November 11, 2025: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Even as Senate passes measure to end shutdown, hemp fight may prevent reopening

Though Congress appears to have a deal to end the government shutdown, a vote on that agreement is being held up by an unexpected issue: hemp. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is objecting to speedy consideration of the bill that would end the longest shutdown in U.S. history over a hemp provision tucked into funding for the Agriculture Department, three people familiar with conversations but not authorized to discuss them publicly told NBC News. The provision would close the so-called hemp loophole created by the 2018 Farm Bill that has allowed unregulated THC products to be sold around the country, irrespective of state cannabis laws. Paul has long pushed to keep the loophole and told GOP leadership and hemp industry insiders that he wouldn’t give his consent to speed up passage of the government funding legislation unless the loophole is preserved, according to two of those people.

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A spokesperson for Paul, who has voted against federal funding bills for a majority of his 15-year career in the Senate, told NBC News: “Dr. Rand Paul affirms his commitment to reopening the government without delay. However, he objects to the inclusion of provisions in the government-funding package that unfairly target Kentucky’s hemp industry—language that is unrelated to the budget and the government-reopening goal." "Dr. Paul will work to ensure that the final bill excludes this unrelated language to defend the livelihoods of Kentucky farmers, hemp processors, and manufacturing jobs," the spokesperson continued. Paul's opposition to the hemp provision is not enough to prevent Congress from passing legislation to reopen the government. But he can slow it down for several days, forcing the Senate to run through procedural hurdles before approving the bill. The agreement to end the shutdown announced Sunday represents a collaboration between a group of Democratic senators and Republicans. It is expected to pass the Senate and the House before heading to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature to reopen the government.

Death of Regina Santos-Aviles ruled a suicide

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled the death of Regina Santos-Aviles, a congressional staffer for U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales, as a suicide by self-immolation following an investigation into the September incident at her Uvalde home. Santos-Aviles, 35, served as Gonzales’ Uvalde Regional District Director. She was found critically burned in her backyard the night of Sept. 13, after emergency crews responded to reports of a disturbance around 9:30 p.m. Paramedics transported her by air to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where she died early the next morning on Sept. 14. Firefighters reported finding and extinguishing a burning gas can at the scene. According to the Uvalde Police Department, which investigated the case with assistance from the Texas Rangers, there was no indication of foul play and no evidence that anyone else was present when the fire occurred.

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In an Oct. 24 letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, attorneys representing the City of Uvalde requested that investigative materials—including 911 recordings, police reports, and body-camera footage—be withheld from public release. The city argued that the records contain highly sensitive information and that their release would infringe on the privacy rights of Santos-Aviles’ family. The letter also stated that the investigation would soon be closed without any criminal charges being filed. Under Texas law, records from cases that do not result in a conviction or deferred adjudication may be exempt from disclosure. Representative Gonzales has not publicly commented on his staffer’s death. The case has drawn broad public scrutiny and renewed debate over how much information should be released in sensitive death investigations involving public officials or their employees. Both state and local agencies have cited privacy protections and ongoing investigative procedures as reasons for withholding records.

Camp Mystic sued by families of 7 who died in July 4 flood

Camp Mystic and the family that runs the Christian girls summer camp have been accused of putting “profit over safety” by the families of seven campers and two counselors who died in the July 4 Central Texas flood that killed 27 people. Three separate lawsuits were filed Monday in Travis County district court. In a 32-page lawsuit filed Monday afternoon, a set of families representing seven who died in the flood brought claims brought claims of negligence, premises liability, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death. The families are seeking more than $1 million in damages and have demanded a jury trial. “The Camp chose to house young girls in cabins sitting in flood-prone areas, despite the risk, to avoid the cost of relocating the cabins,” the lawsuit alleges.

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“The Camp chose not to make plans to safely evacuate its campers and counselors from those cabins, despite state rules requiring evacuation plans, and not to spend time and money on safety training and tools. Instead, the Camp chose to assure its campers and counselors that these cabins are built on ‘high, safe locations.’ And the Camp chose to order its campers and counselors, as a matter of policy, to stay in these flood-plain cabins regardless of life-threatening floods.” The plaintiffs in that suit are Warren and Patricia Bellows, parents of Anna Margaret Bellows; Blake and Caitlin Bonner, parents of Lila Bonner; Matthew and Wendie Childress, parents of Chloe Childress; Ryan and Elizabeth Dewitt, parents of Molly Dewitt; John and Andrea Ferruzzo, parents of Katherine Ferruzzo; Ben and Natalie Landry, parents of Lainey Landry; and Lindsey McCrory, mother of Blakely McCrory. Separately, Timothy Peck and Melissa Peck, the parents of Eloise “Lulu” Peck, who was 8 years old when she died, filed a separate 31-page lawsuit against Camp Mystic alleging negligence that seeks more than $1 million in damages and a demand for a jury trial.

USDA official who roiled Capitol Hill with his erotica now one of Rollins’ closest advisers

The USDA staffer whose smutty novella sparked controversy in September — and inside President Donald Trump’s White House, where top aides considered his termination — remains at the department. In fact, he’s been promoted — despite the swift blowback his foray into penmanship sparked just months ago. After the dust settled, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins quietly made Tucker Stewart a trusted legal adviser, moving him out of his position as deputy assistant secretary of agriculture in the department’s congressional affairs unit, according to five people. Those people, who include an agriculture lobbyist, two Capitol Hill aides and others with knowledge of the matter, were all granted anonymity to speak candidly about sensitive personnel matters.

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A spokesperson for the USDA verified that Stewart has left the agency’s congressional affairs unit and “is now working on USDA’s lawfare portfolio.” The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Stewart did not respond to a request for comment sent via LinkedIn. His reassignment has also left a void in USDA’s office of congressional relations during a chaotic time for farmers and participants in USDA’s nutrition programs, all of which have been affected by the shutdown. (Former Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) is still awaiting Senate confirmation for the post of assistant secretary for congressional affairs.) Rollins, one of the people said, told colleagues she “felt bad” for the humiliation Stewart endured when POLITICO broke the story of his 28-page novel, written when he was a congressional aide, followed by a monologue by “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert. The new position, a second person said, places the young Kansan in Rollins’ inner circle and in a position to advise the secretary on some of the most sensitive initiatives at the department.

State Stories

Chris Bell joins the race for Texas governor in 2026

Former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell on Monday announced a campaign to challenge Republican incumbent Greg Abbott for governor. “Given what we saw in the elections last Tuesday, people are ready for change,” Bell told The Dallas Morning News, saying that his record of public service and interactions with voters throughout a long career in politics give him an edge against Abbott. Abbott launched his reelection campaign Sunday in Houston. “The experience factor is going to be huge,” said Bell, who announced his campaign with an Austin news conference. Bell, 65, is running in the March 3 Democratic primary in a field that includes state Rep. Gina Hinojosa of Austin, Houston businessman Andrew White and Quitman rancher Bobby Cole. He said he was the best choice to be the nominee against Abbott.

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“It’s one thing to talk. It’s another thing to deliver,” Bell said. “I have a record that people can look to, and they don’t have to be guessing about how I handle certain issues.” “That’s going to be especially important for a Democratic governor working with what will most likely be a Republican-majority House and Senate,” Bell added. “I’ve been in those situations before, where I have had to look to work things out with people on the other side, and I really have always enjoyed doing so.” Bell, a Houston lawyer, was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2006, when he lost to Republican Rick Perry. A former Houston council member, Bell served one term in Congress (2003-2005). He was caught up in the Republican-driven 2003 redistricting effort. His 25th Congressional District was renumbered District 9 and revised to include a heavy majority of Black and Latino voters. In 2004 Democrat Al Green, a former president of the Houston NAACP, won the seat.

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer considers a run for Bexar County district attorney

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer is considering a run for Bexar County district attorney. The San Antonio native announced Monday he formed an exploratory committee of local attorneys to help decide whether to seek the Democratic nomination. Martinez Fischer — an attorney in private practice — currently represents House District 116, which includes a large portion of the city's northwest side. He previously served as the chair of the House Democratic Caucus from 2022-2024. The district attorney seat is up for election in November 2026. Current Bexar County DA Joe Gonzales, a Democrat, announced earlier this year he would not be seeking reelection for a third term as the county’s top lawyer.

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“I am concerned about the void being left at the District Attorney’s office and the impact it will have on our community,” Martinez Fischer said in a press release. “I will seek counsel from our legal community … and consult with county leaders on how best to implement any necessary financial and structural changes to strengthen this office.” The exploratory committee will be led by three local attorneys, each of whom has been practicing law for more than 40 years. Criminal District Court Judge Ron Rangel formed a similar exploratory committee earlier this summer, but announced last month he would not run for the position.

'We’re scared': Texas providers urge state to reconsider Medicaid cuts to medical supply services

Providers warn proposed cuts to Texas' Medicaid reimbursement rates could hurt medical supply companies and the patients that rely on them. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is proposing significant cuts to reimbursement rates for dozens of services provided through Medicaid, like ventilators and wheelchairs. Providers said during a public hearing Monday the cuts could reduce access to services or lead to closures. Stephen Hernandez, director of operations at Angel Medical Supply in Houston, said these cuts could lead to a decrease in vital support for patients throughout Texas. “Everybody in here is scared,” Hernandez said. “And if we're scared, imagine how the patients feel.”

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Hernandez was one of dozens of providers who asked HHSC to reconsider the new rate proposals for services related to feeding tubes, mobility aids and respiratory care. Angel Medical Supply serves patients within a 100-mile radius of Houston. Hernandez said these cuts could lead to companies like his limiting what services they provide and who they can provide the services to. “We can't be smarter than this,” he said. “There's no cutting costs. You can't cut your way out of this.” The proposed changes would reduce reimbursement rates for some services by more than half, with some cuts reaching up to 85%. If approved, majority of the cuts would go into effect next year. Stephen Vigorito’s son uses a feeding tube known as enteral nutrition. That service would face a cut of more than 44%. “There are no other alternatives except for him to go on a continuous feed... instead of the feeding pump, which means a decreased quality of life,” Vigorito said. “It appears that there's like this calculus, like how can we reduce [medical supply company] profit enough to where they'll still stay in business but just limp along.”

Runoff election for Houston’s 18th Congressional District on track for late January

It's been nearly a week since Houston voters chose the top two candidates in the special election to fill out the term of the late Congressman Sylvester Turner, and Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to schedule the runoff for Texas' 18th Congressional District. On Monday, a spokesman for Abbott told Houston Public Media, “An announcement on that will be made at a later date.” Abbott is constrained as to when he can call the runoff by both federal and state election laws, according to University of Houston Law Center assistant professor David Froomkin.

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"The state election code requires that the runoff be held between 70 and 77 days, or in other words, between 10 and 11 weeks after the final canvass of the election," Froomkin said. That 10-11 week window is designed to guarantee participation of serving members of the military based overseas, under the federal MOVE (Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment) Act. Harris County expects to canvass the results of the election on Thursday, Nov. 14. The Texas state election code requires that the runoff take place on a Saturday, which effectively limits the date the secretary of state can set to January 24, 2026. That will leave just three weeks between the runoff and the start of early voting for the 2026 primary elections. The runoff candidates are acting Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards, both Democrats.

TAMU Regents to vote on revised race, gender classroom discussion policy

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents will vote on revisions to A&M’s Civil Rights Protection and Compliance and Academic Freedom, Responsibility and Tenure policies on Thursday, Nov. 13. The proposed changes follow the controversial firing of senior lecturer Melissa McCoul in early September, an instructor who became the center of a social media firestorm when Rep. Brian Harrison (R-10) leaked a video of a student confronting McCoul over her discussion of gender studies in the classroom. The revisions were submitted to the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs as a joint policy by General Counsel for the System R. Brooks Moore and recommended for approval by Chancellor Glenn Hegar and Executive Vice Chancellor Susan Ballabina, Ph. D. There are set to be no changes to System funding or other financial implications as part of those changes.

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The Civil Rights Protection and Compliance policy is proposed to be amended to include supplementary definitions of gender and race ideology. The changes outlined in the agenda items for the meeting define gender ideology as “a concept of self-assessed gender identity replacing, and disconnected from, the biological category of sex,” and race ideology as “a concept that attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity, accuse them of being oppressors in a racial hierarchy or conspiracy, ascribe to them less value as contributors to society and public discourse because of their race or ethnicity, or assign them intrinsic guilt based on the actions of their presumed ancestors or relatives in other areas of the world.” Additionally, the amendment notes this “also includes course content that promotes activism on issues related to race or ethnicity, rather than academic instruction.”

Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones join 100 other Dallas investors to launch $5 million nonprofit fund

A star-studded group of investors, families, entrepreneurs, corporations, and nonprofits have pooled $5 million to launch a GreenLight Fund in Dallas. With the capital, GreenLight—a nonprofit founded in Boston in 2004—plans to address some of Dallas’ most critical unmet needs tied to racial, social, and economic inequities. The Dallas outpost marks the organization’s 15th fund in the United States. Across its 14 cities, the nonprofit has invested $42 million in 63 organizations and helped draw $400 million in additional funding. Last year alone, it reached more than 1.3 million individuals and families.

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“We want to be an addition, not a substitution, for all the great things United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and all the other organizations in Dallas are doing,” said longtime private equity investor John Simon, who also serves as the co-founder and board chair of GreenLight Fund. “From the very beginning, we always wanted to come to Dallas. The city has big companies moving in, the economy is growing and diversifying, and a lot of amazing things are going on. But certain populations are falling further and further behind with less economic mobility.” GreenLight has expanded to Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, Newark, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and now Dallas. Houston, Phoenix, Cleveland, and Seattle are all potential cities on the roadmap, according to Simon. “I invested because I thought this was a positive for the city,” Mark Cuban told D CEO. “I didn’t get into the specifics on where they’d invest the funds—they can make the decision they think is best. All I’ll say is: I like helping Dallas.”

Ken Paxton softens tone in UNT speech weeks after launching university investigation

The Ken Paxton who took to the stage at the Lyceum Theatre at the University of North Texas on Monday sounded somehow softer than the Ken Paxton who announced last month that his office was investigating the university. The Texas attorney general launched an investigation into UNT's response to campus reactions to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September. UNT student Mary-Catherine Hallmark posted a video on TikTok that went viral, showing a confrontation she had with another student she said celebrated the death of Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA. While the viral video didn't show any students cheering, Hallmark said the celebration happened when she wasn't recording, and that some students said "the same thing needs to happen to Donald Trump."

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"You know, there's been a little controversy here," Paxton said Monday evening at UNT. "And I really am so appreciative of Mary-Catherine, her courage and the courage of other students that are willing to stand up and exercise their right to free speech." Paxton told the audience that students who allegedly celebrated Kirk's assassination were exercising their First Amendment rights, something he hasn't said in his press releases about the campus controversy. He reserved his jabs for the UNT faculty "who are very liberal." "And that's why I appreciate so much what Mary-Catherine did by speaking out against speech that was actually calling for the death of a president, or celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk," Paxton said. "That's free speech. But it's also sickening. I mean, somebody has just been killed. For those kinds of thoughts to be exercised, with no discretion and no thoughtfulness for what that does to people around you, and for ... the family members of Charlie Kirk." Paxton's office hasn't named any faculty member or administrator in the investigation.

Abbott orders DPS investigation after financial audit at Texas Southern

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Rangers and state comptroller to investigate Texas Southern University's finances after the state auditor allegedly uncovered mismanagement worth hundreds of millions of dollars, including asset oversight, contracting and financial reporting. "Waste, fraud, and abuse will not be tolerated," Abbott said on X. "TSU's Board of Regents and all university officials must fully cooperate with these investigations to ensure taxpayer dollars are not squandered." Abbott's announcement came Monday after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick released a copy of the state auditor's "interim update" on the audit, which has not been finalized. Patrick also said he would ask Abbott and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, to work with him to freeze the Legislature's appropriations to the university.

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Abbott did not address a possible freeze in his statement, and his office did not return a request for comment. Burrows said that he would work with Abbott and Patrick to identify any potential misuse of state funds, and would exercise their authority as members of the Legislative Budget Board as needed. TSU officials said Monday that they had already remedied some issues. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to further questions, including what a freeze on state funding would mean for the school's 1,400 faculty and staff and more than 9,000 students. The university, a historically Black institution, is slated to receive almost $123 million from the state in the 2026 fiscal year, supporting a $248 million operating budget. "Texas Southern University has cooperated with the state auditor in evaluating our processes," officials said in a statement. "The University enacted corrective measures prior to the release of the interim report, including a new procurement system. We look forward to gaining clarity and continuing to work with the state auditor to ensure transparency for all taxpayers of Texas."

Proposed Muslim-centric community renamed

Collin County Judge Chris Hill says the developer of an Islamic-focused neighborhood near Josephine has changed the name of the project from EPIC City to The Meadow.Hill said Community Capital Partners (CCP) had not yet filed any paperwork with the county but was expected to seek approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to form a municipal utility district and also could soon file a plat with the county.The 402-acre development in Collin and Hunt Counties was proposed by members of the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC). It was expected to include more than 1,000 homes, a mosque, school and retail outlets.More than 60 residents spoke against the project at a March 31 meeting of the Collin County Commissioners Court.

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Hill said the county’s role would include ensuring compliance with state and county regulations, particularly regarding infrastructure and utilities. “All Texas and all federal laws will be adhered to in this project, just as they are in all projects in our county,” he said.Houston lawyer Dan Cogdell, who represents CCP, said the project had been the victim of racial profiling. “These aren’t foreign adversaries,” Cogdell said. “These are Texans. These are Americans. These are United States citizens.”

Study links all-day phone bans to modest academic gains

Nearly three months into its implementation, Texas’ new school cellphone ban has led to fewer classroom distractions and more conversation among students, North Texas district leaders say. But if the results in Texas are similar to those seen elsewhere, school leaders here can expect to see benefits beyond an improved school climate, new research suggests. “I think you can expect to see improved learning environments, probably a little bit better test scores, a little bit a little bit better attendance rates and engagement,” said David Figlio, an economics professor at the University of Rochester who recently published a study on the impact of school cellphone restrictions elsewhere.

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Texas’ new statewide school cellphone ban took effect at the beginning of the school year. The law requires districts to enact policies barring students from having their phones out anytime during the school day, including at lunch and during passing periods between classes. Some districts have adopted policies requiring students to leave their phones in a locked pouch in the school office at the beginning of the school day. Others allow students to keep their phones with them, but require them to keep them in a pocket or backpack during school hours. Matt Smith, superintendent of the Arlington Independent School District, said the policy has made a noticeable difference on campuses. Teachers say they spend less time dealing with distractions, he said. And where students previously spent their lunch period buried in their phones, they now spend it talking with each other. One principal in the district recently bought a handful of games for the school cafeteria and walked in one day to find a group of students playing on a life-size checker board, Smith said.

Texas' transitional dialysis program led to significant decline in utilization of emergency dialysis

A new study reveals that a transitional dialysis program piloted in Travis County (Austin, TX) resulted in a significant decrease in emergency department visits and hospital admissions for emergency dialysis by providing a pathway for outpatient dialysis in uninsured patients. The findings were presented at ASN Kidney Week 2025, held November 5–9. Central Health, an organization that provides health and wellness services for uninsured patients in Travis County, piloted the transitional dialysis program in November 2022. The goal was to provide in-center/outpatient dialysis for Travis County residents who lacked insurance coverage.

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When investigators reviewed data from November 2022 to December 2024 on the 101 patients who enrolled in the program, they observed that there was a significant decline in the number of days patients utilized emergency dialysis in the hospital prior to finding an outpatient facility. Additionally, within one year of starting dialysis, most patients were able to obtain permanent dialysis access with either an arteriovenous fistula or a peritoneal dialysis catheter. Once accepted into the program, Central Health provided an insurance plan to cover outpatient dialysis and transplantation. To date, 18 patients have been listed for kidney transplantation, and two have received living donor transplants.

This week could mark beginning of the end of Dallas City Hall.

This Wednesday, the City Council will consider whether it’s time to vacate City Hall for, well, other to-be-named-later pastures. The cost of repairing City Hall continues to balloon to the point that the $81.25 million baseline that we wrote about in August seems quaint. Nevertheless, at its Wednesday meeting, the Council will potentially direct city staff to “evaluate economic development options to redevelop City Hall in a manner supportive of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Master Plan, that increases tax revenue to the City of Dallas, and that creates catalytic growth in the central business district.”

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The resolution doesn’t necessarily make it a forgone conclusion that the world will have one fewer I.M. Pei building, but it certainly brings it a little closer to being true. Already, we’ve seen op-eds in the Dallas Morning News from developers Shawn Todd, Lucy Billingsley, and Craig Hall urging “bold action” to “take down” the nearly 50-year-old I.M. Pei building so the property can be redeveloped for “enormous economic development opportunities.” Sources tell me that this vote could go either way. Last week’s Council committee meetings on the topic gave me the feeling that, while the discussion about the state of City Hall has been ongoing for a while, the talk of tearing it down seems to be operating on someone else’s timeline. That timeline very well could align with Mavericks CEO Rick Welts’ goal of naming a new site for the team’s next arena by the end of the year.

National Stories

Supreme Court rejects bid to overturn same-sex marriage ruling

The Supreme Court rejected a long-shot effort Monday to overturn its ruling guaranteeing same-sex marriage nationwide. Former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis directly asked the justices to overrule the 2015 landmark decision after a jury awarded damages to a couple whom Davis refused to issue a marriage license. “The Court can and should fix this mistake,” her attorneys wrote in court filings. In a brief order, the justices declined to take up Davis’s appeal, alongside dozens of other petitions up for consideration at the justices’ weekly closed-door conference. There were no noted dissents.

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Court-watchers viewed Davis’s appeal as a long-shot effort, but it sparked trepidation among LGBTQ rights groups, since several conservative justices who dissented in the decade-old case remain on the court. Davis gained national attention after she raised religious objections to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Among the refused couples was David Ermold and David Moore, who sued. Davis was found to have violated a judge’s order in another case, which required her to keep issuing licenses. Davis was jailed for five days, the couple obtained their license and Kentucky later passed a law enabling clerks to keep their signatures off marriage certificates.

Age is the issue that Democrats can’t shut down

The Democratic unity and good feelings after the party’s big election victories lasted under a week. Now, the knives are back out. As eight Democratic-aligned senators with an average age of about 70 voted with Republicans to end the 40-day government shutdown without the health care concessions Democrats had demanded, the party again convulsed with two questions that have long racked its members: How old is too old and how vigorously should they fight Republicans? Democrats are still dealing with the fallout of Joe Biden’s calamitous decision to seek re-election at age 79. What has been less discussed is the fallout of having so many members of Congress who are at (and well beyond) retirement age.

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And as liberal voters just found out, it’s a lot easier to vote for something your base hates if you’re too old to worry about re-election. Of the Democratic-aligned senators who voted for the shutdown deal, two are not running again: Dick Durbin of Illinois, 80, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, 78. Angus King of Maine is 81 and Jacky Rosen of Nevada is 68. Both Tim Kaine of Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire are 67. All would be past 70 years old if they decide to run again when their terms end. The other “yes” votes were from Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, 61, who represents a state where the Las Vegas tourism industry feared taking a major hit from canceled flights, and from John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who is just 56 but has already alienated much of his party by embracing Trump on a slew of issues. “This is the problem with the gerontocracy,” said Amanda Litman, the leader of Run for Something, a group that recruits young progressive candidates to run for office. “When you have older leaders who are never going to face re-election again, you make decisions that are disconnected from what their voters believe.”

Trump threatens to sue the BBC for $1 billion after Jan. 6 documentary

President Trump on Monday threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion over a documentary that his lawyer claimed included “malicious, disparaging” edits to a speech Mr. Trump delivered on Jan. 6, 2021. The legal threat came in a letter from Alejandro Brito, one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, to the BBC that was obtained by The New York Times. The letter demanded a full retraction of the documentary, an apology and what his lawyers said would be payments that “appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused.” The letter said that if those demands were not met, “President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 (One Billion Dollars) in damages.” It said that the lawsuit would be filed if the BBC had not taken action by this Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern time.

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“The BBC is on notice,” the letter said, adding, “PLEASE GOVERN YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY.” The head of the BBC, Tim Davie, and the chief executive of BBC News, Deborah Turness, resigned on Sunday after growing pressure over the editing of the documentary. The BBC said on its website that it had received a letter threatening legal action and that it would “respond in due course.” The documentary, called “Trump: A Second Chance?” and broadcast before the presidential election last year, had already been removed from the BBC’s online player. Samir Shah, the BBC’s chair, said in a separate letter Monday that complaints about the editing of the clip had been discussed by the standards committee in January and May, and that the points raised in the review had been relayed to the BBC team that produced the documentary, part of a long-running current affairs series called Panorama. “With hindsight, it would have been better to take more formal action,” he wrote. He added: “We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action. The BBC would like to apologize for that error of judgment.”

Democratic senators blame White House, AI data centers for rising electricity prices

Democratic senators on Monday blamed the White House push to fast track artificial intelligence data centers and its attacks on renewable energy for rising electricity prices in certain parts of the U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and others demanded that the White House and Commerce Department detail what actions they have taken to shield consumers from the impact of massive data centers in a letter sent Monday. Voters are increasingly feeling the pinch of rising electricity prices. Democrats Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger campaigned on the issue in the New Jersey and Virgina governors’ races, which they won in landslides last week. The senators took aim at the White House’s relationship with companies like Meta, Alphabet, Oracle, and OpenAI, and the support the administration has shown for the companies’ data center plans.

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The Trump administration “has already failed to prevent those new data centers from driving up electricity prices from a surge of new commercial demand,” the senators wrote. They accused the White House of making the problem worse by opposing the expansion of solar and wind power. The White House blamed the Biden administration and its renewable energy policies for driving up electricity prices in a statement. President Donald Trump “declared an energy emergency to reverse four years of Biden’s disastrous policies, accelerate large-scale grid infrastructure projects, and expedite the expansion of coal, natural gas, and nuclear power generation,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said. The tech sector’s AI plans have ballooned in size. OpenAI and Nvidia, for example, struck a deal in September to build 10 gigawatts of data centers to train and run AI applications. This is equivalent to New York City’s peak baseline summer demand in 2024. The scale of these plans have raised questions about whether enough power is available to meet the demand and who will pay for the new generation that is needed. Renewable energy, particularly solar and energy storage, is the power source that can be deployed the quickest right now to meet demand. Retail electricity prices in the U.S. increased about 6% on average through August 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration. Prices, however, can vary widely by region.

Federal and state websites descend into political finger-pointing as SNAP fight drags on

Some agencies that administer food assistance benefits have posted partisan messages on government websites as the federal shutdown drags on. The U.S. Department of Agriculture informed states late last month that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP would be paused for November if the shutdown continued. Funding for the program, which serves nearly 42 million people each month, remains up in the air as a court battle over the frozen benefits continues. Though SNAP is federally funded, each state administers the program differently – leaving it up to states to communicate about the pause. State agencies in Texas and Iowa linked to documents addressing frequently asked questions. In Michigan and Missouri, state agencies provided lists of food banks and nonprofits that could help SNAP recipients during the shutdown.

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A few states took a more partisan approach in addition to providing information and resources. A header on all web pages within the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services site includes a quote from Gov. Jim Pillen saying SNAP benefits will not be available in November "due to a failure by Democrats in the U.S. Senate." The message was initially posted without attribution before quotation marks and Pillen's name were added on Oct. 30. Department spokesperson Jeff Powell said the message was added "per consultation with Gov. Pillen's office." "It has since been updated to eliminate any confusion about its source, which was Gov. Pillen," Powell said. In Illinois, a drop-down notice on the state's Applications for Benefits Eligibility site previously referred to the "Republican federal government shutdown" and put the onus on "the Trump administration to reopen the government." That language has since been softened, but it still directly names the Trump administration and the federal government.

When neighbors lost SNAP benefits, the internet stepped in to feed them

Ashleigh Young hit her breaking point in late October. Months after rising grocery prices forced her to skip meals to keep her children fed, Young received a text alerting her that her $250 benefits in monthly food assistance benefits were unlikely to arrive in November. That text, coupled with her son throwing out his uneaten breakfast that morning, broke the typically stoic mother of two. She began to cry. “How do I tell my son, ‘You can’t throw away your breakfast because I don’t know that we’re going to be able to afford food next month,'” she said. In a now-viral TikTok recorded that October day, Young tearfully explained that she had stopped eating dinner about two months before to stretch her family’s meals. The 42-day government shutdown, which appears likely to end this week, put extraordinary stress on 42 million people who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps.

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It also expanded a relatively new form of online activism featuring people like Young, who lost those benefits and turned to social media not only as a source of commiseration and political protest, but also found that going viral helped them pay for food. Young’s video eventually amassed more than 2 million views. Commenters on the video asked how they could donate — and they did. Young raised $2,500 — more than enough to ensure her family could afford groceries for the next two months. She distributed much of the remaining funds to local food organizations and moms in her community. Most of the money Young received came in small donations from others also struggling, like a person who sent the $8 left over after paying their bills, which they said they normally used to buy one latte a week. Young sent it back and told them they deserved the drink. “Why should people have to choose between affordable health care [and] making sure we get fed?” Young said of the ongoing government shutdown, in which Democrats demanded that Republicans extend health care subsidies that will expire next month. “It’s sickening to me that we’re being basically used as leverage.”

Trump’s $2,000 tariff dividend may be a smart political move. But it would be a huge economic gamble

One of the only things that polls worse than the Trump economy is the president’s almost unprecedented use of tariffs. The White House, in an apparent bid to turn sentiment around on both the economy and tariffs, is once again floating a bold idea: redeploying tariff revenue to fund $2,000 dividend checks to lower- and middle-income Americans. It’s easy to see how these tariff rebate payments could win over skeptical voters and help people who are struggling financially. Yet beyond the political appeal, it’s hard to make sense of the economic logic behind this idea. Economists tell CNN that tariffs are unlikely to generate enough revenue to pay for dividend payments the size President Donald Trump has promised.

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If all the tariff revenue is blown on dividend payments, there would be nothing left to chip away at the $38 trillion national debt – one of Trump’s other promises. Depending on how they are structured, dividend payments could even add to America’s mountain of debt. If rebate checks are distributed, history shows that many Americans would likely spend some or all of their cash from Uncle Sam. This would increase demand without boosting supply, which could worsen the cost-of-living problem at the heart of Americans’ frustrations with the economy. “All of this is exactly the wrong recipe if you want to get inflation under control and make things feel more affordable,” Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, told CNN in a phone interview. The risk of raising prices is why direct payments, typically called stimulus checks, are normally reserved for emergencies when demand is low – such as during the 2008 financial crisis or the Covid pandemic. Even during the pandemic, stimulus checks may have been partly to blame for the ensuing inflation crisis. The St. Louis Federal Reserve estimated that US fiscal stimulus during Covid contributed 2.6 percentage points to annual inflation.

Copyright November 11, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved