, when Lozano showed up for early voting Monday, the election worker couldn’t find her on the rolls, she said. The worker then sent her to an office in another part of the building. However, a different person in the office assured her that she was registered and provided her with her voter ID number, adding, “You shouldn’t have any problem,'” Lozano said. At that point, Lozano was sent back to the polling room, where she told the election worker that the office was able to locate her in the system and provided her ID number.

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Texas land commissioner treads carefully as Trump border wall advances on state property

Border wall construction in the Big Bend region puts Republican Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham in a bind: back President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda or respond to growing bipartisan opposition to the wall. The Texas General Land Office manages 13 million acres across the state, much of it in far West Texas. Among its holdings are parcels along the Rio Grande that form the international boundary. On GLO-managed land in the Big Bend, the Trump administration plans to build a border wall in Presidio and Hudspeth counties and vehicle barriers in Brewster County. On Oct. 2, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone blocked border wall construction in the Big Bend sector with a temporary injunction. But the federal government isn’t giving up on its plans to wall off much of the Big Bend. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have asked the judge to suspend the order and plan to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the federal government can continue work to secure right of way and access for border wall construction. GLO land lies squarely in its path. Buckingham is up for reelection in November for a second four-year term, facing Democratic nominee Benjamin Flores. Buckingham has said she supports a “virtual wall” in West Texas and has sent cease-and-desist letters to federal contractors who cleared state-managed land in the Big Bend for construction without authorization. But the GLO has been in communication with U.S. Customs and Border Protection about building border infrastructure on state land, according to a letter the agency sent in response to a public information request from Inside Climate News. The GLO did not respond to requests for comment. “We stand by our assessment and remain confident in our legal authorities to secure the border while preserving the unique landscape of the Big Bend region,” CBP spokesperson Jessica Turner said. “We are working with the Department of Justice on next steps.” Buckingham, who grew up on a ranch near the Texas coast, served in the Texas Senate before running for land commissioner in 2022. Once elected, she quickly established herself as a champion of hardline border security.

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Texas is lobbying for the new U.S. Space Academy. Taxpayers could foot a $100 million bill

Texas space leaders, with bipartisan backing, are campaigning to bring the Trump Administration's new Space Academy to the Lone Star State. If that happens, Texas taxpayers could pay for as much as $100 million of it. In a September meeting of the Texas Space Commission (TSC), a state-level entity that awards contracts and grants to invest in Texas' space industry, the board hypothesized putting up a nine-figure sum as an incentive for Texas to be selected. Three members of the TSC board — Nancy Currie-Gregg, Heather Wilson, and Evan Loomis — are also part of the state-appointed team tasked with drafting Texas' proposal for the Space Academy.

"I think it might be important for the Space Commission board to make very clear that we intend to support this in a significant way," Wilson, who’s also the president of the University of Texas at El Paso, said during the meeting. "And whether it's $100 million, or whatever set aside ... I think it sends a pretty clear message that Texas is in, and I don't think that's a bad thing." The bidding process for the Space Academy has been largely kept under wraps. A spokesperson for the team drafting Texas’ proposal said it was "premature" to arrange interviews with members of the team until the proposal is finalized. Representatives from the TSC did not immediately return a request for comment. Though the conversation amongst TSC board members was non-binding, it does give insight into the push for Texas to host the Space Academy and that taxpayers may be on the hook for a portion of it. The $100 million figure could also be changed, though TSC board members have only suggested that figure. "Is $100 million what we as a group believe actually gets it done?" Sassie Duggleby, another board member, said during the meeting. "Like, is that a big enough stake in the sand to say that we want this?"

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Tarrant sheriff says commissioner’s handling of jail death was ‘irresponsible’

Now that independent investigators found no wrongdoing on the part of the Tarrant County Jail for inmate Mack Greer’s in-custody death, Sheriff Bill Waybourn is calling out Democrat Commissioner Alisa Simmons for spreading false information about the circumstances. Greer, 49, was pronounced dead at 2:42 p.m. on June 17 in John Peter Smith Hospital. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled the death was of complications from a rare brain disease called moyamoya disease. The condition causes the carotid artery inside the skull to narrow or close, depriving the brain of oxygen. Within 24 hours of the death, Simmons held a press conference with the family to demand an outside investigation. Greer’s was the third death in a one-week period.

Before he died, Simmons said she saw him in the hospital with a “misshapen head” and bruises in multiple places. She told the media the day after he died that “he suffered fatal head injuries,” which Waybourn said was incorrect. In an interview with the Star-Telegram Tuesday, Waybourn said the sheriff’s office and the commissioner’s office had had “absolutely zero contact.” Waybourn said Simmons “was so irresponsible” for having a press conference announcing unverified information. Simmons did not respond to an interview request from the Star-Telegram, but explained at a press conference later on Tuesday to Waybourn’s statement that she’d lied by saying families whose loved ones die in the jail reach out to her because the sheriff’s office is so unresponsive. “I work with them to try and get them the answers that they need about their loved one’s death,” Simmons said. “That really is the job of the sheriff’s office, where that person lost their lives. That’s really the job of the county hospital and MHMR, who had the responsibility of taking care of them medically and behaviorally while they were in custody.”

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Dallas County triples security over voter, election safety concerns

As voters set a new all-time record for turnout, election safety worries have prompted Dallas County officials to triple security and install bulletproof glass. Elections administration manager Deatrice Kirk told county commissioners Tuesday that plans are underway to install 2-inch glass in the Dallas County Records administration building. “We will have level 4 security glass put on the front of the building,” she said. “And then we’re going to work to do the side of the building, so eventually everything will be covered. So that will be able to stop a bullet to get us away at that point. That is a part of our budget this year.” The Records Building in downtown Dallas is an early voting location and houses county leader offices.

County administrators say they won’t know the final cost until after the midterm election, but expect the total to be more than what was budgeted for security during the 2024 election cycle. Kirk said the elections department has also increased law enforcement protection. “We have tripled our security for the early voting locations,” she said. “We’re using the marshals, though we have some other entities that are assisting us in different cities.” She said the county marshals will remain on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week on Election Day, Nov. 3, through Nov. 15. “We will have presence in and outside of the building,” she said. “We also have [Dallas]PD that will be assisting us along with the constables. So we have heightened all the security.” Dallas County fire marshals provide security for public, government buildings. Kirk shared the information after Albert Alexander of Dallas voiced concerns during public comment.

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National Stories

Justice Kagan says Supreme Court has damaged democracy with recent rulings

With pivotal midterm elections two weeks away, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said Tuesday the high court’s recent decisions on voting and campaign finance have damaged the nation’s democracy. The liberal justice sharply criticized the conservative majority’s rulings this year limiting the Voting Rights Act and loosening campaign finance restrictions during a wide-ranging discussion at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She also faulted a 2019 decision removing the court from oversight of partisan gerrymandering. She spoke to law students during the opening weeks of a new Supreme Court term in which the justices will make consequential rulings on assault rifles, climate change and religious rights. The court could be called upon to issue decisions related to the Nov. 3 elections.

“In all these areas, the court has kind of blinded itself to the very deleterious effects of their rulings on how the political system works,” Kagan said of its rulings on voting. “It has created a democracy that does not work as well as it should.” Kagan said the 2019 decision finding that federal courts should not have a role in policing partisan gerrymandering touched off a “race to the bottom” by both political parties to carve up districts and “depriv[e] masses of citizens” of the right to equality in voting. That decision is “driving people away from the center toward the wings, toward the extremes,” Kagan said. “Making what I think is, unfortunately, a too polarized country even more so.” Over the summer, the court also curbed limits on coordination between political parties and candidates in campaign finance spending. “The people of America look around at this political system and think all this money chasing all these political candidates is a nightmare and they are right,” Kagan said.

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Calling Putin a ‘humanitarian,’ Witkoff thanks him for releasing an American

Praising President Vladimir V. Putin as a “humanitarian,” the Trump administration envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday thanked the Russian leader in St. Petersburg for releasing an American man held for over four years on what the State Department called fabricated charges. The release came after President Trump made a direct appeal to Mr. Putin to let the 74-year-old teacher, Stephen James Hubbard, return to the United States. Russia had accused Mr. Hubbard of being a Ukrainian mercenary. “You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian,” Mr. Witkoff told Mr. Putin. “You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that.” The Russian leader, who started a war of aggression against Ukraine that has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, is wanted as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court.

Mr. Witkoff’s remarks came at the start of talks in St. Petersburg, where Mr. Witkoff had come to discuss new variants of a proposed plan to end the war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Mr. Hubbard was released unilaterally by Russia, rather than in a prisoner swap, at a moment when Mr. Putin has scored a succession of victories in winning Mr. Trump over to Russia’s side in the conflict. In the past two weeks, Mr. Trump has announced that the United States will buy Russian diesel fuel and suspend the imposition of sanctions under the Lindsey Graham Act, named for the pro-Ukrainian senator who died this year. Mr. Trump also called on Ukraine to replace President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr. Putin’s nemesis. Turning over Mr. Hubbard, who was tortured, sometimes starved and placed in the general prison population in a country where he did not speak the language, came at little cost to Mr. Putin. But the move buys him good will with Mr. Trump, who is arguing that he alone has the relationship with Mr. Putin needed to get him to end the war. Mr. Trump telegraphed that he had sought Mr. Hubbard’s release, talking to reporters about it on Tuesday, when the former teacher was still in captivity. But Mr. Trump didn’t mention that Mr. Hubbard was being held because Mr. Putin’s government had sought to take American prisoners for leverage.

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Attack ad featuring Democrat's estranged mother turns Ohio governor’s race even uglier

A controversial ad featuring the estranged mother of the Democratic candidate for governor, Amy Acton, is making its rounds on social media. It claims Acton is lying when she talks about her childhood, when she was sexually abused and homeless, sometimes living in a tent. Though the ad was leaked without information showing who paid for it, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign confirmed to the Statehouse News Bureau that it's their ad, and they’ve launched a $4 million statewide digital buy because it tested well with "persuadable" voters. In the ad, Acton's estranged mother Donna Arthur said none of Acton's claims that she grew up in an abusive environment and that her family was sometimes homeless are true. “She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true," Arthur said in the video.

But Acton and her brother Phillip Stearns fired back. Stearns said in a statement put out by her campaign that his sister is telling the truth. “It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother's husband into a political talking point,” said Stearns in the statement. “After he (Acton's mother's husband) was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died. This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core – a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.” "We had all sorts of neglect, abuse and hunger," Stearns said in an Oct. 8 Instagram video reposted on Acton's website after the video was leaked. "We spent almost all of every day in an unfinished basement with a couple of 60-watt bare lightbulbs down there." Acton mentioned her family had lived in a tent in one of her ads. Stearns said of that experience: "For one thing - it was cold."

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More oil is now coming out of the Persian Gulf than before the Iran war

Persian Gulf oil exports have surpassed prewar levels, as an improvised shipping system under U.S. protection is helping tankers move oil through one of Iran’s fiercest waves of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. Middle East oil flows, including shipments through Hormuz and alternative routes across the region, averaged more than 24 million barrels a day in the week through Oct. 18, surpassing prewar levels of 23.3 million, according to ship tracker Kpler. Preliminary figures show Hormuz oil flows, including offshore transfers in the Gulf of Oman, came to around 14 million barrels a day on average for the same period, or 82% of prewar levels. Oil prices remain high, and benchmark Brent crude has risen in recent days to around $108 a barrel Tuesday.

