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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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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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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State 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Lead Stories

In Texas Senate race, Ted Cruz tries to push Ken Paxton across the finish line

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is not up for election this year, but he is campaigning across his home state as though he is. Rather than pitching himself, Cruz is making a spirited case for the Republican Senate bid of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Cruz, a conservative firebrand, is trying to rally the party’s base in a year where Republicans fear many of their voters will stay home. He has poured money into supporting Paxton, introduced the attorney general to his large network of donors and even gave him sartorial advice after President Donald Trump mocked the Paxton’s appearance despite having endorsed him. “Unlike President Trump, I’m not going to comment on his wardrobe,” Cruz quipped at a recent Paxton rally in Houston. “I have advised him to go out and buy a bunch of Trump ties and just tie them real long.”

Republicans are facing a uniquely competitive Senate race in a state that Democrats have longed dreamed of turning blue. Paxton, laden with personal and legal scandals, has lagged behind Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in fundraising and most public polls. In a sign of their concern, National Republicans are upping their involvement: Outside GOP groups have invested more than $200 million in ads going into the general election, and Trump and Vice President JD Vance have stumped for Paxton in Texas, including during a national party convention in Dallas. In addition to Cruz’s appearances on the trail, Truth and Courage PAC, a Cruz-aligned super PAC, has spent more than $2 million in ads for Paxton. If Paxton prevails, Cruz’s heavy investment in the race could pay off as he considers a 2028 presidential bid, earning gratitude from fellow Texas Republicans and impressing GOP primary voters beyond its borders. Tying himself so closely to Paxton carries some risk if he loses in a state in which no Democrat has won a Senate race in nearly 40 years. But even if Paxton loses, Cruz will have still stepped up beyond the usual expectations for an incumbent to help his party in the state.

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15,000 Texas voter registrations caught up in backlog after another state software error

A software error has caused another backlog in Texas’ voter registration logs. The glitch caused by “an extra address validation” affected Texans who updated their names and addresses on the state’s government record portal, texas.gov, between Sept. 1 and last week, according to an email sent out by the Texas Secretary of State’s office on Thursday. The Texas Association of County Election Officials, or TACEO, initially estimated more than 5,200 voter registration applications across at least four counties: 3,000 in Bexar, 400 in Hays, 700 in Williamson and 1,100 in Travis. Many of those updated records were still missing voters’ new addresses, TACEO said in an email shared with The Texas Newsroom. As of Friday afternoon, those addresses are now showing up for Texas county election officials, according to an email from the Secretary of State's office.

Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office, said the agency sent 15,000 records back to counties. The state's notice, which The Texas Newsroom obtained Friday, says not all Texas counties were affected. Pierce could not confirm which specific counties the software error impacted. She added that the issue was discovered and has been resolved, and voters will still be able to cast a ballot. “Our office has been working with counties, and they have now received the records in time to update the registrations ahead of the start of early voting,” Pierce wrote in an email to The Texas Newsroom. But county officials now have limited time to clear this up. Before early voting begins Monday morning, they must determine which registrations were submitted by the state's Oct. 5 deadline and add those to the Official List of Registered Voters. This latest wrench in the system comes only days after Texas election officials said they cleared an earlier voter registration backlog. That issue, which was caused by an error prompted by a Texas Department of Public Safety software update, impacted more than 500,000 voter registrations submitted since October 2025.

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Texas has been considering selling a beloved state park to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, sources say

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has been discussing the sale of Boca Chica State Park, Texas Monthly has learned. The deliberations were far along enough that the commission planned to take up the sale of “1,300 acres” in Cameron County during a closed-door executive session at a meeting on November 5, two days after the election, according to a draft agenda of the commission meeting. Two sources familiar with internal discussions of the potential sale said Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the prospective buyer and confirmed that the 1,300-acre property in question is the beachfront state park, which is adjacent to Musk’s burgeoning Starbase facility, near Brownsville. After Texas Monthly inquired about the meeting and Musk as the potential buyer, Stephanie Garcia, a Parks and Wildlife spokesperson, issued a brief statement: “The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission is not considering the sale of the Boca Chica property at its November meeting.” As of press time, Garcia had not responded to follow-up questions about the discussions over the sale of the park, Musk’s involvement, why the November 5 agenda had apparently changed, and whether the issue has been tabled indefinitely.

Sources said the item could instead be taken up by the nine commissioners—all appointees of Governor Greg Abbott—at a later date. The move comes as Abbott, Ken Paxton, and other Texas Republicans face unusually close races, with polls showing Abbott’s opponent, Democrat Gina Hinojosa, within striking distance. Musk, the world’s richest man, has pumped a reported $158 million into a super PAC backing Paxton’s flailing campaign. Musk’s own super PAC is also instructing canvassers to tar Hinojosa over her record on transgender issues, according to The New York Times. Hinojosa has blasted Abbott for engaging in “crony capitalism that is enriching multinational corporation CEOs like Elon Musk,” reported Hearst Newspapers. SpaceX recently asked the Federal Aviation Administration to approve an increase in the number of rocket launches per year from 25 to 456 at its South Texas site. “It stinks,” said Luke Metzger, the executive director of advocacy group Environment Texas, of the potential sale. “It looks really bad. [Boca Chica is] very ecologically sensitive, a home to a rich diversity of wildlife, including a lot of endangered species, and so it really needs special protection. This is land that’s probably some of the most sensitive in the entire state.” Texas Parks and Wildlife purchased the land that became Boca Chica State Park in 1994 from The Nature Conservancy. Until 2023, the land was leased to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a unit of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

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The immigration crackdown is making it much harder to build houses

The summer surge in federal immigration raids is hitting the housing market, pushing up labor costs and freezing projects. Nearly two-thirds of builders said immigration enforcement is affecting their labor force, up from 23% in March and 13% a year ago, according to a September John Burns Research & Consulting survey. “We’re almost dead in the water because our workforce is gone,” said Scott Brannock, president of Jacksonville-based Tidewater Homes and the Northeast Florida Builders Association. “We have national builders who are missing projections, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars because they have slabs sitting on the ground and no one to frame.” A September survey from the National Association of Home Builders found the cost of labor had increased a median of 4.2% from the previous year. The shortages come as the country desperately tries to drive down sky-high housing costs that have trapped millions of Americans out of homeownership and stalled sales.

Immigration raids have primarily hit trades such as roofers, painters and framers. Meanwhile, the data center build-out in some areas has siphoned off specialized trades, drawing HVAC technicians and electricians with lucrative wages that home builders struggle to match. Immigration-enforcement advocates say that deportations will drive down housing costs by removing competition for housing. They say builders should hire U.S. citizens. “It is an absurd contention that we should stop deporting immigration lawbreakers simply because construction companies want to employ them,” said Matthew O’Brien, deputy executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Last year, immigration arrests had only limited impact on the home-building industry, other than in select pockets of the country, such as South Texas. That changed this summer as the Trump administration scaled up immigration arrests to record levels. Over the summer, the Jacksonville, Fla., area became a hot spot for arrests of residential-construction workers, with some subcontractors estimating 70% of their workforce has been lost. But the immigration crackdown has also started hitting builders in wider swaths of the country. “It seems to have become ubiquitous,” said Jim Tobin, NAHB chief executive.

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Trump's decision to waive Russian sanctions outrages Congress

President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia days before they were to take effect drew outrage Saturday from members of Congress, which had overwhelmingly passed the legislation in a bipartisan display of American support for Ukraine in the war with Russia. Lawmakers from both parties blasted the executive order late Friday, the latest in a series of steps that the Republican president has taken drawing the United States closer to Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Trump recently announced a diesel deal with Putin to import Russian energy in a long-shot effort to curb high gas prices in the U.S. that are roiling the midterm elections on Nov. 3. “I think it’s clear Russia is the aggressor, and we’ve got to do everything we can to put economic pressure on Russia,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said in an interview with The Associated Press. “So it’s not the first thing I would be doing.”

“Beyond irresponsible,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., on social media, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope that the sanctions that were supposed to take effect Sunday targeting Russia’s economy could be revived. “What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand?” Tillis said. “It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine.” Ukraine’s president is urging supporters to speak out in defense of sanctions against Russia that President Donald Trump has put on hold. AP correspondent Donna Warder reports. Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said “Lindsey would be appalled,” referring to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who worked endlessly on the bill before he died this summer. The bill is known as the Lindsey Graham Russian Sanctions Act. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a statement that “by giving the Russian economy life support, Trump’s deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Trump is “thumbing his nose” at Congress and “enabling Vladimir Putin to continue his war of aggression.” She urged her colleagues to take action to reverse course.

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State Stories

Barbara Bush donated to super PAC supporting James Talarico for U.S. Senate

Barbara Bush, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, donated to a political action committee that supports state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate for Texas, according to campaign finance records. The 2026 third quarter report to the Federal Election Commission for Lone Star Rising PAC shows a donation from the younger Barbara Bush in the amount of $2,500, dated Sept. 23. "I would imagine that somebody in such a prominent political family, if she wanted to ensure that her contribution was anonymous or not visible, that any number of lawyers that they probably have at their disposal could have told her how," said Andrew Cates, a political attorney and campaign finance expert based in central Texas.

"She didn’t give it to a [501] (c)(4), in which her contribution would have been completely anonymous. She gave it to a PAC that reports all the money in and out." The Bush family did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cates said that $2,500 is a drop in the bucket for a campaign that has seen hundreds of millions of dollars raised, but it does have potential symbolic importance. "It’s not like Elon Musk money, obviously," Cates said, "but it is it is interesting and maybe potentially a little bit telling on where the center GOP establishment is leaning and where they feel like the race is headed." Most polling shows the contest between Talarico and his Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton to be either statistically tied or with a slight lead for Talarico.

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Texas farmers are worried about the economy. Will they still vote GOP?

Jerry Moody doesn't have any plans to sit out this election, but he's worried some of his neighbors in East Texas might. The 57-year-old chicken farmer said high fuel and fertilizer costs driven by the war in Iran were hitting Texas farmers hard, making him worry that what had been a dependable voting bloc for Republicans might not be so secure. "They're not going to vote for a Democrat but they're concerned about the Republican party," he said. "I still believe in Donald Trump, but I do think that he underestimated the resolve of the Iranian people and this thing has lingered on a lot longer than he thought it would." There's an estimated 400,000 farmers in Texas, a relatively small block of Texas' 18.7 million voters. But they are an important constituency for Gov. Greg Abbott, U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton and other Republicans running statewide in what is expected to be a tight midterm election.

A poll by the Texas Politics Project this week shows Republican candidates still maintain sizable leads in those areas, but any loss of support could hurt them as they seek to overcome Democrats' advantage in urban areas. And in rural Texas, where agriculture is a significant employer, the economic unease is growing. Just 27% of rural residents said they were satisfied with the state of the economy this month, compared with 42% a year ago. "We've had our ups and downs, but this (economy) ranks with the worst ones I've seen," said Russell Boening, president of the Texas Farm Bureau. "I know that people aren’t happy with everything but, maybe looking at the big picture, they’ll stay true to how they normally vote. Or maybe they stay home." The economic concerns among Texas farmers mirror a larger unease among the state's electorate. A poll this week by the Texas Politics Project found the top three issues for voters were inflation, political corruption and the economy - in that order. That's a shift from the 2024 and 2022 elections when immigration and border security were always among the dominant issues for Texas voters. Republicans and President Donald Trump campaigned in 2024 on the pledge to lower inflation. The inflation rate through the end of September was 3.7%, compared to 2.9% in the last year of the Biden administration. "While those issues are top of mind for Texas voters, they're also some of the issues that Donald Trump receives his lowest approval, and highest disapproval," said Joshua Blank, research director at the Texas Politics Project.

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School vouchers and THC divide a Texas House race in Williamson County

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the school voucher bill into law and vetoed the THC ban. Round Rock Republican Caroline Harris Davila voted for both. Now, Chris Jimenez is hoping those votes cost her a third term in the Texas House. The Democrat is trying to turn frustration over public school funding, growing household costs and restrictions on hemp products into a referendum on Harris Davila's record. Harris Davila's campaign is emphasizing her record on cutting property taxes, boosting funding for border security and supporting stricter election laws, among other issues. The election offers voters in House District 52 a pair of candidates with sharply different views and backgrounds. But Jimenez faces an uphill battle against an incumbent candidate with better funding who has territorial advantage in a district drawn to favor Republicans.

A major area of disagreement between the candidates is related to school vouchers. Harris Davila voted for the 2025 law creating education savings accounts that provide public money for private school tuition, homeschooling and other educational expenses. Private school students are eligible for $10,474 this year. State Comptroller Don Huffines said in August that 101,600 students had signed up in the program's first year, with over 100,000 others on a waiting list. More than 5.4 million students are enrolled in Texas public schools. Jimenez wants the state to cancel the voucher program and increase its basic allotment for public schools. "At its root, we're just underfunded," Jimenez said. "We've been underfunded for quite some time." He argues property taxes could be reduced if the state were to pay for a bigger share of public school costs. Another clear divide between the candidates is on the issue of hemp, which is a legal term for cannabis with less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC, the plant's main psychoactive ingredient. Edibles and drinks can remain under that threshold and easily have enough Delta-9 to get people high.

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Can Gina Hinojosa flip Texas?

The afternoon we spoke with Gina Hinojosa, Oct. 2, she had just pulled into her campaign office’s parking lot from a four-day trip around East Texas, toting a suitcase in the rain. “We did Nacogdoches, Lufkin,” she later told us. “Corsicana, Crockett,” her assistant piped in. “And we just came from Houston,” Hinojosa finished. About five minutes later, we were sitting down in the empty East Austin house her campaign has jury-rigged into an office. In the next room, several young campaign workers typed on computers situated on plastic foldout tables. Hinojosa, who sat across from us in a navy blazer and heels, has proven herself to be the most formidable challenger for the governor’s seat that Gov. Greg Abbott has ever faced. For context, Abbott became governor of Texas over a decade ago. That year, 2014, he handily beat former Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis with nearly 60% of the vote, then former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez in 2018 by 13.3 percentage points. Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke was Texas Dems’ next best hope in 2022, when he lost by a narrower 10.9 percentage points.

What is different about Hinojosa, Austin’s representative in the Texas House? The recent Oct. 3 New York Times/Siena and Sept. 23 Marist polls are projecting her ahead of Abbott by three percentage points, though other recent polls still have Abbott in the lead. But four years ago, no major polls predicted O’Rourke would win. Those poll numbers are also in spite of Abbott outspending Hinojosa 6-to-1 from July to late September, per Texas Tribune reporting, with Abbott having entered the election cycle with over $105 million on hand. Hinojosa had less than $1 million. We asked Hinojosa: Why is this year different from the previous election cycles? “I am hearing that people want change,” she replied. Hinojosa believes that the boom of data centers across the state has been particularly “eye-opening” for people on all sides of the aisle. “A lot of Texans – a lot of Republicans and Independents – see that this is an example of a governor doing the bidding of moneyed interests, and leaving the people to fend for themselves,” Hinojosa continued. “My theory of the case is: This is who Greg Abbott is. And it makes my critique of him credible.” What has surprised Hinojosa on the campaign trail is what she calls “an opportunity to be post-partisan” in Texas right now. People want their government to improve public schools, improve affordability, to ensure that Texans “have a say in our future, rather than having tech giants decide it for us,” she told us.

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Houston officials tap former Trump aides for homelessness policy consulting

Houston city officials retained a conservative consulting firm this year to assist with Mayor John Whitmire's initiative to address homelessness, the mayor's office told Houston Public Media on Thursday. Red Door Consulting founding partners Scott Centorino and Sam Adolphsen served as assistants to President Donald Trump at the beginning of his current term in office, when they helped write and execute dozens of executive orders, according to the firm's website. On the website, they say the firm's mission is to "help advocacy organizations, businesses, and candidates win with conservative policy." In a statement to Houston Public Media, Centorino said he helps Houston "partner with federal agencies in Washington to reduce homelessness because the city’s leadership is taking a results-driven approach that is evidence-based, compassionate, and community-centered."

"The city has a powerful story to tell — of putting partisanship and ideology aside, just looking at what works, and focusing on results," Centorino wrote. "I’m proud to help the city share that story in Washington." The city issued two purchase orders for the firm’s services this year for a total of $150,000, according to documents obtained through a public records request. Red Door Consulting charged the city $10,000 per month. Joshua Sanders, Whitmire's Director of Intergovernmental Relations, wrote in a document in February that the firm would help "identify and prepare potential proactive legislation, assist in tracking adverse legislation, legislative appropriations, and grant opportunities to support the (the city’s) strategy regarding homelessness." Red Door Consulting lists the city as a client in its lobbying disclosure registration with the federal government, as well as weapons and technology company Axon and the New England Fishermen's Stewardship Association, which opposes offshore wind energy development and supports fishing deregulation. Whitmire has made addressing homelessness a central pillar of his mayoral administration. The lynchpin of his plan — a 222-bed residential treatment center in East Downtown — currently depends on about $40 million in one-time federal funding for its first three years of operation.

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Majority of Burnet, Webb families ask to close their schools, avoid a takeover of AISD

Volunteers have collected enough signatures to request that the state close Burnet and Webb middle schools. The closures could help avoid a full takeover of the Austin Independent School District by the Texas Education Agency. “To hit this kind of goal is overwhelming and satisfying, and it’s for the kids, so the kids and their families have a voice for their school,” Ken Zarifis, a parent and former teacher at Burnet who helped get the signatures, said. “We don't know if it's a big voice, we don't know if it's a little voice, but it's a voice.” After Webb and Burnet received five consecutive failing grades from the state, the Texas education commissioner can appoint a new board of managers and superintendent. Texas law gives parents from the schools with failing ratings the option to ask the commissioner to close their schools instead. A majority of parents from each school had to sign a written request by Oct. 15 for the commissioner to take action.

Even if the schools close, the commissioner could still impose combined sanctions, including appointing a monitor, conservator or board of managers to ensure the district is providing adequate support to low-performing campuses. Yet, the community has hope that the petition will help avoid a more intense intervention. The Austin Council of Parent Teacher Associations was behind the effort to inform parents about the petition and gather signatures. The president of the organization, Crystal Brothwell Hernandez, said she was 100% confident they had surpassed the goal of 299 signatures for Burnet and 174 signatures for Webb. She said the signatures were turned in to district officials before 11:59 p.m. Thursday. The district confirmed receipt of the petitions. The gathering of signatures became contentious after some parents said they felt pressured by having people outside of their community calling, showing up at their homes and outside of Webb. Students from both campuses were sent home with the petition. Some parents said the petition already had their and their children's names, phone number and home address filled out. Karen Peraza said she received multiple phone calls from volunteers asking if she had signed the letter. She finally did when her daughter came home from school with the petition. “My daughter told me they had given it to her. ‘Give it to your mom because this letter is to keep Webb open, and get her to sign it,’” Peraza said. “But I did not translate it because I already felt pressured with so many phone calls.”

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Despite surge in prison overdoses, state agency requests no new treatment funding

From 2020 to 2025, the number of confirmed overdose deaths in Texas prisons rose from just four to at least 131. Despite this surge in fatalities, however, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) did not request any additional funding to expand its drug rehabilitation programs in its recent proposed budget to the Texas Legislature ahead of next year’s session. Instead, the agency asked lawmakers to “maintain current funding levels for rehabilitation and reentry programs such as chaplaincy, reentry transitional coordinators, substance use treatment programs, and the sex offender treatment program” for 2028-29. If that request is granted, funding for these programs would in fact effectively decline due to rising inflation. Further, the same programming is set to be affected by a mandated 3 percent reduction in spending across state departments, though TDCJ has asked for that cut to be reversed. This appropriations request comes after contraband—which includes drugs—entering prisons topped the list of priorities for the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice to address in 2027 and after the Texas Observer published an investigative series showing the consequences of punishing drug possession without robustly funding treatment for incarcerated Texans.

In the request, prison officials did ask for millions of dollars in additional funding for new interdiction efforts—including drone detection technology and more drug-sniffing dogs—as part of a “multi-faceted approach by the agency to combat the introduction of narcotics and other dangerous materials to agency facilities,” as the agency wrote. This follows a longstanding pattern. Funding for agency-led rehabilitation programs—which include mandatory classes for parole and specialized substance-abuse facilities—has not kept pace with inflation in the past decade, and TDCJ hasn’t asked lawmakers for the money to significantly expand these programs, even as need grows and the agency says it is trying to offer programming to more prisoners. (The agency has said it’s ramping up peer-led programs and online resources including a help line and educational videos.) Meanwhile, prisoners are racking up new criminal charges for using or dealing, which is having little apparent effect on the prevalence of drugs inside prisons. The agency is doubling down on punitive efforts, which sometimes include highly publicized inter-agency busts of smuggling rings involving both prisoners and prison staff. “Funding drug interdiction alone is a misguided approach,” Senator Borris Miles told the Observer in October. “The state must also address the ongoing problem of addiction in our prison system through treatment and rehabilitation, in addition to prevention.” Republican Committee Chair Pete Flores previously told the Observer he “support[s] both initiatives [punishment and treatment] and additional funding that will eliminate contraband in our prisons.” Flores did not reply to a request for comment on the agency’s appropriations request.

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Dallas Morning News Editorial: We have no recommendation in the race for Texas governor

We have long supported Gov. Greg Abbott as Texas’ leader based on independent, conservative governance that has helped propel our state’s prosperity while keeping taxes in check and advancing important reforms in areas like education. But with each election cycle, we have grown more concerned with Abbott’s deepening embrace of the far right and his increasing refusal to engage as the leader of all Texans. Like so many of his fellow Republicans, he seems to lead now for the MAGA base and social media clicks. We cannot offer him our recommendation this year. Nor can we tell voters that his Democratic challenger, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, is a worthy replacement. Her message mostly consists of blaming billionaires and Abbott for Texas’ woes, rather than offering solutions.

Her two main policy ideas on education and sending $1,500 checks to Texans could do the state great harm. Like so many of the state’s Republican leaders, Abbott has fallen into an echo chamber that he refuses to emerge from. He has shown little willingness to connect with voters or media that might challenge his views. He won’t debate or answer tough questions. His comfort zone is right-wing news channels and social media, and that’s whom he governs for. Abbott totally capitulated to President Donald Trump’s demand for mid-decade redistricting. Texas already had few competitive congressional districts. Now, North Texas has none. When it comes to the U.S. House, democracy has been stripped for vast swaths of the state and replaced with incoherently shaped districts that maximize Republican power and diminish minority representation. He stood by as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have acted recklessly in Texas, including the fatal shooting of one man and the running over of another in Houston. He refused to follow the rule of law and extradite a federal immigration agent to Minnesota. He has demonstrated no interest in supporting the immigrants who boost this state’s economy.

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Dallas Morning News Editorial: We recommend James Talarico for the U.S. Senate

Texans have a clear choice in the race for U.S. Senate between a man who is unfit for office based on a long history of corruption and a man of integrity who is well prepared for higher office and who has demonstrated a degree of political independence uncommon in our era of blind partisanship. We supported Republican John Cornyn in every race he ran for Senate. Today, we urge Texans to vote for state Rep. James Talarico, the Democrat, over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. The effort to undermine Talarico, 37, has focused on painting him as an extremist. Don’t believe it. There are many issues where Talarico is further to the left than we would like. Yet he has demonstrated not only an impressive depth of knowledge but also a willingness to cut against party orthodoxy in the name of bipartisan progress.

If he governs the way he speaks, he will represent an important correction toward moderation. Perhaps most important, Talarico is willing and able to talk to people of every political stripe. He has no fear of taking tough questions from Fox News or engaging with devoted MAGA voters. He meets people where they are. Paxton can’t even perform well in his own echo chamber. He stumbles in softball interviews, the only kind he’ll engage. Having a senator who is willing to have difficult conversations for the purpose of genuine legislative progress is something every Texan should want. Now let’s get into the issues and how Talarico says he would govern. The far left has long resisted teacher accountability. Talarico correctly notes he was “vocally in support of pay for performance.” He helped draft House Bill 3, a major bipartisan effort from the Texas House that increased total education funding and created an incentive program to measure and reward the best teachers in the state. Teachers unions, including one Talarico was a member of, hate these sorts of programs. He understands they can help kids, even as he fights vouchers and calls for much more money for public schools. More money alone isn’t the solution, but Texas ranked 46th among states for average per-pupil spending last year.

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Heavier mail-in ballots raise postage questions in Tarrant County

As voters prepare to cast their ballots in the upcoming election, a longtime Tarrant County voter is raising concerns about a potential postage issue that could affect mail-in ballots. Linda Potts, who has mailed in her ballot in Tarrant County for nearly a decade, said she discovered the issue unexpectedly when she visited the post office to have her ballot manually postmarked. "There's only place stamp here, there's one square," Potts said, describing the space provided for postage on her ballot envelope. This year, Potts said, the ballot is two pages instead of one, making the completed ballot heavier. When she took it to the post office, she was told that a single stamp would not cover the postage and that an additional 29 cents would be required.

"The problem is, if I had not walked my mail-in ballot into the post office to have a manual postmark put on it, I would not have known that it's going to take 29 more cents postage to get it to go through the post office," Potts said. Potts questioned how voters would know whether their ballots had sufficient postage if they placed them in their home mailboxes for pickup or dropped them into a collection box without first visiting a postal employee. "If I put my ballot out in my mailbox to be picked up, or I had dropped it in the drop box out in front of the post office, what happens to all those ballots?" she asked. The postage question prompted an inquiry to Tarrant County election officials about what happens when a completed mail-in ballot enters the postal system without sufficient postage. In a response to the inquiry, election officials pointed to the U.S. Postal Service's election mail guidance, which states that completed absentee voting materials, including mail-in ballots, should not be delayed because of insufficient or unpaid postage. USPS' guidance further explains that it works with state and local election officials on mailing requirements, including postage payments. If a ballot enters the mail stream without the proper postage, USPS says it will deliver the ballot and subsequently attempt to collect the remaining postage from the appropriate election authority.

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ICE pursuit in Houston that broke a man's leg targeted a suspect who died years ago, family says

A federal officer slammed a vehicle into a Houston construction worker and broke his leg while pursuing a man who apparently died years ago, his family said Friday, further calling into question the account given by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The worker, 48-year-old Miguel Parra Hernandez of Mexico, remains hospitalized with multiple leg fractures and needs reconstructive ankle surgery, according to FIEL, a Houston-based immigration advocacy group. At a news conference Friday, the group said the alleged suspect's family had shared documentation proving his death. After the episode Saturday, ICE said in a statement that officers had observed a suspect they were targeting, identified as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, enter a vehicle with Parra Hernandez. But on Friday, Harris County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre told The Associated Press that Mendoza-Cervantes was not in that vehicle. ICE did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

“ICE is lying,” Cesar Espinosa, FIEL’s executive director, said. “Either somebody is not telling the truth or all of a sudden these two ICE agents have developed a sixth sense and are able to see dead people.” ICE released a photo of a man it identified as Mendoza-Cervantes. But he is actually Jose Hector Jimenez, who died years ago while being pursued by federal immigration authorities as he was trying to reenter the U.S., according to FIEL. The man's daughter provided documents confirming his death, which have been turned over to the district attorney, FIEL said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment. Jimenez’s daughter, Jamie Jimenez, did not respond to requests for comment from the AP. Her husband, Andres Rendon, confirmed to the AP that Jimenez was his wife’s deceased father. Criminal charges against the ICE officer who drove the vehicle are being considered by Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, who has said surveillance footage contradicts ICE’s claim that Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the vehicle. The video shows a black SUV speeding over a median and driving toward a man who is running away. The video does not show the car hitting him — that view is blocked by another vehicle — but it shows the SUV inches from the fleeing man. The video then shows him on the ground.

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Bexar County elections administrator says office is ready for early voting Oct. 19

Michele Carew, the Bexar County elections administrator, says her department is 100% ready for the Nov. 3 election. Early voting runs from Oct. 19 through Oct. 30. Early voting polling sites are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday during the first week. During the second and final week, polling sites are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Local early voting sites include some city halls, libraries, churches, community centers and college campuses. Despite concerns about registration backlogs and a lengthy suspended-voter list, Bexar County is prepared for turnout at levels typically seen in presidential election years, thanks to round-the-clock work by county elections staff.

Carew said no one will be turned away from a polling site. "I wanted the community to know our election process is working exactly as it should," she said during a news conference at county election headquarters on Friday. Carew said that her staff has been working "around the clock since June to prepare for this election." Tensions among voters appear to be rising as Election Day approaches. Those tensions were on display during President Donald Trump’s rally at Freeman Coliseum earlier this month. Protesters heckled the president several times, drawing loud responses from his supporters. Deputies escorted 18 people out of the rally. Carew sought to reassure voters that polling sites will be safe places to cast ballots. Election judges and sheriff’s deputies are trained to handle potential disturbances, and the county’s Office of Emergency Management is also involved in election security. Carew also said that, under Texas law, ICE agents are not allowed to enter polling sites. "The main message that we are giving to our judges and to the voters is 'if you see something, say something' because our judges and clerks are inside the polling sites, so if there's something going on outside, that needs to be reported immediately."

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Houston Chronicle Editorial: The worst candidates on the 2026 Texas election ballot

After meeting with candidates for roughly 125 races, it’s clear that plenty of contests pit two qualified candidates against each other — the sort who get three stars on our rating scale. Often we’ll simply encourage voters to stick with a proven incumbent. Races without an incumbent, we’ll highlight a specific skill or policy position that elevates one candidate over the other in a coin toss of a contest. But some candidates deserve extra attention. We're talking about the bottom-of-the-barrel officeholders whose negligence and ignorance cause clear-cut injustices. So if you’re tempted to vote straight-ticket, please first read this list of the worst candidates on the ballot and adjust your selection accordingly.

Ken Paxton (not) for U.S. Senate: We’ve noted in the past that Paxton is one of the most crooked politicians in Texas history. There’s a reason why the attorney general was impeached by his fellow Republicans. Paxton’s campaign has also underscored just how lazy he is, with even Fox News pundits hammering him for failing to work hard enough on the campaign trail. Texas needs a senator who actually works hard in Washington rather than jet to Europe with his mistress or party with fugitives in Dubai and then blame everyone else for his woes. Bo French (not) for Railroad Commissioner: He’s a white supremacist and plenty of key Republicans — like Sen. John Cornyn and Chris Daniel — have said they’re not voting for him. Gov. Greg Abbott once said he would “wreck” Texas oil and gas. Keep in mind that Republicans control all three seats on the Railroad Commission, meaning they can lose this one without sacrificing their majority. Plus, the Democratic candidate is a qualified engineer with decades of experience in oil and gas, not a whacko.

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Texas A&M routs Citadel in sign of life

Six days after scoring just six points in a loss to then-No. 14 Missouri, Texas A&M football returned to Kyle Field looking for signs its offense could turn a corner. The Aggies found some on Saturday, Oct. 17, rolling past The Citadel, 41-0, to improve to 4-3. A&M accumulated 501 yards of total offense, scored touchdowns on all four first-half possessions and recorded its second shutout of the season. “Coming off the field today, we were able to get done what we wanted to get done,” head coach Mike Elko said. With a trip to Alabama rapidly approaching, the question remains whether Saturday’s improvements can carry over against Southeastern Conference competition.

After poor offensive showings against then-No. 10 LSU and Missouri, A&M produced 264 rushing yards against The Citadel, averaging 6.6 yards per carry and converting seven of 11 third downs. Freshman running back KJ Edwards led the rushing attack with 116 yards on 13 carries, including explosive carries of 32 and 34 yards. Sophomore RB Jamarion Morrow added 54 yards and three rushing touchdowns, accounting for three of A&M’s first-half scores. The ground game’s success also provided senior quarterback Marcel Reed with more opportunities through the air. Reed completed 8-of-13 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown before exiting at halftime, connecting with freshman wide receiver Aaron Gregory for a 37-yard touchdown in the second quarter. “We’ve got to find ways to create explosives,” Elko said. “We talk about that a lot. It’s really, really hard, especially in this league, to be that consistent on offense, 12 plays without creating explosives.” However, three third-quarter false starts contributed to stalled scoring drives, with A&M settling for two field goals after four first-half touchdowns. When asked about Reed’s accuracy, Elko acknowledged that the passing game still needed work beyond the quarterback.

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Steve Sarkisian vows an ‘evaluation’ of everything — even Arch Manning

Florida has completed No. 7 Texas’s eight-day spiral from No. 1 to two-game losers, cemented when Gators linebacker Myles Graham strip-sacked Arch Manning with just under two minutes left to help seal their 27-24 road win against Texas on Saturday. The win snapped Florida’s two-game losing streak and dealt coach Steve Sarkisian and Texas a crushing loss for the second straight season. Last year, losing to a Florida team that went on to finish 4-8 kept Texas out of the College Football Playoff. Now, Texas has lost consecutive games to struggling SEC teams. “Everything’s going to be evaluated,” Sarkisian said. Including a quarterback change? “Everything means everything,” Sarkisian said.

Last week, the Longhorns blew a 17-7 lead and lost to Red River rival Oklahoma on a walk-off field goal. Manning threw two costly fourth-quarter interceptions in that one. At home this week, Texas went up 17-3 in the first half against one of the worst defenses in the SEC but scored only 7 more points the rest of the way. Backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., making his first college start in place of injured Aaron Philo, threw two touchdown passes, and running back Jadan Baugh ran for 88 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown that put the Gators up 27-17. “I’m proud of him for staying resilient … going back to training camp, when he didn’t win the job,” Florida coach Jon Sumrall said of Jones, who finished 22-of-35 for 155 yards and two TDs. “He stayed steady and responded. He’d miss a throw and he’d come back and make a throw.” Manning had his one moment on the next drive, completing a 62-yard pass to receiver Emmett Mosley after evading pressure, then connecting with WR Cam Coleman for a touchdown that cut the Gators’ lead to 27-24.

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Is a tax increase how Dallas County solves homelessness?

Beneath the Interstate 45 bridge in South Dallas, a new fence largely walls off a field of dirt that extends about 300 yards. The space is quiet this October afternoon, save for a man with a shopping cart and the thrum of commuters overhead. The tents, burn pits, and debris that had been scattered around the concrete pillars are gone. Until May, about four dozen people lived in this longtime encampment off Al Lipscomb Way and Cesar Chavez Boulevard, just two miles south of downtown. Nonprofit service providers spent about eight weeks in the spring building rapport with people sheltered here. They helped them secure vital documents before offering them housing or medical treatment. City crews then cleared and fenced off the encampment known as “Coombs,” named after a nearby street. On Nov. 3, voters will decide whether to fund a countywide expansion of the approach carried out here.

Housing Forward, the agency that coordinates the county’s homelessness response, has proposed a tax increase to scale its street outreach efforts and fund rental assistance, mental health treatment, and a new crisis center to divert some people from jail. If approved, Proposition A would generate about $100 million annually through a 2.4-cent tax per $100 of assessed property value. For a property appraised at $350,000, the new tax would cost the homeowner an additional $84 a year, according to county estimates. Housing Forward CEO Sarah Kahn said 11,000 “households” in Dallas County need help exiting homelessness every year. The organization defines a “household” as anyone — from a single adult to a family with kids — seeking housing stability, who it often tracks through shelter visits or contact with a service provider. Nearly 2,000 are currently experiencing long-term homelessness, while the organization estimates another 9,000 lose their housing every year. With current funding levels, Kahn said Housing Forward can only reach about 60% of them. The ballot initiative narrowly won approval from Dallas County commissioners in August. Commissioners John Wiley Price and Elba Garcia voted against sending the proposal to voters after citing concerns that the tax burden was too steep for families to afford. The two criticized the plan for not including specific performance goals or oversight in how the money is spent. The tax also does not expire.

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National Stories

Vance says in ‘some ways’ US has ‘decisively won’ Iran war

Vice President Vance claimed Saturday that in “some ways” the United States has “decisively won” its war against Iran. “I would say in some ways, we have won decisively, but they’re — the Iranians, the enemy gets a vote here, and they have responded in certain ways. And so, to step back a little bit, why did the president of the United States do this?” Vance told CBS News’s Tony Dokoupil in a town hall. “The president of the United States did this because he believes it is very important, and I think he’s right, I think most people here would agree, even if they don’t agree with all the particulars of the policy, to say Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, cannot have a nuclear weapon,” the vice president added.

Vance’s comments come only a few weeks out from the midterms, in which he and his party are facing rough political territory with issues including the unpopular war in Iran. The conflict has driven up energy prices as the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the oil industry, has been closed amid the fighting The war in Iran is set to reach the eight-month mark in a little under two weeks. According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas on Sunday morning was about $4.30, up from about $3.04 last year at the same time. President Trump’s approval rating has also sagged amid the war in Iran, with his rating sitting at 39.8 percent on Sunday morning, according to a polling average from Decision Desk HQ, and his disapproval rating sitting at 58.7 percent.

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Trump's new pitch for Republican candidates — they're really good looking

President Donald Trump has a new pitch for Republican candidates: they’re easy on the eyes. “Look at this beautiful guy,” Trump said at a Saturday rally in Kentucky, referring to U.S. House candidate Ed Gallrein, a former U.S. Navy SEAL with an angular face who stood nearby the stage. “Central casting.” That’s a common refrain from Trump, who owned the Miss Universe beauty pageant and grew his clout on the reality television show “The Apprentice” before entering politics. Aesthetics have long been part of the president’s measuring stick, either as a source of praise or target for ridicule. Now, Trump is deploying his handsomeness appraisals as he boosts Republican candidates in a midterm election which already includes debates over which candidates are more masculine. The outcome will determine whether Republicans keep control of Congress or Trump faces emboldened Democratic opposition in Washington.

Soon after Trump touted Gallrein’s beauty on Saturday, he mentioned Sen. Jon Husted, the Ohio Republican running for reelection, and described him as “a perfect person, good-looking guy.” “I examined his ass,” said Trump, eliciting laughter. “I never did that with a man before. I examined his ass. And then I looked at his shoulders. I looked at his feet. I looked at his hand. I looked at his jawline.” It was a reprise of Trump’s droll assessment from an earlier rally in Ohio, when he also touted Husted’s past as a college football player. Not all Republicans are so lucky, as Ken Paxton has learned. “I don’t really like the way he looks,” Trump said about the Republican Senate candidate in Texas during the party’s midterm convention as Paxton stood nearby grinning. Trump previously said that “it’s so insulting to him, but I might as well say it.” He added that Paxton’s conservative record as attorney general “speaks a lot louder than the suit he’s wearing that doesn’t look so great.” Democrats are far from safe from the president’s visual judgments. Trump says Paxton’s opponent, Democratic candidate James Talarico, reminds him of Alfred E. Neuman, the freckled, gap-toothed MAD magazine mascot.

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Retiring GOP congressmember will absolutely not vote for successor in at-risk seat

Retiring Nevada Republican Rep. Mark Amodei said he won’t vote for the Trump-endorsed GOP candidate vying to replace him amid a string of stolen valor and other accusations — and warned that the once-safe Republican seat President Donald Trump won by 14 points is at risk of flipping blue on Election Day. Amodei said in an interview Saturday he would "absolutely not” vote for businessperson David Flippo in Nevada’s 2nd District. “I think the seat’s at risk,” he added, citing a string of stolen valor and financial allegations against Flippo. “You say, well, the president endorsed him,” Amodei added. “It's like, well whoever was advising the president on, ‘Hey, this would be a good place for you to go ahead and weigh in,’ gave him awful advice. The vetting process — quote unquote — must have been nearly non-existent.” Amodei specifically cited a series of allegations against Flippo as disqualifying, for reportedly lying about his military service and also failing to file financial disclosures on time.

“It's just one thing after another. The stolen valor accusations — all that. But you're just sitting here going, ‘What the heck?’” Amodei said. Flippo has said apparent exaggerations about his military service on campaign materials were mistakes by his staff and others. Still, GOP officials have been weighing whether Trump should campaign in the region to help boost Flippo before Election Day, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The district has never been represented by a Democrat. Amodei said he plans to vote early in the coming days and “is looking seriously” at casting his ballot for the independent candidate. Amid the deteriorating landscape, national Republicans are increasingly wary about Republicans like Flippo holding onto seats in once-safe red districts. Trump won the Northern Nevada seat that encompasses Reno and nearby rural counties by double digits in 2024 and Amodei has held it for 15 years. On paper, Democrats should have no business playing there. And, national Republicans are still bullish on their chances of holding onto the seat, arguing it’s safer than other red districts they’re more worried about. But Republicans have watched Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a former Nevada Assembly majority leader, make the race much tighter than comfortable. Limited general election polls have Flippo either up or trailing by several points. The Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC just dropped its first spending into the district in recent days, looking to boost Flippo who has self-funded a large part of his campaign.

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Always on, always listening: New AI devices are pushing legal limits and could put users in jeopardy

Thomas, 43, wears a pair of Meta’s camera-equipped glasses, a Fieldy note-taking pendant around his neck and a wristband from Amazon’s Bee, all of which record his daily life. A Pittsburgh-based business owner and a livestreamer, Thomas relies on the devices to help him stay organized, pay bills on time and set reminders. “I’m forgetful AF,” Thomas said in an interview. “My life is so crazy that not having to remember to remember is fantastic.” Not everyone is on board with his lifestyle. Earlier this week, a bystander at a local bar noticed his Meta Glasses. “He was like, ‘I don’t feel comfortable,’” Thomas said. “I don’t turn it off, I take it off completely because people don’t really believe it’s off.”

It’s the type of interaction users are increasingly navigating as more tech companies introduce AI-powered, always-listening devices and features, which have been marketed as useful tools to transcribe meetings, keep track of conversations, set reminders and offer personalized recommendations. The latest example of these gadgets arrived Thursday with Amazon’s Bee Frontier wearable and Bee Eclipse, a card-shaped device that attaches to a smartphone. Both devices are designed to record, transcribe and analyze a user’s day. Amazon’s Bee Frontier device can be worn on a wrist or clipped on to clothing. Apple’s latest Apple Watch Series 12, unveiled in September, will have Siri Recap, which “ambiently” takes notes throughout the day and generates summaries of conversations. Another feature called Live Rewind can recap 15 seconds of a conversation via a text transcription. Meta’s popular smart glasses can take photos, capture video and record voice notes or reminders. Startups including Plaud and Pocket also developed card-sized note-taking devices, while Friend offers an AI necklace.

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No Kings draws crowds with focus on early voting

At the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on Saturday, a large inflatable donkey bounced around next to a paper-mache replica of Donald Trump's head. Next to both of them: a sign reading "VOTE EARLY." The donkey, the floating head and the voting sign were all part of the "No Kings: Vote Early" day of action. Thousands of gatherings across the country drew protestors, voters and grassroots organizers to the streets and to voting centers. Organizers said the events were a nonpartisan effort to promote early voting in the midterm elections. The nationwide push to vote marks a pivot for the No Kings coalition, which comprises hundreds of partner organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Black Voters Matter.

"The first three No Kings were designed to send a message," said Ezra Levin, the co-founder of Indivisible — one of the major organizations within the No Kings network. "We're done sending a message." Now, he said, they want people to vote. The events looked different across the country. Some were larger marches or rallies, but many were smaller community gatherings such as block parties and cookouts. While some protests, like the one on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, were reminiscent of the first three No Kings rallies — with signs blasting Trump and his administration's actions — other events focused on spreading information to community members on how to vote. Saturday's events all shared similar restrictions, Levin said, including a rule against political endorsements and inviting current candidates to speak. In Golden, Colo., a "Paws to the Polls" event invited people to bring their dogs on a march. Organizers in Everett, Wash., planned a "concert for democracy," featuring an environmental troubadour.

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France counts cost of worst unrest in years

France woke on Sunday to the ?wreckage of one of its most violent days of unrest in years after protests over high prices and public services left one demonstrator dead, hundreds of police injured and nearly 1,800 people arrested. Nationwide demonstrations erupted into riots on Saturday, with a town hall torched, shops ransacked, and buildings covered in graffiti as violent groups clashed with police ?in cities across the country. One protester died after suffering a cardiac arrest during demonstrations in Paris, where police made a record 855 arrests. ?Across France, more than 500 officers were injured, the interior minister said. "It's like a war zone here," said ?Dutch entrepreneur Tije De Boer, who had come to Paris with his children to visit a friend and said the protests forced him to evacuate ?his hotel at Place de la Republique, which suffered major damage on Saturday.

More than half a million people joined marches in scores of cities, marking ?the convergence of a month-long student movement with broader social discontent against rising living costs and declining public services. President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation at 2000 local time (1800 GMT) on Sunday, his office said. While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets and attacked police ?vehicles and officers. A massive clean-up operation began in cities from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south and Strasbourg in the east ?to Bordeaux in the southwest, where a masked mob invaded the residence of the local prefect. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said several hundred shops had been damaged on Saturday. In ?Paris, smashed ?shop windows, burnt-out bicycles and spray-painted slogans bore witness to a day that began largely with peaceful demonstrations but descended into violence. In Limoges, southwestern France, mayor Guillaume Guerin denounced the chaos after the city's 143-year-old town hall was set ablaze and partially destroyed in an arson attack on Saturday, drawing comparisons to the 2019 fire that devastated Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral. "There was a clear, premeditated intention to burn down the town hall, and the people inside feared ?for their lives," Guerin told Reuters. ?He threatened to resign if the ?city did not receive the million euros needed to repair the city hall.

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Republicans zero in on cultural issues in campaign’s final stretch

Republicans across the most competitive House and Senate races have settled on a closing pitch ahead of Election Day: Democrats are too extreme to be given control of Congress. It is an effort, pressed in a flood of TV ads and in President Trump’s rally speeches, to urge voters who are angry about gas prices and broader economic conditions to redirect their frustration away from the party in power. To make their case, Republicans are calling renewed attention to a set of cultural issues that hurt the Democratic Party in 2024, among them transgender athletes in women’s sports, border security and the claim that Democrats want socialism. Democrats are trying to blunt the attack by siding with Trump and his party on some of these issues over progressives who first propelled the ideas. “There is no question that crossings are way down, and there is no question it is because of President Trump,” Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor in Texas, said of illegal immigration in a TV interview.

“I don’t support biological men playing women’s sports,” says Annie Andrews, the Democratic Senate candidate in South Carolina, in a direct-to-camera TV ad. “No way do we defund the police,” says Roy Cooper, the Democrats’ Senate nominee in North Carolina, in an ad. “You deserve to feel safe, and there’s nothing political about that.” In casting Democrats as out of the mainstream, Republicans are trying to appeal to their voters’ partisan impulses as polls find that many are unmotivated to vote. They also worry that GOP Senate candidates, such as Ken Paxton in Texas and Roger Marshall in Kansas, are drawing lower levels of support than are the party’s gubernatorial candidates. That suggests that some Republicans are backing the Democrat in those Senate races, might skip voting for senator or sit out the election altogether. Democrats have similar problems with their Senate candidates in states such as Michigan. “You can vote for the radical left Dumocrat communists to loot your wealth, raise your taxes by $5 trillion, annihilate your borders,” Trump said at a rally this week in Ohio, in what has become a familiar element of his recent campaign speeches. By contrast, he said, “You can defeat the Dumocrat communists and vote for more money in your pockets…If you want that, you must vote Republican.”

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Lead Stories

Trump says 'if Ken Paxton loses' Texas Senate race, blame Cornyn and Karl Rove

President Donald Trump on Thursday said that if Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton loses, it will be the fault of incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn and conservative commentator Karl Rove. Trump accused Cornyn and Rove of “doing everything possible to make it hard” for Paxton, the state’s attorney general, to beat Democratic nominee James Talarico. Cornyn lost the Republican primary to Paxton, whom Trump controversially endorsed. “If Ken Paxton loses, it will be because of WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Political Hacks like John Cornyn and Karl Rove, who have ineffectively opposed me for my entire political career,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump’s preemptive blame-casting came as Texas has surprisingly become one of the most competitive battlegrounds of the 2026 midterm cycle. Most recent polls show state Rep. Talarico maintaining a lead in the low-to-mid single digits over Paxton.

The reliably red state has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988. In 2024, Texans voted for Trump over Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by nearly 14 percentage points. Cornyn’s office and Rove did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on Trump’s post. Trump’s decision to back Paxton in the GOP primary delivered a major blow to the four-term incumbent Cornyn, whom the president viewed as disloyal. The move was also seen as a major gamble, as Paxton’s history of scandal and opposition within his own party has made him a polarizing figure. Hoping to stave off Democrats’ goal of winning majority control of the Senate, groups backing Republicans have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the Texas contest, making it the most expensive race of the cycle. GOP spending in the race has topped $370 million so far, eclipsing Democratic spending by nearly $235 million, according to AdImpact. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Rove, calling him a “loser” and urging Fox News to stop putting him on air. Rove, who was a senior advisor to former President George W. Bush, “is so bad for the Republican Party, and completely wrong so often,” Trump wrote in a Sept. 14 Truth Social post. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed two days later, Rove said that he would back a Democratic candidate in a different race in Texas, voting blue for just the second time in his life.

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$3M renovation planned for GOP Comptroller Don Huffines' office

A state agency that manages and invests Texas funds plans to spend $3 million renovating Republican Comptroller Don Huffines’ offices, drawing questions about the use of the money as he campaigns against government waste. Records show Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Co. would pay for the renovation of the comptroller’s executive suite, including office space, conference rooms and a work cafe. The renovation in the Lyndon B. Johnson State Office Building in Austin would retain an executive’s private restroom, storage and break area. Documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News through an open records request list nearly $2.1 million budgeted for construction, $280,000 for architecture and engineering, $130,500 for project management and nearly $500,000 for contingencies.

The records do not state why the renovation is needed, what condition the existing offices are in, why the trust company is paying for the project or whether Huffines requested the work. The trust company, a fiduciary that manages and invests funds belonging to the state of Texas or under its control, is listed as the funding agency for the $3 million renovation. Sen. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin, Huffines’ Democratic opponent in November, criticized the proposed use of trust company funds, calling it “highly inappropriate.” “The comptroller is supposed to keep those funds segregated,” she said. “You can’t raid it for operational expenses in the comptroller’s office.” Spokespeople for the comptroller’s office and executives at the trust company did not respond Thursday to a list of questions from The News. As comptroller, Huffines is the sole officer, director and shareholder of the trust company, according to state law. Paul Ballard, who served as the trust company’s CEO from 2003 to 2019, said the trust company’s budget was not used during his tenure to cover comptroller expenses unrelated to the company’s investment operations.

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Most of Ken Paxton’s money can be traced to one man: Elon Musk

If Ken Paxton wins in Texas, he may have Elon Musk to thank. Mr. Musk, the world’s richest person and a Texas resident who has major business interests in the state, sent $158 million in September to a super PAC that immediately flipped that much money to a group backing Mr. Paxton’s Senate bid, according to campaign-finance filings released Thursday. The donations from Mr. Musk, collectively some of the biggest ever recorded in American politics, have allowed Mr. Paxton to remain financially competitive even as he is vastly outraised by his Democratic opponent, James Talarico. Republicans in Texas have grown increasingly worried about the race, one of this year’s most expensive and high-profile contests, fearful of losing a statewide election in Texas for the first time in more than three decades.

Mr. Musk sent the money to Senate Republicans’ top super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, in donations of $75 million on Sept. 9 and $83 million on Sept. 23. Each time, the very next day, the super PAC cut a check of the same amount to Texas PAC, a group that the Senate Leadership Fund had set up to support Mr. Paxton. The money sent to the Texas group was not necessarily Mr. Musk’s, and super PAC officials have said publicly that they were seeking new donations to finance a pro-Paxton operation. But without Mr. Musk’s historic donations, it’s unlikely that such a large amount would have flowed Mr. Paxton’s way. Rarely has an individual donor been effectively tied to such a large commitment for a single candidate. The New York Times reported on Monday about Mr. Musk’s contributions to the Senate Leadership Fund and how they could end up helping Mr. Paxton, but the campaign filings offered more detail on the choreography of Mr. Musk’s donations. Mr. Musk also donated $10 million to a separate pro-Paxton super PAC, money that allowed the group to start running television ads in late August. Mr. Musk, who lives in Austin, and Mr. Paxton, who as the state attorney general regulates Mr. Musk’s businesses in Texas, have been allies in state politics. Mr. Musk has not shown much enthusiasm in public or private about any midterm candidates, rarely posting on X, his social media site, about Republican nominees. But in recent days, he has posted negatively multiple times about Mr. Talarico. On the campaign trail, Mr. Talarico has criticized the political influence of billionaires like Mr. Musk.

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Power struggle erupts in Trump’s White House as midterm losses loom

White House aides, who have kept clashes muted during President Donald Trump’s second term, have begun jostling more openly for power as they brace for widespread midterm election losses and internal upheaval, according to interviews with 20 staffers, advisers and people close to the president. The interviews, most of which were conducted on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel machinations, paint a picture of infighting that has started to resemble the pitched battles of Trump’s first term. Believing that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles might step down after the election, a handful of Trump aides, including Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, top housing official Bill Pulte and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, have begun angling for the position should it become available. Wiles has given no indication to aides or allies that she plans to leave. Still, high-level White House staffers frequently cycle out of their stressful jobs after 18 months to two years, and Trump had four chiefs of staff, including an acting one, during his first term.

The past week in the White House has been “the new Wild Wild West,” one Trump ally said. The jockeying started in earnest last week after Trump first reached out to Katie Zacharia about joining the administration as the new White House press secretary, a move he made without consulting Wiles, according to four people familiar with the decision. The unilateral action by the president was viewed internally as undermining Wiles, creating the impression of a less-disciplined operation and an unsettled center of power inside the West Wing. For longtime observers of Trump’s inner circle, the friction this week harks back to his first term, when shifting factions of aides and family members vied for power and undermined one another in the process — a pattern this White House has mostly avoided, until now. Compounding the uncertainty is the president, who has told allies he feels frustrated that no one is publicly defending him as vociferously as he would like 18 days before the midterm elections. Trump has embarked on a frenzied schedule of campaign rallies in the final stretch to juice enthusiasm among the Republican faithful, but with a historically low approval rating and growing voter frustration about high prices, he and the Republican Party face major political headwinds.

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State Stories

Republican Marc LaHood rode into office on Abbott’s school voucher train. Now he’s struggling to defend it.

State Rep. Marc LaHood (R-San Antonio) walked into the lion’s den on Tuesday. LaHood was among the roughly dozen Republicans who Gov. Greg Abbott backed over popular GOP incumbents who stood in the way of the governor’s much-desired school voucher program two years ago. Now that early reports on Texas Education Savings Accounts paint an unflattering picture of their success, the first-term lawmaker is struggling to defend them in his first reelection race. “If the ESA program is a bust, I’ll be the first to admit. ‘Hey, I was wrong. How do we fix it?'” LaHood told a crowd of about three dozen NEISD parents on Tuesday. “I want to fix things, and transparency is how we get there. But that applies to both sides.” Texas House District 121 on San Antonio’s North Side hasn’t elected a Democrat since 1981, but LaHood is now in a fiercely contested reelection race against Democrat Zack Dunn, who is getting help from state and national Democrats.

The only general election debate of that race was held Tuesday, hosted by North East ISD Council of PTAs and Raise Your Hand Texas at the Piper Bass Memorial Student Center, where nearly all of the questions were about school vouchers. “I could not be more anti-ESAs, anti-voucher scams,” Dunn said at the debate. “This is a billion dollars that was taken away from our public education system, and it was given to private institutions.” North East ISD has identified 16 schools that it could close in the wake of dropping enrollment and lack of funding, and Dunn and LaHood — a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, respectively — paced the podium area with their passionate takes. Afterward the debate, NEISD leaders and PTA organizers said they were stunned by some of LaHood’s comments. For example, they said, families of students with disabilities have had well-documented problems finding private schools that will accept ESAs, but LaHood said he needed more data before weighing in on the issue. “I want to know how many children and families with disabilities actually applied for the program,” LaHood said. ” … Some of my closest friends have children with severe disabilities, so for me, it’s personal — I want to make sure they’re prioritized, but I don’t want to [go off of] a soundbite.”

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Hinojosa stages empty lectern at Texas governor’s mansion amid Abbott debate snub

Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa (D) spoke next to an empty lectern in front of the Lone Star State’s governor’s mansion Thursday after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) did not accept her debate invitation. “I guess the governor is a no-show, which is not surprising because he has been a no-show for Texans for years,” Hinojosa said after Abbott did not appear at the event. The Democratic nominee accused the governor of shutting down the street in front of the executive residence where she originally planned to host the debate. “If Greg Abbott’s not man enough to debate me then he doesn’t deserve to be the governor of Texas,” Hinojosa told the crowd. Texas Democratic Party spokesperson Jacob Long slammed the Republican governor for his refusal to debate the Democratic challenger in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“The contrast in this race could not be more clear,” Long said. “Gina Hinojosa is traveling the state, hosting more than 150 public events and meeting directly with thousands of voters in their homes and in their communities. The only people who seem to have access to Greg Abbott are the billionaire donors lining his pockets.” At one point during the Thursday event, independent gubernatorial candidate Jenn Mack took the stage and stood behind the second lectern, according to a video clip shared online by a local Fox 7 Austin reporter. “You came to debate Abbott on his record, and I came to debate both of you on your records,” Mack said, eliciting loud boos from the crowd. Mack was later escorted away from the podium by an officer and another man. Abbott’s campaign criticized this moment in a social media post, sharing a video of Mack’s removal from the stage. “The misogyny shown toward a candidate who came to debate proves how insincere and hypocritical Gina Hinojosa is,” the campaign said in a statement. Additionally, the Republican’s reelection campaign accused the event of not being a “sincere attempt to debate,” pointing to the fact that the empty lectern — a standing podium only reachable by stairs — was inaccessible to Abbott, who uses a wheelchair.

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Trump says the border is secure. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott keeps declaring an emergency.

Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott repeated a claim he’s made for the past five years. He stated that the number of people crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally “posed an ongoing and imminent threat” across the state. In doing so, he renewed a border security disaster proclamation that has greatly expanded his powers without going through the state Legislature. Abbott’s declaration stands in sharp contrast to the numbers reported by the Trump administration, which says the drop in the flow of migrants crossing the border has been unprecedented and has reached historic lows since it took over in January 2025. Yet, since Abbott first declared an emergency at the border during the Biden administration in 2021, he’s renewed or amended the proclamation at least 69 times — 21 of those during Trump’s tenure.

The Republican governor, who is running for his fourth term next month, has consolidated power like no Texas governor before him, building on his predecessors’ efforts to strengthen what by design is supposed to be a “weak governor” state as the constitution limits what can be done without legislative approval, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune have reported. One of the methods he’s used to do that is issuing executive orders and disaster declarations that allow him to shift funds, suspend regulations and award no-bid contracts at times of emergency. Since January 2025, two of the top agencies involved with border enforcement — the Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department — have awarded more than $5 million in noncompetitive contracts citing the emergency for items like a Ford F-150, rifles and apartments, state records show. “I think it’s unprecedented,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “I don’t think that there is a similar example, certainly not as to the length of the emergency, and certainly not after the emergency has seemed to pass.” Abbott’s office did not respond to specific questions for this story, including about the noncompetitive contracts, but Deputy Press Secretary Madeline Waschak said in a written statement that the governor has been clear that border security is an ongoing priority.

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Texas senator plans to file legislation to address emergence of cychlorphine

As concerns grow about cychlorphine, a drug about 10 times more potent than fentanyl, one state senator wants to make sure dealers are punished properly. According to the latest data from the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office, there are two cychlorphine deaths on record, and they both occurred this year, one in April and one in July. Both cases were marked as “accidental” deaths. The victims were 18 and 22 years old. This year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sounded the alarm on cychlorphine, temporarily designating it as a Schedule I drug. When this happens, harsher federal penalties are available for those found dealing or in possession of said drug. That designation is set through Aug. 27, 2028.

Schedule I drugs are defined as having no accepted medical use in the U.S., compared to Schedule II drugs, which have accepted medical uses, but are flagged for their high potential of abuse and dependence, according to the DEA. Fentanyl, for example, is a Schedule II drug. The enhanced federal penalties only come into play, however, if a case is charged on the federal level. In Texas, State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), told KXAN in a statement “I continue to work with law enforcement and prosecutors as the illicit market shifts from fentanyl to newer synthetic opioids. Our statutes have to keep pace.” Family of teen hopes ‘more awareness’ prevents future fentanyl deaths Huffman was pivotal in the passage of a 2023 law that made murder charges possible for fentanyl dealers in cases that meet certain criteria. “Next session I will file legislation to tighten the intent standard, so a dealer who knowingly delivers a drug laced with a synthetic opioid cannot hide behind a claim of ignorance when that drug causes a death,” she said in a statement. The next legislative session begins in January. “A public safety issue, always has a lot more support than something that just comes out of the blue from an interest group,” said UT professor Randy Erben, who formerly worked as the legislative director for Gov. Greg Abbott. “There’s a lot concern about the drug problem, especially among younger people. And so an expansion of the definition to prohibit more dangerous or harmful drugs is probably going to receive a better reception.” Medics in Austin have said cychlorphine overdoses can require more than two doses of Narcan to reverse. Fentanyl, by comparison, typically takes one or two.

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Jason Vaughn: I believed in Ken Paxton. Here are three reasons why I can’t anymore.

(Jason Vaughn previously served as policy director for Texas Young Republicans.) In 2014, I dove headfirst into Texas politics. I had moved to the state two years earlier and was quickly drawn to the conservative grassroots — what some might call the liberty wing of the Republican Party. But for me, it wasn’t about factions. It was about conviction. About protecting life, defending children and standing up for the vulnerable. That’s why I launched Pro-Life Texas. It wasn’t an organization — just a network to share information and rally around pro-life candidates. One of the first I supported was Ken Paxton. He was running for attorney general and had served in both the Texas House and Senate. Everyone I knew praised him. He spoke our language: courage, faith, conviction. I helped decorate the stage on runoff night. I even snapped a photo — Angela Paxton cradling his face, smiling, surrounded by their kids. The campaign made it his Facebook banner. I believed in them. I believed in him. That was 11 years ago. I couldn’t feel more differently now. Three reasons explain why.

Ken Paxton didn’t make a one-time mistake. He had a years-long affair. Angela, now a state senator herself, stood by him through it all. She stood by Paxton even as his mistress was called to testify at his impeachment trial and, although deemed unavailable, planned to plead the Fifth so as not to incriminate herself. She stood by him even as staff were allegedly pulled into covering it all up. Through humiliation and betrayal, she stayed. Until now. Angela recently filed for divorce on biblical grounds, i.e. adultery. I don’t celebrate divorce, but I admire her strength. What disgusts me is how some in our movement have turned on her. I have seen her called disloyal, selfish and many more vile things — all because she finally said “enough.” If our political cause demands that women endure emotional abuse and public humiliation to keep a man in office, what exactly are we fighting for? According to testimony from Paxton’s former chief of staff Katherine “Missy” Cary, Paxton held a meeting after being confronted about the affair and repented with Angela by his side. Then he privately asked some of those same staffers to help him keep it going. But that wasn’t all. Inside the attorney general’s office, staff raised red flags about Paxton’s dealings with real estate investor and donor Nate Paul — including pressure to intervene in Paul’s legal matters and decisions that ignored expert advice. These staffers weren’t political enemies. These were trusted conservatives.

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Chamber fights to keep commercial traffic at El Paso border crossing

Leaders with the El Paso Chamber of Commerce are calling on local, state and federal officials to stop the closure of commercial traffic at the Bridge of the Americas, saying this will push El Paso back economically and environmentally. Ricardo Mora, president and CEO of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, was joined by Royal Jones, CEO and president of Mesilla Valley Transportation, and Paul Dipp, president of Economy Wholesale Grocers, for a news conference on Wednesday.

“This modernization of Bridge of the Americas should be a major opportunity for El Paso. Instead, the current plan will set us back both environmentally and economically. Nobody wins here,” Mora said. “Some local and state officials pushing this plan do not seem to care about the irreversible damage that will be caused to our economy, and we do. We will not stand for it.” This comes after the Chamber commissioned and funded a study by the Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness at UTEP about how much the commercial traffic ban at BOTA would affect El Paso. According to the study, about $2.3 billion would be lost in economic output, over 9,500 jobs would be lost and $601 million would be lost in labor income in El Paso County, between 2028 and 2036. “Bridge of the Americas is the region’s only toll-free port of entry. That is very important for commerce in this community. BOTA handled $12 billion of two-way truck trade in 2025 alone. And yet, we’re closing commercial traffic,” Mora said. Mora added that 10.9% of commercial trade could go to other border regions, making El Paso less competitive and even causing some companies to relocate. He emphasized that in just one year, El Paso will lose $36.6 billion. Additionally, BOTA ranks second among major U.S.-Mexico border points of entry in both truck export value and commercial crossing growth. “In total, regardless, this is a mistake. Our community needs to wake up,” Mora said. While construction has not started, the work is expected to start by mid-2028.

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Bud Kennedy: Who’s not supporting Ken Paxton? A lot of good Texas Republicans

The revenge of John Cornyn is nearly complete. Two weeks from an election that could change Texas, the silence of Cornyn’s and George W. Bush’s past voters rings loudly statewide. Their Republican Party — the party has run Texas for 24 years — is gone. In its place are swindlers, grifters and online “influencers” using the party as a racketeering front. Two weeks before a telling Texas election, look at the Republican leaders openly refusing to vote for one or more candidates: • Cornyn, a nine-time winner in November, isn’t supporting Paxton. He also says he definitely will not vote for racially divisive downballot candidate Bo French of Westover Hills. • Bush has not said specifically how he’s voting. But he took part in a Dallas event to raise money for six other Republican senators, leaving out Paxton. His nephew, George P. Bush, lost to Paxton in 2022 for attorney general. But that was a tiny runoff where Paxton was actually the choice of only 3% of Texas voters.

Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, former Texas House speaker and six-time November winner, told Texas Monthly he can’t vote for Paxton or French at all. He also may not vote for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who runs the Texas Senate and the state with an iron fist. Fort Worth state Rep. Charlie Geren, winner of 13 elections since 2000, openly shared a post on X from Democrat James Talarico’s campaign. Geren shared more posts criticizing Paxton for lax prosecutions and also for spending $2 million on out-of-state travel. Geren was one of the Texas House prosecutors who were shut off when Patrick rigged Paxton’s impeachment trial in the Texas Senate. Ten-year Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, a Republican leader since 2000 and for most of her career the most popular officeholder in Tarrant County, told KTVT/Channel 11 she won’t vote for Paxton and will skip that line on the ballot. Earlier, she had texted a Star-Telegram reporter that Paxton is “corrupt and immoral.” Former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley is a different case. For years, he has criticized the West Texas Republican power clique and now openly backs many Democrats. This year, he outright endorsed Talarico. Whitley also said he’ll vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal over French for the open seat on the Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas. Whitley also said he’ll vote for Democrat Sarah Eckhardt over Comptroller Don Huffines. The most telling number is in the recent Texas Politics Project poll. A total of 8% of likely Republican voters say they definitely plan to vote. But not for Paxton or French at all. They remember when Republicans were winners.

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Michelin Guide uses AI to write Dallas reviews

The Michelin Guide became the world’s most famous and prestigious restaurant rating system by building a secretive judging process. Chefs never know who inspectors are, let alone when or whether they will come to dine. Restaurant inspectors’ identities are closely-kept secrets, as is the process by which Michelin decides on ratings and writes its guides. But a secretive process only works if it is founded on trust. On October 8, Michelin updated its Texas guide, adding five new restaurants in the Dallas area. An analysis by D Magazine, including consultation with detection software and academic experts, shows that most or all of Michelin’s new Dallas entries were written by large language model (LLM) software, commonly known as AI. Asked for an interview to address the matter, Michelin responded with the following statement:

“All Inspector notes appearing on the MICHELIN Guide website and app are developed collaboratively by the Inspection team based on their firsthand dining experiences. AI is not used in the writing of these reviews.” In answer to follow-up questions, Michelin clarified that AI is also not used in the editing process and sent an additional comment: “It’s worth noting that the MICHELIN Guide has its own editorial team of which the restaurant text editor is a part.” Michelin stated that it typically does not describe its restaurant writeups as “reviews,” instead using such terms as inspector notes, restaurant texts, and restaurant descriptions. Michelin declined requests to interview Guide leadership and declined an opportunity to review the evidence before publication. This investigation began shortly before Michelin’s October 8 announcement, when a local chef texted me the Guide’s recently rewritten description for Sushi Kozy and asked, “Do you think this is AI generated?” I pasted that text into the AI detector Pangram. Pangram is specifically known for minimizing false positives; it claims a false positive rate of only 1 in 10,000 and its accuracy has been confirmed by third-party teams of researchers. It immediately flagged Michelin’s description: “100 percent of this text is AI.” I emailed Michelin on October 1, asking if the company has an AI policy and naming Sushi Kozy as the description under investigation. Michelin did not respond.

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Why AISD trustee candidates are competing for a board that faces state takeover

Sarah Dille would much rather be a real Austin ISD trustee – with full voting power on the school board and oversight over the district’s governance. “I have always thought about running for the board at some point in my life. It’s always been something that I’ve wanted to do,” she told the Chronicle. But now two AISD campuses – Burnet and Webb middle schools – have received five consecutive F scores, and some form of state intervention is required by the Texas Education Agency. As soon as mid-December, the state agency could decide to take over management of the school district – just as they have in Houston and Fort Worth. Five seats on the school board are up for election in November. But despite being chosen by Austinites, the board could lose its voting power and authority mere months later and be replaced with TEA-appointed managers.

Dille, a former AISD Teacher of the Year, AISD parent, and UT education professor, decided that she was going to run for the South Austin District 6 seat anyway. Twelve other individuals have also stepped up to run for the board this year. “I believe in public schools so fully that if there’s any fire I’m going to run toward, it’s going to be one that’s in protection of what it means to be a democracy, a part of the community,” Dille told us. “I knowingly got into this understanding that I could be elected and not have voting power. But I got into it anyway, because I’m willing to do the work even if I don’t have voting power.” Jessie Neufeld, a lawyer, AISD parent, and co-founder of ATX116 – a group that works to connect campuses across the district – was hesitant to run at first. “I thought about it for a really long time,” Neufeld remembered. It was when TEA rejected AISD’s 1882 partnership application, which would’ve staved off the possibility of takeover for another two years, that Neufeld started to believe that takeover was likely. “And I felt like the work I had been doing in advocacy and through ATX116 to build community, build awareness, build coalitions – I thought, ‘This work can apply to being a pushed-out trustee in a really unique way,’” Neufeld said.

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Despite tough talk from Abbott and Paxton, Texas penalties for data center violations are light

In recent weeks, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have adopted increasingly tough rhetoric against data centers, promising to crack down on hundreds of facilities that failed to disclose required information about their water use over the past five years. But the law that Texas political leaders are invoking carries a maximum fine of just $500 — a potentially negligible penalty that’s just a blip for large companies. Data centers use millions of gallons of water a year to run their facilities and cool their servers. Under state law, facilities that fail to complete required water-use surveys can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $500 fine, and barred from certain state funding and environmental permits. But some experts say those consequences have significant limitations, raising questions about whether the state has the tools to force compliance from an industry expanding rapidly across Texas.

State officials don’t know whether misdemeanor penalties have been issued against data centers, and the facilities aren’t eligible for state funding. Increasing fines for Class C misdemeanors in the Water Code would require state legislation. Lawmakers do not convene in Austin for the 2027 legislative session until January. “The governor is like, ‘Let’s enforce the laws on the books that weren’t being enforced.’ That’s not much in the way of incentive,” said Kathryn Guerra, who leads a watchdog campaign at the environmental nonprofit Public Citizen. “If those are the laws that we already have and nobody’s enforcing them, the data centers know.” Abbott’s office defended its enforcement crackdown by saying that the water board, along with other agencies including the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, will work together. “No other state agency will approve data centers until the Public Utility Commission, ERCOT, and the Water Development Board have the information they need to make informed decisions,” said Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary. Mahaleris added that the governor has recommended that data centers pay for their own electric infrastructure, use less water-intensive cooling technologies and add power generation to the state’s power grid.

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Harris County Flock reports shows gaps in oversight, transparency

Harris County officials do not fully understand the extent to which Flock Safety cameras have been deployed throughout the county, according to an Office of County Administration report released Wednesday. The report confirmed that Harris County — like many other jurisdictions nationwide — is home to an interconnected system composed of potentially thousands of surveillance cameras installed by various organizations and government agencies that is near-impossible to quantify. Who can access those cameras and for what purpose is governed by a patchwork of policies, the report stated, with some agencies strictly regulating access and others having no policy at all. “We still lack information on where the cameras are in Harris County, which agencies have access to them and if immigration officials have access,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said during a Commissioners Court discussion of the report at the court’s Thursday meeting.

County leaders have some information on the cameras managed by the 13 county departments or offices that have access to the Flock network. Commissioners voted 3-2 to direct county staff to compile a list of recommendations on how departments should regulate access to the data produced by the automatic license plate readers and present the ideas to the court in February. Commissioners Tom Ramsey and Adrian Garcia voted against the plan, citing concerns about bureaucratic slowdowns and a potential overlap between those efforts and a similar process spearheaded by the sheriff’s office that’s currently underway. Six of the county’s eight constables refused to provide Commissioners Court with any information on the cameras they administer, and no county law enforcement agency provided camera locations. No elected law enforcement officials attended Thursday’s meeting. Hidalgo said they cited concerns over vandalism if the cameras’ locations were made public, though there was no indication that information would become public. She also said Flock Safety has not provided a map of active cameras in the county, as required as part of its contract with the county, which the court renewed earlier this year. Only the sheriff’s office and constables of precincts 2 and 8 gave a count of the cameras they administer. Most county law enforcement agencies said they had policies governing access to Flock systems, but only the Fire Marshal’s Office and the constables in precincts 2, 7, and 8 provided them, according to the report.

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A debate over canceling a Veterans Day ceremony highlights lack of representation in a Texas congressional district

The San Antonio Veterans Advisory Commission floated canceling Fort Sam Houston’s Veterans Day ceremony at a meeting last month and it was immediately met with outcry from veterans. Organizers announced this week that this year’s ceremony will continue as scheduled. Next year is a different story, said the cemetery’s director. Fort Sam Houston Cemetery director Gerald Lefler said at a follow-up meeting Monday that no changes would be made to VA ceremonies this year in honor of the 250th anniversary of the country. But he said they are still thinking of canceling next year’s event given that a separate San Antonio ceremony has both outside help in putting it on and higher attendance, and Fort Sam still holds a Memorial Day ceremony every year. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which manages the cemetery, considered canceling the ceremony each of the past two years, but separate efforts by then-U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, a U.S. Navy veteran, saved it.

In 2024, the VA, citing low-attendance, sought to consolidate and cut costs by discontinuing the Fort Sam Houston ceremony, and move to only having one event at the San Antonio National Cemetery. A congressional letter led by Gonzales convinced the agency to keep both ceremonies. Then, during the government shutdown of 2025, the ceremony almost didn’t happen, until Gonzales and his office organized it themselves. Both times, local veterans objected to the proposed cancellations. Gonzales resigned from Congress in April following sexual misconduct allegations, and his office currently sits vacant. During the debacle, leaders emphasized the impact of a lack of congressional representation for the roughly 800,000 people in the district, with U.S. census data indicating that more than 56,000 veterans and military personnel are residing within. “There’s a big gap where veterans aren’t getting support,” said Maira Alejandra Carrier, an Army veteran who is San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ representative on the commission. While congressional representatives do handle legislative matters, a core part of their duties is responding to constituent inquiries.

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Taiwan to fund $4 billion Texas complex for AI, Nvidia partners

Taiwan plans to raise billions of dollars to develop industrial parks in the US that would build a base for a comprehensive supply chain for Nvidia Corp. and other AI hardware makers in the country. The initiative is starting with a complex in Texas that would cost as much as $4 billion to build, according to Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin. The facilities would help smaller suppliers that are essential to the operations of Nvidia’s main production partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and AI server assemblers including Foxconn Technology Group to set up shop in the US, Kung said.

Each complex would run between $2 billion and $4 billion to build, and the government is planning “more than one” site on US soil, Kung said in an Oct. 12 interview with Bloomberg News. The Taiwanese government is partnering with the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association, which will be responsible for raising required funding to develop the complexes, he said. “We are going to establish a long-term, sustainable supply chain there that can also be joined by American firms and local workers, and not just Taiwanese companies,” Kung said. Companies like TSMC, Foxconn and Wistron Corp. provide essential hardware for data centers and are critical to the success of US AI chipmakers including Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., and cloud service providers such as Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. These Taiwanese manufacturing titans depend in turn on lesser-known partners that make a wide range of parts from chip packaging substrates to cooling modules — everything that’s required in an AI data center.

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Gina Hinojosa has a promise for Fort Worth schools if elected Texas governor

Democrat Gina Hinojosa would end existing state takeovers, like the one in the Fort Worth school district, if elected as Texas governor, she told reporters Thursday, Oct. 15. Hinojosa, an Austin state representative who is facing Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for governor on Nov. 3, has made supporting public schools a top priority while on the campaign trail. Firing Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath on “Day One” in office is a campaign pledge, as is stopping state takeovers. On Thursday, Hinojosa was asked if she could — and would — take any steps to direct the TEA to end existing takeovers, if she wins. Her response was short and definitive. “Yes, and I will,” Hinojosa said.

Hinojosa was addressing reporters near the Texas Governor’s Mansion in Austin, where her campaign had two podiums set up as she presses Abbott to debate her. The candidates haven’t debated, but Hinojosa has accepted invitations and proposed terms, according to her campaign. A mobile billboard was parked in view of the event, airing negative ads about Hinojosa. Abbott has maintained his time is better spent on the campaign trial in communities than debating. Morath announced in October 2025 that the Fort Worth School District’s board of trustees would be removed and replaced with state appointees. The decision came after the Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade Center received its five consecutive failing scores in Texas’ A-F accountability ratings. When that happens, per state law, the commissioner must either close the campus or take over the district. The campus in question had already been closed and merged with another by the time the takeover was announced, but Morath said many of the district’s schools were struggling. Hinojosa elaborated on her position on state takeovers while answering another question at Thursday’s event.

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Tarrant County commissioner: Most critics speaking at meetings are paid

Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez told a constituent that most of the people who speak out at meetings are paid by political organizations, according to a recording of the conversation. Since the three Republicans on the Commissioners Court began to redistrict commissioners precincts in April 2025, more residents have become fixtures at the government meetings. Each month, roughly a dozen are consistently in the audience, though the number swells depending on the agenda. Many of those same people address the commissioners during public comment to say their two cents on the decisions being made that day. In a Sept. 29 private meeting with retired Oklahoma City news anchor Jack Bowen, Ramirez said he thinks many of them go to Fort Worth City Council meetings too.

“So it’s an organized political organization that most of these folks — when I say most, probably 75% — are actually paid by the political organizations that they show up to voice their causes for,” Ramirez said on the recording. He said they are not ordinary citizens just wanting to voice their opinions but political activists organizing “to turn Tarrant County Democratic.” In a statement to the Star-Telegram, Ramirez didn’t outright say if he does or does not believe it to be true. “There is a clear difference between residents exercising their right to address their government and professional political activists whose livelihood depends on generating controversy,” the statement said. “Whether through podcasts, newsletters or social media, political outrage can be profitable. Commissioners Court should remain focused on serving taxpayers, not becoming a platform for organized political grandstanding.” In a conversation with the Star-Telegram, Bowen said he decided to meet with Ramirez as his constituent because the commissioner rarely speaks in meetings. Bowen wanted to know Ramirez’s perspective about how Commissioners Court has become a spectacle with people being ejected (and arrested) from meetings and disputes between elected officials on the dais.

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National Stories

3 children, 1 teacher killed in shooting at Bend, Oregon, elementary school, police say; suspect dead

Three children and a teacher were killed, and two others were critically wounded, in a shooting Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, authorities said. The suspect, a 16-year-old male, was shot and killed by a bystander, Bend police said. The children killed were ages 5, 8 and 11, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said at a news conference Thursday night. Two others, a 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher, were taken to St. Charles Medical Center with critical injuries. No names were immediately released. Krantz said officers were called to the school just before 1 p.m. on a 911 call from a person who said they had been shot at several times while in their vehicle by a suspect with a long gun. Emergency dispatchers then received dozens of 911 calls that the suspect had entered the school.

The shooter forced his way into the school by "shooting at locked doors," Krantz said. When officers arrived at the school within three minutes of the first 911 call, they discovered that the suspect had been killed by a bystander, Krantz said. "An officer reported that the suspect had been shot by a community member who had seen the suspect enter the school and pursued him into the school and engaged him," Krantz told reporters. After officers entered the building, Krantz said, they found the four deceased victims. Officials would not say exactly what type of weapon was used in the attack or how many rounds were fired. Multiple law enforcement sources told CBS News the suspect used a shotgun, and The Associated Press cited a law enforcement official briefed on the incident as saying it was a pump-action shotgun purchased by his mother. There was no word on a motive. Police could also not say if the suspect had a connection to the school. No details were provided on the bystander who shot and killed the suspect. Authorities evacuated the school and transported all students and staff to a nearby church where they could be reunited with their families, Krantz said.

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Sullivan, Peltola trade verbal blows, accuse the other of lying during ‘Debate for the State’

Alaska’s top two candidates for U.S. Senate disparaged and frequently interrupted each other during ‘Debate for the State" Thursday night. Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and his challenger, Democratic former Congresswoman Mary Peltola, traded barbs over affordability, Alaska’s energy future and accused each other of lying. The night was tense before the debate even started, with dozens of Peltola and Sullivan supporters waving signs for their candidate outside the Alaska Public Media studio.

Loren Baxter was holding a sign in support of Sullivan. Baxter said he worked in missile defense in Alaska. “I appreciate his stand on that and the military perspective, and also on a lot of the work he's done as far as trying to repeal a lot of the executive orders that were done under the Biden administration,” Baxter said. Multiple supporters of Peltola declined to be interviewed. Several said the campaign staff told them not to speak to reporters. During the debate, Sullivan repeatedly alluded to a New York Times piece that featured former Peltola staffers alleging she subjected them to angry outbursts and derogatory terms for gay people and people with disabilities. Peltola said she's worked to maintain respect among her staffers. “I do not think that this election is about me on my worst day, and I found so many of these allegations concerning and outright fabrications or mass exaggerations of the truth,” she said. Sullivan was asked why he didn’t condemn President Donald Trump for disparaging women and people with disabilities as harshly as he condemned Peltola’s remarks. “I have denounced the president's language on these kinds of issues,” Sullivan said. Pressed for an example, Sullivan said he spoke up when Trump insulted Fox News personality Megyn Kelly in 2015. After the debate, Sullivan added that he also pushed back when Trump insulted the late Sen. John McCain.

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AI runs into its next big obstacle: Insurance

A string of artificial-intelligence safety incidents is exposing a gaping hole for the fast-growing industry: the lack of available insurance. Rogue agents have hacked into websites. AI chatbots have been accused of encouraging suicides and murders. An agent submitted fake unsolved murder tips. The latest episodes add to existing lawsuits AI companies face alleging chatbot harm and copyright violations when models are trained. The seemingly limitless possibilities of artificial intelligence to change the world also include a wide-ranging capacity for harm that could leave companies that produce or use AI legally vulnerable. The biggest AI companies are racking up potential legal liabilities running into the tens—if not hundreds—of billions of dollars, as AI adoption spreads through the economy, according to insurers specializing in AI risks. Some industry officials have even called for the U.S. government to provide a liability backstop.

AI companies have the usual corporate suite of traditional insurance policies, such as general liability and cyber-insurance, brokers said. But the industry’s phenomenal rate of growth means AI-related claims have the potential to outpace the limits on that coverage, according to AI and insurance industry insiders. “There’s too little capacity in every aspect of the risk that is being created by the AI capital boom,” said Nick Studer, chief executive of Marsh Risk, the insurance brokerage arm of professional-services firm Marsh. “But that is changing.” A few insurers sell coverage specifically for AI risks, including from agents. But the policy limits are small compared with the potential exposure of the AI giants. Reinsurer Munich Re offers a policy to cover errors by AI models with limits of up to $50 million, according to a spokesman. Startups are hoping to fill the gap, and insurance companies more broadly see AI down the road as a new opportunity for offering specialty products. Rune Kvist, a former Anthropic employee, is a co-founder of the Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company, which has backing from Lloyd’s of London’s insurance marketplace.

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Democrats are happy to focus on Trump in campaign ads

President Donald Trump says he wants voters to pretend that he’s on the ballot in this year’s midterm elections. His rivals are doing their best to help his case. Democratic candidates and their allies have spent more than $163 million since Sept. 1 on television advertising that mentions the president, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from AdImpact, which charts media spending. That includes airing ads that reference Trump on broadcast, cable and streaming nearly 180,000 times, the data shows. Republicans, meanwhile, have run ads that talk about the president just 16,000 times, at an estimated cost of $11 million, over the same period. It’s a noticeable silence about the party’s dominant yet unpopular leader. Many of the Democrats’ ads accuse Republican opponents of siding with the president over voters, particularly on issues like tariffs and the Iran war, which they blame for jacking up costs.

The ads include one from the campaign of Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for reelection and has spent nearly $3 million on a Trump-focused ad attacking his rival, Rep. Mike Collins, for his close relationship with the president. “Mike Collins voted for Trump’s war in Iran, sending gas prices through the roof. He voted for Trump’s tariffs, sending grocery prices soaring. And Mike Collins voted with Trump to double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians,” it says. “Mike Collins sides with Donald Trump and makes you pay more.” Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said Democratic messaging reflected the party’s hollowness instead of its strength. “Democrats are lighting money on fire talking about President Trump because they have no agenda other than investigation, obstruction and impeachment,” she said. “Trump Derangement Syndrome isn’t a policy platform, it’s a $160 million way of saying you have nothing to offer to the American people.” Another ad from the House Majority PAC, a super PAC dedicated to electing Democrats to the House, opens with a middle-age woman standing over her kitchen stove and talking about how her family is “barely getting by” before she expresses her disappointment in Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who is one of Republicans’ vulnerable incumbents. “He used to be independent. But now it seems like he’s in lockstep with Donald Trump. It really bothers me,” she says, adding, “Congressman Fitzpatrick is not for us anymore.”

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After booting 760K off ACA health plans, the Trump administration adds some people back

Late last month, the Trump administration announced that it had cut 760,000 people from the Affordable Care Act rolls, claiming fraud and improper enrollments and touting billions in potential taxpayer savings. Not all of those kicked off were fraudulently enrolled, KFF Health News has learned. Insurance industry sources said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has reinstated a small number of people whose coverage should not have been canceled. More could follow in the coming weeks if enrollees discover they are uninsured when they go to use their coverage. Still, the sweep was long overdue, say supporters such as Brian Blase, whose Paragon Health Institute has supplied many of the sometimes controversial findings cited by those who allege widespread enrollment fraud in the ACA.

But other policy experts question how many legitimate consumers were caught in the dragnet, perhaps because they failed to open a letter from their insurer or answer a phone call. Questions continue to swirl, even as a second phase of the anti-fraud effort is underway. An additional 419,000 sign-ups are being scrutinized. Insurers must let CMS know how many of those enrollees don't respond to outreach efforts by "around mid-to-late November, after the midterm elections," said David Merritt, senior vice president of external affairs at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. He confirmed that some BCBS members are among those who have been reinstated. He also said that CMS has an expedited review process for those who discover they have been improperly disenrolled. Overall, however, the administration is providing few details about the cancellations, such as how robust the outreach was to those it targeted, how long it takes for people to get reinstated after discovering their coverage was wrongly canceled, and how many such cancellations have been reversed. "It may be true that some of those enrollments were not authorized, but it can be equally true that people got lost in the shuffle and have a valid enrollment. Without more information, it's almost impossible to tell," said Katie Keith, a director of the Center for Health Policy and the Law at Georgetown Law. "That they are not being very transparent is telling too," she said of the administration.

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On the campaign trail, JB Pritzker courts farmers like he's running for president

The town of Shirley, Illinois, population 135, is an unlikely place for a campaign stop. Yet billionaire Democrat JB Pritzker traveled there to spar with his opponent in his bid for a third term as governor of the state in the November midterms. At Funk Farms, ?a 200-year-old corn, soybean and livestock operation there that was once represented by young lawyer and future president Abraham Lincoln, he extolled the virtues of farming. “Agriculture drives an enormous part of Illinois' economy. We've got to do ?all we can to weather the storm and get Washington to take a different course,” Pritzker said at the August event.

Pritzker's visits to farms across Illinois reflect a broader Democratic effort to capitalize on farmer frustration over lost export markets and rising costs tied to President Donald Trump's tariffs and war with Iran. But analysts see his trips as largely an effort to cultivate a rural profile before a possible 2028 run for the White House, given he does not need farmers to win in November. A Republican has not won statewide office in Illinois since 2014, and most political forecasters give Pritzker a solid lead over Republican candidate Darren ?Bailey, a third-generation soybean farmer and former state lawmaker whom he defeated by about 12 percentage points in 2022. Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt hotels fortune, also boasts a campaign war chest that dwarfs Bailey's. It was recently replenished with $65 million ?of his own money. “He’s auditioning,” said Brian J. Gaines, a political science professor at the University of Illinois. “He’s not banking on Illinois farmers but if he finds something that works, he’s going to ?keep it in his pocket because he’s thinking about the presidential contest to come.”

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Susan Collins and Troy Jackson clash in final Maine US Senate debate

Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson faced off Thursday night in their final debate ahead of the Nov. 3 election, clashing over immigration enforcement, the war in Iran, campaign finance, and several other issues facing Maine voters. The race for Maine's U.S. Senate seat could have major implications beyond the state, potentially helping determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the chamber in Washington, D.C. The candidates exchanged sharp criticism throughout the evening, with several moments standing out: A protester interrupts: An audience member interrupted Collins' response to a question, shouting about AI data centers and climate change. Collins suggested the protester supported Jackson, prompting a heated exchange between the candidates.

Campaign finance sparks accusations: Collins challenged Jackson's claims that he does not benefit from corporate PAC money, while Jackson questioned Collins' ties to Trump and his administration. Immigration enforcement divides candidates: Jackson criticized Collins' votes to fund ICE, while Collins called for reforms, including restrictions on enforcement in sensitive locations and improved agent training. The war in Iran: Jackson called for U.S. troops to return home, while Collins argued Trump should have had a better plan and emphasized the need for energy independence and negotiations. Gun control and climate change: Both candidates discussed potential restrictions on assault weapons and disagreed over how Maine should address energy costs and reliance on fossil fuels.

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Lead Stories

Talarico announces record-breaking $64M haul

Texas Democrat James Talarico raised a staggering $64 million this summer — the largest third-quarter haul of any Senate candidate in history. The national Democratic darling raised more than $134.3 million since launching his campaign in September of 2025, according to figures shared first with POLITICO. More than 1.3 million donors contributed, the campaign said, as Democrats slowly reconcile themselves to their long-held but often fumbled dream of gaining a statewide perch in Texas. About 97% of those donations were of $100 or less. “Grassroots contributors from across Texas are coming together to end billionaire control over our politics and bring down costs for working families,” Talarico said in a statement shared first with POLITICO.

The announcement is a bright spot in an otherwise rough few days, with Talarico reemerging on the trail after being out for more than a week with the flu. But Texas is an expensive state to run in, and Republicans are taking his campaign seriously. Talarico already had some $235 million spent against him as national Republicans scramble to hold the seat and boost Ken Paxton. Texas has emerged as a money pit for Republicans following a divisive GOP primary that saw Paxton, the controversial state attorney general, vanquish incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn, a favorite of the party establishment. Talarico faces a wall of GOP money in the final days of the race. “He’s fighting this battle basically alone while Elon Musk and the full weight of the GOP fundraising apparatus outspends him 2:1. This is still an uphill battle,” said a Democratic strategist doing work in Texas, granted anonymity to candidly discuss Talarico’s disadvantages. In his 2018 Texas Senate run, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) raised a record $38.1 million in the third quarter, and South Carolina Democrat Jaime Harrison eclipsed that amount with a $57 million third quarter in 2020.

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Rising healthcare costs squeeze low-income and wealthy voters alike

For more than six months, Stefanie Wheat-Johnson’s jaw has throbbed in pain. The 44-year-old mother of three needs a root canal, but her health plan doesn’t include dental work. Paying cash at her local Texas clinic will cost $3,600 — money Wheat-Johnson and her husband Eric simply don’t have. The couple, who make $60,000 per year after taxes, weighed their options, including asking for payment extensions on their utilities and even delaying rent payments to get her care. In the Pacific Northwest, Ed Travalia has seen his family’s healthcare premiums skyrocket to nearly $32,000 per year for the most inexpensive, bare-bones Affordable Care Act plan. The 56-year-old was able to retire early and lives off his investments, but he still worries about how healthcare costs will look over the next several decades. Much of his time is spent looking for healthcare alternatives that won’t break the bank for his family of four and offer sufficient coverage. Nowadays, he also avoids doctor appointments if he can.

Across the country, Americans spanning a multitude of income levels are navigating the increasing costs of healthcare. The issue, spurred by and contributing to a broader affordability crisis, is now at the forefront of this year’s election cycle. Healthcare costs outranked food, housing and utilities as the top economic concern alongside gas prices for voters in the midterm elections, according to a recent poll from health research group KFF. Healthcare was more important to voters than immigration, foreign policy, crime or AI in a separate Pew Research Center survey in October that polled about 4,000 people. Politicians are courting voters like Wheat-Johnson and Travalia, who despite having very different financial resources, are united in their frustration with a healthcare system that’s made getting care a challenge. About 30% of insured adults have skipped or put off medical care because of the cost, sometimes leading to worse health, according to a recent survey by KFF. Some didn’t buy the drugs they were prescribed because they were too expensive. “It’s affecting everyone,” said Drew Altman, KFF’s chief executive officer. “It’s not just low-income people, it’s not just the uninsured, it’s people with insurance who are struggling to pay their out-of-pocket healthcare bills.” In Waco, Texas, Wheat-Johnson is looking to the Democrats, who she often supports. She plans to vote for James Talarico for Senate, in a race that analysts see as a toss-up, with a recent Marist poll finding Talarico ahead by two percentage points. “We’ve been under a strong Republican government for a very long time, and we’ve seen what’s happened,” she said. “The healthcare system, it feels like it’s just being slowly dismantled, especially if you’re under a certain income level.” Just about any way you look at it, healthcare is getting more expensive. The government recently declined to renew some subsidies for ACA plans that help many Americans maintain healthcare coverage.

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Talarico faces grilling from voters at town hall in tight Senate race

James Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for Senate, sat face to face with several undecided voters who grilled him on a slew of contentious issues including Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, abortion and foreign aid, during a CNN town hall on Wednesday evening. One voter, a devout small business owner, questioned the authenticity of Talarico’s faith, referencing a past remark where he described God as nonbinary. “When I said that, I was being provocative and I want to admit that and come clean about that,” Talarico responded. “What I was saying is actually not controversial theologically: the idea that we can’t define God using human categories. Not only did I say that, but the late Charlie Kirk said that – the late Pope Benedict said that.” Talarico added that he was receptive to feedback from Christians. Jodi Hunt, a self-described single-issue voter, probed Talarico’s pro-choice stance, asking: “How would you convince me as a Catholic voter that I can trust you would protect the most innocent among us?”

Talarico described the Bible as being silent on abortion, to which Hunt countered quoting “Thou shalt not kill”. “We may have different, moral conclusions when it comes to this particular ethical question, but we actually have the same public policy goal,” Talarico said, framing abortion as a public health issue that could be solved with a reduction in unplanned pregnancies. During the night, Talarico cast himself as a moderate, who would put the needs of Texans over party allegiances. He railed against the ultra-wealthy, framing them as the common enemy. Talarico and the Republican nominee, Ken Paxton, are locked in a competitive race to become Texas’s next US senator, with most recent polls showing Talarico with a narrow lead over Paxton. (Paxton declined an invitation to appear on CNN, host Erin Burnett said at the start of the town hall.) Though Democrats have not won a Senate seat in the state since the late 1980s, they’re hoping Talarico’s newcomer energy and popular appeal will persuade independents and Republicans fed up with Donald Trump’s second term – or turned off by Paxton’s many scandals. Over the weekend, Talarico became the subject of a disinformation campaign after he was absent from the campaign trail for more than a week.

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Inside Greg Abbott's push to turn Harris County red

Gov. Greg Abbott arrived at a Cypress barbecue joint last year and promised hundreds of cheering Republicans he would spend big to turn Harris County “dark red” this fall. It was an aggressive stance, considering Harris County hasn’t voted for a Republican for statewide office since Abbott’s first gubernatorial run in 2014. But the three-term incumbent has invested more than $25 million into the county, according to his campaign, to boost his own reelection bid and the campaigns of Republicans up and down the ticket. Abbott has recruited candidates to ensure a Republican is running for each of Harris County’s 24 state house seats – including districts the GOP hasn’t contested in more than a decade – hoping to turn out conservative voters in Democratic and Republican strongholds alike. Flipping Harris County would be ambitious in any year, but the challenge has only grown harder since Abbott staked his claim.

President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are plummeting – his war with Iran has sent gas prices in Texas to nearly $4 per gallon, and his immigration crackdown has turned deadly on several occasions, including in Houston. The polls portend a difficult midterm for Republicans nationwide. And in Texas, Democrats like U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico and Abbott’s opponent, Gina Hinojosa, are running competitive campaigns and pushing for massive turnout in Harris County to put them over the top. A University of Houston poll released Tuesday shows Talarico with a 22-point lead over GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton in Harris County, and Hinojosa leading Abbott by 16 points here. But Abbott has given no indication that he regrets his investment, which makes up just a chunk of the $144 million his campaign has spent since the start of 2025. Ceding Texas’s largest county to the Democrats risks handing them the senate and gubernatorial seats, and Abbott’s campaign believes they’ll get their money’s worth by fighting for every vote. That Republicans won 10 of the 16 Harris County judicial races they contested in 2024, said Dave Carney, Abbott’s longtime political adviser, was proof that the largest county in Texas deserved more attention. “What would be the alternative? Give up on Harris County?” Carney said. “We're on the offense and we're going to deliver in Harris County.”

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State Stories

Voting rights groups sue Texas over failure to process more than 500,000 voter registrations

What happened? Voting rights groups are suing the state of Texas after more than 500,000 voter registration applications were submitted through the Texas Department of Public Safety’s web portal but never processed. The groups are asking a state district judge to enforce a 2021 settlement agreement that required Texas to provide a reliable way for people to register to vote through DPS’ online driver’s license portal. What’s the dispute? In 2016, Texas voters and voting rights groups sued the state over its lack of online voter registration. They argued it was a violation of the National Voter Registration Act that voters could not register online while updating their address, driver’s license, or state ID through DPS. A federal judge ruled in their favor in 2018, but an appeals court overturned the ruling in 2019 because the plaintiffs lacked standing.

Voters and voting rights groups sued again in 2020. This time, a federal judge ordered Texas to offer voters the option to register to vote through DPS’ online portal when updating their driver’s license or state ID. In 2021, the state settled the lawsuit, agreeing to permanently maintain the process. Now, the new lawsuit argues that the recent failures of voter registration systems run by DPS and the Texas Secretary of State’s Office have prevented the state from meeting that obligation. DPS and the secretary of state’s office last month sent county election officials a backlog of hundreds of thousands of voter registration records and updates delayed by a software update error with the DPS web portal. There were at least 500,000 records dating back to October 2025. Election officials also said issues with the secretary of state’s voter registration system, known as TEAM, have made the backlog harder to resolve during a critical time. The lawsuit says some voters are still facing problems with their registrations ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election.

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More than 1 million customers impacted by CenterPoint Energy data breach, AG report filing shows

CenterPoint Energy had a data breach last month that affected more than one million customers, according to a filing with the Office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. On Wednesday, CenterPoint sent the following statement about the September data breach.

"CenterPoint Energy continues to investigate the cybersecurity incident disclosed last month actively. Upon learning of the issue, CenterPoint activated our incident response procedures and engaged external cybersecurity, forensic, and legal advisors to assist with the investigation. We continue to work with third-party experts to assess the scope of affected customer data to identify which customers will be provided notifications in accordance with applicable legal requirements. CenterPoint's delivery of electric and gas services has not been impacted and remains operational and undisrupted." In September, CenterPoint said it was aware of an online post by a third party claiming to have obtained customer information. At the time, the company told ABC13 it was working to determine how many customers may have been affected. In a report to the state AG's office, CenterPoint said the data breach included customers' names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and driver's license numbers. The report also shows that CenterPoint has not yet contacted those customers.

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Dallas Morning News Editorial: We recommend Nathan Johnson for Attorney General

There is at least one silver lining to Ken Paxton’s decision to run for the U.S. Senate: It opens the office of Texas attorney general to new management. The question is whether voters will elevate someone who can wash away the stench of the Paxton years. The race pits two state senators against each other: Democrat Nathan Johnson of Dallas and Republican Mayes Middleton of Galveston. Forget about Rs and Ds. This is a choice between the candidate who vows to get back to the meat-and-potatoes duties of this office and the candidate who has committed to more culture wars. We think most Texans want the former because they’re tired of the latter. Their votes should go to Johnson.

Many of us forget about the core duties of the attorney general’s office because the dominant parties in Texas and other states have turned what should be an apolitical role protecting consumers and state agencies into a lawsuit cannon aimed at political enemies. Paxton waded into outright corruption. His top aides provided damning evidence that he had deployed his office to protect a political donor. Legal talent has fled the office or been forced out. If someone can restore honor to the attorney general’s office, it’s Johnson. He became a state senator in 2019, after flipping a red district in Dallas County. In the years since, we have commended him for his pragmatic style. In an interview with us, Johnson, 58, said he’s promising voters he won’t politicize the office. “I have pledged that I will sue Donald Trump if and when he breaks the law,” Johnson said. “Otherwise, I have better and more important things to do with the time and the resources of the attorney general’s office.”

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Raw chicken, malnutrition and fear: The ‘nightmare’ of being pregnant in an ICE detention camp

The woman looked down at her lunch and, as hungry as she was, knew she couldn’t eat it. The chicken at the ICE immigrant camp was pink, cold and watery, the vegetables overcooked and falling apart. She placed a hand on her expanding belly and worried, as she did every day — would she be able to nourish her baby inside? Maria had been in ICE detention in Texas for six months. When agents arrested her in October 2025 at a check-in in Dallas, she said she told them she was pregnant, but they handcuffed her anyway and bussed her to the Bluebonnet Detention Center north of Abilene. For months, she tried to do what she could for her baby, but her options were limited. The camp’s commissary sold mostly junk food. Her prenatal vitamins were refilled inconsistently, she said. She felt her stress and anxiety wearing on her body, spiking her blood pressure, but could not stop worrying about what would happen when she went into labor — no one would tell her the plan for her baby’s arrival.

As weeks turned into months, Maria’s anxiety grew along with her belly. Maria, who asked to be identified only by her first name and speaks Spanish, said through an interpreter that her life became “like a nightmare” at Bluebonnet. Her stress and malnutrition were evident in her medical records. The documents show she developed high blood pressure, gestational diabetes and gained only half the amount of weight that a pregnant person should by their third trimester. In April, at eight months pregnant, ICE abruptly released Maria without explanation. She returned to her home in North Texas, but her ordeal has not ended. “Since I came into the country, I did everything right, and I haven’t done anything wrong. I did everything right. That is what has bothered me most,” Maria said. “And that it wasn’t fair that my son — and, well, all of my family and my son and my baby — that we all went through what we have gone through, because it has been a great suffering for everyone.” Maria’s attorney, Paul Zoltan, said ICE should never have detained her, not only because of her pregnancy, but because she was simply doing what she was supposed to in reporting to the ICE office. “They detained her because the agency no longer prioritizes the removal of ‘the worst of the worst,’” said Zoltan, who has represented Maria since 2023. Maria’s story is but one example of the troubling conditions for pregnant people in ICE custody amid President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign, according to experts, attorneys and immigrant advocacy groups.

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Property tax cuts aren’t supposed to affect Texas schools. Districts say it doesn’t always work

Texas legislators say they’ve successfully reduced property taxes by repeatedly raising homestead exemptions. In a recent state Senate committee meeting, former Harris County tax assessor-collector and now Houston-area Sen. Paul Bettencourt took credit for helping to cut billions in property taxes over several legislative sessions. “We’ve had so much legislation passed on property taxes, it would take an hour to just go name the major bills, much less the minor bills,” Bettencourt said. A decade ago, the state’s blanket homestead exemption — lowering the taxable value of a home — was $15,000 dollars. Today, it’s $140,000 — more if you’re a senior or have a disability. And while lawmakers say they’ve worked to reimburse school districts for lost property tax revenues, districts say they’re often left short. A study from Bettencourt’s office found nearly 1.5 million Texans now pay zero school property taxes.

“In theory, anyway, we are held harmless,” said Johnny Hill, deputy superintendent for business operations at Plano ISD “How that works is we receive less taxes, but they make up that difference in additional state aid.” “Hold harmless” means the state will use some of its current surplus to reimburse school districts for property taxes they’ll lose out on because of rising homestead exemptions. But Hill said it doesn’t quite work out that way. “In reality, there is a gap that we miss out on,” he said. “I think this last bill there were $2 or $3 million dollars through the methodologies that we feel like were shorted in those calculations.” And it’s not just Plano ISD. About a dozen school districts were in the hole tens of millions of dollars because of hold-harmless bookkeeping errors, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told lawmakers last month during a House Ways and Means Committee meeting. The state, he said, mistakenly overpaid districts, and that money now had to be returned. Morath said he worries there are too many ‘hold harmless’ agreements in Texas now, mostly tied to property tax exemptions.

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San Antonio company races to build moon base out of lunar dirt

Astroport Space Technologies, a San Antonio space construction and materials company, has one ambitious goal for the end of this decade: be the first one to make a brick on the moon. Through its Artemis program, NASA is sending astronauts back to the moon, setting the foundation for an eventual lunar base and sustained human presence on the moon’s South Pole. The space agency is relying on private companies, universities and research institutes — including several in San Antonio — to work out important engineering challenges that come with construction on the moon. At Astroport, located at Port San Antonio, engineers are designing an autonomous rover, what they call Brickbot, capable of turning moon dirt into bricks that will form the foundations of rocket landing pads, human habitats and roads.

The company’s broader goal, its founder and CEO Sam Ximenes said, is to make moon base construction a manufacturing and research niche for San Antonio as NASA expands its footprint across Texas — a “lunar surface supply chain” from San Antonio to the moon. “We want to make San Antonio known for lunar construction,” Ximenes said. With the help of private space companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, NASA plans to land humans on the moon in 2028, something the space agency hasn’t done since the last Apollo mission in 1972. In April, NASA sent four astronauts on a flyby of the moon as part of the second Artemis mission. If successful, the Artemis missions will be the starting point for a sustained human presence and base on the moon’s South Pole by 2032. The longer term goal is establishing a framework for colonizing Mars around mid-century, what NASA refers to as its Moon-to-Mars initiative. There’s a long list of scientific and engineering challenges to overcome in order to make the moon base a reality, and several San Antonio organizations have been awarded NASA contracts to assist.

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Dallas Morning News Editorial: We recommend Nate Sheets for agriculture commissioner

Republican Nate Sheets has the experience and vision to be Texas' next commissioner of agriculture. Voters should choose him over Democrat Clayton Tucker. Sheets, 56, is founder of Nature Nate’s honey brand, formerly North Dallas Honey, which Sheets purchased in 1997. Sheets' career includes a little of everything. He served in the U.S. Navy for six years. He worked in advertising. He was a missionary. And he helped create the “I Am Second” evangelistic campaign. In 2013, he launched Bonton Honey in South Dallas with Bonton Farms leader Daron Babcock. Sheets told us that range of experience will help him serve an industry that produces everything from beef to hemp.

His leadership experience won’t hurt either. More than 600 people work for the Texas Department of Agriculture, and the office interacts with hundreds more state employees and elected officials to make agriculture safe and profitable for Texas growers. Sheets' experience managing the largest honey brand in the U.S. should help him excel at the parts of the job that are about leadership and coalition-building. And Sheets will need to build coalitions to accomplish his agenda. He wants to improve Texans' health, particularly childhood nutrition and obesity trends. He wants to create platforms for local growers to sidestep big conglomerates that control much of our food processing and distribution. He wants to ensure that Texas institutions like schools and prisons source food from Texas producers. He wants fewer food recalls and fewer family farms closing in Texas. He admits that the solutions to many of those problems are beyond the scope of the ag commissioner, but he tells supporters that Texas ag needs a champion and he can deliver. “This takes vision,” Sheets told us, “and we’ve been vision-less for 12 years.”

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Leann Monk: I’m Tyler County’s treasurer. Here’s why the office still matters.

(Leann Monk is Tyler County treasurer.) Regarding “For Harris County Treasurer: Marc Cowart | Endorsement,” (Oct. 6): Your editorial raises legitimate concerns about the Harris County treasurer and whether the office is effectively serving taxpayers. While elected officials should absolutely be held accountable for their performance, suggesting that eliminating the office is the answer overlooks an important distinction between the actions of an individual and the value of the office itself. Your comparison of the county treasurer's office to a governmental "appendix" is shortsighted and dismisses the important responsibilities county treasurers perform across Texas.

As Tyler County treasurer, I can tell you that Texas' 254 counties operate with vastly different needs, staffing and resources. Harris County may have the infrastructure to divide the treasurer's duties among other departments. Many smaller counties do not. More importantly, county treasurers are elected by the people they serve, providing a direct line of accountability for the management of public funds. Eliminating an elected office does not eliminate its responsibilities. It transfers those duties elsewhere in county government, potentially changing who is directly accountable to voters. That is a significant decision deserving thoughtful consideration, not a sweeping dismissal of an entire constitutional office. The Houston Chronicle has every right to scrutinize elected officials and question how taxpayer dollars are managed. But concerns about one officeholder should not diminish the important work of county treasurers across Texas or the voters' role in holding them accountable. Before suggesting the office has outlived its usefulness, I encourage the Houston Chronicle to look beyond Harris County and recognize that county government is not one-size-fits-all.

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Rep. Trent Ashby: Legislature to review online purchasing

On a Fall Friday evening in Texas, the lights above a high school football field draw a whole town together. Neighbors catch up in the bleachers, volunteers work concession stands to support student clubs, and the drumline sets a rhythm that carries across the stadium. From the players and cheerleaders to the band and drill team, students showcase their talents and bring weeks of hard work to life. These nights remind us that the home team belongs to everyone, and the pride reaches well beyond the scoreboard. With football season in full swing, I encourage you to bring your family to a game and enjoy the music, excitement, and community atmosphere under the Friday night lights. In Austin, preparations for the 90th Legislative Session continue as committees hear from Texans and consider changes before we reconvene in January. On Sept. 30, the Senate Business and Commerce Committee examined online ticket sales and the implementation of the Texas Cyber Command.

Anyone who has purchased tickets online knows the frustration of choosing seats at one price, only to discover additional charges at checkout. Families deserve to know the full cost before deciding whether an outing fits their budget. The committee reviewed ways to improve price transparency and protect buyers from unfair or deceptive practices, including in the resale market. The guiding principle should be straightforward: Texans ought to know what they are buying and what they will pay. A fair marketplace gives consumers clear information and holds sellers accountable for misleading practices. Protecting Texans online also means safeguarding the systems our communities depend on. Schools, hospitals, businesses, and county governments rely on technology to serve the public. A cyberattack can interrupt essential services, expose sensitive records, and create costly repairs —burdens that can be especially difficult for small businesses and rural communities. The committee also reviewed House Bill 150, which established the Texas Cyber Command during the 89th Legislature to help prevent and respond to cyber threats affecting governmental entities and critical infrastructure. As the agency takes on these responsibilities, we must ensure it delivers effective protection and uses taxpayer dollars wisely.

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Brandon Herrera, Katy Padilla Stout take off gloves in pre-election debate

Tuesday night’s congressional debate between Republican Brandon Herrera and Democrat Katy Padilla Stout was largely devoid of the inflammatory rhetoric Herrera has become known for as a gun-loving YouTube personality. But that’s not to say it was without fireworks. Both candidates vying to represent Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, went on the attack early, even though both agreed that affordability, data centers and rural health care are priority issues for the border district. Herrera, a gun-rights YouTuber known as the “AK Guy,” played up generational ties to South Texas and said he would cut taxes for working families to deal with the affordability crisis. He also argued he better represents the district’s conservative values than his opponent.

Padilla Stout, a child-welfare attorney, emphasized her four children and her past work as a teacher, saying she would help working families by pushing for Universal Pre-K and expanding Medicaid. She accused Herrera of being an out-of-touch millionaire. Even though Herrera described himself as the owner of a manufacturing business and never mentioned his YouTube channel during the debate, Padilla Stout blasted the Republican’s history of sharing edgy content, including offensive remarks about women’s bodies and a joke about veteran suicides that has dogged both of his U.S. House campaigns. Promoting hereallysaidit.com, a website her campaign set up to highlight Herrera’s past comments and online videos, she accused him of making light of Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School mass shooting, which took place in the district. “My opponent is unfit for this office for a multitude of reasons, but there’s one in particular,” Padilla Stout said. “He went to the Robb Elementary three months after the tragedy that occurred there and fired a gun at child-shaped targets. He said things like, ‘That’s a kill shot.'”

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Jeremy Mazur: Texas water plans missed Corpus Christi’s crisis

(Jeremy Mazur is the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at Texas 2036.) “Day Zero” sounds like something out of an apocalyptic horror film, but in truth, it’s the day a city runs out of water. This year, a major Texas city came uncomfortably close to it. Today marks The Value of Water Campaign’s annual Imagine a Day Without Water event. It’s an invitation to picture life on Day Zero and to recognize the value of reliable water not only to life, but to civilization as we know it. This was a very real problem facing Corpus Christi and other cities in Texas’ Coastal Bend earlier this year. Prolonged, severe drought conditions drained the region’s reservoirs below 8% of capacity. Timelines emerged projecting that Corpus Christi could declare a water emergency this year.

Summertime floods have pushed this emergency back to 2028, The Texas Tribune reported, providing a reprieve, though not a solution. Had drought conditions persisted, the story would have been very different. Corpus Christi could have been the first major American city to run out of water. This catastrophe would have been felt beyond the city limits: diesel, jet fuel and gasoline production from refineries in the region would have been affected, sending ripple effects to gas pumps across Texas and the nation. The quiet premise of Texas’ water policy is to avoid Day Zero for a drought-prone and growing state. Nearly 30 years ago, the Legislature adopted a long-term water planning policy designed to identify shortages before communities run out of water. Peering into the future, this process is meant to recommend projects and strategies like desalination plants or reservoirs to ensure a steady supply. Both the state’s water plans, and the planning process, were put to the test when a real water crisis emerged in the Coastal Bend. Since the Legislature created this process, five state water plans have looked ahead to this decade. This raises a simple question: Did these water plans ever see this water crisis coming?

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Bobby Pulido to play his last-ever concert amid his run for Congress

Tejano singer Bobby Pulido is preparing to step away from music career as he campaigns for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, with his final concert scheduled for Saturday in South Texas. The Edinburg native will perform “La Última Desvelada” at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at Bert Ogden Arena, according to his campaign. The show will cap a music career of more than three decades, during which Pulido won two Latin Grammy Awards. Pulido announced he would step away from performing to focus on politics. He is seeking to represent Texas’ 15th Congressional District, challenging Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz. The race is drawing attention as Democrats look to compete in a district redrawn by the Republican-led Texas Legislature ahead of the 2026 elections.

Pulido's campaign has faced scrutiny over past social media posts, which included homophobic and racist slurs, and over a former bandmate who was convicted of a child sex offense. Multiple polls have shown Pulido and De La Cruz tied, prompting the Cook Political Report to rate the contest a "tossup" just weeks before midterm elections. Pulido’s final concert is scheduled less than three weeks before Election Day. Early voting in Texas runs Oct. 19-30, and Election Day is Nov. 3. Pulido has said the concert will be his last regardless of the election’s outcome.

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National Stories

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia didn’t pass bar exam

When President Trump announced that Katie Zacharia would serve as the next White House press secretary, he referred to her as an attorney. But she hasn’t passed the bar exam in the U.S. Zacharia sat for the California bar exam after graduating from law school at Pepperdine University in 2011, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, but she didn’t pass. She took the exam around the time she was planning a wedding and preparing to move to China with her future husband, the person said. She moved to Beijing that summer to work as an associate on the international practice team at Zhong Lun Law Firm, a prominent law firm in China. Zacharia was later advised by lawyers that she could provide legal analysis based on her law degree and international transaction experience, the person said.

Her legal credentials have come under scrutiny after she didn’t appear in searches for licensed attorneys in California, Texas or Washington, D.C., under her married or maiden name. Judd Legum, a progressive political activist and journalist, raised questions about Zacharia’s standing as an attorney in his Popular Information newsletter. When asked by a reporter on Tuesday in which state she passed the bar exam, Zacharia said, “When I moved to China,” without elaborating. In a statement this week, Zacharia said, “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.” “Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “She is uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as Press Secretary.” A White House official said Zacharia wasn’t hired by the president to work on legal matters. A person familiar with Zacharia’s employment at the Zhong Lun Law Firm said she was one of four international associates who drafted multimillion-dollar agreements for cross-border transactions and focused on client communication for American and multinational corporations doing business in China.

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Surprise Democratic donor blitzes Senate races in Republican-leaning states with ads

A surprise Democratic donor has emerged as a financier of a late effort to help the party deliver upsets in four red-state Senate seats. Steve Pajcic, a lawyer and philanthropist in Florida, and his children are spending at least $7 million for a blitz of ads in Florida, Kansas, Mississippi and South Carolina, a quartet of Senate seats in traditionally Republican territory. Mr. Pajcic, a co-founder of the personal-injury law firm Pajcic & Pajcic, is behind a new group called New Deal for All that was formed in the beginning of October and started to air ads Tuesday in Kansas and South Carolina. The group will soon expand to Florida, where it plans to spend most of its money, and Mississippi. The injection of even a modest amount of cash shows the optimism among Democrats about winning Senate seats that were thought beyond their reach as recently as last year.

“Democrats have been way too timid and modest in their expectations in the past,” Mr. Pajcic, 80, told The New York Times. “There’s a real chance for something big happening with this election, and I’m kind of old. So why not see if you can if there’s anything you can do to help?” Mr. Pajcic has never donated at this scale before. He contributed $147,000 to a Democratic Senate super PAC in 2024, but he said he did not want to simply hand over $7 million — the most he has ever donated, he said — to outside groups. “If I’m going to put this much into it, I want to make sure it’s effective and doing what I want it to do,” he said. He said that he named his super PAC New Deal for All because he wanted to see Democrats win as many as 56 Senate seats and usher in a historic movement “comparable to the changes we had with the New Deal.” National Democrats in recent weeks have begun shifting more of their resources to these red states, particularly Kansas. But they are still spending relatively little in Florida — one of the country’s most expensive states to campaign in — as well as South Carolina and Mississippi. “We were looking for places where we might make a difference with a little bit of money with some creative and informative ads,” Mr. Pajcic said.

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CFTC staff were told to retract analysis of suspicious oil trades

When President Donald Trump backed away from threats to strike Iranian power plants on March 23, it sparked a frenzy of buying and selling across oil, equities and other markets. Traders had grown accustomed to prices lurching wildly on developments in the Middle East. But this time, some bettors had timed it perfectly. Billions of dollars’ worth of contracts predicting oil would fall and the S&P 500 would rise were placed about 15 minutes before the president announced his U-turn in a post on Truth Social, fueling widespread speculation about whether someone had an unfair advantage. Responsibility for looking into the incident fell to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal derivatives regulator whose remit — and profile — has soared with the advent of cryptocurrencies and prediction markets. There, a team of career forensic analysts embarked on their usual task of pulling together data on the day’s winners and losers.

Based on the timing of the trading they observed and who was behind it, the analysts, from the agency’s Division of Market Oversight, filed a referral to the Division of Enforcement, which would decide whether to launch a full-scale investigation into potential insider trading, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing government deliberations. Representatives from the two divisions also met and talked through how best to collaborate, people familiar with the matter said. What happened next, they said, was highly unusual: Mel Gunewardena, a senior adviser to the agency’s Trump-appointed chairman, Michael Selig, told a supervisor within the market oversight team to retract the referral. The team didn’t know how to proceed, the people said. As a practical matter, it was unclear how they might even carry out such an action since it had rarely, if ever, been done before. It marked a break with precedent in another way as well. Career experts had always been entrusted with the specialized but prosaic task of gathering reams of data and writing preliminary reports that the attorneys in enforcement would then decide whether to pursue. Now, according to the people, an adviser to political appointee Selig was intervening to scuttle the referral and oversee the gathering of data himself. Gunewardena, a Wall Street veteran who spent time at the CFTC during the first Trump administration, had rejoined the agency a few weeks before as head of the Office of International Affairs and Senior Markets Advisor to the chairman, and it wasn’t clear what role he had in the evidence-gathering process.

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Nasty email fight between 2 top Trump appointees spills into the open

Two top appointees of President Donald Trump, including the deputy secretary of State, have been embroiled in a monthslong fight that include accusations of leaks to the media and “bizarre” threats of defamation — all over emails that at times included more than a dozen administration officials. The conflict centers on Paolo Zampolli, a personal friend of Trump’s and a special envoy at the State Department, and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, according to the messages obtained by POLITICO. The emails stretch over almost a year and show Zampolli and Landau disagreeing over chains of command as Landau admonishes Zampolli to stick to his remit on cultural issues — but devolve into bitter arguments and unproven allegations. Two top appointees of President Donald Trump, including the deputy secretary of State, have been embroiled in a monthslong fight that include accusations of leaks to the media and “bizarre” threats of defamation — all over emails that at times included more than a dozen administration officials. The conflict centers on Paolo Zampolli, a personal friend of Trump’s and a special envoy at the State Department, and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, according to the messages obtained by POLITICO. The emails stretch over almost a year and show Zampolli and Landau disagreeing over chains of command as Landau admonishes Zampolli to stick to his remit on cultural issues — but devolve into bitter arguments and unproven allegations. The messages stand out not just for the personal vitriol but because upward of 16 administration officials were included at times on the email chains, with the dispute at least once spilling over into communications with a top foreign official, opening a window into delicate State Department back-channeling to allies about apparent violations of diplomatic protocol.

“I am hereby ordering you–once again–to immediately stop all work on ANY issues not directly tied to cultural diplomacy, including every one of the issues you mentioned in your recent emails,” Landau wrote to Zampolli in one email from Nov. 14, 2025. “You have no authority to engage in ANY issues of foreign policy outside of cultural diplomacy, including all the issues you have named,” he wrote. The next day, Landau emailed Zampolli, along with 15 other administration colleagues on the email chain, alleging that Zampolli had “no intention of staying in the cultural diplomacy lane that you were assigned and accepted, and that you fully intend to continue undertaking unauthorized and possibly unlawful ventures in commercial and economic matters.” Landau didn’t exactly specify what he meant but said in another email to Zampolli that working on issues outside the scope of his legal authority “and in contravention of my express directives, may expose you to disciplinary action, dismissal, and legal liability.” Zampolli denied any such claims of potential illegality to POLITICO. Landau wrote that Zampolli was “committed to a path of insubordination and hereby so inform the Presidential Personnel Office at the White House.” It was unclear if he did, in fact, notify the White House.

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Ilhan Omar investigation aims to build case for stripping her citizenship

The Trump administration’s investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) is aimed at building a case to strip her of her U.S. citizenship and ultimately deport her, according to U.S. officials and other people familiar with the probe. The multipronged effort is focused at least in part on how Omar obtained her citizenship after she arrived in the U.S. from Somalia decades ago. Investigators are focused both on the congresswoman and actions of her deceased father, some of the people familiar with the probe said. Nur Omar Mohamed brought his daughter and other family members to the U.S. from a refugee camp in Kenya in 1995. Omar’s Washington, D.C., home was searched by federal agents early Monday, three weeks before the midterm election, in which she is seeking-re-election. The Justice Department said Homeland Security agents executed a court-authorized search, but it declined to elaborate.

Items taken from Omar’s home included her cellphone, notebooks, personal computers and her passport, some of the people said. Only the congresswoman and her husband were home at the time of the search. Authorities have also issued more than a dozen subpoenas, including to some of Omar’s relatives, seeking testimony before a Minnesota grand jury, a person familiar with those proceedings said. Among other things, the investigation is looking at her family’s immigration paperwork, the person said. In a Wall Street Journal interview earlier this year, Omar said she never committed immigration fraud. “President Trump would love to eliminate one of the most effective progressive voices in Congress. There is no basis for this,” her office said in a statement Wednesday. The Trump administration has made an unprecedented effort to denaturalize U.S. citizens by proving they lied in the process of obtaining citizenship, filing dozens of lawsuits. Omar’s case, if it proceeds, could become the highest-profile—and most controversial—part of that effort. The president has long called for Omar’s deportation, using her as a rallying point for the GOP’s anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim wings.

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Podcaster Hillary Clinton: ‘I’m a walking Rorschach test’

If you haven’t already heard, Hillary Clinton is hosting a new pop-up podcast with Kara Swisher focused on the looming midterms. In the debut episode of High Stakes, the pair discusses everything from the year’s biggest Senate races to Pete Davidson keeping his Hillary tattoo to the weirdness of new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia. Below are some highlights. So how did this new series come about? Swisher explained part of the origin story. “We were at a dinner, and you were so sharp and fresh on a lot of the things, and one of the tropes about you is that people don’t really know you,” she said.

"I feel like I’m a walking Rorschach test, and people see what they want to see in me, what they’re capable of seeing in me, or what is familiar to them. I understand that my presence, my arrival on the public scene in such a dramatic way when Bill was elected president, then when I ran for the Senate — first of all, I was the First Lady, I wore pants, and I tried to reform health care. It was very confusing to people, and I get that, but I made the choices that I thought were right for me and that I was trying to help serve my country and all the rest of it. When I ran for the Senate, it was like, “Oh my gosh, I don’t know what to think about her.” Trying to create a kind of 360-degree holistic picture of me has been very hard, because I came into people’s consciousness at a time when tropes and caricatures and stereotypes about women in politics and First Ladies and all of that were pretty accepted," Clinton said. Swisher asked, "And you took a lot of the arrows, right? There was actually a “vast right-wing conspiracy,” as it turns out." Clinton replied: "You know what? I feel like I have been in the forefront of so many of the changes in women’s lives, about women’s choices, who we are, what kind of opportunities and rights we’re supposed to have — and that’s controversial. I don’t fault anybody for trying to figure out. I get it, I get it, but I’ve been on the scene long enough, and I have a long enough public record that people can judge me and—" "You don’t seem to care anymore, also," Swisher said.

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Data centers: Why developers are prioritizing community outreach over classic tech PR

The race to build data centers has created a problem for tech company developers: convincing communities to welcome them. In addition to investing in massive community benefits packages — Amazon Web Services last week pledged to invest more than $1 billion over the next five years to communities around its U.S. data centers — tech companies are beefing up their comms operations. They are hiring PR execs at base salaries well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, bringing in PR firms and advisers and forming alliances to help make their case. The buildout is expected to be enormous. McKinsey estimates global spending on data centers could reach $7 trillion by 2030, driven in large part by the explosive growth of AI.

“We have seen a surge in data center PR and public affairs activity dating to the fall of last year, and it continues to accelerate,” says Jim David, partner at Prosek Partners and head of the independent firm’s DC office. “PR is increasingly on the radar of smaller-scale developers as well as the hyperscalers, who obviously have a keen understanding at this point of the importance of comms around their projects, but it’s fair to say the level of pushback has come as a surprise to many in the industry and beyond.” He says it is the sheer scale of the coverage, how quickly it grew and how long it stayed in the news that caught the industry off guard. “We talk about how fast the news cycle is today and how stories wash out so quickly, but this one has captured the national and local spotlight in a way few issues have,” David notes. There are many reasons data centers are commanding so much more attention than other energy infrastructure projects. They raise familiar questions about energy and water consumption, land use and job creation, but their connection to the AI boom gives them a much broader public profile. Unlike many large-scale infrastructure projects, data centers are tied to a technology that millions of people already use, have opinions about and increasingly see as consequential to their lives — often in a negative way.

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How do you land a journalism job right now? Nearly 60 journalists told us

It’s been a brutal year for many in the journalism profession, with newsrooms across the nation announcing layoffs and many talented reporters, editors, designers and photographers sharing heartbreaking stories of financial struggle or career malaise in social media posts. And yet the cheerful “some personal news” messages announcing a new job continue on X and LinkedIn, signaling that even in an era of industry contraction, some journalists are landing dream jobs, changing newsrooms and getting raises. To learn more about what’s happening in the job market, I reached out to journalists who moved into a new newsroom in 2026. Of the nearly 60 journalists who responded to my informal survey, more than half said their salaries and benefits improved with their new positions. But their good fortunes were hard fought, they said.

Nearly every journalist willing to share their experience said it was “very hard” or “hard” to secure a journalism job right now. No one described the hiring process as “easy.” “Keep your support system. My mentors are everything to me,” said one journalist. “They will lend you the strength, positivity, and determination you will need to keep applying.” Another journalist said it had been a difficult year. “I’ve been ghosted after plenty of rounds, turned down from jobs after the recruiter told me to apply, and flat-out rejected from jobs that don’t even pay a living wage,” that person said. This was not a scientific survey, and the respondents were not randomly selected. I assembled a list of recent hires based on social media and corporate announcements and reached out to them directly via email, LinkedIn or X. I allowed journalists to share their experiences anonymously in a Google Form because I wanted them to be candid and not worry about potential retribution in an industry where everyone seems to know everyone. For many, the path to a new job started with a message from a recruiter. Some hustled for more than a year before receiving an official offer letter.

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Lead Stories

Top G.O.P. groups pull support from first House incumbents

Top Republican super PACs aligned with President Trump and congressional Republican leadership are cutting off financial support for two Republican House members seeking re-election, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans. The decision represents the first instance this cycle of national Republican groups abandoning incumbents as the party scrambles to prevent more widespread losses in the midterm elections. Officials with the two super PACs decided to cancel all remaining advertising booked for Representative Thomas H. Kean Jr. of New Jersey and Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa over the weekend after internal G.O.P. polling had showed their re-election chances dimming. National Republicans, after withdrawing funds last week from the open Nebraska seat of Representative Don Bacon, who is retiring, have now essentially ceded three House districts the party currently holds.

In 2024, Republicans emerged from the election holding only a three-seat majority in the House. Since then, the party has tried to pad that slim margin through an aggressive redistricting push that reshaped the 2026 map. The Republican triage efforts also include withdrawing all of the remaining funds that had been reserved for targeting two Democrats running for re-election, Representatives Greg Landsman of Ohio and Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan, according to the three people with direct knowledge. One of the people said other seats were under active consideration to be abandoned as soon as this week. All told, the super PAC aligned with Speaker Mike Johnson, the Congressional Leadership Fund, is redirecting $10 million from the seats it is effectively ceding in Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio and spreading it across 16 new districts, two of the people said. “For two years, we’ve built the resources and infrastructure that allow us to maneuver in a difficult environment,” Chris Winkelman, the president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, said in a statement. “These moves keep the pressure on the most vulnerable Democrats and preserve a path to 218 seats.”

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Tarrant County judge denies request to reinstate polling sites

Tarrant County officials will not have to reinstate polling locations that were recently eliminated for the Nov. 3 midterm election after a district judge denied a temporary injunction request Tuesday, Oct. 13. Earlier this month, four plaintiffs sued Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, county commissioners Matt Krause and Manny Ramirez and Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig after commissioners decided to cut 92 of the 316 county polling sites that were used in the 2022 midterm election. County commissioners Roderick Miles and Alisa Simmons opposed that decision, which came down in September, and were not named as defendants in the suit.

The plaintiffs were Fort Worth City Council member Deborah Peoples (acting outside her capacity as a city leader), former district judge Maryellen Hicks, Kathleen Hicks and Camille Rodriguez, who is a Fort Worth school board trustee. Their attorney, Susan Hutchison, asked Tarrant County District Judge J. Patrick Gallagher to sign a temporary injunction ordering the county to reopen some, if not all, of the 92 polling places for election day. Gallagher denied that request. No explanation was immediately provided, but Assistant Tarrant County District Attorney Steve Lund, who represented the defendants, argued that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to reinstate polling sites with early voting scheduled to begin Monday. Over the better part of the day, Hutchison argued the reduction in polling locations placed an unequal burden on Black and Hispanic voters. Peoples testified that all three polling places in the majority-minority 76103 ZIP code, where she lives, were closed.

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Federal energy regulators shoot down grid operator’s plan to cut power to data centers during shortfalls

The nation’s energy regulators have shot down a bid from a regional grid operator to cut power to some large data centers during a supply shortfall — leaving the issue largely in the hands of states. Regional grid operator PJM, which manages the electric grid for several East Coast and Midwest states, proposed an ability to cut power to new large consumers when it’s facing a shortage. Its proposal would have applied to large data centers that don’t bring their own power sources. However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected PM’s proposal, saying it may violate the Federal Power Act. The commissioners wrote that the law “leaves to the states alone ‘any other sale’ — most notably any retail sale” of electricity.

The ruling comes after bipartisan governors and the Trump administration pushed PJM to do more to address rising electricity prices, in which data centers’ massive electricity demand is a factor. Jeff Dennis, senior counsel at consulting firm Co2efficient, said that the decision puts pressure on states to set their own policy. Dennis, a former FERC staffer, said that the policies that states put in place could differ significantly. He said that “adds to the number of things that the states and that PJM and to some degree, still FERC, have to sort out” to avoid high power prices and blackouts in the future. PJM spokesperson Jeff Shields said in an email that the grid operator is “reviewing the Commission’s order with an eye toward how we can fulfill FERC’s requirements while recognizing the responsibilities FERC indicated belong to the states and honoring the concept that existing electricity customers should not be unfairly burdened by new, energy intensive customers in the form of higher costs or decreased reliability.”

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Texas DA says ICE intentionally hit immigrant with a car and may have withheld evidence

Videos collected by local investigators make it “pretty obvious” that an ICE officer intentionally ran over Miguel Parra Hernandez during an immigration stop Saturday, which could lead to assault charges, the district attorney said Tuesday. “This was an intentional striking and running over of the person by the vehicle, and in that case, that is an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Texas,” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told NBC News. Teare said the federal government is not cooperating with the investigation conducted by his office and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. He also said ICE may have allowed the erasure of critical data in the vehicle involved in striking Parra, who was on foot.

Teare said that in his seven years as a Harris County vehicular crimes division chief, he has reviewed video from a number of other auto-pedestrian collision cases. He said the video his investigators have gathered in Parra’s case “goes above” the video that was posted online and obtained by NBC affiliate KPRC of Houston. “My viewing of it, and many other investigators that have viewed it, as well, it’s pretty obvious that this was an intentional striking and running over of the person by the vehicle, and in that case, that is an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Texas,” he said. Parra, 48, was left with multiple breaks and fractures in his body, according to his attorney and an advocate who has been speaking on his behalf. He had surgery on one leg and faces multiple additional operations, said Cesar Espinosa, co-founder and executive director of FIEL, an immigrant civil rights group. Video obtained by KPRC shows a white truck headed in the opposite direction of traffic on a busy roadway. It shows a vehicle jumping a yellow median and heading in the direction that Parra is running.

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State Stories

Paxton says he won’t cut Social Security benefits, responding to leaked audio

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, if elected to the U.S. Senate next month, he would not vote to cut Social Security benefits. The Republican candidate's statement follows a leaked recording of Paxton, published by The Texas Tribune last week, saying he favors cuts to mandatory spending to balance the federal budget deficit. “I’ve repeatedly said on the record that I will protect Social Security, including as recently as September 1 and August 21," Paxton said in a statement to Houston Public Media. "Social Security represents a sacred promise that seniors paid into, and they have earned every single dollar. I’ve also said either we keep spending ourselves into mountains of debt, or we find a way to cut spending."

Nearly 5 million Texans receive old age, disability, or survivors' benefits through Social Security, while close to 600,000 more low-income individuals in Texas receive supplemental security income through the program. The leaked recording published by The Texas Tribune included Paxton's response to a question about reducing the federal deficit, saying cuts to mandatory federal spending were unavoidable and that, "We have to suck it up." Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid together account for roughly three-quarters of mandatory federal spending in the most recent fiscal year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. "We have to solve the national debt while keeping the promises we made to everyone who paid into these programs," Paxton told Houston Public Media. "The fake news keeps spinning the same cherry-picked audio to mislead Texans and take my words out of context. I have never said I would take away entitlements from those who deserve or earned them."

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Mercy Culture protests ‘evil spirits,’ prays for God’s intervention in Tarrant

Mercy Culture Church congregants gathered in front of the Tarrant County Administration Building on Tuesday, Oct. 13, praying for wickedness to be cast out and a righteous stronghold in the county. Emmanuel Cota, director of Mercy Culture ministry Citizens For Life, said the worship gathering was a “spiritual protest against the evil spirits that are influencing Tarrant County.” The group of roughly 50 worshipers sang Christian songs, prayed and took communion during the hour before the county commissioners court meeting. It was the second gathering hosted by the nondenominational Fort Worth-based church on the front lawn of the administration building. The first was ahead of the meeting when commissioners voted to reduce the number of Election Day polling locations.

There were several prayers throughout the service to ask God to come to Tarrant County to demolish the wickedness, put righteous and just leaders into the right seats on Nov. 3 and establish the will of heaven. Cota said the church and Christians should pray over the government and courts so that the right decisions in God’s eyes will be made. When asked for examples of wicked decisions made by the county commissioners, Cota said he would have to consult his notes. As for righteous decisions, he said they could be as simple as lowering property taxes, which is a campaign promise of Republicans County Judge Tim O’Hare and Commissioner Manny Ramirez, who are on the Nov. 3 ballot. Cota also pointed to helping single income homes, giving grants to pregnancy centers, cracking down on human trafficking and generally easing the everyday life of Tarrant County residents. Cota couldn’t name them but said Mercy Culture has candidates of choice based on how their morals and decisions align with the Bible. “We’re here to ask the Lord for guidance, wisdom, wise counsel for everyone that’s coming up on these elections to make the right decisions according to what Scripture says,” Cota said.

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Hood County rejects Comanche Circle data center settlement and permit appeal

Hood County commissioners rejected a proposed settlement with data center developer Sailfish Investors and unanimously denied the company’s appeal of its on-site permit applications Tuesday, following hours of public testimony and debate over development regulations, environmental impacts and the county’s authority. The proposed settlement would have reduced the Comanche Circle project’s footprint in Hood County from about 2,523 acres to approximately 1,375 acres. The company also offered commitments involving setbacks, cooling methods, light pollution and repairs to county roads The votes mark another setback for Sailfish managing partner Ryan Hughes, who has sought approval to move forward with the Comanche Circle data center project and related developments known as Project Lion and Project Panther.

In an Oct. 1 email to county officials, Hughes argued the agreement would help avoid litigation and allow the project to proceed with additional restrictions. He warned that rejecting the deal could lead to a lawsuit and a larger project with fewer restrictions. Commissioners voted 3-1 to reject the settlement proposal. Commissioner Kevin Andrews was the lone dissenting vote. Commissioner Nannette Samuelson was not present at Tuesday’s meeting. The commissioners later voted unanimously to deny Sailfish’s appeal of the county’s decision on its on-site permit applications. Andrews, who represents Precinct 1, said the county should continue negotiations over the proposed agreement. “We have been offered concessions that we can’t regulate, and I think it would be a good idea for us to continue to negotiate to try to get to terms that work for the county,” Andrews said. Andrews also said the appeal was placed on the agenda on the advice of legal counsel and because county regulations allow the developer to appeal. Residents urged commissioners to scrutinize the project’s potential effects on water resources, wildlife, nearby properties and the county’s regulatory process.

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A parent petition to avoid an Austin ISD takeover has divided families

Superintendent Matias Segura laid out how the district would update curriculum, enhance the school’s focus on math and reading and provide teacher stipends with a $1.7 million investment. The efforts would be replicated at two other nearby middle schools — Dobie and Webb — because all three had scored multiple years of failing academic ratings on the state’s report card. But months later, as the 2025-26 school year began, the plan didn’t go smoothly, said Ingrid Saucedo, the mother of current Burnet seventh- and eighth-graders. The school year started with teaching vacancies, which meant Saucedo’s children were taught by substitutes. Sometimes her children were marked absent even when they were in class because campus administration changed students’ schedules as administrators worked through logistical issues.

“That’s why a lot of parents are mad with Matias (Segura) and the district,” Saucedo said. “He said he’d promise us stuff but didn’t give it.” Since then, Burnet and Webb have received their fifth failing state grade in a row, and Texas law requires Education Commissioner Mike Morath to either close the campuses or take over the district, replacing the elected school board with appointed managers. Even though Morath has yet to decide how the state will intervene, parents’ anger flared last month when Mayor Kirk Watson proposed they could petition to close their own middle schools to spare all of Austin ISD a takeover. Watson posed the process as a way for the community to act “instead of simply waiting for something to happen to us.” “It gives the families most impacted a say in what comes next,” he wrote in a newsletter pitching the plan. The petitions, which require a majority of parents at each school to sign, could be Austin ISD’s last, desperate chance to hold off a takeover. But for Burnet and Webb families — including parents like Saucedo who ultimately signed the petition — the campaign represents years of broken trust with a district that has failed to support their children. “To be honest, they don’t deserve our signature because they never help,” Saucedo said. “They never pay attention to us. They don’t deserve it.”

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Austin journalists mourn loss of editor Jim Phillips, who died at 74

Jim Phillips, longtime Austin reporter, editor and mentor, died early Tuesday morning after battling pneumonia and a MRSA infection. He was 74. "Jim was one of the very best of our kind," said Courtney Sebesta, editor in chief of the Austin American-Statesman. "He mentored countless young journalists at the Statesman. You could always find him hanging with the early-career journalists at a dive bar after work. He loved hearing about everyone's journalism adventures. He was no nonsense, but so loving and really cared about you as a person. He was a great editor but an even better friend."

Phillips reported on major legal cases, local politics and big news events, such as the siege of the Mount Carmel Center of the Branch Davidians outside Waco from February to April 1993. "Jim was the newsroom teacher for as long as I was there and beyond," said Debbie Hiott, former Statesman editor in chief and former general manager at KUT and KUTX. "Personally, I learned what grace under pressure is from him. He did some of the toughest reporting, and came under considerable fire — even threats — because of that, but he always emerged calm, confident and credible. His reporting subjects loved him or hated him, but they always respected his work. I reached out to him for advice long after he left the Statesman." "One of Jim's biggest legacies is that he helped raise a generation of early-career journalists at the Statesman, and I'm proud to be one of them," said Tony Plohetski, associate editor of investigations. "When I first began at the paper 26 years ago, all the young reporters were sent to work with him because he was so patient with us and worked hard to make our stories shine and to set us up for long careers."

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Jerry Jones donates $10 million to Clinton Presidential Center

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is donating $10 million to the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas to support a modernization and renovation. The funding from Jones, who grew up in Arkansas, will help enhance the Clinton Center’s expansive educational facilities that house programming for students of all ages, teacher resources, adult and civic learning, as well as the Clinton School of Public Service in the University of Arkansas system, according at an Oct. 12 announcement. "It is one of my greatest honors to stand next to President Clinton and be able to make this donation with my wife, Gene, and our family,” Jones said in a statement. “Understanding that the state of Arkansas, Little Rock, North Little Rock and the University of Arkansas have all been at the core of our family’s experience while providing the landscape and foundation that formed and helped shape our lives and success, this is a remarkably heartfelt moment."

Jones played football at the University of Arkansas and was co-captain of the Razorbacks' 1964 national champion team before later making his fortune in oil and gas. Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 for $140 million and built the club into the most valuable sports franchise in the world. Forbes most recently valued the Cowboys at $17 billion, while Jones and his family have an estimated net worth of $23.2 billion. He ranked among the five most wealthy billionaires in North Texas, according to an annual Forbes list. Clinton, a Democrat who served as the 42nd president of the U.S. from 1993 to 2001, expressed gratitude to Jones for the gift in a statement. “Jerry Jones is an American sports icon – someone who has competed at the highest level and won, without ever losing sight of where he came from,” Clinton said. Since opening in 2004, the Clinton Center has become an economic engine in Central Arkansas. The center has generated more than $4.9 billion in economic impact in Little Rock and North Little Rock while welcoming more than 5.5 million visitors from around the world, according to the announcement. The center has also opened its doors to 525,000 students and educators visit at no charge, while more than 700 students have graduated from the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas.

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San Antonio takes DHS, ICE to court over planned Eastside detention facility

San Antonio filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to halt development of a planned immigration detention facility on the East Side until federal authorities comply with environmental review requirements. The lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seeks to stop the conversion of a nearly 640,000-square-foot warehouse acquired by ICE in January on Southeast Loop 410 into an immigration detention and processing facility capable of holding up to 1,500 people. City Attorney Andy Segovia announced the legal action Tuesday morning alongside Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and several City Council members, marking the city’s most significant effort yet to challenge the proposed facility.

The lawsuit centers on the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, which requires federal agencies to assess the potential environmental effects of major projects before proceeding. The city is asking a federal judge to prevent DHS and ICE from moving forward with development until the required environmental review is completed. Segovia said those reviews go beyond assessing air and water quality to consider how a project could affect the surrounding community, including its economy, history and culture. “With a facility of this size and scope, within the core urban core of San Antonio, these sorts of reviews are even more critical,” Segovia said. “It’s very clear to see that there will be these impacts, and the law is there to make sure that those impacts are mitigated.” The lawsuit follows months of unsuccessful attempts by city officials to obtain information about the conversion, development plans and potential environmental impacts of the facility. Since February, city officials have sent five letters to DHS and ICE seeking details about the proposed facility, including environmental reviews, permitting requirements and opportunities for public input. Federal officials responded to one letter in June, promising to coordinate with the city, seek community feedback and share engineering and design reports before beginning work. But Jones said the city has received none of that information, even as ICE awarded a $17.3 million contract to GardaWorld Federal Services, a contractor involved in Florida’s controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility, to renovate the warehouse. “We have been very patient with the federal authorities, in particular DHS and ICE, on this issue,” Jones said. “San Antonio is done waiting.”

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House flippers are cashing in big in one Upstate NY metro— while Texas gets burned

Home flippers across America are watching their profits shrink, with the typical flip bringing in just $60,526 before expenses in the second quarter of 2026 — down from $71,000 a year earlier, according to a new report from real estate data firm ATTOM. That’s a return of 21.5% on what investors paid for the property, down from 27.6% a year ago. And that’s before paying for renovations, closing costs and other expenses — meaning the actual payday could be a whole lot smaller. “Flippers are still making money in most markets, but the typical return continues to narrow,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in the report. “The second-quarter numbers continue the general downward trend in profit margins and gross profits we have seen over the past two years.” It’s a far cry from the days when soaring home prices made flipping houses look like an easy way to get rich. Now, with homes already expensive and buyers watching their budgets, investors have less room to make a quick buck. And fewer people are getting in on the action.

And down in Texas, the house-flipping dream is looking more like a nightmare. San Antonio was the only major metro in the report where the typical flip actually lost money, with investors selling for slightly less than they paid — a negative 0.3% return. Dallas wasn’t much better, with a paltry 1.8% return. Austin came in at 2.8%, while Houston managed just 3.7%. The weak returns come amid a much tougher selling environment across the Lone Star State, where buyers have gained the upper hand. According to Redfin, sellers outnumbered buyers by 130% in Houston, 116% in San Antonio, 112% in Austin and 99% in Dallas in July, with sellers increasingly cutting prices and offering incentives to compete with an overflow of newly built homes. Those razor-thin margins don’t leave much wiggle room for a leaky roof, an unexpected plumbing disaster or a renovation that goes over budget. And because ATTOM’s figures don’t include the cost of fixing up a property, even flippers who technically made money on a sale could have ended up in the red. The report also suggests that bigger — and cheaper — isn’t always better.

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Ashley Oborn: Texas is investing in rural justice. Better data can grow access

(Ashley Oborn is director of data analytics at Lone Star Legal Aid.) Texas is making a big investment in rural access to justice. The Texas Access to Justice Foundation in September announced a multiyear initiative funded with $26.7 million from the Supreme Court of Texas. Seven legal-aid organizations will work together to establish a network of 170 rural legal outposts, using in-person, virtual, and technology-supported services to bring civil legal assistance closer to rural Texans. The initiative aims to reach nearly 38,000 more people over five years. The investment comes at a critical time. Texas has more than 100,000 active attorneys, yet 123 of its 254 counties meet the American Bar Association’s threshold for a legal desert — fewer than one attorney for every 1,000 residents. Sixty-eight counties have five or fewer attorneys, and nine have none. Bringing more legal resources into these communities is essential. But as Texas undertakes an effort of this scale, we should reconsider how we identify legal deserts in the first place.

Attorney counts tell us where lawyers are. They don’t necessarily tell us whether people can access legal help. My research at Lone Star Legal Aid examines legal access across five dimensions: attorney supply and demand, geographic distance, digital infrastructure, language access, and court infrastructure. Looking at those factors together reveals at least two distinct types of legal deserts. In acute legal deserts, multiple systems fail at once. These communities may have few or no resident attorneys, long travel distances, limited broadband, and fewer court-based resources. Thirty-four Texas counties fit this framework: 25 named by the Texas Access to Justice Commission and nine with no resident attorneys. But there also are chronic legal deserts — communities where attorneys may be nearby, yet other barriers prevent residents from obtaining meaningful legal assistance. High concentrations of low-income residents, transportation barriers, limited digital connectivity, language needs, and court infrastructure can all restrict access even when attorney counts appear adequate. That distinction matters because different legal deserts require different solutions.

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FBI raids Texas 'laptop farms' helping North Korea fund nuclear weapons

An investigation uncovered a network of U.S.-based "laptop farms" that helped North Koreans secretly infiltrate American businesses, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas said Tuesday. The scheme aimed to fund the regime's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. What we know: During "Operation Lone Star Roundup," federal agents seized more than 185 laptops and devices from around 40 locations across Texas, U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said. Agents found more than 100 of those devices right here in North Texas.

The backstory: North Korean IT workers use fake identities to get remote contracts with U.S. companies. Because these workers actually live in North Korea, they rely on U.S. facilitators to receive company-issued laptops and host them in their homes. The U.S. facilitators install remote access software, allowing operatives in North Korea to log in and appear as though they are working from within the United States. The workers then funnel an estimated 85% to 90% of their earnings directly to the North Korean government. Raybould said the U.S. Treasury estimated that more than $800 million was sent to North Korea in fiscal year 2024. Officials said North Texas sees a high concentration of this activity due to the region's massive employment market.

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Will portion of street be renamed for Texas Stock Exchange headquarters?

Dallas City Council will hold another public hearing Oct. 14 on a proposal to rename a portion of North Harwood Street to "Exchange Place" as the Texas Stock Exchange prepares to move its headquarters to the future Bank of America Tower at Parkside, 1919 Woodall Rodgers Fwy. The change would apply to the stretch between Woodall Rodgers and Harry Hines Boulevard, giving the exchange a future address of "One Exchange Place."

The proposal has already received recommendations for approval from both the Subdivision Review Committee and the City Plan Commission?. Because Harwood Street is a historic street name that dates to 1872, the renaming requires approval from three-quarters of the council. The council previously considered the item Sept. 23, when it sparked significant debate among members. The proposal received nine votes in favor and five against, falling short of the supermajority required for approval. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson did not vote because he was unable to connect to the meeting while traveling. Immediately after the vote, Council Member Jesse Moreno moved to hold the item under advisement, allowing it to return for further consideration.

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National Stories

OPEC cuts oil demand growth forecast amid Strait of Hormuz conflict

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cut this year’s forecast for global oil-demand growth again, as escalating attacks on Gulf shipping and Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia raise fresh risks to regional supplies. The group of oil-rich countries now expects global demand to grow by 180,000 barrels a day, down from 380,000 barrels a day previously. However, it raised its forecast for next year’s demand growth to 2.55 million barrels a day, from 2.36 million previously, driven in part by the need to replenish oil inventories depleted by the Iran war. The closely watched monthly report came as oil prices pulled back on Tuesday after three consecutive sessions of gains. Front-month Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.7% to $104.86 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures slid 1.5% to $92.32 a barrel.

Repeated attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, deadly Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and surging freight costs are keeping geopolitical risk premiums elevated. OPEC+ ministers said Monday that shipping and insurance costs have climbed to unprecedented levels, exceeding a third of the value of the commodities being transported. Crude production among OPEC members rose by 920,000 barrels a day to 25.09 million barrels a day in September, driven by Saudi and Iraqi output. Production from OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, rose by 2.1 million barrels a day to 8.37 million barrels a day, according to OPEC’s latest data. Earlier this month, key members of the OPEC+ alliance agreed to keep output stable in November. According to data provider Kpler, oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain sharply below prewar levels, with confirmed flows averaging 9.7 million barrels a day over the past week, down about 43% from 17.1 million barrels a day before the conflict. Daily flows have been volatile amid escalating tanker attacks, though the latest figures are preliminary and could be revised higher.

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U.S. probe of Rep. Ilhan Omar focuses on birth date, citizenship papers, people familiar say

The federal investigation that prompted the search of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D.C. residence on Monday centers on claims that she or her late father may have lied on decades-old immigration paperwork to secure legal status and eventually U.S. citizenship, three people familiar with the matter said. Omar — a Minnesota Democrat who was born in Somalia and fled civil war there with her family before eventually immigrating to the United States in 1995 — has repeatedly rejected such allegations, which have circulated in conservative media for years. She dismissed them again in a statement Monday as “baseless lies and smear campaigns.” It is extremely unusual for federal agents to take public investigative actions related to a member of Congress just weeks before an election because doing so could cast a candidate who is not criminally charged in a negative light.

In Omar’s case, the investigation is notable for other reasons as well: It involves long-ago paperwork from when she was a teenager, and Omar is a lawmaker who has frequently been singled out for criticism and vitriol by President Donald Trump and his allies. The president condemned her again in a social media post Tuesday, after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told Fox News that her office had launched a separate inquiry into Omar’s financial disclosure forms — a matter that has previously drawn the attention of House Republicans. “America wants answers, and we want them, NOW!” wrote Trump, mirroring his previous calls for Justice Department investigations of his perceived political enemies. The immigration-related inquiry, which could result in fraud charges and potentially an attempt by the Justice Department to strip Omar of her citizenship, is based on a renewed look at her immigration history launched earlier this year by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the people familiar with the matter said.

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In blow to Rollins, judge halts USDA’s reorganization

A federal court temporarily halted the Trump administration’s sweeping reorganization of the Agriculture Department late Tuesday, dealing a blow to Secretary Brooke Rollins. The order from the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California bars officials from moving congressionally appropriated money to fund the reorganization, such as through moving expenses, building closures and other costs. A federal court temporarily halted the Trump administration’s sweeping reorganization of the Agriculture Department late Tuesday, dealing a blow to Secretary Brooke Rollins. The order from the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California bars officials from moving congressionally appropriated money to fund the reorganization, such as through moving expenses, building closures and other costs. The court’s move is a victory for federal employees’ unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees and the AFL-CIO, which sued the government earlier this year. It applies to the Forest Service; the Food and Nutrition Administration; the Agricultural Research Service, including the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center; the Foreign Agricultural Service; Rural Development; the Office of the General Counsel; the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights; as well as the mission areas Research, Education and Economics, and Farm Production and Conservation.

The relief could be short-lived, however. Judge Vince Chhabria, an Obama appointee, noted that the “relevant appropriations statutes are set to expire in less than two months.” The order won’t prevent a reorganization after that if Congress agrees with USDA’s plan. The order doesn’t prevent USDA from closing offices in the Washington area, such as the South Building, which officials said earlier this year they intend to sell, or from moving employees within the region. USDA officials have argued that the reorganization, which moves staff to five regional hubs, is intended to move federal staff closer to the people they serve, including farmers. The vast majority of USDA staff already work out of regional, state or county offices across the country. The reorganization has led some employees to retire early or quit, prompting concerns about a loss of experience and expertise across the department. A spokesperson for USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Judge extends block on Trump White House ban of MS NOW, CNN and Politico

A federal judge late Tuesday night indefinitely extended his block on the White House from enforcing a ban on three media outlets that President Donald Trump announced in mid-September. The preliminary injunction by Judge Timothy Kelly replaces his temporary restraining order against Trump’s ban of MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House complex as a lawsuit challenging the ban plays out. “President Trump’s own comments suggest that he intended the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes to alter their reporting on him,” wrote Kelly, who was nominated by Trump for his seat in U.S. District Court in Washington.

In his written opinion, Kelly said the three outlets were likely to succeed on their claim in their pending lawsuit, which argues they were denied due process when Trump summarily barred them without giving them a chance to argue against it. The judge cited two existing opinions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which establish a due process right to journalists whose White House passes are targeted for revocation. Those appellate opinions are binding on federal District Court judges in D.C. The judge also said, for the first time in this case, the outlets were likely to succeed on two First Amendment claims in their civil suit, which allege retaliation and viewpoint discrimination. Kelly’s order Tuesday is not a final ruling on the merits of the suit. And it does not compel the White House to restore access to the Oval Office and Air Force One to the outlets.

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Supreme Court case pits 1980s video rental law versus modern newsletters

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will examine the reach of a decades-old privacy law designed to protect video rental records in a case that could shape current and future lawsuits over digital tracking tools. The justices are weighing whether the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) protects consumers who subscribe to any of a company’s products or only those who subscribe to its audiovisual ones. The case arises from a class-action lawsuit brought against Paramount Global in 2022 by Michael Salazar, a subscriber to a 247Sports.com newsletter. The website is a hub for college sports and recruiting news that offers dozens of daily newsletters to its subscribers. Salazar alleges that Paramount has violated the VPPA by installing a Facebook tracking pixel on the website that allowed his data, including video viewing history, to be shared without his consent. That information was then used for targeted advertising.

The VPPA makes a “video tape service provider” liable for damages when it knowingly discloses a consumer’s personally identifiable information without written consent. It was enacted in response to the leak of failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video rental history to the press during his confirmation process. At issue is whether Salazar fits into the VPPA’s definition of a “consumer,” which is classified as “any renter, purchaser, or subscriber of goods or services from a video tape service provider.” Salazar argues he does, while Paramount claims he doesn’t. A federal judge in Tennessee found that Salazar’s subscription did not qualify him as a “consumer” under the law because the newsletter was not “audio visual materials” and dismissed the complaint. A divided panel for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later affirmed that ruling. Salazar appealed to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to resolve a circuit split over how to interpret the statutory language.

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Trump's ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, resigns after allegations of improper conduct

The White House publicly asked for U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle's resignation on Tuesday as she faced mounting accusations of improper conduct, and she announced within two hours that she was quitting, ending days of talk and speculation about her professional fate. Guilfoyle insisted that she would "vigorously defend" herself. President Donald Trump's administration had said earlier Tuesday it had asked Guilfoyle to leave her post after she faced severe criticism over allegations she engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens. That revelation came in response to a question to freshly minted White House press secretary Katie Zacharia at her first media briefing Tuesday morning. Zacharia said Guilfoyle "has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well."

"She went to Greece. She was doing a good job, but we didn't like what we were reading," Trump said just after Guilfoyle's resignation, which was posted on her X account. He said he had not spoken to her but "she will not be there." Guilfoyle's departure comes after its possibility was previewed to The Associated Press over the weekend and Trump registered his unhappiness on Monday at reports about her alleged conduct. Those comments came a day after the AP, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were "extremely pissed off" by Guilfoyle's reported conduct. In a series of stories dating to late last month, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the Republican administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill. Guilfoyle addressed the accusations directly in her resignation post on X, saying, "These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity."

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Katie Zacharia stepped to the lectern for the first time. It was a bumpy ride.

President Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, made her debut behind the White House lectern Tuesday morning. It was a bumpy one. “Good morning!” she began. “I want to thank President Trump for his trust that he has placed in me. I have wanted to work for him for a very long time.” She spent the next eight minutes reading nervously from a script, looking up at the cameras every couple of lines. Then she said she was ready to take some questions. She called on only three reporters, dropped one wild piece of news, made a slip mixing up her husband and her president, then darted out of there after just five and a half minutes, leaving the White House press corps to scratch its collective head. All told, Ms. Zacharia picked only a few outlets from a list she was holding: Breitbart, Fox News and The Daily Mail.

The White House press secretary gig is a tricky one that, when practiced well, involves more than reciting talking points on cable TV, which is what Ms. Zacharia was doing as a commentator on Fox News when she got picked for this job. Of the few questions she allowed on Tuesday, the most substantive one was also among the most predictable: “Has the U.S. stopped sharing intel with Ukraine?” For days, the breakdown of U.S. negotiations with the Ukrainians has been front page news — certainly it is the dominant story line in Washington this week — and yet, Ms. Zacharia was not prepared to answer the question. “I’ll have to get back to you on that,” she said. One of the few questions she took was about how she hoped to “manage” her new job with a husband and four kids at home (hard to imagine a male press secretary getting that one). There was a moment of levity in the room when she caught herself in a funny slip, and was able to laugh about it. “So, my president, excuse me, my husband,” she said, “that’s a good one.”

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Lead Stories

Republican Ken Paxton partied in Dubai with fugitives ahead of high-stakes Texas Senate race

As President Trump weighed endorsing Ken Paxton over incumbent Texas Sen. John Cornyn this spring, he was told that damaging revelations were likely to surface about Paxton, according to people familiar with the conversations. Trump was dismissive and said there would be more negative material about Democratic nominee James Talarico. Trump plowed ahead and endorsed the scandal-plagued Texas attorney general, helping him win the Republican-primary runoff in May. Months later, that decision is looking like Trump’s biggest gamble of the midterms. Despite efforts by Paxton to paint his opponent as a far-left zealot, Talarico consistently holds a narrow lead in polls, raising a once unthinkable possibility: A Democrat could win statewide office in Texas for the first time since 1994. Meanwhile, damaging revelations about Paxton continue to emerge.

A new scene that could join the list: a previously unreported New Year’s Eve 2024 celebration where Paxton partied in Dubai with two fugitives from U.S. justice and a woman who wasn’t his wife. As fireworks exploded over the Burj Khalifa skyscraper to welcome 2025, Paxton and his girlfriend Tracy Duhon watched from a luxury high-rise balcony full of people, according to a video of the gathering reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, details of which were contained in court filings and confirmed by people familiar with the matter. Among those at the event with Texas’ top law-enforcement official were two Americans who had been indicted months before on federal healthcare-fraud charges but failed to return to the U.S., Anosh Ahmed and Sameer Suhail, according to the court records and people familiar with the matter. Ahmed, a healthcare executive, had donated $190,000 to Paxton, campaign finance records show, including $25,000 days after he was indicted. Talarico has hammered Paxton over his jet-setting travels, accumulation of wealth in office, and his business associations. Paxton, 63 years old, has long been a survivor of controversy, and Trump’s allies maintain the MAGA faithful will power him to a win in the Nov. 3 election.

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‘Phantom’ data centers are demanding more from the power grid than they need

Data-center developers are turning to utilities and grid operators for unprecedented amounts of electricity. The power industry is countering with a perhaps surprising question of its own: Are you for real? The artificial-intelligence boom is driving a once-in-a-generation surge in electricity demand that should translate to a heyday for utilities. Yet the race has accelerated so quickly that it has become challenging to distinguish projects that are ready to build from those that might never materialize. To plan their own investments and shield other customers, utilities are trying to filter out legitimate projects from wannabes by imposing higher electricity rates, longer-term contracts, collateral requirements and steep fees for engineering studies.

Utilities face a predicament: Underbuilding grid infrastructure risks missing a huge opportunity, but overbuilding could also be problematic. Because grid costs are shared, other electricity customers would be left to pick up the tab—and help a utility recoup its investment—if a data-center project falls through. Jeanne Jones, executive vice president of finance and strategy at Exelon, said her utility tries to identify “real growth that’s going to happen versus speculative growth” before it invests to build out the grid. “For our customers it is obviously important,” Jones said. “Because if we build out the grid and then that data center walks away, someone’s got to pay for it and that’s not fair to them.” When scouring the country for the best location to build a data center, developers often request power from multiple utilities. That means the electricity needs of the same project might be double, triple or quadruple counted by different providers. In some cases, the wait time to connect to the grid is so long that data centers resort to building their own on-site power.

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Trump's diesel deal with Putin draws criticism from Congress

The House speaker stood before Donald Trump during his first term at the White House and pointed a finger declaring that with this president, “All roads lead to Putin.” The stark assessment years ago from Nancy Pelosi echoed anew after Trump’s surprise announcement last week that he struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import tons of Russian diesel to the U.S. as a way to ease sky-high prices at the pumps for Americans ahead of the midterm elections. Trump’s diesel deal with Putin has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats as fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine, violating existing U.S. laws and drawing the U.S. closer to Russia. It joins a growing list of instances where the president has sided with Putin, often at the expense of Ukraine — and America’s own standing.

“The harm to the Ukrainians is real,” said William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, in an interview Monday. “And the cost to us, the United States, is high.” It’s not at all clear the Trump-Putin deal will deliver the supply boost the president is seeking to bring down prices. Energy experts have said the flow of Russian diesel is unlikely to lower prices in the U.S., which have escalated largely due to disruptions from the U.S. war against Iran. But the agreement underlines a message at home and abroad that Trump is an unreliable ally as Ukraine battles Russia. A bipartisan group of six senators urged Trump over the weekend to reverse course, saying the U.S. “should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline.” Trump, however, held fast to his deal with Putin and lashed out, blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for America’s high diesel costs and asserting he should step aside — something Ukraine’s leader has no intention of doing.

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Rick Bailey: I'm a conservative Johnson County Commissioner. Greg Abbott is misleading voters about property taxes

(Rick Bailey is a Johnson County commissioner.) I’m a lifelong conservative. I believe strongly in limited government, fiscal responsibility and keeping taxes as low as possible. Government should live within its means just like the families it serves. And I believe decisions are best made as close to the people they affect as possible. Those principles are why I have a problem with what Gov. Greg Abbott is trying to sell Texans about property taxes as he runs for re-election. The governor consistently blames counties and cities for rising property tax bills, accusing us of runaway spending and arguing that even tighter restrictions on local government are the answer. In Johnson County, that story doesn’t match reality. Our commissioners court recently adopted a property tax rate of 41.7 cents per $100 of valuation, which is up from 38.9 cents the year prior. Taxpayers have every right to ask why, just as they have a right to expect honesty from their governor. So here’s the truth about where these dollars are going.

Johnson County’s employee health insurance costs are going up by almost $2 million this year. We anticipate losing almost $3 million in revenue through our jail. And another portion of our tax rate pays for the $60 million in voter-approved transportation bonds. Then there’s the unfunded mandates handed down to us by politicians in Austin, Abbott included. We’re required to pay for services like indigent legal defense and health care. In Johnson County, that costs us roughly $5 million a year — a fraction of which is reimbursed by the state. That’s not reckless local spending. That’s county government fulfilling its obligations as required by law. Yet, Abbott would have Texans believe their property taxes are rising because local officials can’t control themselves. Worse, he’s proposing a new law requiring local governments to get two-thirds of registered voters to approve any property tax increase, taking us to a new 0% revenue cap with no room to breathe. We should think about what that means in practice. The next time Austin hands counties another unfunded mandate, or the cost of providing ambulance services increases, or health insurance for our employees goes up, our hands would be tied even further. Not to mention the tens of thousands of dollars it would cost Johnson County to hold a special election.

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State Stories

Ken Paxton questions Talarico’s faith, but his own church is unknown

As Ken Paxton stood on stage at Vintage Church in Harker Heights last month, his son-in-law, Pastor Daniel Hayworth, prayed the U.S. Senate Republican candidate had what he needed to “continue fighting for the faith.” That faith is more central to this year’s Senate race than perhaps any in recent memory. Paxton’s Democratic opponent, James Talarico, is a seminarian who openly talks about his Christian beliefs. The Republican attorney general has said he’s on a God-given assignment to protect Texas from the political left, and his supporters see him as a true believer whose record pushing Christianity into public life speaks for itself. But little is known about Paxton’s personal relationship with religion. He has not said what church he attends, or if he attends one regularly. In a statement to Hearst Newspapers, he said he has been worshipping during the campaign cycle "at churches in communities all across Texas."

"I'm a committed Christian, and my faith guides every area of my life, from how I lead to the decisions I make for Texans every day," Paxton said. "Right now, my focus is on meeting Texans where they are, and that includes sitting in the pews alongside them on Sunday mornings." Democrats have chastised Paxton for his recent high-profile divorce, in which his estranged wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, accused him of adultery. Even some Christian conservatives have been disappointed by Paxton’s reticence to publicly address his actions or open up more about his faith journey. Texas Values Action, a Christian conservative political group that has long supported Paxton, initially pulled its endorsement of him for the Senate when it said he refused to meet about his divorce. (The group has since backed him again). Rick Scarborough, a former Southern Baptist pastor from Pearland who runs an organization that paved the way for pastors to bring politics to the pulpit, said Paxton had been a great ally to Christian voters, but “suddenly, he's departed” from the religion’s tenets. “If he would make a return, then we would see the church rally to his assistance, and I, for one, would do all I could to make sure that the Christian community knew about the repentance,” Scarborough said. He has taken issue with some of the scandals surrounding Paxton’s private life, and said Paxton should address those issues directly. “But thus far, I've not been able to get Ken to do that.”

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Jessica Grose: Can this education policy turn Texas blue?

(Jessica Grose covers family, religion, education and culture for the New York Times opinion section.) “I’ve been voting Republican my whole life. I’m superconservative,” the Pine Tree superintendent, Steve Clugston, tells the camera in an Instagram reel. “I’m going to tell you what: When Greg Abbott sold us out to the billionaires and sold out our schools, I’m done with his leadership.” In the Texas governor’s race, Clugston is voting for Abbott’s Democratic opponent, State Representative Gina Hinojosa. The Pine Tree public school district is in the bright red small city of Longview in East Texas, between the big cities of Dallas and Shreveport, La. A majority of its 4,400 students are economically disadvantaged. When I caught up with Clugston on Friday, hours before the Pine Tree football team trounced its opponents under the lights, he was at his farm. “My wife’s a teacher. My daughter’s a teacher. My son-in-law’s a teacher. Both my sisters are teachers. My brother-in-law’s a retired superintendent. So I’d say education’s kind of in our blood,” he told me over the phone.

Clugston told me he’s sick of his fellow Texas conservatives straying from their principles of fiscal common sense and straight talk; he even attempted a run for the Texas State Senate as an independent conservative. He is particularly appalled by Texas’ voucher program, known as Texas Education Freedom Accounts, which went into effect this year. This program puts state money in accounts for Texas families to use outside the public school system: up to nearly $10,500 for children enrolling in private school, up to $30,000 for children with disabilities and up to $2,000 for those who are home-schooled. The State of Texas has no say over the curriculum taught at the institutions that accept vouchers, and participating schools can discriminate against applicants for any number of reasons, including religion and disability status. Texas’ vouchers are universal, which means anyone can apply for them, regardless of financial means, though poorer students have been prioritized. Around 70 percent of this year’s voucher recipients already were enrolled in private schools or were home-schooled. Vouchers are costing the state about a billion dollars this year alone and could ultimately cost $4.4 billion annually. While funding for vouchers comes from a budget that is separate from the public school pot, the state’s funding for public schools has not kept up with inflation.

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Bankruptcy judge lifts pause on wrongful death lawsuits against Camp Mystic

A federal bankruptcy judge ruled Friday that wrongful death lawsuits against Camp Mystic may resume on Nov. 9, lifting a pause that was put on the claims after the camp's owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief in June. More than a dozen families are suing the all-girls Christian summer camp and its owners, the Eastland family, after catastrophic flooding in July 2025 killed 25 campers and two counselors. One of the camp's owners and executive director, Dick Eastland, also died during the flooding. Judge Christopher Lopez, a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of Texas, said at the conclusion of a nearly 12 hour hearing that public interest supports the timely resolution of the wrongful death claims against the camp and its owners.

Allowing the cases to move forward, Lopez said, will also give all parties a better understanding of how much money the camp may be liable for as a result of the claims. No money, he said, can be paid out without permission from the bankruptcy court first. It's unclear where the wrongful death lawsuits will be litigated. Shortly after the camp filed for bankruptcy, the cases were transferred from a Travis County district court to federal court. There are motions to move the cases from where they currently are in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to the Southern District of Texas or back to Travis County. Lopez is still considering who will take control of the camp's bankruptcy case. Chapter 11 bankruptcy typically allows businesses to continue operating while they reorganize their finances under court supervision. The Eastland family currently retains control of the business. Since filing for bankruptcy, they have hired a chief restructuring officer, Karen Nicolaou, to help them manage the case and the camp's finances. The case's creditor committee, which is comprised of 13 families who lost their children in the flood, has asked for the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee, a type of independent fiduciary, to manage the case. The committee argued this is the best course of action because of conflicts of interest created by the wrongful death claims against the Eastlands.

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‘I need to stand up:’ Rep. Vincent Perez challenges Texas Comptroller’s performance review into EPISD

Monday, Texas State Representative Vince Perez (D-El Paso) sent a letter to Texas Comptroller Don Huffines challenging the state's investigation of the El Paso Independent School District. On Oct. 6, Huffines announced four Texas school districts, including EPISD, will undergo a performance review to "ensure taxpayer funds are being spent responsibly." In his letter, Rep. Perez argued that EPISD's administrative spending meets the Texas Education Agency's standard and the law behind the investigation was "written for tax collection." "By the State's own measures, El Paso ISD spends a smaller share on administration than 84 other large districts, and TEA grades its finances superior," said Rep. Perez in a statement. "If spending were the test, El Paso wouldn't be on this list. The Comptroller owes El Paso families an explanation of what the test was."

Perez' letter claimed EPISD is under the state's benchmark for administrative costs. He argued that EPISD used 4.20% of its spending on administration. TEA gives large districts full credit at 4.50% or less. Additionally, Rep. Perez said Texas Governor Greg Abbott used inaccurate numbers before asking the comptroller to investigate the district. The letter said Gov. Abbott's numbers counted students who left the district. The letter asks Comptroller Huffines to answer eight questions within two weeks. The questions ask how EPISD was chosen for review, which revenue law the district is alleged to have broken, whether a referral to the attorney general is being considered and whether the full report will go to the Legislature and the public the same day it goes to the governor Rep. Perez said Huffines would share findings with the Legislature and the people of Texas. Rep. Perez is running for re-election for Texas House District 77 against Republican candidate Humberto Perez.

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Advocates urge lawmakers to address mental health

Mental health advocates and service providers urged state lawmakers Thursday to increase funding for community-based treatment, expand crisis services and address workforce shortages as demand for behavioral health care continues to grow across Galveston and Brazoria counties. The Gulf Coast Center and NAMI Gulf Coast hosted a legislative forum at the College of the Mainland Conference Center, where families, healthcare professionals and advocates shared experiences navigating mental health and intellectual and developmental disability services. The state has invested heavily in psychiatric hospitals and crisis services, but additional funding is needed to help residents receive treatment before their conditions require hospitalization or intervention by law enforcement, Gulf Coast Center CEO Felicia Jeffery said.

“We want our officials to know that care should begin in our communities and not in hospitals, jails and emergency rooms,” Jeffery said. Demand for services has increased since the Covid-19 pandemic, Jeffery said. More people are seeking treatment for trauma, depression, homelessness and employment-related difficulties, she said. Although Texas has invested about $2.5 billion in inpatient psychiatric capacity, community clinics need additional resources to sustain services, particularly after federal pandemic funding expired, Jeffery said. “In order for care to have quality, it needs to be accessible,” Jeffery said. “To open up access, you need to have capacity.” She also pointed to waiting lists for intellectual and developmental disability services and reimbursement rates that make it difficult to recruit and retain qualified workers. Galveston resident Gabby Rice described struggling to obtain help for her adult son as his mental health deteriorated. Rice contacted law enforcement seeking intervention but was told officers could not act unless her son threatened himself or someone else, she said.

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Houston Chronicle Editorial: Vote for McGee and against taxation without representation

If you’re mad about runaway spending in Harris County, make sure to direct a bit of your ire at state Rep. Mike Schofield. That’s because the Republican started a successful effort to allow constables to sign patrol contracts without any oversight from commissioners — the elected officials who actually have to balance the budget. As a result, county taxpayers are directly subsidizing patrols in wealthy neighborhoods. The whole deal smacks of taxation without representation, and it contributes to a significant driver of the county’s budget woes. One expert said it might even be illegal. Voters should want representatives in Austin who help lighten our local fiscal load rather than making things worse. If he had a strong defense of this unfunded mandate, we didn’t hear it — Schofield, 62, did not meet with us.

That’s too bad. We’ve endorsed him in the past, but not this time. Voters instead should support Sara McGee, his Democratic challenger. McGee was raised in the Katy-area district in a Republican family. Not too long ago, she counted herself as a Never-Trump Republican and split her ticket in 2016. But she said she’s seen Republican leadership in her district and in Texas attack local control and undermine the public schools that have attracted much of the region’s growth. “My community did not want vouchers,” McGee said of the $1 billion program that Republicans are pushing to further expand next session. “I don’t have political aspirations,” the director of radiology told us. “I have Katy and Cy-Fair aspirations.” She had this to say about Schofield: “He’s brilliant at writing bills,” and, “a lot of people go to him for bill advice and this and that but he’s terrible at the one thing that is the most important to me and that’s representing the people you were elected to serve.” Though she’s a political newcomer, McGee, 46, impressed us with her ability to talk policy and a much more balanced disposition than her admittedly aggressive Twitter presence. She was able to draw on personal experience to map out urgently needed changes in state law.

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Houston Chronicle Editorial: We heard Rep. Gene Wu tell his GOP challenger to 'shut up'. We still back him.

Gene Wu led the charge. Or was it a strategic retreat? There wasn’t much Texas Democrats could do when Republicans here decided to scrounge up a few more red seats in Congress with a round of midterm redistricting. So they left, officially breaking quorum to try to stall the vote on the new maps. As the chair of the House Democratic caucus, Wu garnered national attention. For a state representative, it’s remarkable that he helped change our national politics by inspiring a retaliatory redistricting fight in California and other states. Fierce pushback from Republicans is to be expected, even personal attacks on Wu.

But on the first day of quorum break, Republican Sen. Mayes Middleton wrote on X: “Is Gene Wu back in China?” The racist post was another reminder that Wu’s leadership comes at a cost: to himself, to his family and even his district. Before Railroad Commissioner candidate Bo French got national attention for his gleefully ignorant attempt to call a crowd of South Asian University of Texas at Austin football fans un-American, French was busy attacking Wu, alleging he has ties to the Chinese Communist Party and calling for his deportation. The attacks have been personal, he told us, aimed at not just him but his wife and kids. Wu’s family were victims of communism. They fled communist China. What Wu, 48, has had to put up with is disgraceful. But it also underscores why he fights so hard, why he’s made himself a lightning rod in the Legislature where he now says it’s difficult for him to get bills passed if his name is on them. And it also underscores, perhaps, why he seemed so exhausted and on edge when the editorial board met with him and his Republican challenger, Helen Zhou. She suggested that Wu invited the nastiness with his own combativeness, a stance we just don’t think fits the reality. At one point, Wu shouted at Zhou to “shut up” when she interrupted him. We told him that he had crossed a line.

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Active-duty soldier’s wife faces possible deportation this month

An active-military service member’s wife could face deportation this month after a scheduled immigration hearing in late October. Jacob Olson, a seven-year military service member in the Army, told KTSM that any information shared was his own and he does not speak on behalf of the U.S. military. Due to this, Jacob did not disclose his rank. “All of the things I am saying today are opinions of my own personal opinions,” Olson said. Jacob Olson said he met his wife Rosa in July 2024 while she was on a student visa. The two got engaged and married after his deployment in November 2025. Jacob Olson said Rosa Olson stopped going to school in December 2025 because they thought Rosa would be safe while her applications were in process. Rosa Olson is a Mexican national.

“We filed the I-130 and the I-485 within three weeks of being married,” Jacob Olson said. “Something I didn’t know that needed to be included was an actual IRS tax return.” Back in April of 2025, ICE issued a memorandum stating that a relative’s U.S. military service no longer automatically exempts noncitizen family members from immigration enforcements. Jacob Olson said the first application was denied due to a missing tax return. “That’s because of my fault that I didn’t know better to do that, but UCIS also had the option to just specifically request and ask for the tax return, instead of denying our application that cost $1,440,” Jacob Olson said. The two said they tried filing paperwork a second time through a notary. “UCIS gave us a receipt number for the work permit, but they didn’t give us a denial notice,” Jacob Olson said. “Since we didn’t receive the denial, we thought things were fine because they gave us the work permit receipt and they scheduled biometrics to go and get fingerprints.”

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UT Austin response to Myron Gaines debate draws criticism

University of Texas students, parents and Black student organizations are questioning their university’s decision to allow a far-right speaker on campus amid concerns about hate speech’s place at UT. Last week, manosphere influencer and podcaster Myron Gaines hosted a debate on campus, during which he used sexist, racist and homophobic slurs, according to video captured by UT students and Uncensored America, the organization hosting the event. UT police shut down the event before its official conclusion when Gaines directed profane language toward individuals in the crowd.

UT’s chapter of Uncensored America, which launched in May 2026, reserved Gregory Plaza for the debate, said Sean Semanko, the national organization’s founder and president. The venue cannot be reserved without a registered UT organization, according to university policy. Invited speakers must be approved by the UT administration. In the days after the event, Black student organizations criticized the university for not strongly standing against racism and for allowing the speaker to come on campus. Student groups Austin Students for a Democratic Society, Not Our Texas and Texas Black Students Alliance condemned the Gaines event and the “continued normalization” of hateful rhetoric. UT spokesperson Mike Rosen said in a statement that the university values free speech and safety and promptly shut the Gaines event down when tensions escalated. “On Wednesday night, the University took decisive action to shut down a student organization event that was on the verge of disruption and violence,” Rosen said. “UT will always protect free speech and will always prioritize the safety of our students and our campus community.” Rosen declined to comment on the content of Gaines’ speech. The invited speaker’s rhetoric struck a nerve among UT’s Black community, prompting the launch of a new student organization and a wave of statements demanding unity and action.

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Kristi Noem took a jab at Texas' James Talarico. Then Kacey Musgraves fired back

A weekend concert became a political sideshow Monday after former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem took a jab at two Texans — Senate hopeful James Talarico and singer Kacey Musgraves — and the country star fired back. Talarico, the state's Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, was fresh off a break from the campaign trail when he shared photos of himself and Musgraves from her Saturday show in Dallas, writing: “Thank you for having me last night!” Noem shared a screenshot of Talarico’s post Monday morning on X, stating she would take country singer-songwriter Ella Langley over Musgraves any day.

“And if I'm choosin' Texas, I'll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico,” Noem continued, invoking Talarico's Republican opponent and the current Texas attorney general. A few hours later, Musgraves, who grew up in East Texas, responded with a pointed dig of her own: “I don't think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it." Noem was widely criticized in 2024 after she disclosed in her memoir, "No Going Back," that she shot and killed her 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket, in a gravel pit after the dog attacked her chickens. Musgraves' comeback took off online, garnering more than three million views in just a few hours. It joins a growing list of viral moments for Talarico, whose Senate campaign has become a magnet for social media attention as the Nov. 3 election approaches. Over the weekend, Talarico pushed back against viral rumors that he used the flu as a pretense to seek mental health treatment in Ohio. The facility at the center of the rumor publicly denied ever having the politician as a patient, while Talarico said he had never even visited the state.

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‘Oil field trash’ tries to pull off Texas shocker

Any other year, Jon Rosenthal would be a major underdog for statewide office in Texas. He’s a Democrat running to oversee the oil and gas industry, in a state that has been largely under Republican control for more than 30 years. But if his closing rural push against a controversial GOP opponent delivers, Rosenthal would have a platform — as one of three state Railroad Commission members — to pursue what he calls commonsense solutions to some of the oil industry’s thorny problems. He has pushed for bigger budgets at the commission so it can retain employees, address unplugged wells and manage oil field wastewater. All of that, Rosenthal said, can be done without endangering the state’s crude production — an important caveat for an oil field engineer who describes himself as a “drill, baby, drill Democrat.”

“I am thoroughly oil field trash,” Rosenthal said at a recent conference. “I worked on drilling rigs, and I drink, smoke and swear.” A win would be a watershed moment for Texas, where major GOP candidates often don’t have to break a sweat to win in November. That’s not the case this year as President Donald Trump’s popularity plummets and concerns about affordability hang over candidates. Then, of course, there’s Rosenthal’s opponent: Bo French. French made national news in September with a xenophobic online post showing South Asian students celebrating at a University of Texas football game — saying the “problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.” Within a week, Rosenthal had raised more money than he had in his whole race, according to campaign finance reports. Longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove also endorsed him in the Wall Street Journal, saying he won’t support extremists. “For the last several months, I have been saying this campaign is the wildest thing I’ve ever done,” Rosenthal told POLITICO recently. “It just keeps getting wilder — and still I was not prepared for Karl Rove to say my name.”

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Texas A&M coach Elko says he regrets 'cesspool' comments

Texas A&M coach Mike Elko expressed regret Monday for his comments after losing to Missouri in which he referred to the website TexAgs and a portion of the Aggies' fanbase as a "cesspool." After the Aggies dropped to 3-3 on Saturday with a 27-6 defeat at No. 14 Missouri, Elko was asked what his message would be to Texas A&M fans who might be worried. He said there is a difference between the fanbase and social media, with a nod to Billy Liucci, the executive editor and co-owner of TexAgs.

"There's one group that I really don't care much about. Billy's cesspool can go be Billy's cesspool," Elko said. "Our fanbase: Stay with us, be behind us, we're going to build something that we told you we were going to build. We're in a really bad spot right now, but we'll work our way out of it." On Monday, with Liucci in attendance at his weekly news conference, Elko said the viral comment was made in the heat of the moment and came across in a "way that I certainly regret." "I think everybody knows I have a tremendous relationship with Billy," Elko said. "I appreciate Billy. I appreciate him being here today. There's nothing about him and I that have ever been off since 2018. I think everybody knows I appreciate our fanbase and everything that they're about and everything that they mean to Texas A&M. Outside of that, I'll leave it alone. "I regret the way it was taken. I regret the way it came out. I regret the way it ran. That certainly was never my intention. And certainly, throughout the course of that interview, at no point ever did I lend any blame to anything other than myself. I am the reason why this team is struggling. I have owned that since this has started. I continue to own that. It's my job to figure out how to get it better."

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City Stories

With recall effort launched, Dallas City Council member Gay Donnell Willis to postpone zoning case

Dallas District 13 council member Gay Donnell Willis plans to ask for a postponement of a controversial mixed-use zoning case at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane. The postponement announcement was made late Friday – the same day a group of District 13 residents officially launched their recall petition effort. But Willis’ plans are not to address the development’s building height – the main issue residents have with the proposed development. Instead, Willis plans to ask for a postponement during the Nov. 10 City Council meeting to address traffic flow concerns, another issue residents saw with the project.

Willis said in a statement that she wants a solution that goes beyond the immediate intersection to include eastbound and westbound traffic as well. She said additional traffic improvements would reduce wait times at the lights and ensure improved vehicle flow. “Hopefully, this additional time will result in recommendations that can be incorporated into the zoning requirements for the developer, who will bear the expense,” Willis said. “This postponement also aligns with the delay some neighbors have requested for further study of the project.” The Preston Road and Royal Lane case is one of three zoning cases that residents with the D13 Together Coalition say “show a broader, systemic breakdown in trust” between Willis and the neighborhoods she represents. D13 Together has initiated a recall effort against Willis after, what they say has been, “years of escalating disputes” with their representative. Doug Hazelbaker with the Neighborhoods First PAC said in a statement that the recall petition would continue. “Apparently, the quickest way to get Councilwoman Gay Willis’s attention is to start collecting signatures to recall her,” Hazelbaker said in a statement. “We repeatedly asked her to delay this project and meet with residents about overwhelming opposition to a development backed by her campaign contributor. She ignored us. Then, the very day we launch a recall petition, our concerns suddenly matter. Amazing timing.”

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National Stories

What to know about the search of Ilhan Omar's home

Federal agents searched Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C. home on Monday, only three weeks before the frequent target of President Donald Trump’s criticism stands for reelection in her congressional district in Minnesota. Here’s what to know: Trump has not been shy about wanting to use federal law enforcement to target his perceived political enemies. He’s pushed prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York’s Democratic Attorney General, Letitia James, following earlier probes the two launched against him. Omar, a left-wing firebrand, has been a longtime target of Trump and Republicans in general.

Omar was born in Somalia and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Trump has especially targeted Somali immigrants in Minnesota, posting on social media last week that the people of the state must “fight back” against them. The state has reeled from several federal fraud cases sometimes involving Somali-run nonprofits in Minnesota. Many of those cases were filed by former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice. Omar is not involved in them. Omar has long criticized Trump, and the president has likewise gone after her repeatedly over the years. Trump late last week alluded to possible action against the congresswoman. At a rally in Tennessee on Saturday, Trump referred pejoratively to Omar as coming from a country of “crime and squalor” and suggested that Vice President JD Vance “and our people” were investigating her. Justice Department protocol has long been to avoid legal action against politicians in the final weeks before their election. The Trump administration’s violation of that added to Democratic criticism that this is simply political payback.

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They came to Washington to dismantle government. Now, they’re profiting from it.

Last year, billionaire Elon Musk unleashed a small army of Silicon Valley techies to drain what he called the “swamp” of Washington — wielding the U.S. DOGE Service to slash at a bureaucracy they argued was bloated and corrupt. But today, many of his former DOGE foot soldiers have leveraged their government stints to fuel private-sector ambitions: building companies that tap government largesse or that deploy knowledge they garnered during their brief tenures in Washington. A Washington Post analysis found that roughly two dozen former DOGE staffers have parlayed their government experience into relevant private-sector jobs or investments — becoming founders, securing CEO positions or senior executive roles, amassing large stakes in start-ups looking to win government contracts or approvals, or taking the skills developed at DOGE to the private sector.

Though several of the businesses are only months old, with little public activity, at least six DOGE alumni have registered on Sam.gov, a government contracting portal examined by The Post. The migration of former staffers from DOGE — short for the Department of Government Efficiency — into the private sector has prompted a burst of funding for their businesses. Start-ups founded by, or with key investment from, DOGE alumni have raised at least half a billion dollars in funding, according to an analysis of government data, investor research platforms and venture capital funding disclosures, paired with lists of confirmed DOGE members compiled by The Post, the New York Times and ProPublica. They have built a cottage industry of ambitious but largely untested businesses, often helmed by inexperienced founders, sometimes drawing initial valuations in the billions of dollars. Despite DOGE’s shaky track record on trimming the federal budget, the private sector has come to see experience with the group as a valuable commodity, said Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a nonprofit-sponsored organization that advocates for government work to serve the public interest.

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AI models may soon self-replicate without access to data centers, Anthropic warns

Anthropic said on Monday its experiments suggested small AI models may be months away from being capable enough to ?self-replicate on commercial internet-of-things (IoT) devices, such as smart ?ovens and off-brand Android TV boxes. In its experiments, Anthropic looked at whether AI models could find vulnerable devices, copy themselves into those devices, ?and continue spreading without human help. It found that small ?models under 30 billion parameters could complete the many ?steps needed for replication. However, the firm found that such AI ?models also struggled to complete the entire sequence from start ?to finish. In its simplified tests, where some security steps were removed, Anthropic found that GLM-5.2 and stronger models were capable of end-to-end replication.

Replicating models ?would be hard to shut down as there is no ?central switch-off point and, unlike non-AI malware, they could also figure out ?unfamiliar ?devices on their own, targeting data center processors, Anthropic warned. The firm focused on IoT devices like Android TVs, smart appliances, and other internet-connected gadgets in its research as these are typically ?poorly secured. The AI ?major also ?warned that if small models improved at their historical rate, they would be able to ?autonomously replicate by the end of this year, ?with small ?weight-based replicators following suit soon after. Anthropic also said such autonomous AI systems were likely to replicate slowly and rely on widely ?available, ?relatively insecure computing resources. It added ?that systems should be strengthened to make it harder for such AI agents ?to spread.

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Hillary Clinton steps to the podcast mic as midterms approach

Hillary Clinton has rarely been far from the spotlight since her 2016 presidential bid. She has written best-selling books, taught at Columbia University and even tried her hand on Broadway as a producer for the Tony Award-winning musical “Suffs.” Her next act? Podcaster. With the midterm elections looming, Mrs. Clinton is preparing to make her voice heard on a new podcast series, called “High Stakes,” alongside the well-known technology journalist Kara Swisher. Starting Wednesday, Mrs. Clinton and Ms. Swisher will break down the race to control the House and the Senate in weekly episodes that run through mid-November.

“I don’t think the stakes for the country and the world could be any higher,” Mrs. Clinton said in an interview with The New York Times last week. “If we don’t reverse this chaos and corruption and cruelty that is being visited upon us by this administration, we won’t recognize our country.” The podcast is launched with Vox Media, which also produces, distributes and sells advertising for two other podcasts that Ms. Swisher hosts: “Pivot” and “On With Kara Swisher.” “High Stakes” will be distributed through the same feed of Ms. Swisher’s “On” podcast. Ms. Swisher, Mrs. Clinton and Vox Media will share advertising revenue from the episodes. The idea for the podcast came this spring at the sprawling home of former Atlantic owner David Bradley in Washington’s upscale Kalorama neighborhood. Ms. Swisher turned up to the soireé, which was being held for Mrs. Clinton, wearing a T-shirt and jeans and began peppering the former secretary of state with questions about a variety of topics — from the upcoming midterm elections to the continuing war in Ukraine. Ms. Swisher said she thought Mrs. Clinton’s answers were concise and intelligible, and Ms. Swisher wondered why Mrs. Clinton had not taken another swing at podcasting after her solo interview show, “You and Me Both With Hillary Clinton,” ended in 2023.

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Pro-Collins ads target wrong Portland in GOP super PAC mix-up

Ads promoting Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) appeared to target the wrong city of Portland in a Republican super PAC mix-up, running the advertisements in Oregon instead of Maine. “During a recent independent expenditure, our media vendor mistakenly placed approximately $25,000 in digital advertising in the Portland, Oregon media market instead of Portland, Maine,” a spokesperson for Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP), the nonprofit affiliated with GOP super PAC Defending Main Street, told The Hill. “The error was identified, the ads were immediately stopped and corrected, and the vendor is refunding Defending Main Street the full amount of the misplaced spend,” the spokesperson said. “No donor funds will be lost as a result of the vendor’s error.”

The mix-up was first reported by NBC News, which identified a Portland, Ore., resident writing on social media Sunday that she received “5 anti-Troy Jackson ads in the last 24 hours.” According to Google Ads Transparency Center, the advertisements ran for four days and targeted various zip codes around the Portland, Ore., area. Before the ad was taken down, it was shown more than 1 million times to people across all demographics in Oregon. An RMSP spokesperson also directed The Hill to statements from Sarah Chamberlain, the president and CEO of RMSP. In the statements to NBC News, Chamberlain said she was “absolutely furious” that the ad buyer, Cross Screen Media, made such a “ridiculous” error. “It has nothing to do with us. I would never run an ad in Portland, Oregon, for Susan Collins, for Christ’s sake,” Chamberlain said. Cross Screen Media released a statement Monday, saying that it was “100% our mistake,” adding that they have refunded the $25,909.61 to the super PAC and began running the ads in Portland, Maine.

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Trump census plan to cut noncitizens from 2030 count spurs critics toward legal fight

Congressional Democrats and civil rights groups are concerned about a proposed Trump administration change to the U.S. census that would exclude noncitizens without permanent resident status, altering congressional representation and potentially how federal funding is distributed. Opponents warn the rule, which was posted in September, could have negative effects, potentially shifting congressional power to parts of the country where fewer immigrants live and underfunding education, healthcare, food assistance and emergency management programs. The public can comment on the rule until Nov. 2, the day before Election Day.

?The greatest likelihood is that this is going to end up in litigation,” said Meeta Anand, senior director of census and data equity at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “I’m under no delusion that we will see everything remedied because I do know that it’s been a project of the administration to exclude noncitizens from the count.” The proposed census change is the latest volley in the Trump administration’s push to reduce illegal immigration. If certain categories of immigrants living in the U.S. are not counted, areas where they are concentrated could get less federal money. The rule’s supporters say counting all immigrants living legally in the U.S. encourages illegal immigration. The rule would exclude from the census millions of noncitizens without a green card, including people in the country on student visas, people with temporary protected status, refugees and asylum seekers. It would also bar the collection of demographic information on race and ethnicity from the census’s short-form questionnaire. That information can be used for civil rights enforcement and to assess compliance with federal laws that bar racial discrimination.

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Venezuela wants to return to the days when its oil fields were booming—with U.S. help

An oil gusher discovered more than 100 years ago gave birth to Venezuela’s energy industry near this once-booming city on the shores of Lake Maracaibo. Today, Cabimas is ground zero for the U.S. effort to resurrect the sector. This city of 350,000 resembles an oil-industry graveyard. Mangled drill towers and collapsing offshore platforms are visible as far as the eye can see. Hardened globs of crude cling to fishing nets pulled from the lake, and natural gas gurgles up from busted underwater pipelines. The lake’s shores are black with petroleum. Nearby, children play baseball between leaky pump jacks that often stop working because of power outages that last up to 12 hours a day.

Many residents here say they can’t wait for American investors to arrive and start plowing money into rebuilding the country’s dilapidated oil infrastructure. Many remember the boom years of old when oil workers enjoyed housing provided by international oil companies, along with neighborhoods with swimming pools, sports clubs and golf courses, and a lake with clean water and healthy marine life. The question they are asking is: Can the U.S. bring the good times back? “God willing, the foreigners will come back soon and we’ll have a better quality of life,” said José Medina, a fisherman with five children. But he is worried it will take a long time. “It feels like we’re neither moving forward nor backward.” The decaying industry here reflects two decades of mismanagement under late President Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S. captured in a raid in January and is prosecuting in New York on drug-trafficking charges, which Maduro denies. Industry executives and experts say residents’ fears are well-founded: Reviving Venezuela’s oil sector will be a lengthy undertaking costing hundreds of billions of dollars.

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Copyright October 20, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved