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Newsclips - September 8, 2026 |
Lead Stories
Inside GOP’s big-money Dallas events
The Republicans’ “midterm convention” in Dallas begins Wednesday. The made-for-TV event is aimed at boosting GOP base turnout in the midterm elections. But this is also Texas — the Republican Party’s biggest ATM. So there’s a lot of big-money fundraising taking place on the sidelines of the main event at the American Airlines Center. House and Senate Republicans are competing for cash from a small group of big-time GOP donors who can dole out hundreds of thousands — or millions — of dollars. The goal of the party committees and super PACs is to convince the check writers that they’re the best investment to save the endangered GOP majorities on Capitol Hill with just 56 days to go. The White House. First, let’s talk about President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. This convention is Trump’s brainchild, designed to counter slumping GOP ratings, although it’s unclear how focusing even more attention on a widely unpopular president can do that.
Trump posted on Truth Social Monday night yet another promise that oil prices “will drop precipitously” when the United States wins the war with Iran. The war is now in its seventh month. Trump will appear at an RNC roundtable Wednesday. The get-in-the-door price is $250,000. If you want a photo with the president, that will run you $88,600. Vance has his RNC fundraiser Thursday. The roundtable for the VP is $75,000 per person. A photo will cost $35,000. But an event like this, and the confluence of big-money donors, means a lot more to candidates, congressional party committees and super PACs than it does to Trump and Vance. The Senate. The Senate map is increasingly competitive as Trump’s poll numbers sink. Republicans are trying to hold seats in North Carolina, Ohio, Maine, Texas, Iowa and Alaska, and are fighting to flip seats in Michigan, New Hampshire and Georgia. Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate GOP super PAC, has a number of events in Texas, the cycle’s surprise battleground state. SLF has a suite both nights at the convention, as does the Congressional Leadership Fund, the House Republican super PAC. SLF’s brass is participating in the NRSC programming. Alex Latcham, the group’s executive director, will speak at an NRSC “battleground plan lunch” Wednesday.
Read this article at Punchbowl News - Subscribers Only
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Canada imposes new tariffs on U.S. goods, as trade war intensifies
New Canadian tariffs targeting roughly $20 billion in U.S. imports officially snapped into place on Tuesday, the latest escalation in an increasingly costly trade war that has ensnarled two longtime allies. The duties apply to a variety of U.S. goods, including clothing, cheese, metal parts and wood products. The approach is meant to mimic the taxes that President Trump imposed on Canada after trade talks between the two neighbors collapsed in acrimony last month. For now, the economic effects of the tit-for-tat may be limited because the tariffs encompass only a small portion of the annual trade between the United States and Canada. The more pressing concern is a potential cycle of retaliation, one that results in even higher and more exhaustive duties that harm families and businesses on both sides of the border.
In Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney has sought to position himself as a bulwark against Mr. Trump’s trade aggression, describing his nation as “at war.” Canadian officials generally have pledged to respond “dollar for dollar” to any U.S. duties. In Washington, the president and his aides have repeatedly mocked their Canadian counterparts and the size of their ally’s economy and military. Mr. Trump has already threatened additional tariffs on auto imports from Canada, and on Friday, he even suggested he could try to halt bilateral trade outright. Then, hours before Canada’s new tariffs took effect, Mr. Trump took to social media to continue his attack. He singled out Bombardier, a Canadian plane manufacturer, claiming there would be “NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!” Sign up for Your Places: Global Update. All the latest news for any part of the world you select. In doing so, the president accused Canada of blocking “our GREAT American Banks, and Companies,” and he encouraged U.S. consumers to refrain from buying some Canadian goods. “BUY AMERICAN. FLY ON AMERICAN AIRLINERS. ENJOY AMERICAN LIQUOR AND BEVERAGES. SAIL ON LAKE AMERICA,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Read this article at New York Times - Subscribers Only
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As Social Security fund runs dry, some Republicans say it’s time to raise taxes
For decades, Washington has replayed the same fight over taming the soaring national debt: Democrats cite a need for more taxes. Republicans refuse. And anyone who suggests cutting the biggest source of spending — federal retirement benefits — gets attacked. But a coming crisis in Social Security appears to be pushing at least a few Republicans off the GOP’s long-standing pledge never to raise taxes. This summer, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) in proposing to raise the payroll tax cap so people with higher incomes pay more into the program. Now the idea is emerging as an acceptable fix among other GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Tom Cole, the influential chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
“We’ve got too many people who say, ‘Well, we have to stay within the current income level or stay at the current tax rate,’” Cole (Oklahoma) said in an interview. “I’m willing to look at the tax rate. I am willing to raise the amount of income through tax.” The rare GOP concessions on taxes come as lawmakers begin to confront a Social Security shortfall so large and so imminent that the party’s traditional demand for curtailing benefits is unlikely to suffice. In just six years, millions of Social Security recipients will absorb a 22 percent cut in benefits unless lawmakers provide an immediate infusion of nearly $500 billion. “Twenty or thirty years ago,” when the shortfall was far in the future, “you could come up with a straight-faced solution” that solved the problem entirely by cutting future benefits, said Charles Blahous, a senior research strategist at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center who served from 2010 to 2015 as the Republican public trustee for Social Security. Now the problem is so big and urgent, Blahous said, “I don’t think you can look at it with a straight face and not do all of the above.”
Read this article at Washington Post - Subscribers Only
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Farmers are going broke amid rising gas prices, while the Ag Secretary profits off them
As farmers grapple with soaring diesel and fertilizer prices and the Department of Agriculture yanks support for cheaper, renewable forms of energy, the agency’s chief, Brooke Rollins, is carrying millions in highly profitable oil and gas investments. In disclosure reports filed in July, Rollins indicated that she and her husband, Mark Rollins, an oil and gas industry executive, together hold as much as $2.5 million in fossil fuel investments. At least $1 million of that is in HKN II, a limited partnership with oil and gas interests in the Kurdistan region of Iraq; another $1 million, at least, is in Hillwood Energy New Ventures, which has interests in oil and gas operations in Texas, Rollins’ home state. Rollins also disclosed that she holds between $250,000 and $550,000 in investments in operating companies that own oil and gas assets in Texas. Since the beginning of this year and President Donald Trump’s launch of the war in Iran, oil and gas prices have skyrocketed, and so have industry profits.
Prices for diesel hit record highs this week, while prices of fertilizer, which are manufactured with natural gas and tied to the market, have also spiked this year, hitting an agriculture industry already battered by Trump’s tariffs and increasingly extreme weather events. “Farmers have spent a billion and a half [dollars] just on additional costs for diesel because of the Iran war,” said former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a former presidential candidate who campaigned on progressive climate policies. “American farmers are paying through the nose for this.” Inslee is currently working with Climate Power, a strategy and communications group that’s working to push climate and clean energy policies. According to a Climate Power analysis, the only other top Trump administration official with significant fossil fuel investments is Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, who held as much as $320,000 in oil and gas stocks as of the end of 2025. Trump himself has been the biggest beneficiary of his own war.
Read this article at Inside Climate News - Subscribers Only
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State Stories
Ted Cruz racks up private jet flights ahead of midterms
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has been crisscrossing the country campaigning for Republicans ahead of November's midterm elections. And he isn't flying coach. Through the first six months of the year, Cruz's Jobs, Freedom and Security PAC spent close to $200,000 on private air travel for the Texas Republican, who spent among the most of anyone in Congress on private fights. Cruz spent twice as much as Senate Majority Leader John Thune's Heartland Values PAC, according to analysis of campaign finance records.
The flights come as Cruz attempts to fortify Republicans ahead of a midterm election in which the GOP is trying to hold control of the U.S. House and Senate amid flagging approval ratings for President Donald Trump. The flights appear to comply with federal rules, which largely bar members of the U.S. House from private air travel but not senators. Still, doing so can present a problematic image for politicians, said Bill King, a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. "Both parties have the populist problem, where people don't like politicians making a lot of money and cozying up to business interests," he said. Cruz's private jet travel marks a significant increase from last year when his campaign committees spent close to $61,000 on private flights, far behind the $560,000 in flights U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders reported and the $178,000 reported by Thune's PAC. A spokesperson for Cruz declined to answer questions about the purpose of the flights, but Cruz has been eager to tout his efforts to boost the GOP. "In the last decade, there has not been another Republican who’s campaigned for more Senate candidates, more House candidates, more gubernatorial candidates than I have," he claimed on Meet the Press last week. "These are the most consequential midterms we have ever had," he said. "I’m going to be on the road non-stop from now to Election Day. If the Democrats take the Senate and House, we will see the entire Trump legislative agenda grind to a halt." The dates of Cruz's private jet payments largely correlate with a run of campaign appearances ahead of state GOP primaries, which run from March to September.
Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only
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TEA is pushing for more third-party groups to run struggling schools. Does it work?
With several public school districts in North Texas and across the state on the cusp of state takeovers, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath has increasingly encouraged them to turn to third-party organizations to run struggling campuses and avoid state intervention. Texas public districts are subject to a TEA takeover if one of their campuses receives five consecutive F grades in the state’s annual A-F Accountability rating system. That gives Morath the ability to name a new superintendent and replace the school board with a Board of Managers, a process that has already played out at both Fort Worth ISD and Lake Worth ISD in the last calendar year. But a Texas law passed nearly a decade ago could put takeovers on hold — and an increased number of districts in North Texas are using it to maintain control of their campuses.
Senate Bill 1882 made it legal for districts to partner with external groups to manage struggling campuses. By doing so, campuses get a two-year exemption from state takeovers, meaning a campus can get up to seven F ratings in a row and still not be subject to a takeover. Everman ISD is the latest Tarrant County district to turn to a third party organization to dodge a takeover. Last month the district announced it was partnering with Third Future Schools, a nonprofit educational management organization, to run two of its schools. One of the schools just received a fourth F grade. In a press conference last month, Morath said more districts should turn to third-party organizations, like Everman did. “What I think some school districts are thinking through is, are there partners that might have specialized or a higher degree of expertise in some areas of curriculum, instructional support, those sorts of things?” Morath said. “I think some districts are doing this. They may be doing this because of accountability issues, but like, if it’s a good idea for kids, you should do it. You should do it today. Period. You shouldn’t wait.”
Read this article at Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Subscribers Only
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Judge declines to halt Texas THC ban, court records show
Possession of products containing delta-8 and other forms of THC are still a state felony after the Texas officials banned the substances earlier this year. A Texas judge has allowed a wide-ranging THC ban to stay in effect after a hearing last week. Delta-9 THC can generally be regarded as “regular THC.” When state and federal lawmakers legalized hemp, they defined it as cannabis with .3% delta-9 THC or less on a dry-weight basis. However, there are other forms of THC that were not originally regulated by state and federal hemp laws. So, manufacturers and retailers began making and selling products with other forms of THC such as delta-8, which exploded in popularity over the last few years. Now, those other forms of THC are banned in the state. A Travis County District Court judge recently ruled this ban can stay in effect as hemp businesses sue the state over it.
This is all the result of a Texas Supreme Court decision over the legality of delta-8 THC stemming from a lawsuit brought by hemp manufacturer Hometown Hero in 2021. That year, the Texas Department of State Health Services said all forms of the substance besides .3% delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis were schedule I controlled substances. Hometown Hero sued over the change. For a time, the ban on these other forms of THC was on pause while litigation was pending. The Texas Supreme Court ruled this year that the state could ban delta-8 and other forms of THC outside of delta-9. The state implemented that ban on July 31, adding other forms of THC to the state’s controlled substances list. Possession of these alternative forms of THC is now a state felony. The Texas Supreme Court decision, however, said trace amounts of these substances are allowed in hemp products. However, the court did not define what it meant by “trace amounts.” That’s why hemp businesses such as SS Distro USA LLC and Topps Distro filed suit against the state. Their attorney David Sergi argued in Travis County District Court that trace amounts must be defined if the state hopes to enforce this restriction, and it must be done through a rule-making process. The businesses hoped a judge would grant a temporary restraining order, putting a halt on the ban. The judge ruled otherwise. The businesses and their attorneys are still seeking halts on the bans in court.
Read this article at WFAA - Subscribers Only
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Federal crackdown hits CDL training schools, including 13 in Texas
More than 100 commercial driver’s license training providers are being removed from a federal registry as part of a nationwide crackdown on programs accused of failing to meet federal requirements, with 13 Texas schools included on the removal list. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the removals last week. Federal officials said they traced more than 5,000 commercial drivers who failed English-language proficiency requirements back to the providers being removed. According to the spreadsheet provided to KVUE by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the 13 entries where training was conducted in Texas are:
ASC Technical Institute LLC, Asere Transport, Brothers CDL Training LLC, CDL Aris Truck LLC, CDL Commercial Trucks Training LLC, Cultural Technical Institute LLC, EP Texas Trucking School, Mountain View Vocational Institute LLC, MT Training Center LLC, One Stop CDL Driver Training LLC, Prime Time CDL, Sun City CDL LLC, and Tony CDL Training. The federal action is part of a broader effort to scrutinize how commercial drivers are being trained before they get behind the wheel. Elyas Aboseid, CEO of Get Drivers Ed, said he supports efforts to hold training programs accountable. “It's our responsibility to make sure who actually is licensed on the road, so I support it,” Aboseid said. Get Drivers Ed is not among the providers on the federal removal list. The company offers the online portion of entry-level driver training nationwide and connects students with partner schools for behind-the-wheel instruction.
Read this article at KVUE - Subscribers Only
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State Rep. Venton Jones, Gregory Scott Jr. are married
Texas state Rep. Venton Jones, Texas House Democratic Caucus whip and vice chair of the Texas LGBTQ Caucus, on Saturday, Aug. 29, issued a statement announcing his marriage to Gregory D. Scott Jr. “With full hearts, immense joy, and deep gratitude, Gregory and I are proud to share that we are officially married. Surrounded by our families, loved ones and community, we have taken this sacred next step to build our lives, our family and our future together,” Jones said in that statement. “From the day I asked Gregory to marry me on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives, our journey has been grounded in the belief that love conquers all, “Jones continued. “In a time when the LGBTQ+ community and our families continue to see our rights and our very existence challenged — often within the halls of government itself — living, loving and celebrating our union openly and unapologetically is an act of resilience. “Gregory and I stand together as living proof that love wins, progress is unstoppable and no amount of hate can erase the truth of who we are,” he said.
Read this article at Dallas Voice - Subscribers Only
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Busy City Council meeting awaits Mayor Guajardo after suspension
Mayor Paulette Guajardo is set to return to City Hall on Tuesday morning following a 30-day suspension. Guajardo was formally reprimanded and suspended Aug. 7 after a four-day hearing over a petition seeking her removal from office. Several major decisions involving Corpus Christi’s water supply were made during her absence. The city returned to Stage 1 water restrictions, and City Council voted 5-3 against moving forward with additional design work for the Inner Harbor desalination project. A busy meeting awaits Guajardo upon her return. The council’s agenda includes an ordinance adopting the city’s budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Read this article at KIIITV - Subscribers Only
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Dallas woman who protested Reagan in 1984 returns to challenge Trump
Mavis Belisle protested President Ronald Reagan’s policies outside the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas. Forty-two years later, she is preparing to return to the streets, this time to protest President Donald Trump. Next week, Trump and Republicans will gather at the American Airlines Center for the party’s first midterm convention. Demonstrators plan to challenge his administration and its policies, much as they did in when Reagan accepted the GOP's nomination for a second term. “The America that I grew up in hardly exists anymore, but it doesn’t make me want to give up,” Belisle said. “I’m ready to be back out there next week.”
The issues that brought protesters to Dallas in 1984 included Reagan’s military buildup and policies in Central America, poverty, unemployment, homelessness, corporate power, government contracting and gay rights. This year’s demonstrators are organizing around immigration, war, civil rights, economic hardship and concentrated political power. The language and targets have changed. But the question of whether government is serving ordinary people has not. Belisle, 82, an Oak Cliff resident, has spent decades protesting. She helped lead one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Texas history at the Comanche Peak nuclear plant near Glen Rose. She later became executive director of the Peace Farm, a nonprofit focused on nuclear weapons and hazardous waste. In 1984, she recruited and trained demonstrators as a member of the Dallas March and Rally Committee. She rallied against Reagan’s military policies and the defense budget, which she believed contributed to poverty and economic inequality. Organizers worked out of a small office on Ervay Street, not far from the city convention center. The cramped space became a hub for organizing peacekeepers. “By being present at the same time and place that the Republican Party was, we could show those alternatives,” Belisle said. She spent long, hot days that August moving between rallies, marches and a nearby tent city.
Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only
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Texas native and convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes subject of new shocking documentary
A new documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced Theranos founder who was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for multiple counts of fraud, is set to be released next month. Holmes, who began her prison sentence on May 30, 2023, is seen speaking to filmmaker Nathan Fielder at her home in the trailer for A24’s You Can See Everything, which is expected to hit theaters in October. The clip, released on Sunday, Sept. 6, shows Holmes speaking to Fielder while sitting on a couch. “I’m not that person, I can promise you that. I don’t have anything to deceive you on, of course I’m not deceiving you,” she says in a close-up shot in the teaser. Holmes adds, “I’m engaging with you as a human being. Why would I deceive you? There’s no reason for me to do that.”
“Okay. Alright. Okay, good chat … You’re being real right now?” Fielder replies. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Holmes then insists, “I’m always being real,” before the camera panned back to reveal her baby in a bouncer. PEOPLE reported in February 2023 that Holmes had given birth to her second child with her partner, Billy Evans. It’s since been confirmed that the pair had a daughter, named Invicta (Latin for “invincible”), after welcoming their first child, son William Holmes Evans, in July 2021. The trailer’s release came as the documentary’s world premiere took place at the Telluride Film Festival on Sunday night, Deadline reported. The movie was unveiled at a top-secret screening, per the outlet.
Read this article at People - Subscribers Only
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Central Texas is rejecting Flock cameras. What will Austin do?
At least five more Central Texas cities have moved to end or pause their use of Flock Safety’s automated license plate reader cameras in recent weeks, adding momentum to a backlash against the company — and the surveillance technology it sells — that has spread from local privacy advocates to the governor’s office. The latest wave began Aug. 25 in Pflugerville, where the City Council voted to cancel the city's contract with Flock after a resident requested logs showing which outside law enforcement agencies had searched the city’s data. The following week, after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop spending money on Flock cameras, officials in Bastrop, Elgin, Manor and Leander moved to sever ties with the company.
In Austin, officials had already decided to part ways with Flock. But leaders have also not ruled out contracting with another vendor—or rejected license-plate-reader technology altogether. The City Council approved new surveillance-technology protections in April, but in the months since, Police Chief Lisa Davis has not publicly said whether the Police Department will recommend another system. Any new agreement would require council approval. Meanwhile, Austin police continue to receive license-plate data from other agencies, even though the Police Department does not directly access an automated license plate reader database. As other Texas cities move away from Flock, Austin is confronting whether to replace its cameras, regulate its indirect access to the data or abandon the technology altogether. The unresolved question has divided Austin’s elected officials but only three Austin City Council members told the American-Statesman they opposed the use of license-plate-reader technology altogether. Six members, along with Mayor Kirk Watson, said they were open to a different system with tighter controls. (Two other council members did not respond.) "This isn't an all-or-nothing conversation," Watson said in a written statement. "Technology can be used in law enforcement to assist in protecting the public and, at the same time, protect the privacy of our people and avoid unintended negative consequences."
Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only
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Dallas City Hall relocation debate stalls as August deadline passes without manager's report
The debate over whether to relocate City Hall appears stuck in a public standstill. Back in June, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert explicitly told the Dallas City Council she did not want the City Hall debate to drag on past August. In the same June 10 meeting, council directed Tolbert to return by Aug. 26 with specific information on relocation plans and possible leasing options. August has now come and gone, and Tolbert's report to the council hasn't happened. City staffers did not present any items to council members for consideration or approval by the Aug. 26 deadline. The reasons for the delay are varied, city council members say. One explanation is that estimates to demolish the current I.M. Pei-designed building are coming in higher than city officials expected — "astronomically" high in the words of one council member. If the city exits the site, it could sell the site as is or raze the building and clear the grounds. Creating a blank slate for the site's next incarnation would likely make it more marketable.
In the days since Aug. 26, Dallas Business Journal has repeatedly requested an update from the city on the timeline for City Hall decisions, but has not received a response. When asked where the City Hall process stands, Council Member Paula Blackmon said: "I have no idea." She added that she has asked Tolbert for the report but has not seen it. Council Member Cara Mendelsohn, who like Blackmon opposes moving out of City Hall, told the DBJ on Sept. 3 that she believes City Hall plans are not being presented to council because demolition costs are coming in "astronomically higher" than what city staff anticipated. To date, the city has not released any costs estimates for demolition or moving out of City Hall. Dallas City Council Member Gay Donnell Willis told WFAA in an interview that aired Aug. 30 that the council should get proposals on properties to consider "in the next week or so." She called the process a "thoughtful, exhaustive, public process," adding that the long-term savings of exiting the building could be upward of "hundreds of millions of dollars."
Read this article at Dallas Business Journal - Subscribers Only
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Board approves $60M for Spurs arena site as McKee-Rodriguez calls vote a 'betrayal'
The city is closer to buying the land for a new San Antonio Spurs arena. The Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) board of directors voted 7-4 to allocate up to $60 million to acquire the former site of the Institute of Texan Cultures at Hemisfair. The city is still negotiating with the University of Texas Board of Regents for the site, and city staff said a deal is likely to close by the end of this year. City staff estimates that the total acquisition costs, including financing, will be $115.7 million. District 2 Council Member Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, who was appointed to the now 11-member board this week, voted against the measure. Board members Seema Kairam, George Grimes and Joseph Bravo also voted against it.
Just before the vote was taken, McKee-Rodriguez said he requested to join the board to push for more funding for affordable housing projects, which he said is part of why the Midtown TIRZ was resurrected. He called Friday's vote a "betrayal of values." "I think the use of TIRZ dollars for an arena property for the Spurs deviates greatly from the intention of not just the reconstitution, but TIRZ as a whole and the purpose of using these public tax dollars," he said. A TIRZ collects projected future tax growth within a defined boundary. A board then takes applications from public and private developers to partially fund projects. District 1 Council Member Sukh Kaur, who chairs the board, said she backed the measure as an economic development tool and predicted the vote would split along Project Marvel lines. The vote comes as the city weighs extending the Midtown TIRZ lifespan, which expires in 2041. The city's financial team estimates that pushing that further out to 2060 would unlock about $580 million in additional funds for public and private development. The board also voted to earmark $10 million each for expansion projects at the San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio Botanical Gardens and the Brackenridge Park Conservancy. A city council vote on the TIRZ extension is due in the fall.
Read this article at San Antonio Business Journal - Subscribers Only
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Sources: Big 12 withdraws federal suit against Texas Tech
The Big 12 has withdrawn the federal lawsuit it filed against Texas Tech in June, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel on Monday. The suit was intended to allow the league to enforce its own rules amid former quarterback Brendan Sorsby's legal quest for eligibility. All issues related to the suit have been handled internally and the conference is moving forward, sources added. Sorsby was ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA in April after he acknowledged placing more than 9,000 wagers totaling at least $90,000 on professional and college sports over four years. Sorsby was issued a temporary injunction by a Texas court to clear his path to play for the Red Raiders, but when the Big 12 filed in federal court with aims to punish the quarterback and Texas Tech, he withdrew his suit and declared for the NFL supplemental draft, which the league ultimately decided not to hold. He previously said he is preparing for the 2027 NFL draft.
Read this article at ESPN - Subscribers Only
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National Stories
Could Vance’s soccer mom bonus nudge married women back to the GOP?
Every Republican is liable to give you a different answer if you ask them what constitutes their party’s “base.” But from a purely demographic standpoint, it’s indisputable: older, married, working-class white men. The picture of the 2024 GOP electorate from The Associated Press’s now defunct VoteCast (a loss sure to be long lamented) is plain about the party’s core: 84 percent white, 56 percent age 50 or older, 53 percent male, 60 percent without college degrees. That’s not a bad thing for the GOP. There are some problematic policy implications with persuadable voters, like, for example, being too blithe about how things like tariffs and mass deportations would play with the broader electorate.
There are some demographic cliffs out there, too — especially as the college-educated voters become a majority of the electorate in coming years. But if you had to pick a single bloc of the electorate as your core, the archetypal Republican stacks up pretty well against his Democratic counterpart from 2024: an older, college-educated, unmarried white woman. The two base groups are about evenly matched, but neither is sufficient to win elections on its own, so they have to start adding on. For Democrats, that tends to mean, most crucially, nonwhite voters (34 percent of the 2024 Democratic vote) and younger men (21 percent). The Democrats’ misadventure with Kamala Harris speaks to how even small shifts in coalition subgroups like those can cause a party to founder. It’s a lesson Republicans may soon learn themselves. The first and most essential addition to the Republican base is married white women. These voters were about a quarter of Donald Trump’s 2024 total, and as a whole, broke 56 percent in his favor compared with 43 percent for Harris.
Read this article at The Hill - Subscribers Only
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Trump officials strip military language criticizing Confederate memorial
The Trump administration has removed language criticizing a memorial to the Confederacy formerly located in Arlington National Cemetery, part of its ongoing effort to reshape portrayals of the Civil War. The Confederate Memorial, a 32-foot bronze statue commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and unveiled in 1914, was removed from the military cemetery in 2023. Its removal followed a congressional mandate to rid U.S. military property of names and symbols honoring the Confederacy and its leaders. The decision by the bipartisan Naming Commission to remove the statue was based on criticism and backlash over the memorial’s depictions, which included an enslaved woman carrying an infant child of a white officer and an enslaved man following his owner to war.
A Defense Department website and a marker at the memorial’s former site included contextual language describing the sculpture as portraying a “nostalgic, mythologized vision of the Confederacy, including highly sanitized depictions of slavery.” The website also described the two Black figures as enslaved people, including an enslaved woman depicted as a “Mammy,” and it remarked on how the portrayal of the “faithful slave” helped to shape American pop culture. Now, that language has been removed from the website, and the marker in the cemetery has been replaced by a new sign that omits wording critical of slavery and the Confederacy. The website also formerly featured additional context about the sculpture’s symbolism, including a Latin phrase inscribed on it. “An inscription … construes the South’s secession as a noble ‘Lost Cause,’” the website previously read. “This narrative of the Lost Cause, which romanticized the pre-Civil War South and denied the horrors of slavery, fueled white backlash against Reconstruction and the rights that the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments (1865-1870) had granted to African Americans.”
Read this article at Washington Post - Subscribers Only
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Missouri group asks the Supreme Court to let former district maps stand
A citizens group fighting a Republican-led redistricting effort in Missouri is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a request from GOP state officials to allow new maps to go into effect ahead of the midterms. Last week, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that voters should elect members of Congress from a 2022 map, not the new map passed by the state legislature during a special session in September 2025. Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule the state court’s decision. Missouri was one of the first states to take up President Donald Trump’s call to engage in mid-decade redistricting efforts ahead of the midterms. The new map would probably give Republicans seven of the state’s eight U.S. House seats, one more than they hold now, by slicing 11-term Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City district into three parts.
People Not Politicians Missouri, which sued the state over the redistricting plan and the state’s rejection of a petition to put the issue on the November ballot, responded Monday to a petition in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the state high court’s decision.That was the deadline the group had been given by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who covers this region for emergency appeals. “Now that the Missouri Supreme Court has rejected [Hoskins’] gambit, he asks this Court to deliver him the political victory to which he was never entitled under the Missouri Constitution,” People Not Politicians Missouri asserts in the filing. “This Court cannot and should not reward the Secretary’s scheme to outsmart Missouri voters, Missouri law, and the Missouri Supreme Court by granting Applicants the extraordinary relief they seek.” The citizens group — which collected over 300,000 signatures from Missouri residents to force a referendum on the November ballot — accused Hoskins of filing a last-minute appeal “in the hopes of running out the clock on the judiciary’s tolerance for a last-minute reversion to the 2022 districts.” The group argues that the Hoskins’ decision to block its “timely” referendum from the November ballot violated state laws that give “voters the power to suspend legislation through the referendum process.”
Read this article at NOTUS - Subscribers Only
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Republicans are making Muslims a campaign issue in the 2026 US midterms
Republican Vice President JD Vance called Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim and a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, "very, very evil" at a rally last week, accusing him of defending terrorism because of remarks he made after a March attack on a suburban Detroit synagogue. In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott, in ?a close race for another term, attacked a proposed Muslim-led development and called for an investigation into what he described as efforts to create “sharia courts,” a claim disputed by developers and civil rights groups. In Alabama, ?where Muslims make up less than half a percent of the population, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, a Republican running for governor, warned that “the enemy is inside the gates,” referring to what he called radical Islam.
The comments reflect an effort to make Muslims and Islam part of the election debate ahead of the November 3 midterms that will determine whether Democrats can wrest control of Congress from President Donald Trump's Republican Party. Critics say the rhetoric unfairly targets Muslims, while Republicans say they are raising legitimate concerns about security, extremism and the role of religion in public life. Abbott campaign spokesman Eduardo Leal ?said the Texas governor's actions regarding the development were aimed at alleged illegal conduct, not religious beliefs. Muslims number about 5.5 million people in the United States, up from 2.4 million in 2007, according to Pew Research Center. Over the past year, Muslims have gained more political power than at any point in recent memory. New York City elected its first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, ?while El-Sayed could become the first Muslim senator. Last year, Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim woman elected to a statewide office when she became Virginia's lieutenant governor.
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EverBank to combine with WaFd in $3.9 billion reverse merger
Florida-based EverBank Financial has agreed to acquire WaFd, a smaller ?bank in the Pacific Northwest, in a $3.9 billion reverse ?merger transaction, ?the ?companies said on Monday. The deal would create a regional bank with some $75 ?billion ?in assets, the Wall Street Journal ?reported earlier on Monday, citing a statement from the companies. Under the deal, EverBank will merge ?into WaFd, with the latter remaining a publicly traded company ?after changing its name to EverBank Financial Corp and trading under the new ticker ?symbol EVBK on the Nasdaq. Upon completion of the ?transaction, EverBank investors will ?collectively own about 59.2% of the pro forma combined company, with WaFd shareholders owning ?the remaining 40.8%. The companies said the merger, ?which is expected to ?close in early 2027, is projected to increase WaFd’s 2027 earnings ?per share ?by roughly 29% and recoup tangible book value dilution in less than two years.
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New Hampshire voters pick nominees as Sen. Shaheen’s exit sparks a scramble for key seats
New Hampshire primary voters are choosing candidates for Congress, governor and the 424-seat state Legislature on Tuesday, and incumbents aren’t the only familiar names on the ballot. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s decision to not seek reelection created a cascade of competitive races. Two of the eight Republicans hoping to replace the three-term Democrat are former U.S. senators she previously defeated: John E. Sununu and Scott Brown. The five-way race for the Democratic nomination includes U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, whose departure from his 1st Congressional District seat in turn attracted a crowd of candidates. Shaheen’s daughter, Stefany Shaheen, is among those seeking the Democratic nomination for Pappas’ seat, along with former candidate Maura Sullivan. Several other candidates in top races also are making repeat appearances.
Sununu, who spent six years in the U.S. House and one term in the Senate before being ousted by Shaheen in 2008, has this time focused on themes including affordability for housing, healthcare and energy, holding Congress accountable and constituent service. “I’ve been out of politics for 17 years. I’m not worried about reelection,” he said during a campaign stop last month. “I don’t need an appointment or a job. I don’t need to make anyone happy. I need to do one thing: Stand up for the people of New Hampshire.” Brown previously represented Massachusetts, where he won a special election in 2010 after the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy before losing in 2012. He unsuccessfully challenged Shaheen in 2014 and served as ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa during President Donald Trump’s first term. In a July interview, he said he decided to run again because New Hampshire Republicans have no representation in Congress and because, in his view, his experience as a veteran, lawmaker, ambassador and grandfather is unmatched.
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What to expect in Rhode Island’s state primary
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee faces a tough Democratic primary challenge Wednesday in his bid for a second full term. Ocean State voters will also choose nominees for a full slate of federal, state and local offices. McKee was elected governor by a wide margin in 2022 after first assuming the role in March 2021 when then-Gov. Gina Raimondo stepped down to become U.S. commerce secretary. He now is at risk of becoming the nation’s first elected governor since 2014 to lose renomination and the first in Rhode Island since 1994. His challenger is Helena Buonanno Foulkes, a former longtime executive with Rhode Island-based CVS. She placed a close second behind McKee in the five-way 2022 Democratic primary. She is the niece of former Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut.
A top issue in the campaign has been McKee’s handling and oversight of the reconstruction of the Washington Bridge, which connects Providence and East Providence and carries 100,000 vehicles per day. McKee closed the westbound bridge in December 2023 after authorities discovered critical structural flaws. Authorities then determined in March 2024 that the bridge would need to be demolished and replaced. State officials initially estimated the bridge would be reopened to traffic this year, but that has since been pushed back to Nov. 2028. Campaign ads have also referenced a 2024 joint investigation of McKee by the state Attorney General Peter Neronha and the state police that found that the governor “personally and directly intervened” in the awarding of a multimillion-dollar state contract, but that he did not violate the state’s bribery or campaign finance laws. Neronha endorsed Foulkes in March. McKee meanwhile has focused on Foulkes’ work at CVS and the company’s alleged role in fueling the opioid crisis. Foulkes’ campaign fundraising and spending has almost doubled that of McKee’s, according to state campaign finance records. Independent polling from the University of New Hampshire shows that Foulkes has maintained a lead over McKee throughout the year, although in the latest poll many voters remained undecided.
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Newsclips - September 6, 2026 |
Lead Stories
An ‘albatross’ or a GOP turnout force: Trump’s role in Texas midterm elections
Navigating the politics of President Donald Trump is a balancing act for Texas Republicans in the November midterm. Trump is, without dispute, the face of the modern GOP: A powerful figure whom candidates and elected officials have gone out of their way to endear themselves to over the course of three presidential campaigns and two White House terms. He’s also a divisive leader whose popularity has waned in Texas and nationally in a midterm election year with Republican control of Congress on the line. Those opposing pulls will be front-and-center on Sept. 9-10 as the Republican midterm convention — deemed “Trump-a-palooza” by the party’s chair — sets up in Dallas. The president caps off the event with a speech Thursday night.
The convention, a novelty that doesn’t involve the party business typical of a gathering in a presidential year, is expected to contrast what the party sees as GOP wins, with Trump at the helm, against Democratic failures. Texas is playing a closely-watched role in that fight for Washington power as Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico vie in a tight U.S. Senate race. RNC spokesperson Zach Kraft says it this way: The midterm event puts “President Trump on the ballot across the country.” “He’s one of the strongest forces for turnout in Republican politics of all time, especially right now, and nowhere is that more true than Texas,” Kraft said. Democrats are — in their own way — capitalizing on his visit to the state. “Whatever role they’re going to try to play to prop him up, we intend to talk on the issues,” said Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder. “The actions of Donald Trump can speak for themselves.” Whether Trump helps or hurts a Republican candidate depends on the office. But in a political era in which traditional midterm strategies may be less effective, Texas candidates are walking a tightrope. Will they fall?
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Democrats have finally figured out their campaign message on data centers
Democrats want voters to see data centers as giant outposts of megacorporations that enjoy undue tax breaks and ill-begotten monstrosities that suck up precious water and hog electricity. After months of probing and message-testing, Democrats are aligning on a few key thematic attack lines as they figure out how to take advantage of a fast-moving issue riling up voters across the political spectrum. The two themes of costs and corruption have dominated politics during President Donald Trump’s second term, and new party guidance makes that strategy even more explicit. In recent days, House Democrats’ campaign arm updated the webpage it uses to quietly communicate with super PACs, signaling them to focus on data centers in 11 different battleground races, either by calling for negative ads that connect data centers with candidate corruption or resource scarcity or requesting more polling on the issue.
And an internal memo from the House Majority PAC, the top super PAC supporting House Democrats, obtained by POLITICO, calls on allies to attack vulnerable Republicans with language that touches the “conspiratorial nerve that runs through the data center discourse among voters.” “The candidates and party that most effectively meets voters where they are on this issue stands to maximize their gains on election day,” HMP deputy director for independent expenditures Jon Bosscher wrote in the memo. “Rather than see this as a distinctive hit, it’s best to understand it as an effective proof point that marries the costs and corruption themes on a high salience issue.” The memo included the results of polling that tested negative messaging on data centers in 24 battleground House districts. The messaging resonated widely with voters, especially in top Democratic targets in the Midwest, including the Ohio seats held by Republican Reps. Max Miller and Mike Carey and the Michigan seats held by Republican Reps. Tom Barrett and John James, who is running for governor in the state.
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What Gina Hinojosa’s deeply personal new campaign ad doesn’t say
There’s something striking about Gina Hinojosa’s much-buzzed-about new campaign ad—in a story about loss, there is something missing. The ad starts off somber: Hinojosa tells us about her first pregnancy, 23 years ago, and how it turned tragic. “The doctor said, ‘I need you to understand she’s not gonna live,’?” she recalls, her voice catching. “And I did understand that I was making that choice. I chose her.” This segment is spliced against footage of the candidate with her husband, John; then, alone in a room, sunset pouring through the window, she tells us the baby died shortly after birth, just as her doctor said she would. Halfway through the ad, there is a distinct tonal shift. Her daughter, who didn’t make it, is the reason she fights now, she says. The music turns energetic, even jocular. “She is why I fight for every Texas family—for their right to send their kids to good neighborhood schools. For an economy where their kids can afford to stay. Where the powerful don’t get to tell the rest of us how to live.” Notably absent from this list of rights: the reproductive ones, now nearly nonexistent in the state of Texas, that two decades ago allowed Hinojosa to choose to bear her sick daughter, who was sure to die. Now, she would likely be forced to do so.
Hinojosa is, of course, excruciatingly aware of this fact. The first time she chose to publicly speak about the loss of her daughter, it was 2021, and Senate Bill 8—the so-called Texas Heartbeat Act, which banned abortion beginning at about six weeks of pregnancy—was making its way through the Legislature. On the floor of the Texas House, Hinojosa, a Democratic state representative, shared her story in much greater detail than her recent ad allows. She and her husband had learned late in the second trimester that their baby had trisomy 18, a genetic condition, and that she would not survive outside the womb. She took a week to pray, consult her priest, and discuss with her husband and family. She decided to continue the pregnancy. But she would never judge another woman for choosing differently. “It was in making that choice that I experienced God’s grace. It was in making that choice that I found my own strength. And why would we take that opportunity, that choice, away from anyone, from any woman in this state?” She noted she may not even have been “standing here today” had she not been permitted to make that choice. There was an implication, just as there is in the new ad, that the experience shaped her in some determinative fashion, making her the sort of person who wanted to run for public office and fight for the passage of bills that could improve the lives of others. It is a story of unimaginable loss and the grit that it takes to move through something unimaginable. This is the framing promoted by Hinojosa and her campaign, which did not make the candidate available for an interview, though it did send a statement to Texas Monthly.
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Trump administration expands mass deportations with noncriminals
A surge in immigration arrests is sweeping up immigrants with no criminal record whatsoever, including many who were already known by the government, as officers push to meet quotas set by the Trump administration. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers broke records for the second Trump administration with back-to-back months of arrests topping 50,000 in July and August. But the data undercut a long-running claim by the Trump administration that it is targeting the “worst of the worst” by removing those with criminal records. In fact, more than half of those arrested — 55 percent — had no interaction with law enforcement whatsoever, while another 24 percent have faced charges but were never convicted, according to data obtained by the Deportation Data Project.
These statistics have raised reservations among some Republicans in Congress. “I’ve been telling the administration that do not conflate the gangster with the gardener, the nanny with the narco,” said Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), who represents a district where more than half the population is foreign born. It’s a figure that reflects a growing dynamic in immigration enforcement under the Trump administration — going after those with pending asylum claims or are otherwise seeking to adjust their status who are already known to authorities. “What this shows is that the Trump administration is expanding its mass deportation operations away from people who are public safety threats or who have had some interaction with the criminal justice system and towards everybody else in an effort to hit the quotas put on them by the White House,” Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the American Immigration Council, told The Hill.
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State Stories
Fear of deportations adding to Texas construction worker shortage
Veronica’s favorite part about being a construction worker is watching people’s reactions to the new house she helped build. She watched her late husband do drywall and demolition while she was pregnant with her middle child, having recently immigrated from Honduras to seek out a life free from violence. Veronica liked how every day was something different, so the Dallas woman decided to turn construction into her career. But today she is more afraid of being deported than ever before, and of what that would mean for her three children. “Day to day I live with an on-edge anxiety,” Veronica said in Spanish. “I can’t go to work because I’m a single mother. My children depend on me.”
Veronica — who asked to be identified by her first name because of her immigration status — is not the only construction worker who is afraid to come to work. The fear sparked by enhanced immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration has added pressure to a preexisting labor shortage in the construction industry. The shortage has led to delays, a decrease in building quality and an inability to meet the housing needs of a growing North Texas, according to labor and construction experts. Demand for data centers, housing and commercial and infrastructure projects pulls at North Texas construction firms. Meloni Raney, president and CEO of the Texas construction industry trade association TEXO, said she’s never seen the workforce stretched so thin. “The past two years have been extremely overwhelming,” Raney said. “We are very blessed to be in Texas with the economy and everybody moving here, but it has put a big strain on construction.” That trend holds true across the country. Even with the housing market down, the residential construction sector needs to add 740,000 workers a year to meet demand nationwide. Immigrants made up 38.6% of all construction workers in Texas in 2024, according to the American Community Survey, an annual survey conducted by the U.S. census. When it comes to blue-collar jobs, immigrants represent 50.2% of the Texas construction industry.
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Harris County commissioners may approve highest tax rate in 20 years
Harris County commissioners will consider a nearly 8% property tax rate increase next Tuesday in a bid to bridge a more-than $180 million deficit projected for the next fiscal year. The Office of Management and Budget is recommending commissioners approve a combined rate of 67 cents per $100 in appraised value, according to agenda documents published Tuesday. The rate would be the highest since at least 2006, and represents a roughly12% higher tax bill for the median homeowner, should commissioners approve the budget office's recommendation.
The proposed rate is 7.6% higher than last year, and coincided with a 1% decrease in valuations for existing properties, according to the proposed budget for fiscal year 2027. State law limits the property taxes the county can collect each year. Since this cap is calculated using last year's total tax revenue, a decrease in property values gives commissioners more room to increase the tax rate. Commissioners have authority over four distinct taxing entities: The county itself — which accounts for a majority of the combined rate — Harris Health, the Port of Houston and the Harris County Flood Control District. The county accounts for a little over 60% of the proposed increase, with Harris Health responsible for a majority of the remainder. At least some of the proposed increases stem from voter-approved bond initiatives for county projects, such as the $2.5 billion flood bond passed in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and another $2.5 billion bond approved by voters in 2023 to fund a new hospital for Harris Health, according to budget documents. The proposed tax rate increase alone would not bridge the county's budget deficit. Officials are also considering raising fees for various county services, including engineering permits, and selling underutilized property to help bridge the projected gap for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
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HISD strategic initiatives chief Orlando Riddick resignsq
Houston ISD Chief of Strategic Initiatives Orlando Riddick, who joined the district the day of the state takeover, has resigned. Riddick, who joined on June 1, 2023 when the state tapped Mike Miles as superintendent, served as a regional chief supervising different schools. In 2025, he was promoted to be the "Chief of Strategic Initiatives." In that role, Riddick was the point person for Miles' new vision for school autonomy, which allows schools to turn over their operations to outside nonprofits in exchange for greater decision-making authority — rather than HISD's central office making decisions for those schools. HISD did not respond to questions sent Aug. 20 about Riddick's departure, and Riddick did not respond to a request for comment. His resignation agreement, effective Aug. 4, does not detail why he left.
Riddick helped present details about the new school partnerships, which are allowed under a 2017 law, to the board of managers in spring 2026. HISD received state approval for partnerships for four high-performing high schools and a pre-K partnership with community child care centers. Under the resignation agreement, Riddick will receive the remainder of his salary for the month of August at his 2025-26 salary rate; a payout of his unused leave and vacation days; and any incentive compensation he earned for his performance last school year. Riddick earned $246,844 last school year; at that rate, he earned about $20,570 a month. In addition to Houston, Riddick has worked in Austin, Dallas and Cedar Hill ISDs, according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram. He was Midland ISD's superintendent from 2017 through 2020. Under his tenure, Midland ISD's elected board agreed to partner with the charter network Miles started, Third Future Schools, allowing it to operate an in-district charter school in Midland. (Midland ISD has multiple partnerships with Third Future Schools and other external groups under a 2017 law, according to the Texas Education Agency.) Riddick was one of at least two former Midland ISD administrators hired by Miles.
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TWIA makes key decision on coverage for 53,620 second homes, beach cabins
On the same day Tropical Storm Edouard hit Southeast Texas, a Texas Windstorm Insurance Association committee has removed a proposal that could have changed wind-insurance eligibility for 53,620 second homes statewide — including 22,632 policies in Galveston, Jefferson and Chambers counties. The proposal would have required TWIA residential policies to be limited to owner-occupied homesteads, putting coverage for vacation homes, beach cabins, rental properties and other secondary residences in doubt. Instead, TWIA’s Legislative and External Affairs Committee voted Tuesday to remove the proposal from consideration for its Biennial Report to the Texas Legislature.
Among the proposals the committee voted to remove was one that would have limited TWIA residential policies to owner-occupied homesteads: Secondary Home Coverage: Modify the property types eligible for TWIA coverage to require residential policies to be owner-occupied homesteads. The committee’s action leaves current TWIA eligibility rules in place and means the secondary-home restriction will not move forward as one of its recommendations to the TWIA Board. The proposed restriction had been especially significant for owners of beach cabins and weekend homes on Bolivar Peninsula and on Crystal Beach, where many properties depend on TWIA for wind coverage. The committee forwarded five topics to the full TWIA Board for possible inclusion in its 2026 Biennial Report to the Texas Legislature. They involve multidistrict litigation, FORTIFIED home construction, changes to TWIA’s catastrophe-funding structure, its depopulation program and tort reform. The secondary-home coverage proposal is not among those five topics. The committee instead voted to remove it from consideration. TWIA must submit the report to the Texas Legislature, Texas Insurance Commissioner and Sunset Advisory Commission before the next legislative session. The association’s most recent Biennial Report was published in 2024, ahead of the 2025 legislative session. Under state law, the report must include proposed changes to laws regulating TWIA, the reasons for those changes and any information the Texas Department of Insurance asks the association to address.
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Developer Ray Washburne: mayor's race is enticing but no plans to run
Developer Ray Washburne says he would like to be Dallas mayor but does not plan to enter the 2027 race, at least for now. “I’d very much enjoy being mayor of Dallas, but I just don’t think that’s something that I need to be doing at this time,” Washburne said Sunday on NBC5’s Lone Star Politics. His comments come as he serves as co-chair of the Dallas Host Committee supporting the GOP convention opening Wednesday at American Airlines Center, putting him at the center of one of the city’s highest-profile political events.
The committee reported raising $45 million in private donations, and Washburne said in the joint interview with NBC5 and The Dallas Morning News that organizers expect to cover most of the city’s convention-related costs so Dallas isn’t “on the hook.” Washburne, a former national finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, lives in Highland Park, where he and his family own the Highland Park Village shopping center. To run, he would first have to move into Dallas. The city requires mayoral candidates to have lived in the city continuously for at least six months before the regular filing deadline. Asked why he would consider seeking the city’s top office, Washburne pointed to his lifelong ties to Dallas, the thousands of people employed through his businesses and his investments downtown. Washburne was among business leaders urging Dallas to move municipal operations out of City Hall, saying redevelopment of the site could help revive the southern end of downtown. He proposed relocating city offices to his Founders Square property downtown.
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In race for Texas’ redrawn 35th District, Johnny Garcia says it all comes down to affordability
Riding high on good polling, Democratic candidate for Texas’ 35th Congressional District Johnny Garcia didn’t mince words about what he thought of the GOP’s redrawing last summer of the district he’s running to represent. “They came in, they tried to redraw this district to favor Republicans, and they’re starting to see that their gerrymander turned into a dummy-mander,” Garcia told the Current. The comments from the former Bexar County Sheriff’s Department public information officer came during a rally of progressives near UT San Antonio on Wednesday. Garcia’s remarks also came days after recent polling from the left-leaning House Majority PAC reported Garcia in a virtual tie with his Republican opponent, Carlos De La Cruz.
Garcia said he isn’t surprised by the polling, which puts him at 45% to De La Cruz’s 44%. In the end, he said the TX-35 race comes down to affordability. “We’re seeing Latinos that are fed up and frustrated,” Garcia said. “I’ve been saying it all along, folks just want to be able to make it to Sunday to buy their barbacoa and Big Red, and Republicans forgot that they redrew it as a Latino majority district.” Indeed, nonpartisan elections analysis publication Inside Elections shifted its forecast Thursday from Likely Republican to Lean Republican. “The 35th was redrawn to elect a Republican, but a rebound for Democrats among Latino voters and strong top-of-ticket campaigns … are keeping Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia in the hunt against Republican Carlos De La Cruz.”
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Goldman Sachs exec touts Dallas' 'really bright future' as new campus takes shape
Goldman Sachs is making progress on its new 800,000-square-foot campus in Dallas as it deepens its presence in the city, which has emerged as a key regional financial hub. The firm has a longstanding presence in the Dallas metro area, where it has its second-largest base of employees in the U.S. behind only its New York City headquarters, and the new campus will allow Goldman Sachs to combine two offices into one facility where all the firm's various business units can be situated and collaborate. Ericka Leslie, chief administrative officer at Goldman Sachs, told FOX Business in an interview after visiting the new campus in Dallas as construction continues that "I can't say it enough, I think Dallas is a great place to do business, it really is. The building is beautiful."
"We're in two buildings now, we're going to be able to combine everybody into this state-of-the-art space, and it's right next to the Perot museum, and the city itself is very vibrant. So we're looking forward to it, and we're going to grow there," Leslie said. "It's a growth opportunity for us inside of the United States, and it's a really vibrant place to do business." The new campus will include an auditorium as well as a wide range of amenities, including a wellness center, fitness facility, a backup daycare, multiple spaces offering cafeteria or cafeteria-like services, a coffee bar and outdoor spaces with trees and shade. Employees will be able to park underneath the building and a retail space will be built across the street that offers additional options nearby for those working at the new campus. "I find people want to leave their desk, so to speak, and go to another place, but maybe they only have 30 minutes free, and they want to grab a coffee or have a conversation with people," Leslie said. "There are a lot of places where you can meet up and sit down and be outside or be inside. And I think that's really important to people because it gets hot there in the summer, people don't want to have to walk around outside, it's completely air-conditioned."
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‘Making private wealth work for public good’: Austin to start imposing new fees for private planes
Austin plans to charge new fees on private and other corporate planes touching down at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, a move city leaders say will make private aviation shoulder more of the airport’s infrastructure costs. The new fees and revenue, Council Member Vanessa Fuentes says, are intended to make “private wealth work for public good,” as an increasingly busy airport undergoes a multibillion-dollar expansion and renovation. But the new changes would extend beyond private jets Fuentes has targeted. They would also apply to smaller general aviation aircraft, raising concerns that an effort aimed at wealthy travelers could increase costs for recreational pilots, flight students, and other pilots paying out of pocket.
As early as Oct. 1, pilots of non-commercial aircraft could start paying a new landing fee, higher hangar rental fees and a higher fuel rate. The new fees are expected to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenue for the airport, but general aviation advocates warn they could have unintended consequences for pilots of modest aircraft who lack the financial resources associated with luxury private jet owners. “Our folks don’t typically get to pass along those costs … The vast majority of our folks, it’s coming out of their own pocket each time,” said Tom Chandler, a regional manager with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. “It’s a cost of getting to Austin and choosing to do business there as well, or to come in and see a show.” The new fees stem from an Austin City Council resolution, authored by Fuentes, approved in August 2025. It directed the city manager to determine whether the city could raise fuel fees, collect landing fees based on aircraft weight and impose a “surge” landing fee during high-traffic events, such as South by Southwest and Formula 1.
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‘We will kill you’ North Texas man charged over threats to Gov. Greg Abbott
A North Texas man faces a felony charge after authorities said he left two threatening voicemails for Gov. Greg Abbott’s office, including one in which the caller said, “We will kill you,” according to court documents obtained by 3NEWS. Brandon Andrew Miller, 36, of Whitney, is charged with making a terroristic threat intended to influence the conduct of government or place the public in fear of serious bodily injury, according to court documents. The charge is a third degree felony. According to an arrest affidavit, the Texas Department of Public Safety began investigating after the Governor’s Office reported receiving two voicemails on Aug. 21. Investigators said the calls were placed about two minutes apart after regular business hours.
The arrest affidavit states that the caller said in the first voicemail, “You are fired, you worthless f***. Do not try to make our f***ing laws around you getting f***ing money, you worthless piece of sh**. We will kill you. You do not understand what you're putting yourself into. As a people, we are done with your goddamn bulls***. Learn your f***ing place, dog.” According to investigators, the caller left another voicemail about two minutes later. The affidavit states that the caller said, “When I called you a dog, it was not as a person speaking to another person -- I was speaking to you as the animal that you f***ing are! You worthless piece of s***! If you keep f***ing around, you will find out -- you are such a piece of s*** that if I could pull your entrails out through your throat while making you live through it, I would do so. In a f***ing heartbeat.” Denny Morgan, a communications supervisor with the Governor’s Office Constituent Communications Division, provided investigators with a sworn statement Aug. 26. According to the affidavit, Morgan said the voicemails caused concern and left him and other staff members in fear of serious bodily injury.
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Ross fire still burning 14 days later, with over 90,000 acres scorched and more than 150 structures destroyed
A wildfire that sparked near Ross in Palo Pinto County on Aug. 24 has burned at least 90,400 acres and is about 57% contained. It has destroyed more than 150 structures in the area, including homes, forced evacuations in neighboring Jack County and affected local schools, North Texas officials said. The National Weather Service said the Ross Fire is now the second-largest wildfire in North Texas. The Ross Fire has burned at least 90,400 acres in Palo Pinto and Jack counties, with the fire burning near U.S. 180 and FM 919. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the fire was 57% contained as of Monday, Sept. 7; 157 structures have been destroyed, 140 structures are damaged, and 453 structures have been saved.
Residents in Jack County along County Road 2210 toward Highway 281 were instructed to evacuate on Tuesday, Aug. 25; however, those mandatory evacuations were lifted a day later as conditions improved. Jack County Emergency Management warns returning residents to stay vigilant as the fire is still burning in neighboring Palo Pinto County. The fire began near Ross in Palo Pinto County just before 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, and was initially estimated at 25 acres, according to the Palo Pinto County Emergency Service District. It rapidly expanded to thousands of acres.
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National Stories
Democrats see wider path to take Senate as Trump backlash grows
Senate Republicans in Dallas this week for the party’s unusual midterm election convention could use a good show. Democrats see expanding opportunities with voters irate over the rising cost of living, the country mired in an unpopular war with Iran and President Donald Trump’s job approval polling at a low point. While House control has long been considered in play, the Senate increasingly appears up for grabs in an environment rife with parallels to 2006, a wave election that swept Democrats into power amid a backlash to the Iraq War. The stakes will be high for the president when he takes the stage. Democratic victories would leave him open to a barrage of investigations, a potential impeachment trial, struggles to confirm judicial and cabinet nominees and tough negotiations on budgets.
Trump’s interventions have added to Republicans’ challenges in retaining control. In Texas, his GOP primary endorsement tipped the scales in favor of scandal-plagued Attorney General Ken Paxton, and the Senate election in the usually reliable Republican state is now rated a toss up by nonpartisan analysts like the Cook Political Report. A trade war he just triggered with Canada threatens industries in border-state Senate battlegrounds including Maine, Michigan and Alaska. Still, Democrats face obstacles of their own, among them a Senate map tilted heavily toward the GOP. To gain a Senate majority, they would need to net four seats, including at least three in states Trump won in 2024. Republicans also have a huge financial advantage, including support from well-funded super political action committees, which will allow them to hammer away at Democratic candidates’ weaknesses. Democratic candidate James Talarico is leveraging scandals in Paxton’s record to raise doubts about his character. The Republican state attorney general has been plagued by accusations of infidelity, financial mismanagement and a state impeachment trial on charges approved by the Republican-controlled state House. The Talarico campaign fed the storyline with a cheeky ad featuring surveillance video of Paxton taking an expensive pen another attorney left at a courthouse security checkpoint. Talarico, a soft-spoken Presbyterian minister-in-training, is campaigning as a bridge-builder to independent and disaffected Republican voters. He even hired a former policy aide to current Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn, who Paxton defeated in the party primary after securing Trump’s endorsement.
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Far-left Democrats had a huge summer. Now they have big demands for party leaders
The left wing of the Democratic Party flourished this summer as fed-up liberals in key races across the country have eschewed traditional, more moderate candidates in favor of hard-charging progressives. But behind the scenes, ultra-progressive House members and candidates are pushing their own party leaders to reflect more of that mood — arguing that Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and his allies are, so far, failing to grasp the demands of far-left voters who showed up in droves this summer. Those liberals watched in alarm in recent weeks as Jeffries publicly disavowed their marquee “Medicare for All” bill while a pro-Israel Democrat was elevated to a key foreign policy role within the caucus. They also argue his allies were working to undermine a pair of progressive candidates in Michigan and California.
“I was very confused and surprised by that,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a senior progressive and author of the House’s “Medicare for All” bill, told CNN about the leader’s comments about her signature bill. She added that she has been having “direct” conversations with Jeffries about it. The emerging frustrations on the left offer a preview of some of the pressures that await Jeffries if the party can flip the chamber next year, particularly as a new crop of far-left progressive candidates threaten not to support him for leader post-election. “I think what we’ve seen around the country is that people all over are dissatisfied. They’re not happy with the administration. They’re not happy with the current leadership in the Democratic Party — and are looking for a change,” Dr. Adam Hamawy, a progressive candidate who is likely to win a deep blue seat in New Jersey this November, told CNN. Hamawy is among several candidates fresh off primary victories who have not decided whether to back Jeffries. “Most Democrats, I think, agree that the current leadership is failing to face the moment,” Hamawy told CNN when asked if he’ll support Jeffries. “I have to see what the choices are and what the situation is.”
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Trump posts map that renames New Mexico 'New America'
President Trump posted a map showing New Mexico rebranded as “New America” during a rapid-fire Truth Social storm on Sunday. The post, one of 34 made in less than an hour, showed a map of the southwestern state with the word “Mexico” crossed out and replaced with “America.” The rebrand would be the latest America-themed name change by the president after he ordered that the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario be rechristened the Gulf of America and Lake America, respectively.
The president also changed the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America as a part of an executive order late last month amidst a trade war between the US and Canada, which the lake sits between. What do you think? Post a comment. The president’s Truth Social storm also included a photo of the commander-in-chief’s face superimposed over wrestler Hulk Hogan, with a “MAGA” bandana photoshopped onto his head. Another post showed the borders of Iran reshaped in an outline of the president’s head as the US’ war with the Middle Eastern country continued past the six-month mark. Also featured in the posting were a series of graphs showing purported economic gains made by the admin.
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Five dead after an Amazon cargo plane veers off MIA runway and smashes into cars
An Amazon cargo plane skidded off the end of the runway at Miami International Airport Sunday afternoon, careening through a wire fence and smashing into several cars on a nearby road, killing five people, injuring five more and causing a full ground stop that halted all flights for hours. The Federal Aviation Administration said flight 7598 from Miami-based cargo transportation company 21 Air, a Boeing 767-300, departed from San Juan, Puerto Rico, earlier in the day. It overran the runway after landing at MIA around 2 p.m. After crossing Northwest 67th Avenue, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said, the plane “struck multiple vehicles.” Photographs from the scene show crunched cars snarled in chunks of the wire fence that used to separate the airport from the road.
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz confirmed Sunday evening in a press briefing with other officials that the crash killed five people. Five others were sent to the hospital, three of whom were in critical condition, said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Raied “Ray” Jadallah. Several of the casualties were on the ground. The plane crashed into “a couple” of vehicles, trapping people inside, Jadallah said. One of the victims was trapped underneath a car and had to be extracted by technical rescue personnel, the department said in a statement. It was a “complex” search and rescue, extraction and fire, the chief said, emphasizing that it was a “very complex situation.” There was an active fuel leak, which was being addressed as officials briefed reporters around 6 p.m. The pilot and co-pilot were also trapped in the plane, Jadallah said, although it was not clear how long — or the extent of crew members’ injuries. The resulting fire from the crash sent large puffs of black smoke into the air. A firefighter was heard on the radio telling his colleagues, “The plane is on fire. The plane is on fire. Put your game faces on guys.”
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Armed man charged toward Democratic Ohio governor candidate, law enforcement says
An armed assailant charged toward the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, Amy Acton, on Sunday during a campaign stop at the Canfield Fair, injuring several people before he was stopped by troopers, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said in a statement that a man it identified as Patrick Havas, 38, forced his way through a crowd, knocking over multiple members of the audience as he moved toward Acton, the state’s former public health director. He had a taser and two pistols, the statement said. The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office said two handguns and a set of brass knuckles were recovered after his arrest, and “no weapons were ever brandished or even removed from their holsters.”
Havas was taken to the county jail and booked on charges of disorderly conduct and two counts of assault, the highway patrol statement said, adding that no other details were available pending an investigation. Online court records didn’t yet list the case, and it wasn’t clear as of Sunday night whether Havas has an attorney. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement.that the man “tried to forcefully push himself” toward Acton as she was speaking at the fair in Canfield, in northeastern Ohio. “Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable,” he added. The attempted attack is the latest political violence to roil the United States. And the Ohio gubernatorial race is one of the most high-profile races this year as the campaigns enter the final six weeks of campaigning before the election in November. Acton is facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who has parlayed his national name recognition, tech industry connections and alliance with President Donald Trump into a record fundraising haul that he is tapping for advertising spots aimed at the November election. He is using campaign rallies and advertising to criticize Acton. Ramaswamy’s campaign called the incident Sunday unacceptable.
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Far-right AfD wins key German state election but falls just short of majority
The populist, far-right, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has surged to a resounding victory in a crucial state election in Germany, but fell just short of winning a majority in its quest to form the country’s first far-right state government since the second world war. The party of Germany’s unpopular chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democrats (CDU), slumped to a disastrous result in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. AfD’s candidate for governor, Ulrich Siegmund, said “we have written history” and the party had a clear mandate to govern. He told public broadcaster ARD that voters had sent a signal that “things cannot carry on like this”. “A very good campaigner for us in this election campaign was Friedrich Merz,” Siegmund said.
AfD was seeking an absolute majority in the state legislature to govern alone and overcome the so-called firewall of mainstream parties’ refusal to work with the party. AfD in Saxony-Anhalt has been classed as “rightwing extremist” by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. Final results showed AfD falling three seats short, with 39 lawmakers in an 83-member parliament. Siegmund, 35, said it would not engage in “games” such as a minority government. But it was not evident how its divided opponents could assemble any stable government without it. AfD won 43.8% of the vote, more than double its showing five years ago in the region of 2.1 million people west of Berlin. That was far ahead of Merz’s CDU , which polled 17.2% – losing about half its support – and won 15 seats. The centre-left Social Democrats polled 9.3%, the Greens 8.9% and the Left party 8.6%, winning eight seats apiece.
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