Traders are concerned the improvement in Hormuz might not be sustainable, particularly if fighting breaks out again. Thinning global inventories leave little margin for error. The operation is also expensive, costs that ultimately flow through to consumers at the pump. Still, the resilience of oil flows marks a shift in the battle over the world’s most important energy chokepoint. Iran can still make shipments dangerous and expensive. But its ability to deter transits has faded, weakening Tehran’s leverage with the U.S. “The big picture is that the system for shipping through a dangerous Strait of Hormuz is now well-established and the risk appetite of those involved in exporting oil has risen,” said Hamad Hussain, a senior commodities economist at Capital Economics. Pipelines across Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also moving oil along different routes. In September, about 40% of the non-Iranian crude shipped out of the Gulf bypassed the strait, compared with 17% before the war, Kpler estimated. The success contrasts with the chokehold on Iran, whose own oil exports have been bottled up by a U.S. maritime blockade. The risk is Iran could try to re-establish its influence by striking harder and potentially drawing the U.S. into another confrontation before the U.S. midterm elections in two weeks.

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‘It really would open the door’: Lawyers see Maduro betting case as test for future prosecutions

The first criminal case centered on prediction-market bets is proceeding toward trial — and white-collar lawyers say it could result in an uptick of prosecutions involving an industry that’s enjoying explosive growth. Prosecutors say U.S. Army soldier Gannon Van Dyke used confidential information about the capture of then-Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to bet on the rendition through Polymarket. Van Dyke allegedly placed $33,034 in bets, for a total payout of more than $400,000, according to prosecutors. Van Dyke’s lawyers are asking a federal judge to toss the indictment by arguing that a prediction-market bet isn’t a “swap,” and therefore can’t be prosecuted under the Commodity Exchange Act, the federal law that regulates commodity futures, options and swaps. A swap is a financial agreement where parties seek to exchange payments by speculating on real-world outcomes.

If U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett agrees with Van Dyke’s lawyers on that interpretation, it might dissuade prosecutors from bringing similar cases. If, however, Garnett allows the charges to stand, lawyers who are following prediction-market developments say they expect it will unleash prosecutors to pursue additional cases. “Depending on how this case turns out, I think you’re going to see more of them,” said Louis Pellegrino, a former federal prosecutor with the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office who is now a partner at Dentons LLP. “It’s an interesting test case because it’s truly high stakes,” said Pellegrino, who served as a captain in the Army following law school. “There are intelligence issues. There are real-world concerns for troops on the ground and that sort of thing,” he said. “The stakes are a lot higher than something like what dress somebody would wear to the Oscars.” At oral arguments earlier this month over Van Dyke’s motion to dismiss the indictment, Garnett, a Biden appointee, appeared likely to let the case move forward.

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Pentagon grants DHS permission to test heat ray weapon for potential use at border

The Pentagon has given the Department of Homeland Security permission to test a military-grade heat ray and develop tactics to potentially use it in operations at the southern US border, according to a memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month and obtained by CNN. The heat ray, officially known as the Active Denial System, is a nonlethal weapon that shoots an invisible beam of electromagnetic waves that can reach a little more than half a mile away, according to the US military. The energy beam causes a burning sensation when it comes into contact with the human skin — which Pentagon officials have previously compared to feeling a blast of heat when opening a hot oven. Military officials have said the resulting “tingling effect” lasts between 10 and 15 minutes but also generates “an instinctive and irresistible urge to run from the effect.”

Deploying the heat ray at the US border would be an unprecedented step, even for the Trump administration, which has made border security and clamping down on immigration a top priority. The DHS request did not specify where or how the weapon would be tested and how it might eventually be used, but over the years, there have been internal discussions about potentially using it for crowd dispersal along the US-Mexico border, according to current and former Customs and Border Protection officials. US officials had also considered deploying the system during moments of domestic unrest, including at the end of President Donald Trump’s first term when protests erupted over the murder of George Floyd, according to a former US official familiar with those discussions. The memo authorizes the “temporary loan” of one ADS system for seven months, starting in September, and states that it “shall not be operated by DoW (Department of War) personnel,” appearing to absolve the Pentagon of any responsibility for how the directed-energy system may ultimately be deployed.

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Democrats jump into Mississippi Senate race

Senate Democrats’ top super PAC announced Tuesday it is launching an ad campaign in the Mississippi Senate race as Democrats seek inroads in Republican-leaning states to try to flip the Senate majority. Senate Majority PAC announced a $1.2 million ad campaign in the state through Election Day, beginning with a 30-second spot that boosts prosecutor Scott Colom as a Democrat who will “fight corruption in both parties” and casts GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith as a “do-nothing” incumbent. “Senate Majority PAC has been watching this race closely, and it is clear Colom is running a competitive race that has put Hyde-Smith on her heels,” Lauren French, the super PAC’s spokesperson, said in a statement, adding that the group will be advertising on TV and digital platforms.

Senate Majority PAC, which is aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has been shifting its focus to deep-red states as President Donald Trump’s approval ratings sink. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win control of the Senate, which means flipping multiple states Trump won handily in 2024. Mississippi is the reddest state the group has jumped into so far — Trump won it by 23 percentage points two years ago. A Democrat has not won a Senate race in Mississippi since 1982. Senate Majority PAC is also spending in Kansas, which Trump won by 16 points, and other states Trump won by double digits in 2024, including Alaska, Texas and Iowa. Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, have long touted Colom as a strong candidate. Colom, a district attorney, told NBC News when he launched his campaign last year that Hyde-Smith’s vote to support Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and spending law, which cut Medicaid funds, spurred him to run. Colom and Hyde-Smith have history from before this year’s Senate race. Hyde-Smith blocked Colom’s nomination for a federal judgeship during the Biden administration. Colom said when he launched his campaign that he had forgiven her. Hyde-Smith, who has Trump’s endorsement, is running for her second full term after she was appointed to the Senate in 2018. She won a full term in 2020 by 10 points.

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Lead Stories

Data centers are the focus of this Austin-area race for Texas Senate

Republican Charles Schwertner, an orthopedic surgeon, has represented Texas State Senate District 5 for more than a decade. In that time, the district, which is home to just over a million people across 11 counties, has seen explosive growth. Schwertner's hometown of Georgetown has seen its population nearly double from about 55,000 to about 107,000. Much of the region's economic growth has come in the form of data centers. Bastrop and Williamson counties, in particular, have seen an influx of these developments under Schwertner's watch, drawing disapproval from many residents. Schwertner's Democratic challenger in the Nov. 3 election, Paul Thomasson, is hoping that disapproval will cost the longtime Republican incumbent a fifth term in the Texas Senate.

"I feel that the Republicans have been in power for over 30 years, and I feel that Austin has degenerated into billionaire governance where the billionaires get what they want and nobody else matters much," Thomasson, a retired pastor from College Station, said. "The billionaires wanted data centers, and they're forced down the throats of everybody in every county across Texas whether they want them or not." Thomasson's campaign website says one his goals is "NO MORE DATA CENTERS." In the absence of an outright ban on such developments, though, Thomasson said he would make sure to "tax" them. Currently, the state gives data centers more than $1 billion in tax breaks each year. Thomasson said he would also like to see local officials have more authority over the developments. "The people of the county have got to have a say and whether or not they're going to be brought in," he said. "Data centers raised everybody's electricity rates ... It lowers their property value. People ought to have a say about whether or not somebody can move next to them and do that." He believes data centers should have to pay for their own electricity and power infrastructure, as well as make an effort to conserve water.

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U.S. risks losing tech race without energy push, say former Trump, Biden officials

Former officials from the Trump, Biden and Obama administrations are warning that the U.S. is at risk of losing a technological and industrial race with China—unless it adopts a sweeping energy-permitting bill. The U.S. isn’t building energy infrastructure fast enough to remain globally competitive, the officials said in a letter to be sent Tuesday to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) Among others who signed the letter are former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served in the first Trump administration; former Biden-era Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen; and Stephen Miran, former Federal Reserve governor who was appointed by President Trump.

China has made energy infrastructure central to its industrial strategy. By contrast, the U.S. faces lengthy delays in building the transmission lines and energy components needed to power the development of semiconductors, critical minerals and artificial intelligence, the officials argue. The letter was organized by Arnab Datta, director of policy implementation at the Institute for Progress, a think tank in Washington, D.C. “While the United States retains enormous advantages in technology, capital markets, attracting the world’s talent, entrepreneurship, and natural resources, those advantages matter less if a company cannot build a factory quickly enough to reach market or if the infrastructure required to power it takes five, ten, or fifteen years to plan and complete,” the letter said. Said Miran in an interview: “If we don’t have abundant cheap energy it’s just too expensive to manufacture here, and we’d be ceding a massive advantage to our competitors and adversaries” including China. The Senate last month announced legislation to speed up the permitting process that has long drawn complaints from energy developers. It proposes an overhaul of environmental rules, introduces changes aimed at strengthening the electric grid and mandates that data centers pay for all of their associated transmission costs.

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Hinojosa sues to review confidential emails between Musk, Abbott

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor, is suing her gubernatorial opponent in order to review more than a thousand pages of communication between Greg Abbott’s office and Elon Musk’s representatives, which were deemed confidential due to their “embarrassing” and “intimate” nature. “Nobody here is accusing Greg Abbott of having a torrid love affair with Elon Musk,” said Hinojosa in front of the Travis County courthouse Monday morning. “What this is about is we have the world’s only trillionaire getting massive tax breaks from this governor after giving him over $500,000 in campaign contributions.” Abbott, after voting in Del Valle on Monday morning, called the suit an act of desperation from Hinojosa.

“What Gina is trying to do more than anything else is to try to get attention for her and her campaign,” Abbott said to reporters. “This election has slipped through her hands and she doesn’t have any ability to do anything else other than to grasp at straws to get attention.” Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary, called the lawsuit baseless and said Hinojosa is abusing her official capacity as an outgoing lawmaker to generate headlines for political reasons. The suit was filed on the same day early voting for the midterms began. “The lawsuit is baseless and nothing more than an act of desperation,” Mahaleris said in a statement. “Texans see this for what it is: a political stunt.” The documents Hinojosa is after were part of a public records request filed by The Texas Newsroom in 2025. The governor’s office objected to releasing the communications on several grounds, including “the state’s competitive business interests, attorney-client privilege, and deliberative-process privilege,” according to Hinojosa’s lawsuit. In August 2025, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sustained the objections but directed the governor’s office to release some of the requested materials. The governor’s office produced 1,374 pages to the Texas Newsroom, but only around 200 pages were not redacted, according to the lawsuit. Hinojosa wrote a letter to the governor’s office on Sep. 29 requesting to review the redacted information and cited a Texas law that allows members of the legislature to review confidential documents for “legislative purposes.”

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Republican National Committee, far richer than D.N.C., pumps $50 million into midterms

Taking advantage of a recent Supreme Court decision, the Republican National Committee is sending tens of millions of dollars to help the party’s midterm candidates. The long-awaited move adds to the G.O.P.’s considerable financial advantages, especially in Senate races, despite a tough political environment. The R.N.C., which entered September with an enormous $126 million on hand, told The New York Times that it was finishing moving more than $50 million to the groups overseeing the party’s efforts to elect House and Senate candidates. The cash infusion, significantly larger than what Republicans have done in the past, is something that the troubled and financially struggling Democratic National Committee is incapable of doing. The R.N.C. told The Times that it had transferred more than $44 million between mid-August and mid-October to the party’s main House and Senate committees. Many of those transfers will be disclosed for the first time in a campaign-finance filing on Tuesday evening.

The cash was about evenly split between the National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to elect House Republicans, and its Senate counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee. At least $6 million more is set to be sent to those two committees by Election Day, the committee said. The spending comes as Republicans play defense across the midterm map, devoting resources to states and districts that were once thought to be safely red as President Trump’s low approval ratings weigh on the party’s candidates. The R.N.C. has amassed its huge war chest in part thanks to an aggressive fund-raising effort by Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who has led the party’s finance operation. The party said it raised $18.5 million in September. By Oct. 14, R.N.C. officials said, its $126 million coffers had been drawn down to $76 million, a campaign-finance filing on Thursday will show. Transfers are not new. In the four most recent election cycles, the R.N.C. has transferred between $8 million and roughly $31 million to these party committees.

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State Stories

Dallas ISD pulls books after Dan Patrick library warning

Last month, Maya Madabhushi walked into the library at Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gifted Academy and found the librarian on the verge of tears. The librarian was labeling and boxing up a stack of books pulled from the Dallas ISD middle school library’s shelves. She explained the books had to be removed because of new state rules around school library collections. She suggested Maya and her friends might like to check out a few of them before she sent them away. Maya, a seventh grader, looked through the stack. Some of them were by two of her favorite authors, Tahereh Mafi and Rick Riordan. Others were longtime favorites among middle school readers, such as Gary Paulsen’s “Hatchet” and Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Many of them had themes related to racial justice or LGBTQ relationships, Maya said.

Maya returned to class. During her next period, she rounded up a few of her friends, and they headed back to the library, where they looked through the stacks. Maya checked out eight books. Some of her friends took a dozen or more. Dallas ISD pulled those books, and hundreds of others, for review in the wake of an August news conference in which Lt. Gov Dan Patrick threatened to crack down on libraries that have “vulgar” titles in their collections. After review, some books may return to the library. Others may be moved to another grade level or removed entirely. In the meantime, the books sit in a district service center off Akard Street in the Cedars neighborhood. “Honestly, it was so heartbreaking to see those books just being taken away,” Maya said. A year after Texas lawmakers passed a bill giving parents and school boards a bigger role in deciding what books are included on library shelves, some policymakers are looking to further limit what they describe as obscene material in schools. Free speech advocates and parents say pressure from officials in Austin is leading districts to pull books from libraries, cutting off students’ access to thousands of literary works.

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If you voted in Harris County on Monday, you're part of a new record

If you voted today on the first day of early voting in Harris County, you were part of a record-breaking crowd. According to Harris County Elections, a new record for turnout for a midterm election was set on Monday, and it didn’t even take a full day to do it. According to a post from the county, there were more than 70,000 voters who had been processed by 3:30 p.m. So with 3.5 hours left in the day, it broke the previous high, which was 63,188, set in 2018. At around 9 p.m., we got the overall unofficial totals for the day. All-in, the county reported 129,454 voters total. That includes 104,660 in-person voters on Monday, as well as 24,794 mail ballots received.

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How Hutto landed Blue Origin, and what it means for the boomtown northeast of Austin

After a decade of missing out on Tesla Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp., among others, Hutto economic development director Cheney Gamboa acknowledged there's a sense of relief in landing Blue Origin? Enterprises LP. "It's no secret that Hutto has been in the finals for so many big projects. It feels really good to win this one and bring it home," Gamboa said. Jeff Bezos' space company made official earlier this month what's been in the works for the last year: Blue Origin is headed to Hutto, where it plans to invest a minimum of $550 million and create at least 2,000 jobs in a 1.3 million-square-foot manufacturing facility it's calling "Constellation Park." The company – which recently disclosed a pre-money valuation of $130 billion – is already moving into two buildings at Hutto Crossing at 148 Parker Way.

Now that it's public, those involved in courting Blue Origin pulled back the veil on how one of the country's largest companies ended up in Hutto. The deal represents one of the region's largest economic development wins of the last half-decade, alongside Samsung? Electronics Co. Ltd. in nearby Taylor and Tesla in eastern Travis County. It started with a request for information codenamed "Project Blue Hub." It evolved into weekend calls, in-person site visits and incentives talks that sealed the deal over competition from Alabama and Florida. It ultimately means the most for Hutto, a city that until now was best known for its hippo mascot. Blue Origin is expected to quickly become the largest private-sector employer in the boomtown that has swelled to 43,000 people — up from 28,000 five years ago — about 35 miles northeast of Austin. City and regional leaders are brimming with excitement about what it means long-term – even if there's more traffic. "People don't see a lot of what it takes to win a project like this," Gamboa said. "But I always reiterate to people that I live here, so I am only going to advocate for a project that I wholeheartedly think is good for this community for the long-term. I recognize concerns. I probably share a majority of them. But this is going to be really good for Hutto for a long, long time, and I'm excited to celebrate with the community various milestones that are yet to come with this project."

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Some East Central ISD voters got incomplete ballots today. Bexar County blames it on state-run elections system.

On the first day of early voting, East Central Independent School District reported ballot discrepancies involving a tax proposition that would give the district more money from taxpayers. In a mass email to the press on Monday afternoon, district officials said some East Central voters reported not seeing the measure, titled Proposition A, on their ballot, instead seeing an item from a different school district. Bexar County spokesperson John Moreno confirmed the discrepancy and said it’s related to the Texas Election Administration Management system, the state’s central platform to manage voter registrations and elections. The TEAM system caused a massive registration backlog last year that left voters without a new voter registration card before the March primary. Bexar County plans to part ways with the system in January.

“I can confirm this has been resolved for Bexar County and affected less than 1% of our eligible voters,” Moreno said. County officials say the problem did not affect mail-in ballots. For voters who have already cast their votes today, the ballots will be accepted as they are, and voters cannot receive replacement ballots if they have already cast their vote. East Central ISD’s Prop A would only appear on the ballot of voters registered inside the district’s boundaries, and this type of measure would appear near the bottom of the ballot, which is already packed with a buzzy Senate and gubernatorial race, statewide elections, county races and more. East Central ISD specifically highlighted discrepancies in voting precincts 4071, 4087, and 4151, which are near the towns of Schertz and St. Hedwig. Voters in Bexar County can vote at any polling location and find all their applicable races on their ballot. The district is advising voters who have already cast their ballots and believe Proposition A was incorrectly omitted to contact the Texas Secretary of State at 1-800-252-8683 or elections@sos.texas.gov. All residents within East Central ISD boundaries may also file a complaint with the Texas Secretary of State, regardless of whether they have already voted.

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In seventh in-custody death this year, Tarrant County inmate, 41, dies at hospital

A 41-year-old woman who was an inmate of the Tarrant County Jail died on Sunday, Oct. 18, at a Fort Worth hospital, six days after she was booked, according to the county sheriff’s office. The inmate, whom the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office said was Broshundrick McNeal, was booked into custody on Oct. 12 after she was arrested by the Fort Worth Police Department on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of marijuana, and resisting arrest, search or transport. Due to various medical conditions, McNeal was assigned upon booking to the jail’s medical observation area, according to the sheriff’s office. She was under the care of medical personnel until she was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital.

The medical examiner’s office has not released the cause or manner of McNeal’s death, which occurred about 2:15 a.m. There have been seven in-custody deaths at the sheriff’s office this year, according to county records. An eighth person died in June after being taken to JPS, but his death is not included in the count because he had been released from custody before his death, according to the sheriff’s office. All in-custody deaths are reviewed and investigated by Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office jail staff, the TCSO Criminal Investigations Division, an outside law enforcement agency, JPS Medical Staff, The Texas Commission on Jail Standards, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

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Post-Prairieland: How Dallas activism has changed since the detention center shooting

Many Dallas activists still stand with the group of protesters sentenced to a collective 556 years in prison for their participation in a protest-turned-shooting at the Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado. The DFW Support Committee, which has nearly 12,000 Instagram followers, often hosts letter-writing events and fundraisers for defendants’ legal fees. Benjamin Song, who also went by the name Champagne and is serving a sentence of 100 years for multiple charges stemming from the incident, including attempted murder, had immense influence on activism in Dallas, specifically militant activism. While support remains strong, militant activism circles feel the loss of influential members and are seeing changes in participation and safety.

“Before, whenever Champagne wasn’t arrested, the John Brown Gun Club was still active, and the Socialist Rifle Association was still active; it was safe,” a local militant activist who goes by the name Doberman said. “There was no self-policing of a community and everyone could voice their anger, voice their frustrations. “Now, after the Prairieland incident occurred, any type of militancy, whether it’s body armor, firearms, even med kits […] people see that and think ‘that person is preparing for violence,’” she added. On July 4, 2025, a group of North Texas activists went to protest at the Prairieland Detention Center, where more than 1,000 people had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and were awaiting deportation. A report of a break-in prompted Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross to respond. He drove toward the facility gates and saw a figure dressed in black running away. Gross got out of the car, yelled for them to stop, and drew his firearm. Then he was shot by Benjamin Song. Ten people were in custody within 24 hours of what law enforcement was calling a planned attack on the detention center. After an 11-day manhunt, Song was tracked to an apartment in North Dallas and arrested on July 15, 2025. Song was sentenced to 100 years in prison, and others received 30 years or more for their role in the incident.

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U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz promises consequences for illegal voting

On the first day of early voting, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Aaron Reitz promised to go after voters who violate federal election law in his division. “I will hunt you down and prosecute you,” Reitz said in a video shared on social media Monday. He spoke directly to the camera, with an image of President Donald Trump behind him and a Bible to his side. The message had a dark tone ahead of what is expected to be an unusually close election cycle in Texas, with Democrats leading or within striking distance in several statewide races. Reitz emphasized in the address that “American elections are for Americans only.” A former deputy to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Reitz helped represent Republicans trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Before he was appointed this year by the Trump administration to serve as U.S. attorney in Houston, Reitz repeatedly accused the Democratic Party of rigging elections and said they will try to do so in the 2028 presidential race. “Dems have rigged and stolen votes for decades because they despise voters and loathe America,” he wrote on X in January, when he was one of several GOP candidates for Texas attorney general. He ultimately lost the Republican primary. Ahead of Monday’s video, Reitz told The New York Times that he would “muster all of my legal and law enforcement troops to ensure that federal law is upheld” in the 2026 election. But he also acknowledged that elections are primarily a state matter, according to the Times. In the video, Reitz said he was dispatching civil and criminal District Election Officers to key polling locations to guarantee election compliance. It’s a common practice for Election Day; during the 2022 midterm election, former President Joe Biden’s DOJ sent monitors to 24 states.

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Early voting draws statewide candidates to ‘battleground’ Tarrant County ahead of Nov. 3

As early voting opened Monday, three of the four candidates at the top of the Texas midterms ballot rallied supporters in Fort Worth, emphasizing the importance of winning Tarrant County to win statewide office. Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Senate candidates Ken Paxton and James Talarico each made campaign stops in Fort Worth, while gubernatorial challenger Gina Hinojosa spent the first day of early voting in Austin and San Antonio. Each of the candidates who made it to Fort Worth were met by throngs of supporters, and each spoke to the key role Tarrant County plays in Texas politics. The candidates’ convergence on Fort Worth was far from coincidental; county leaders and political experts told the Fort Worth Report the attention from the top of the ticket demonstrates that both political parties see the county as pivotal in their success.

“It shows what we’ve been saying throughout this campaign, that Tarrant County really is the battleground county for our state — how valuable, how important the votes are from here,” said Tim Davis, chair of the Tarrant County GOP. That sentiment was shared by Allison Campolo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, who said the candidates’ presence in Fort Worth showed both parties are aligned on the same goal: Tarrant. “It’s very clear to Republicans that they’re about to lose this county. And when they lose this county, they can’t hold on to very much power outside of that. It’ll be very hard for them to hold on to Texas,” Campolo said. “And so they’re sending all their top guns to this county — not just today, but all the days leading up to it.” Tarrant is the largest Republican-held county in Texas. Long seen as a GOP stronghold, the county’s political makeup has in recent years shifted closer to the center, as voters narrowly supported Democratic candidates at the top of the ballot in the 2018 midterms and 2020 presidential elections. In the months leading up to early voting, Republican candidates from the top of the ballot to the bottom have spoken candidly of their concern that Tarrant County could flip blue in November. In his 2024 reelection bid, President Donald Trump won Tarrant County with 51.82% of votes. But a runoff election in January to fill Tarrant County’s then-vacant Texas Senate seat showed the county is still up for grabs, as Democrat Taylor Rehmet won by 14 percentage points in the district Trump carried by 17 points.

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Longtime St. David's HealthCare CEO to retire

One of Central Texas's longtime healthcare leaders is preparing to pass the torch. St. David's HealthCare announced CEO and president David Huffstutler will retire in March 2027, setting off a nationwide search for the major employer's next top executive. "Leading St. David's HealthCare has been the greatest privilege of my career," Huffstutler said in a statement. "Together, we have grown to meet the needs of a rapidly changing Central Texas while never losing sight of what matters most: providing exceptional care to every patient every day." The shakeup will mark a major change for the Austin-area's fourth largest employer. According to the announcement, St. David's employs 13,200 people within the region.

Retirement will cap off over four decades' worth of healthcare leadership roles for Huffstutler. Since taking the healthcare system's reins in February 2011, he has overseen St. David's jump from 60 care sites to over 200 Central Texas facilities, including nine hospitals and 13 emergency centers. Last year, Huffstutler told the ABJ that St. David's was focused on providing smaller, more focused facilities in some of the metro's booming regions. Part of that aim included adding more freestanding emergency room and urgent care facilities in medically underserved areas. Just a couple months ago, it acquired 14 urgent care centers throughout the Austin metro, which will operate as St. David's CareNow Urgent Care clinics. The company also recently started construction on its $20.5 million emergency center in Kyle and has initiated the $180 million expansion of its South Austin Medical Center. St. David's is also planning on a new Leander hospital and more expansions for local existing facilities. HCA Healthcare, a national hospital operating partner for St. David's, plans on announcing Huffstutler's successor in the coming months. He will maintain his posts at both St. David's and as president of HCA Healthcare's Central and West Texas Division through next March.

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As Texas cities pull back on Flock cameras, one Houston man wants more

Fred Woods understands why so many people object to Flock cameras in their community, but his northeast Houston neighborhood has constant problems with drug dealing, vandalism and illegal dumping – and he thinks the cameras can help. “If these can do something about that and bring a sense of security, we need it,” Woods said. While many others want to remove the cameras along Houston streets, Woods wants more of them. Standing at the corner of Homestead and Hopper roads, in the shadow of the community’s one Flock camera, Woods – former president of the local civic club and an active member of several Northwood Manor community groups – can point down the street and recount when the church to the south was burglarized, then north to a vacant market that is now an illegal dumping ground.

Then there is the fence just behind him, dented yet again from when someone driving too fast missed the turn at Hopper and cruised head-on into the iron railing. Three more streets have the same issue – along with problems related to speeding, people fleeing from petty crimes and other situations where police can only do so much and respond after the incident, Woods said. The camera close to Woods and many others are in peril as communities reevaluate their contracts with Flock and other companies. Local and state leaders have turned hundreds off in Texas as concerns about privacy prompt their shutdown. Gov. Greg Abbott rescinded state funding for cameras, including more than 200 in Houston, while cities surrounding Houston and portions of Harris County have covered up their cameras or voided the contracts altogether. Critics note the cameras are always lurking, looking and recording. Woods’ reply is that is exactly what they are meant to do.

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‘Bexar County is the future’: Why both parties are making San Antonio a top priority in this election

In the final days of the 2026 midterm election, state and national figures are swarming San Antonio to rev up local voters who could play an outsized role in a pivotal election. Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico‘s statewide campaign tour will make its last stop here on Nov. 1 — the day before Republican nominee Ken Paxton is ending his 30-stop bus tour at the Alamo. President Donald Trump rallied here earlier this month, weeks after U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) visited a Southside VFW.

The moves come as two Democrats viewed as potential 2028 presidential contenders are helping San Antonio-area congressional candidates, and Johnson’s Democratic counterpart, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) will campaign here on Sunday. No part of the country has seen a greater political swing than South Texas in recent years, where Trump set a high-water mark when carrying the state by 13.5% in 2024. Now the GOP hopes to continue that trend to win a number of redrawn congressional districts this cycle — despite poll after poll showing Republicans struggling to hold onto Trump’s coalition. Nowhere is that dynamic on greater display than Texas’ 35th Congressional District, which was drawn to favor a Republican, but could now determine who holds the keys to the speaker’s office next year. “Leaders from across Congress and across the country are all watching what happens right here in this district,” Johnson told supporters at a San Antonio VFW Post in August. “This district is the whole enchilada.”

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Border wall ‘man camps’ have rapidly spread across the Big Bend with little state oversight.

Driving south to Terlingua on Highway 118 in the Big Bend region of West Texas, it’s customary to see old abandoned cars, wandering donkeys, sun-faded buildings and wide-open vistas in between. But this past summer, locals got an unexpected new neighbor — a sprawling, dusty “man camp” facility designed to house as many as 200 border wall construction workers. “?It kinda looked like the little cottage mining industry we have here, but then they just kept bulldozing and it became something monstrous,” said Emily Greenwood, a resident of the mostly off-grid Terlingua Ranch community, who owns land next to to the development. Construction on the man camp stirred up dust and made way for dozens of RVs, fuel storage tanks, water tanks, storage containers, trucks, industrial lights and heavy machinery, all patrolled by armed security guards. Greenwood, a veteran who plans to start a native plant nursery on her land, said she worried about getting Valley Fever from all the dust the man camp was generating — a lung infection caused by a soil fungus present throughout the Southwest.

She noticed the site lacked public postings about its permits, leading her to file formal complaints with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the agency tasked with protecting public health and managing the state’s natural resources. The man camp’s intended residents would work for Southwest Valley Constructors, a New Mexico firm awarded a $1.7 billion no-bid contract to build border barriers and patrol roads within Big Bend National Park. In total, the Trump administration is planning five separate border barrier projects across the region — the least trafficked along the entire southwest border — for over $7 billion. For residents and tourists, the area man camps have become a constant reminder of the wildly unpopular project that many fear will amount to the destruction of some of the state’s most pristine public and private lands. Construction on border walls and other infrastructure across the Big Bend region has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, who also blocked the Trump administration’s use of federal regulatory waivers allowing the Department of Homeland Security to bypass dozens of environmental, cultural resource protection and public health laws to speed up the project. The Trump administration has asked the judge overseeing the case to allow construction to continue as the legal fight plays out, and indicated it may ultimately try to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The regulatory waivers are crucial to President Trump’s broader push to wall off the entire U.S.-Mexico border, an effort funded by $46.5 billion from Congress. Trump administration lawyers have staunchly defended the border plans for the Big Bend region in court, arguing in one recent filing that Congress gave the head of DHS the “specific authority to waive any legal requirement necessary to ensure expeditious construction.”

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National Stories

Democrats pump $500K into Oklahoma governor's race as map expands further into red territory

The Democratic Governors Association announced Tuesday it is investing half a million dollars to flip the governor’s mansion in Oklahoma — a state the president won by 34 points in 2024. The race between Republican former state Sen. Mike Mazzei and Democratic state Rep. Cyndi Munson is a statistical tie, according to recent polls. That includes an internal Munson poll from Workbench Strategy obtained by POLITICO, showing Mazzei has an edge but within the margin of error. The investment marks an unusually aggressive Democratic play in one of the nation’s deepest-red strongholds and underscores how wide a field Democrats are playing in the final stretch of the midterms. The last Democrat to win the governor’s race was Brad Henry in 2006, but Democrats are betting that the relatively small investment in what is shaping up to be a big Democratic year could be enough to spur an enormous upset. They argue their dollars will stretch further than they do in other states, helping Munson blanket the airwaves with both digital and TV ads.

“Cyndi Munson is a great candidate who has put Oklahoma on the map by running a strong, aggressive, grassroots campaign focused on what Oklahomans care about,” said DGA spokesperson Kevin Donahoe, adding that the DGA believes Munson is “in a strong position” to win. The investment also spotlights yet another Trump-backed Republican winning a bitter primary only to struggle in the general election — a vivid example of why many in the party have been nervous about the president putting his finger on the scale. Trump also picked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and businessman Anthony Constantino for a New York House seat. Both are now struggling in places Trump won easily two years ago. Trump endorsed Mazzei in the August GOP primary runoff over state Attorney General Gentner Drummond, but three Republicans familiar with the Oklahoma governor’s race, granted anonymity to candidly discuss the contest, framed Mazzei as a weaker-than-average candidate.

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Democratic super PAC hammers GOP over trans bathroom focus

A Democratic super PAC is hammering Republicans over their focus on transgender issues as GOP candidates in battleground races invoke culture war issues against their Democratic opponents in the final stretch of the midterm cycle. Progress Action Fund released a new ad on Tuesday, first shared with The Hill and part of an ad buy worth more than $1 million, that portrays a generic Republican congressman tasked with checking whether girls are using a bathroom that aligns with their biological sex. In the 30-second ad called “Republicans In Your Bathroom,” a girl walks into a bathroom stall, screaming when she realizes a GOP congressman is waiting in the stall for her. “I’m your Republican congressman,” the generic lawmaker says to the girl after she asks what he’s doing in the stall. “Now that we’re in charge, I’m checking to make sure there’s no trans people in the wrong bathroom.”

“Bathrooms are private. Don’t you have anything better to do?” she asks. “I won the last election, and this is my priority,” the lawmaker replies. “Now, let’s make sure you’re really a girl.” The ad is scheduled to air on connected TV and streaming services in Texas and Ohio two weeks out from Election Day. Both states are home to competitive Senate and House races that will determine the majorities in both chambers. “Americans want their elected officials to lower gas prices and end the war in Iran, not follow them into the f–king restroom,” Progress Action Fund executive director Joe Jacobson said in a statement. “Republicans are creepy as hell. Democrats need to grow a spine and call Republicans out for their creepy fetish of monitoring children’s bathrooms.” Republican candidates have leaned into transgender issues, particularly the debate into whether transgender girls and women can play on sports teams that align with their gender identity, as a major attack line against Democrats.

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Alberta rejects secession referendum, chooses to remain part of Canada

The oil-rich province of Alberta has rejected the pathway to secession and will remain part of Canada, landing a definitive blow to a fringe but loud campaign which sought support from the US. About three quarters of voters chose to stay in Canada, while one quarter opted to hold a second vote on separation later as of early Tuesday local time, with roughly 45% of polls reporting, according to unofficial results posted by the province. Monday’s result comes amid a rising tide of patriotism and unity in Canada as the country has rallied against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats.

The Alberta independence campaign, a grassroots effort led by a handful of vocal separatists, was amplified heavily online, and some of its leaders had met with members of Trump’s administration. The vote had faced concerns of possible foreign interference after Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail reported Republican operatives had assisted top separatist leaders with their independence bid. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the vote to remain means that “Albertans and all Canadians will move forward together with renewed purpose and high ambition” in a statement posted to X early Tuesday. Thomas Lukaszuk, former Alberta politician and founder of the pro-unity Forever Canadian movement, said the result would send a strong message to Trump: “Canada is not up for grabs.” “We are a solid country that’s united from coast to coast to coast and we stick up for each other,” Lukaszuk told a cheering crowd as the results came in.

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Noah Adams, longtime host of NPR's All Things Considered, has died

Noah Adams, a writer, broadcaster, and storyteller who hosted All Things Considered for 18 years, has died. Adams died Friday at his home in Yellow Springs, Ohio, according to his wife, Neenah Ellis. He was 84. He guided listeners through major events like Ronald Reagan's landslide electoral victories, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the September 11 terrorist attacks. But to the people who worked alongside him in the newsroom, Adams' journalism shone through in the softer features he reported. Adams would ride trains across the country, or spend days in small towns talking to whoever he came across. He'd ask questions. He'd listen. He'd write down notes and observations. And then he'd produce long, thoughtful radio pieces that helped listeners understand and appreciate the world a little bit better.

"He was always observing," recalled Melissa Block, who produced pieces alongside Adams for years before hosting All Things Considered herself. "He would have a little reporter's notebook and he would be taking notes in shorthand. His writing is almost illegible – it would just be the vaguest sketches of things. But somehow, when we came back, he would capture the character of a place or a person or a town in the most vivid, rich, simple language. It was a complete picture based on his unbelievable powers of observation." Adams, who was born in Kentucky, came to NPR in the mid-1970s, when the network was still new, and still figuring things out. He was private — intensely private — but told people he'd bopped around a series of jobs before falling into radio. He worked construction. He sold cars, as he recounted once in an on-air essay. In 1972, he started working at the public radio station at the University of Kentucky. Three years later, he applied for a job as a production assistant on All Things Considered. For years, the show's staff has begun each morning with a long meeting about the day's news, and what should and should not be included in the two-hour broadcast. Like all meetings, it can be rote or boring, and many staffers can, at times, view it with some cynicism.

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Christiane Amanpour leaving CNN after 43 years

Longtime CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour, who began as an entry-level assistant and rose to become one of the most visible correspondents and anchors on TV, reporting from war zones and hot spots for decades, will be leaving the network after 43 years. Amanpour, the network’s chief international anchor, will scale back her daily show, “Amanpour,” on CNN International to once a week at the beginning of 2027, and end it in May, leaving the network the following month. She said in a statement Monday that she looks forward to “interesting new projects down the line.” Amanpour, 68, also will end her PBS show, “Amanpour & Co,” at the end of the year, she said in her statement, shared by CNN. She will continue her podcast, “The Ex Files,” with her ex-husband, Jamie Rubin, a former U.S. diplomat.

“After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!” Amanpour said. She added she would “always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism. Remember: Always be truthful, not neutral.” Amanpour did not give a reason for her departure, nor did she specifically mention changes at her network. But her exit coincides with a new era at CNN as it comes under a new owner, Skydance. After a yearlong process, Skydance-owned Paramount closed its $81 billion buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery on Oct. 6. The merger unites under one roof two giants in TV news — CBS and CNN. On a personal front, Amanpour has spoken openly about her 2021 diagnosis of ovarian cancer and two later recurrences, calling it “the invisible killer.” She has urged others to “get all the scans that you can.” Amanpour joined CNN as an assistant in Atlanta in 1983. In his own message Monday, CNN’s chief executive, Mark Thompson, wrote that at the time, her promise was not universally appreciated. “Famously, one of her bosses told her back then that she didn’t have what it took to become a foreign correspondent — or to hold any on-air role at all,” Thompson wrote. “Boy, did she prove him wrong!”

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One in three Americans back second execution attempt after failed one, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

One-third ?of Americans think the government should try a second time to put a convicted criminal to death if ?a first execution attempt fails, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after a botched lethal injection in Tennessee. The four-day poll, completed on Monday, showed 39% of respondents thought the government should instead allow convicts to serve life in prison following a failed execution, while 26% were not sure which was a better ?approach. The nationwide survey found minority public support for trying again to execute inmates who survive execution attempts, a question Tennessee now ?faces after Christa Pike, 50, survived two lethal injection attempts last month in Nashville.

The convicted murderer was ?taken to a hospital unconscious following the attempted execution, critically ill and with severe arm injuries after two syringes of ?the caustic barbiturate pentobarbital failed to kill her, marking Tennessee's second botched lethal injection this year. She did not regain consciousness until five ?days later. Most countries around the world, along with 23 US states, have abolished capital punishment. Those US states that still impose it have struggled in recent years to obtain execution drugs, and some have considered other methods, including firing squads. A slight majority of Americans — 55% — continue to support capital punishment for people convicted ?of the most serious crimes, down from 63% who said in a 2017 Reuters/Ipsos poll that they supported the policy. Some 31% of ?respondents in the latest poll said they opposed the death penalty, while 13% either did not know or did not answer the question. The issue ?has ?taken on new significance as courts consider whether states can make a second execution attempt after a failed one.

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JD Vance declines to endorse Netanyahu for reelection

Vice President JD Vance declined Monday to endorse Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection a day after President Donald Trump endorsed the embattled Israeli leader. “The president has the most influential endorsement in American or international political history,” Vance said during an interview with journalist Mark Halperin. “I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on the midterms,” Vance said, while traveling Monday to campaign for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley of North Carolina. “So, I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections.” Vance has campaigned for a foreign leader — then-Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, last spring before the right-wing leader’s party lost that country’s parliamentary election.

Vance’s deference to Trump on Netanyahu comes at an extraordinarily sensitive time for Jewish Americans and the U.S. alliance with Israel. Concerns about antisemitism have surged across the political spectrum ahead of the midterm elections. Republicans have been eager to portray Democrats, notably Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, as hostile toward Jews and Israel, while they deal with their own internal schisms. Vance has faced skepticism from Jewish Republicans about his commitment to Jewish Americans and the U.S. alliance with Israel. Last month, Vance spoke privately in Las Vegas to the Republican Jewish Coalition, a leading GOP group committed to advocating for a strong U.S. relationship with Israel and against antisemitism. Vance left a positive impression on his RJC audience while stopping short of disavowing influential conservative podcast host Tucker Carlson.

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Lead Stories

Trump targets down-ballot Texas Democrats on eve of early voting

President Donald Trump urged support for Texas Republicans on the eve of early voting — and trained his fire on some relatively unknown down-ballot Democrats, a sign of how competitive the midterms have become as voters head to the polls. Trump on Sunday night held a phone rally with Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, state Sen. Mayes Middleton and two congressional candidates, Jace Yarbrough and Eric Flores. “A lot of people say this must be tough making a call like this. It's not because I love these people, I love what they represent, and I love the people of Texas,” Trump said. The president targeted Vikki Goodwin, an Austin state representative running to unseat Patrick, and Nathan Johnson, a state senator running for attorney general against Middleton.

Some recent polls show both locked in close races, despite the two Democrats starting with hardly any name recognition and raising far less than their GOP opponents. No Democrat has won statewide since 1994. Trump accused Goodwin of wanting to “give you a nice high state income tax” and said Johnson “opposes the 10 Commandments in Texas schools.” “Can you believe it?” Trump said. Later in the call, Paxton urged listeners to meet with two or three people a day and urge them to vote. Patrick upped the request when he joined the line. “Every one of you on this call has a cell phone. You may have 50, 100, 1,000 contacts. I want you to send out, you know, cut and paste to everyone on your contact list and say, ‘Are you voting for Republicans in November or early voting?’” Patrick said. “And if they say yes, say ‘Thank you, God bless you.’ And if they say no, call them. They're your friends.”

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Suburban women souring on Paxton could doom him in tight race

here’s something missing in this conservative Houston suburb on the eve of early voting next Monday: Visible support for Republicans, particularly the embattled Senate candidate. In the sprawling Bridgeland subdivision, yard signs appear to favor Democratic state Rep. James Talarico over his rival, GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton. The signage gap matches recent polling, which shows Talarico, a four-term state representative, either tied or several points ahead of Paxton, who has never lost an election in 25 years. Nowhere is that more clear than on Bridgeland’s Inspiration Drive, where voters on both sides of the political aisle say that Paxton, dogged by corruption scandals and accusations of infidelity, has lost support from a crucial segment of the electorate: suburban women. Interviews with these female voters, who tend to outvote men and therefore carry extra sway in growing communities, reveal a combination of apathy toward Paxton’s candidacy and an active shift by some conservatives toward his Democratic opponent.

Republican Tess Eugenio, who works in human resources, said there is a split on her street between the vocal supporters for Talarico and those whom she suspects will vote for Paxton, even if they’re not advertising it. “People don’t want to talk about whether they’re going to vote for him, but they will,” Eugenio, 57, said of Paxton. “The question is, will it be enough?” Across the street, Maria Kostecka, a retired preschool teacher, said female friends and neighbors have approached her expressing enthusiasm for Talarico, especially after she posted his campaign yard sign. “I start to feel like it’s this secret underground club who don’t want Paxton in office,” said Kostecka, 66. She said she’s worried though that people “will stay home because they do not like the choices they have.” In a race that veteran political observers say will be decided by small margins, incremental shifts that eluded Democrats in recent cycles could be building in the suburbs. In 2022, Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke made gains in the suburbs, but in the end, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) still won 60 percent of suburban precincts to O’Rourke’s 38 percent, according to the Texas Politics Project.

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Could Republicans prove the pollsters wrong in the midterms?

Republicans facing a predicted wipeout in next month’s midterm elections are clinging to the hope that opinion polls are underrepresenting support for Donald Trump’s party. On the campaign trail this week, House Speaker Mike Johnson joined other party operatives in questioning whether polling and betting markets, which point to a Republican rout in the House and a possible defeat in the Senate, might not be reaching many conservative voters. “I’m looking right at the camera, and telling you: The polls are wrong,” Johnson told an audience in North Carolina on Thursday. “The polling organisations are admitting over the last few weeks that they have been under-sampling Republicans [and] they are over-sampling Democrats?.?.?.?because Republicans don’t trust pollsters any more,” Johnson said. Polls consistently underestimated support for Trump in the last three presidential elections, leading to his victory in 2016 and 2024. Polling in the midterm elections has been less prone to big misses, however, underestimating Democrats slightly in 2022 and 2018. The sitting president’s party has only managed a net gain of House seats twice in midterms since the second world war.

Yet Democrats’ hopes of winning control of the upper chamber hinge on wins in at least a few states where polling puts them ahead by 3 percentage points or less. If polls are off merely by the margin of error, Republicans could retain all Senate seats in Maine, Alaska, Ohio, Iowa and Texas. “Republicans aren’t as eager to pick up the phone and talk to pollsters about who they voted for?.?.?.?they see it as a much more private matter,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist who has worked on national campaigns. “If half of what has been true in the past is true again, then chances are Republicans are going to win in Texas. They are going to win in Iowa. They’re going to win in Maine,” said O’Connell. Republican insiders such as O’Connell are encouraged by the fact that some Senate candidates are polling better than expected in Democrat-held states including New Hampshire and Minnesota. They also hope unpopular candidates such as Texas’s Ken Paxton will be lifted by the fact that more popular Republicans, including the state’s governor Greg Abbott, are also on the same ballot. One strategist for a large Trump-aligned group told the FT that they were enthused by early voting trends in Georgia, which showed that under-35s — who tend to lean Democrat — were “not turning out at the same levels as they were in 2022 and 2024”.

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Trump’s overtures to Putin put Republican candidates in hot seat

President Trump’s surprise diesel deal with Russia and decision to waive sanctions on Moscow have become a headache for Republican candidates with just two weeks to go before the midterms. In interviews and town halls, Republicans are being pressed on why now is the time to go soft on Vladimir Putin. Some of them are breaking with Trump rather than defend his string of Russia-friendly decisions. Diesel prices remain elevated, adding to the challenge in an election heavily focused on affordability. The result is a new political hurdle for Republicans who are uncomfortable with the idea of easing sanctions on Putin’s Russia and have yet to see the hoped-for economic gains. Republicans, who worked to pass a sanctions package targeting buyers of Russian oil and gas just over a month ago, are now questioning Trump’s decision to hold off on implementing it. The move has thrust Trump’s handling of the war in Ukraine, which he once vowed to end swiftly after returning to the White House, back into the political spotlight.

Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate locked in a tight race against Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, has said he opposes buying Russian diesel fuel. On Sunday he also made clear that he objects to the president’s decision to pause the sanctions package. “It’s just not where I would be,” Rogers said on Sunday on CNN. “I would have voted for the sanctions bill. If the president has a better idea to get diesel prices down, I’d be for it. I’m just a little skeptical that this will work in the way that the administration wants it to work.” “I don’t think we can give Putin an inch,” Rogers added. Trump defended his recent decisions in a social-media post Sunday, saying he was in the process of “negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine” and didn’t want to do anything that will “drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table.” The Wall Street Journal on Sunday reported that Putin has proposed that he, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet next month to talk about Ukraine in an attempt to negotiate an end to the four-year conflict that would favor Moscow. Other Republicans echoed Rogers’s qualms. On Saturday, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, who is facing a competitive re-election contest, said he would tell Trump not to buy Russian diesel fuel. Instead, Sullivan called for continued efforts to expand energy production in Alaska and strengthen the U.S. military, which he referred to as “hard power things Putin understands the most.”

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State Stories

Educator misconduct reports triple since new Texas reporting requirements took effect

Since the state tightened reporting restrictions and created liability for school districts regarding sexual misconduct, reports of educator misconduct have tripled. The Texas Education Agency defines misconduct as physical abuse or unlawful acts with minors. This includes threats of violence, sexual acts, inappropriate communications and physical mistreatment. There have been 19,766 reports of misconduct this year, up from 6,456 last year. Of those nearly 20,000 reports, there have been 13,916 investigations and only 1,114 sanctions issued to perpetrators. The TEA did not respond to the request for comment and clarification on why reports have surged this year.

The Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard is a transparency tool that provides public information about educator investigations. Required by last legislative session’s Senate Bill 571, the dashboard includes data on reports submitted to the TEA, educator investigations, State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) santions and a “Do Not Hire” registry. “These resources reflect our commitment to transparency and fostering trust in our schools,” TEA Inspector General for Educator Misconduct Levi Fuller said. “The dashboard gives communities access to critical information, while the resource center brings together the tools and guidance school systems need to respond quickly and appropriately when concerns arise.” SB 571 broadened the definition of abuse to include inappropriate communications and failing to maintain appropriate boundaries with students. The law also changed reporting requirements, lowering the window to report abuse to law enforcement from 48 hours to 24 hours. “SB 571 ensures that misconduct is caught early and acted on swiftly, no more ‘passing the trash’ or looking the other way that lets predators reappear in other educational roles or in other schools,” Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) said when the bill passed.

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Thanks to familiar miscues, the Dallas Cowboys are off to their worst start in years

The Dallas Cowboys don’t run the ball well. Their much-hoped-for defensive turnaround hasn’t materialized. Unable to count on either, the Cowboys have hinged their playoff hopes for a third straight season on the right arm of quarterback Dak Prescott. The result? Their worst record through six games since 2020. “The effort is right, the fight is right,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “Mistakes are killing us.” They continued in a 23-13 loss to Green Bay on “Sunday Night Football” that left the Cowboys 2-4. As they chase their first playoff berth since 2023, a lone silver lining has been the dreadful state of the NFC East, where the Cowboys aren’t out of contention thanks to the up-and-down struggles of division-leading New York (3-2-1), a rash of injuries in Philadelphia (2-4) and the regression of Washington (1-3-1).

All four teams in the division have a negative scoring differential, the only division this season to do that. What makes Dallas difficult to count out was seen on the scoring drive that pulled it within 23-13 with 44 seconds to play in Sunday’s fourth quarter, after Prescott led a 13-play, 78-yard drive capped by his scramble away from two tacklers before throwing a touchdown pass on the run. Prescott’s ability, coupled with receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens — their 862 combined receiving yards entering Sunday were second-most by a duo in the league — left Dallas seventh in the league in points scored entering Week 6. Yet what makes Dallas difficult to count on was also on display just four minutes earlier in the fourth quarter. Needing 11 yards on fourth down to continue their drive and cut into a 23-7 Packers lead, Prescott narrowly avoided a sack before lofting a pass that sailed out the back of the end zone, not close to any particular Cowboys receiver. The reliance on Prescott largely paid off to begin this season, as he threw eight touchdowns against just one interception through his first four games. In the last two, though, Prescott has two touchdowns and four interceptions. The latter total doesn’t include an interception Sunday that was negated by a Green Bay penalty for roughing the passer.

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Some Dallas public safety boosters ask voters to ‘bust the bond'

Dallas’ public safety boosters are at odds over a $443 million bond election to fund police and fire projects. One campaign is backed by council member Cara Mendelsohn and Save Dallas City Hall advocates, who are urging voters to reject the bond in order to save the I.M. Pei-designed building. Another effort, which is endorsed by the city’s police and fire associations and a majority of the City Council, says City Hall and the bond are separate issues. The bond package will fund a new police academy; a tactical police training complex; a consolidated evidence room and crime lab; a new downtown fire station; and move 911 operations out of City Hall.

Repaying the bond debt would cost more than $629 million over two decades amid debate about the city’s finances and whether enough was done to secure public confidence in bond proposals. Mendelsohn’s “Bust the Bond” campaign says the program is actually a veiled attempt to move city operations out of City Hall. The group has posted “Bust the Bond” signs throughout the city and has pledged to give any excess money donated to the cause to the Save City Hall organization. “This is a ‘move out of City Hall’ bond dressed up like public safety,” Mendelsohn said in a post advocating for voters to reject the package. She is listed as treasurer of the campaign. Mendelsohn said she would support a bond just for the police academy next year in May. But Dallas’ largest police and firefighter associations say the funding could modernize several buildings that have gone years without repairs and maintenance. “When someone calls 911, every second counts. Modern facilities, as in the proposed New Station 4, reliable emergency communications, and properly equipped firefighters and paramedics are essential to saving lives,” Dallas Fire Fighters Association President Chris Peterson said in an endorsement of the bond.

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El Paso City Councilmember Art Fierro faces four challengers in East El Paso District 6 race

Incumbent city Rep. Art Fierro faces four challengers in the race for the District 6 City Council seat, as the city’s agreement with a Meta data center, a coming property tax increase and rising utility bills have put affordability at the center of the Nov. 3 election. The Eastside district encompasses much of the 79936 ZIP code, including neighborhoods around Marty Robbins Park. Fierro, 64, is seeking a second term on council after serving on the El Paso Community College board and in the Texas House. He won the council seat in 2022 after losing the Democratic primary for his legislative seat to Claudia Ordaz earlier that year. He points to park improvements, street resurfacing and investments in public safety – mostly compensation for firefighters and, soon, police officers – as reasons to keep him in office.

Jesus “Jesse” Moreno, 25, is a former City Council staffer who worked for District 3 Reps. Cassandra Hernandez and Deanna Maldonado-Rocha before recently departing Rocha’s office. A Bowie High School graduate studying economics at the University of Texas at El Paso, Moreno worked multiple jobs while attending school before entering city government through a workforce program. He says his experience handling constituent issues, reviewing budgets and working with city departments would allow him to take office with an accumulated knowledge of city government. Pedro Fernandez Jr., 26, graduated from Americas High School and UTEP, where he studied political science. The son of two Army veterans, Fernandez worked on congressional and statewide political campaigns before moving to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Western Caucus Foundation, an organization focused on Western land, environmental and energy policy. He returned to El Paso and now works for a staffing agency. Fernandez describes himself as fiscally conservative and politically pragmatic. Claudia Contreras Siller, a care provider for her mother and an animal welfare advocate, and photographer Hector Alba are also on the ballot. Neither responded to multiple interview requests from El Paso Matters. Alba did submit responses to a questionnaire from El Paso Matters.

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Durant House’s restoration by Russell Buchanan challenges preservation norms in Dallas

A historic house in Dallas was falling apart. Water damage and years of deterioration had left the modest Victorian-era home on the brink of collapse. Rather than demolishing it, co-owners Shannon Wynne and Casey McManemin partnered with architect Russell Buchanan to reimagine preservation. The result is an approach the team calls “adaptive restoration,” combining preservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse through a “building within a building” concept that Buchanan had previously seen used in Europe. The original reconstructed house peers through large glass paneling on a facade of gray-slatted siding and tailored-aluminum trim—a deliberate juxtaposition. “We wanted to show that preservation means finding a creative way to carry history forward,” Wynne and McManemin said in a statement.

The Durant House was built in 1903 by reputed mason and builder Owen Hughes. Also known for constructing the Praetorian Building—Dallas’s first skyscraper and, at the time, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River—Hughes consistently executed remarkable brick detailing. By 2022, one section of the house’s sidewall had begun leaning six to eight inches away from the structure. Its load-bearing brick walls sat directly on the earth without a conventional foundation. The house was dismantled from the top down, carefully removing shingles, rafters, and framing while preserving the historic materials that could be saved. The original Abilene bricks were removed one by one, cleaned, and stored off-site until the structure was ready to be reconstructed. “Once we understood what was there, there was simply no acceptable substitute for putting it back,” Buchanan said. “The goal wasn’t to create a replica. It was to preserve the actual building and the evidence of the people who built it.”

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Harris County to form working group on Flock oversight

Kevin Newsom is a Harris County taxpayer, and although he describes himself as a “local ne’er-do-well,” he doesn’t appear to present a threat to public safety. But he and most of his neighbors are frustrated and angry that they’re being watched by Flock Safety cameras. “We need to cancel the Flock contracts,” Newsom said during a Thursday meeting of commissioners court. “They are unconstitutional. They are illegal. The Fourth Amendment is the ultimate rule we’re supposed to follow when it comes to surveillance. If we’re talking about rules and regulations concerning Flock, if we’re not following the biggest rule, what hope do we have to follow the smaller rules that you’re proposing today?” Newsom joined dozens of residents who weighed in on the automated license plate readers, sometimes referred to as ALPRs, which have been in place since 2022. Just recently, however, reports surfaced of non-law enforcement employees accessing the system, law enforcement officers abusing the system for personal use, and suspicion that those with access are sharing data with federal immigration authorities.

Commissioners voted 3-2 to direct the Office of County Administration to convene a working group chaired by Sheriff Ed Gonzalez to gather information on automated license plate reader data, access and oversight, and to propose amendments to the county’s contracts with Flock Safety and Vigilant Systems, a subsidiary of Motorola, by February 2027. Commissioners Adrian Garcia and Tom Ramsey voted against it. Both said they support oversight but noted that Gonzalez already has a working group and is prepared to present a policy regarding the sheriff’s office use of license plate readers within a week or so. County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who called the public hearing, expressed disappointment that the license plate reader vendors weren’t present to answer questions. She suggested suspending use of all the devices in Harris County while the working group convenes, but there was some confusion over whether contracts would need to be amended to do so. Also, some of the devices were purchased by neighborhood associations and municipal utility districts, so, although authorized Harris County law enforcement officers can access the data, the devices don’t belong to Harris County. The cameras use artificial intelligence to capture and analyze information about vehicles, including their make, model, color, and distinguishing features such as bumper stickers or dents.

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Haltom City mayor, first Vietnamese American to lead a Tarrant city, dies

Haltom City Mayor An Truong, who oversaw a commercial and residential building boom in the city, died Friday, Oct. 16, the city announced. He was 78. He died from complications related to cancer, the city said. Truong was elected mayor in 2019, the first Vietnamese American mayor in Tarrant County. His swearing-in ceremony was conducted in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Born Vietnam, Truong immigrated to the United States when he was 26. He began his career with the Fort Worth Police Department and spent 37 years as an investigator with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. He also served on the Haltom City Council from 2013 until he was elected mayor. “Mayor Truong was a dedicated public servant who always put his community first,” City Manager Rex Phelps said in a statement. “On behalf of the City Council and City staff, we extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”

Truong helped lead Haltom City through a significant period of economic growth and development, including attracting H Mart’s seventh Texas store as part of a major mixed-use development at Northeast Loop 820 and Beach Street that is 100% leased. The city also saw major residential growth, including a 412-home subdivision and plans for 1,000 apartments, along with new hotel and recreation developments. City officials projected that development projects would bring thousands of new jobs and residents while generating additional sales tax revenue and allowing the city to lower its property tax rate. The city built a new city hall, law enforcement center, fire substation and senior center in recent years. A renovated North Park opened in 2025. The $4 million overhaul of the 56-acre park included a 4-acre stocked fishing pond with a pier, trails, a new playground, pavilion, amphitheater and improvements to the disc golf course. Truong was born in 1948 and grew up in Vietnam when France occupied the country. He joined the Vietnamese Air Force in 1968 and learned English, so he could come to the United States to become a pilot. He returned to Vietnam, where he fought against the Communists. After the war ended in 1975, Truong and his family came to the United States as refugees and started out in Pennsylvania, where Truong worked in a grocery store. But they did not like the cold weather and moved to Haltom City in 1980. Mayor Pro Tem Kyle Hantz and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Troy Dunn will assume the mayoral duties until further notice, the city said.

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Texas store warns small businesses to watch for fake AI-generated receipts

A locally owned western wear store in Alice is warning other small businesses to be on the lookout after a receipt that appeared to be generated using artificial intelligence was allegedly used to obtain a refund of over $600. Employees at Horseshoes Western Store said the incident involved a receipt for a Consuela purse. Store manager Inez Almaraz said the owners learned about the receipt from a representative connected to the purse brand. She said the distributor refunded the money before the receipt was identified as fake. "We've never had anything or any of this happen, you know, especially with something that we carry, for them to produce or generate a fake AI receipt is something that's just... it's not tolerated," Almaraz said.

Almaraz said employees compared the questionable receipt with a legitimate one and noticed differences in the address, and the paper itself. Angel Ramos, a retail seller at the store, said the document initially appeared convincing. "It looked real. It was shocking but then like, no, if you really look into it closely...it was not the same. There was a lot of little hiccups in it. The papers were different," Ramos said. Ramos said businesses should pay close attention to their records and inventory. "Just be more cautious. Look at your receipts. Pay attention to your systems. Just keep track of your inventory because we didn't carry that purse," Ramos said. Katie Galan with the Better Business Bureau said scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to make fraudulent messages and documents more believable. "So, scammers are definitely utilizing AI right now. It's making things much more difficult. It used to be where you could look at an e-mail or a text message and it was very easy to differentiate because you would see all of the grammatical errors and the punctuation and all of that," Galan said. "So, now we don't, have that as much. It's, it's a lot easier for scammers to plug these, these items into AI and then make it, more believable for the rest of us."

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Orlando Sanchez walks a line on GOP extremes, won’t reject hardliners

Republican Harris County judge nominee Orlando Sanchez has run a moderate campaign relative to some of his statewide GOP colleagues, and has tried to distance himself from the most extreme figures in his party – but he has not rejected them outright. In a year when the political headwinds appear to be blowing to the left, Sanchez has touted positive relationships with some local Democrats and hammered traditional conservative talking points on public safety and tax relief. But the former county treasurer and Houston city council member also has said he is “playing for the red team” at a time when the GOP has shifted right, a balancing act experts said may be hard to pull off in “light blue” Harris County. Sanchez said he was “deeply troubled” by GOP Railroad Commission nominee Bo French’s latest racist tweet last month. But he did not join several fellow Republicans in saying he wouldn’t vote for French.

And after far-right firebrand Steven Hotze sent out a text blast last week warning Sanchez’s Democratic opponent Letitia Plummer, who is Muslim, would make Harris County “Sharia County,” Sanchez’s campaign called such attacks “wrong” – but did not reject Hotze’s endorsement. Sanchez’s approach underscores the difficulty he faces this fall, political scientists said, particularly given voters’ apparent discontent with Republican leadership. Taking a firmer stance against the far-right risks alienating hardcore conservatives Sanchez needs to win, they said, but his reluctance to full-throatedly denounce them could leave independents and Democrats – who make up a majority of the electorate – unimpressed. “He’s just in a bad place,” said Renée Cross, a political scientist at the University of Houston. “He’s got to try to balance on that line, and I think it’s especially hard in today’s Republican Party because they are so polarized.” Sanchez appears to understand that he will need a politically diverse coalition of voters to have a chance at winning in November, and that passing a Republican purity test may be antithetical to that goal in this political environment.

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The most annoying neighbor in this San Antonio subdivision is a leaking oil well

In Texas, suburbs have sprung up where oil pump jacks once bobbed. At the Preserve at Medina, a subdivision of brick-and-siding starter homes in southwest San Antonio, students filed off a school bus on a hot afternoon. One child turned down Vesper Branch, a street with a plugged oil well ringed by a heavy black metal fence: “CAUTION flammable gas,” a sign on the fence warned. A faint smell of rotten eggs hung in the air, from low levels of hydrogen sulfide leaking from the well. Only the fence separated the child from the leaking well. Oil hasn’t flowed from the Thompson Callaway Spears #1 well since it was plugged in 2006. But in recent years, the well has vexed Texas regulators and nearby residents. The state has replugged it five times, yet gas continues to leak. Since a housing subdivision rose around the well in the early 2020s, residents have filed repeated complaints.

Soil and air monitoring near the well has detected leaking methane and hydrogen sulfide. In June, contractors told the Railroad Commission, the state’s oil and gas industry overseer, that plumes of methane gas were moving through the soil toward homes in the subdivision, which could trigger an explosion. “We had no idea when we moved here,” said Krystal Solis, who lives across the street with her husband and three children. “No one told us anything.” Plugged wells are usually safe, but several in Texas have failed catastrophically in recent years, including at a Baptist church in the Permian Basin town of Grandfalls. From Canada to Southern California, legacy oil and gas wells have been linked to leaks, fires and explosions in residential areas. Prospective homebuyers rarely know about old oil and gas wells before they buy property. Texas has no statewide laws regulating construction around plugged oil and gas wells. Real estate developers are not required to disclose legacy wells to potential buyers. This means that many people unknowingly end up living near plugged or orphan wells that could present future liabilities.

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It took 3 months to get inside this massive Texas data center — here’s what we saw

As massive data centers rise across the country to power America's artificial intelligence boom, one of the industry's biggest builders is making the case that the benefits extend far beyond the technology inside. During an exclusive tour of Compass Datacenters' sprawling campus in Red Oak, Texas, Fox News Digital got a rare look inside the infrastructure behind the nation's growing appetite for computing. Getting inside took roughly three months' of approvals. Once on site, Fox News Digital passed through six layers of security and suited up in personal protective equipment before entering the facility, where photos and recording devices were prohibited. Beyond the checkpoints, the interior was remarkably clean and surprisingly quiet, with little of the industrial noise one might expect from an operation running around the clock.

Inside, rows of towering server racks stretched across the spotless floor, surrounded by the electrical and cooling systems needed to keep the equipment operating. At Red Oak, Compass uses a closed-loop cooling system that recirculates coolant rather than continuously drawing water to cool the equipment. Compass CEO Chris Crosby, a North Texas native, said the Red Oak campus has not used water for cooling since it began operating. "We haven't used water since inception," Crosby said, noting the importance of conserving the region's resources. "Water is precious in North Texas." Beyond cooling, security is another major consideration for facilities housing vast amounts of computing infrastructure. Crosby the extensive security is not about keeping the facilities secret, but rather protecting the sensitive information and critical infrastructure housed inside. "Hacking is real, attacks on infrastructure are real," Crosby said. "If people knew that a bank or a government was operating at a particular facility, they could infiltrate that facility. So that's why the levels of security are so high at our campuses." The campus, roughly 20 miles south of Dallas, will eventually include 10 data center buildings spanning roughly 2.6 million square feet. A Schneider Electric manufacturing facility and a workforce training center operated in partnership with Texas State Technical College are also located on the campus.

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National Stories

How CBS News’ Middle East war spread to the Upper Midwest

Control of the US Senate for the next two years could come down to how much the news media chooses to focus in the final weeks of the midterms on a tweet sent years ago by the younger half-sister of Michigan’s Democratic Senate candidate. In 2012, Abdul El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, described “an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early ’70s.” Republicans and members of the media have since pressed El-Sayed, an American of Egyptian descent, to answer whether he has ties to the Islamist movement, which was founded in Egypt and whose offshoots include US-designated terrorist groups. The subject is of particular interest at CBS News, where Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss has repeatedly encouraged the network’s journalists to dedicate serious resources to finding a potential link. In recent weeks, Weiss has personally advocated for CBS News journalists to pursue numerous story angles related to El-Sayed’s supposed sympathy towards the Muslim Brotherhood, and was directly involved in a controversial story about his previous posts comparing the COVID-19 death toll to 9/11.

She has discussed the topic on editorial calls, and tasked CBS News’ investigative unit with combing through El-Sayed’s background for a potential link to the organization. The network’s investigative team is set to publish a story in the coming days on the subject, though two people familiar with the reporting said that as of Sunday afternoon, it was unclear whether the story will include new revelations. A year into a new regime at CBS News, some of the daily controversies over Weiss’ management style and relations with the White House that defined the first few months have eased. But the politics of the Middle East and the conflict in Israel and Gaza — and its echoes in American domestic politics — remain red-hot inside the company, as a network leader with strong views on the region’s dynamics has attempted to shape its coverage of stories touching its spiraling conflicts. Rank-and-file staff have clashed with editors installed by Weiss over Gaza, leaking embarrassing internal network discussions about coverage — such as last week, when the media-focused news startup Status and Guardian media reporter Jeremy Barr reported on a clash between CBS News’ London bureau and foreign editor Shayndi Raice. Weiss has taken a particularly hands-on approach to the Michigan Senate race, where campaign rhetoric has revolved around El-Sayed’s Muslim faith, and whether he can win over Jewish voters in the state. The Hollywood Reporter reported last month that Weiss faced criticism internally for “overseeing an article that critics say falsely insinuated Michigan’s Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed had ties to the September 11 attacks.” Some CBS News staff have privately grumbled that Weiss is particularly focused on pursuing theories about high-profile progressive candidates that bubble up on X or in right-leaning news outlets. Weiss also tasked staff with pursuing the theory that Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was in a mental health facility after he disappeared from the campaign trail for over a week in October. He was at home with the flu, journalists from The New York Times confirmed, citing images from Talarico’s home security cameras. (CBS News never gave public credence to the theories and matched the Times’ reporting.)

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America’s new housing market is all about luxury—and it runs on cash

America’s home-buying market is a house divided. On one side, near-record home prices and the recent surge in mortgage rates above 7% have relegated buyers to the sidelines. In many cities, sales are stagnant and sellers are cutting prices for lower-end and entry-level homes to lure back buyers. On the other is a robust luxury market, where wealthier home shoppers swerve around high rates with jumbo down payments or all-cash purchases. The top third of the market is still buying, and spending enough to push up home prices nationally by more than 4% over the past two years. This dichotomy is playing out across the country. In 33 of the top 50 metro areas, luxury home prices are rising faster or falling slower than starter home prices, according to data from First American Data and Analytics, a real-estate data and economics firm.

In the greater San Francisco area, home prices have surged as the AI boom has brought tech employees new wealth. But just about all of that price growth has come from the luxury market, where prices are up 4.6% year-over-year, compared with a 1.7% decline for the starter tier and a 0.6% decline for the middle tier, according to First American. Around Tampa, Fla., where a surge in new construction after the pandemic raised inventory, home prices in the bottom third of the market—below $305,000—were down 4.1% in August. The luxury-market homes—priced above $471,833—have been able to hold steady at 0.4% growth. The trend in the housing market reflects a growing divergence in the fortunes of the country’s economic classes. Wealth has surged for Americans with steady, high-paying jobs or businesses and stock investments. At the same time, middle- and working-class Americans are locked out of that level of prosperity and struggle to keep up with rising costs on nearly every front. The same trends are shaping the new-home market. Home builders are shifting their focus toward luxury homes, which generate far wider margins than entry-level homes. Many builders have struggled to unload built-up inventories of entry-level homes, compelling them to offer significant incentives in the form of mortgage rate buydowns.

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‘You Can See Everything’ sets Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd review records

We are running out of ways to describe just how critically beloved You Can See Everything is, the mind-bending Elizabeth Holmes pseudo-documentary from Nathan Fielder. Now, we have to add audiences on top of that as well. Just a day after putting up an astonishing score on Metacritic, the dust has settled with two more records across two other sites, one for 2026, one for much longer than that. On Rotten Tomatoes, the website issued a statement that said You Can See Everything was the only 100% certified fresh movie of the year, having more than 80 reviews in. Now, it’s dropped to a 99% because of a single negative review, but the 99% with 101 reviews still seems to be the record for the year regardless. Then, on top of that, you can add the just-in 99% Rotten Tomatoes audience score for the film, matching the critics at near perfection.

There is nothing that matches that. Audiences loved Spider-Man: Brand New Day enough to make it $2.5 billion, but it is still lower with a 97% audience score. Project Hail Mary has a 95%. There are barely any other releases even in this category at all. Continuing with the fan review format, we can head over to Letterboxd, the movie rating site that has become a hobby, sometimes practically a job, for the biggest cinema fans. This record may be the most impressive of any of these, and really for any movie in…many years. You Can See Everything, with a 4.7/5 score, is the fourth-highest reviewed offering on the entire site. It could be considered the highest-scored movie ever, as #1 is a live Radiohead concert and two others, Band of Brothers and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, are TV shows. This is the list sorted by average rating, and not a final calcuation. Many movies are going to have tens of thousands of more reviews in, but right now, among earlier viewers, it has universal, almost unprecedented praise and scores. Those are reviews, however, and the question turns to how all of this will translate into box office results. Positively, is the obvious answer, but we are still asking people to believe that a three-hour documentary about a Theranos scam artist is worth spending more than a full afternoon with. Previously, estimates were for around a $7-8 million opening weekend, though if reviews are this good, and word-of-mouth travels fast as a result, that may prove to be an underestimate. The budget of the documentary, as you might expect, is very low, around $5-7 million.

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Zacharia speaks out after White House press secretary exit: ‘It was an honor’

Katie Zacharia issued her first public statement Friday night after a White House official announced she’d be “transitioning out” of the press secretary post after just five days in the role. In a post on the social media platform X, Zacharia praised President Trump’s leadership, saying, “It was an honor to work for him.” “President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man,” she wrote in her post, which included a picture of herself and Trump in the Oval Office. She continued, “I wish more Americans appreciated him. No one will ever make America great the way he has and continues to.”

Zacharia’s departure follows the president’s remarks to reporters on Friday that he had advised her to “reconsider” the position. The former political commentator has now logged the shortest press secretary tenure in the position’s history. Her exit also followed a wave of scrutiny over a shaky debut press conference, which lasted 14 minutes and included only three questions from conservative-leaning outlets, as well as skepticism over her legal background. Zacharia, who replaced former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, had presented herself as a lawyer during her TV appearances. When asked by a reporter on Tuesday about which state she passed the bar exam in, Zacharia responded, “When I moved to China.” However, the Wall Street Journal reported later that evening that she had failed the exam, prompting watchdog group Campaign for Accountability to file a complaint with the State Bar of California on Wednesday over her claims that she is a lawyer. In an interview with conservative outlet Real America’s Voice, Zacharia said she “misheard” the question but added that her bar exam results were “inconsequential” because she moved to China with her husband for work after graduation.

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Early childhood educators fear tougher working conditions amid Trump proposals

Early childhood educators are sounding the alarm at changes proposed by the Trump administration to loosen regulations on the industry such as staff-to-child ratios. Advocates are on the edge of their seats after the public comment period closed on a proposal from the administration that would take a unified Head Start, a program that serves 700,000 children from low-income households, and create a state-by-state approach for many regulations. But in an industry already plagued by staffing shortages and low pay — educators fear these changes will make the job even more difficult. A survey of almost 4,000 early childhood educators from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) found a majority worry that increasing staff-to-child ratios will make their jobs harder and pose as a safety issue for everyone involved.

Eighty percent say bigger group sizes would make it harder to meet students’ individual needs, and 78 percent said there is greater risk of more people leaving the industry due to burnout. More than half of early childhood educators said they would be likely to leave if the ratios increased. “I think that if they were to try to raise the child to teacher ratio, that it would just completely collapse the industry,” said Tricia Hulsether, a worker at Windy Willow Preschool in Minnesota. “It’s already very difficult to have, especially in an infant room, four to one ratio. If they were to try and raise that, no one would want to work in that room.” “Even at a four to one ratio, we have our administrative staff and our other teachers stepping in just to assist at certain times of the day, and if that was more, no one would want to be in there,” she added. “I think the parents wouldn’t want their child in there either. It wouldn’t just be that the teachers are too stressed. The children are going to be distressed.” The Trump administration’s proposal shifts the responsibility of regulation onto the states, creating vastly different class sizes, education requirements and background checks depending on the area.

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Macron urges calm as France counts the cost of worst unrest in years

President Emmanuel Macron appealed for calm on Sunday, a day after France suffered one of its worst days of unrest in years, with thousands arrested and shops looted or damaged after protests over high prices and declining public services. Fresh ?clashes broke out in Paris and Marseille, where riot police intervened to prevent attempts to ransack businesses. Nationwide demonstrations had erupted into riots on Saturday, with a town ?hall torched, shops pillaged and buildings covered in graffiti as violent groups clashed with police in cities across the country. "Looking at these images, we have all asked ourselves: What was going through their minds? How can French people do ?this to France?" Macron said in a televised address to the nation. "Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it. Tonight, we all feel anger and shame."

Saturday's unrest laid bare the deep anger at Macron, who leaves office in 2027 after a decade in power that has increasingly become defined by social discontent, a weak economy and ballooning debt. Macron said those protesting peacefully had legitimate grievances and their actions should not be confused with those seeking to wreak havoc. He stopped short of declaring a state of emergency, as demanded by some right-wing politicians, but said the government would act to ?allow prefects to ban protests if necessary to protect public buildings ?and local businesses. The government has blamed the violence on what it said were ultra-left groups, as well as criminals it said had instigated the looting. One protester died on Saturday after suffering a cardiac arrest during demonstrations in Paris. Police made 2,400 arrests across France, ?while nearly 1,000 officers were injured, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. Police again clashed with protesters and fired tear gas at Place de la Republique on Sunday afternoon, and protesters had set fire to piles of bicycles. A Reuters witness said there appeared to be several hundred protesters in the area. A massive clean-up operation took place in cities from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south and ?from ?Strasbourg in the east to Bordeaux in the southwest, where a masked mob invaded the residence of the ?local prefect.

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Copyright October 26, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved