December 17, 2025: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles unloads of Trump, Vance, Bondi and others in explosive interview

Vanity Fair’s Chris Whipple had Washington abuzz, following the release of a two-part, 11-interview story with several administration officials — most notably, White House chief of staff and longtime Trump adviser Susie Wiles. In strikingly candid interviews, the famously careful Wiles laid into several current and former Trump officials, revealed parts of the inner workings of the administration’s brain trust and discussed her unvarnished thoughts about everything from DOGE to deportations: President Donald Trump has an "alcoholic's personality." Vice President J.D. Vance has been "a conspiracy theorist for a decade." Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought is "a right-wing absolute zealot." Former senior adviser to the president Elon Musk is an "odd duck." And she tossed the blame of the Department of Justice’s handling of the Epstein files at Attorney General Pam Bondi's feet. Bondi “completely whiffed” on the files’ release. “First, she gave them binders full of nothingness. And then she said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn’t on her desk,” Wiles said. And here's what stands out: “I hear stories from my predecessors about these seminal moments where you have to go in and tell the president what he wants to do is unconstitutional or will cost lives. I don’t have that,” Wiles said.

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“I don’t think there’s anybody in the world right now that could do the job that she’s doing,” Rubio told me. He called her bond with Trump “an earned trust.” Vance described Wiles’s approach to the chief’s job. “There is this idea that people have that I think was very common in the first administration,” he told me, “that their objective was to control the president or influence the president, or even manipulate the president because they had to in order to serve the national interest. Susie just takes the diametrically opposite viewpoint, which is that she’s a facilitator, that the American people have elected Donald Trump. And her job is to actually facilitate his vision and to make his vision come to life.” It’s been a busy year. Trump and his team have expanded the limits of presidential power, unilaterally declared war on drug cartels, imposed tariffs according to whim, sealed the southern border, achieved a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, and pressured NATO allies into increasing their defense spending.

Texas’ energy market redesign could leave battery developers in limbo

Texas has witnessed the country’s most dynamic grid battery expansion in recent years, thanks in large part to its famously competitive energy markets. Now, a wonky rule change could undermine batteries’ role in the grid. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas instituted new rules on Dec. 5 called ?“real-time co-optimization plus batteries,” or RTC+B. The idea is to allow ERCOT to reassign power plants between two major categories of grid activities: ancillary services, the rapid-response actions designed to keep the system stable and outage-free; and energy, the bulk delivery of megawatt-hours for consumption. On paper, RTC+B sounds agreeable, and other grid operators in the country have been co-optimizing markets for years. ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas said the update would bring greater efficiency and reliability to the system. He even called it ?“the most substantial enhancement to the Real-Time Nodal market design since its inception in 2010.” ERCOT leadership has promised more than $1 billion of wholesale market savings each year from the update.

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But a major storage developer active in ERCOT is sounding the alarm about the risks these new rules create for storage operators — and initial metrics from Day 1 of RTC+B are consistent with what you’d expect if a bunch of battery owners pulled out of the ancillary service market because of uncertainty. The problem, according to Aaron Zubaty, the concerned storage developer, is that power plants can now be reassigned unpredictably between ancillary services and energy. That uncertainty, plus additional stipulations around minimum state-of-charge levels for batteries to be chosen for ancillary services, could limit batteries’ ability to compete in those markets, where they had become a dominant force. Zubaty runs Eolian, which built one of the first 100-megawatt energy storage plants in ERCOT in 2021 and is now building what would be Texas’ biggest battery. He stopped bidding his merchant battery fleet into the day-ahead ancillary services markets when RTC+B took effect. “Storage is definitely in a different risk world than it was before RTC+B, because of added duration requirements that changed previously negotiated rules, which may not have been widely understood,” Zubaty said. RTC+B enforces new requirements for the level of charge that batteries need in order to be dispatched for each ancillary service, which now happens every five minutes (these services used to be procured by the hour).

'Kim Ogg 2.0': Hidalgo denounces Parker's bid for county judge

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called on Democratic voters to reject former Mayor Annise Parker in a post made on Facebook Tuesday. Hidalgo labeled Parker, who announced in June her intent to run for Harris County judge, “Kim Ogg 2.0” in a subsequent post made on X. She said Parker, who was the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city, would “follow John Whitmire’s playbook” in capitulating to President Donald Trump. “Harris County simply can’t afford another power player who treats the role like a political chessboard. Another individual who runs on the Democratic ticket and governs as a Republican,” Hidalgo wrote. “Today, I want to send a clear message to Democratic primary voters in Harris County: Annise Parker doesn’t represent our values.”

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Hidalgo did not explicitly endorse another candidate, but went on to list a number of alleged grievances she believed Democratic voters were not aware of. She accused Parker of inviting the state takeover of HISD, and failing the party by endorsing former District Attorney Kim Ogg and refusing to support her 2022 campaign for reelection. Parker said in a statement that her focus was on fighting attacks from the Trump administration and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — not partisan squabbling. "My record of public service — stable, responsible, drama-free leadership — speaks for itself. These questions have all been asked and answered," Parker said. "I’m running to fight Donald Trump and Greg Abbott, not to engage in Democratic infighting." Parker previously told the Houston Chronicle in a live interview that her 2022 endorsement of Ogg was part of her mandate as CEO and president of the Victory Fund, a political action committee that funds LGBTQ+ candidates. She added that, since losing the 2024 Democratic primary to District Attorney Sean Teare, she thought Ogg had "lost her mind a little bit and gone hard right."

Trump targets defense giants' shareholder payouts as cost overruns mount, sources say

The Trump administration is planning an executive order that would limit dividends, buybacks and executive pay for defense contractors whose projects are over-budget and delayed, according to three sources briefed on the order. President Donald Trump and the Pentagon have been complaining about the expensive, slow-moving and entrenched nature of the defense industry, promising dramatic changes that would make the production of war equipment more nimble. Industry groups have been on high alert about the closely-held proposal, which is tied to a Treasury Department initiative, two of the sources said. Reuters could not determine exactly how the order would compel defense firms to enact any restrictions. The sources, who declined to be named because the information is confidential, said the language of the order could still change. A White House official said: "Until officially announced by the White House, discussion about potential executive orders is purely speculation."

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Share buybacks are common among defense firms, and several pay a dividend. Lockheed in October, for example, raised its dividend for the 23rd year in a row, to $3.45 per share. At the same time, it authorized the purchase of up to $2 billion of its shares, raising the total amount promised for repurchases to $9.1 billion. Lockheed's F-35 fighter jet, one of the most expensive U.S. defense programs, has been plagued by rising costs and delays. Many big defense programs take much longer to deliver a product than initially promised and at a far higher price. The $140 billion Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program that will replace aging Minuteman III missiles, designed and managed by Northrop Grumman, will be years behind schedule and 81% over budget, the U.S. military said last year. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth unveiled sweeping changes in November to how the Pentagon purchases weapons, allowing the military to more rapidly acquire technology amid growing global threats, in accordance with an executive order signed by Trump in April. That restructuring will have direct authority over major weapons programs to eliminate bureaucracy.

State Stories

Former candidate Jolanda Jones endorses Amanda Edwards in 18th Congressional District runoff

Ahead of the runoff election for the vacant seat in Texas’ 18 Congressional District, former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards garnered a key endorsement from the third-place candidate in November’s special election. State Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, endorsed Edwards, as opposed to acting Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, who received the most votes Nov. 4. Edwards and Menefee will go to a runoff on Jan. 31. "This race is too important to sit on the sidelines, and this moment demands leadership that understands our district, respects voters, and is ready to serve immediately," Jones said in a Tuesday news release from Edwards’ campaign.

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"After campaigning across Texas' 18th District and listening to our communities, it's clear who is prepared for this moment. That's why I'm proud to endorse Amanda Edwards for Congress. Our district deserves representation, and our democracy requires participation. I encourage those who supported me — and everyone who cares about the future of Texas 18 — to show up and vote." Jones, before becoming a state representative, served on the Houston ISD board of trustees as well as the Houston City Council. "Jolanda Jones has never backed away from a fight for our community, and I'm deeply honored to have her support," Edwards said in a news release. "Together, we're building a people-powered movement to lower costs, protect our freedoms, and deliver real results for the families of TX-18. Women across this district are stepping up, organizing, and leading at this moment, and this endorsement reflects the growing unity behind our campaign. I'm ready to keep building on this momentum and fighting for a future where every Houston family can thrive."

Ted Cruz says Trump can 'speak for himself' on contentious Rob Reiner post

U.S. Sen Ted Cruz distanced himself from President Donald Trump's unfounded comments that the death of film director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle, were the result of their past criticism of him. The Texas Republican told a reporter on Monday that "mental health is an issue that doesn't know partisan lines" — a reference to Reiner's son Nick, who has been charged with murdering Rob and his wife, Michelle. The family had previously talked openly about Nick's struggles with addiction. "I think every family in America has dealt with mental health and dealt with addiction, and I grieve that in this instance, it appears to have cost Rob Reiner and his wife their life," Cruz said, according to the Huffington Post.

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Earlier on Monday Trump, who Rob Reiner had previously called "mentally unfit" to be president, posted on Truth Social that Reiner's death was the result of his disdain for Trump. "A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS," he wrote. "A man and his wife were murdered last night. This is NOT the appropriate response," Jenna Ellis, a former Trump lawyer who is now a conservative radio host, wrote on X. "The Right uniformly condemned political and celebratory responses to Charlie Kirk’s death. This is a horrible example from Trump (and surprising considering the two attempts on his own life) and should be condemned by everyone with any decency." Cruz, a known movie buff, has called Reiner's 1987 comedy The Princess Bride his favorite film. During an interview on the television show Extra in 2015 — ahead of his presidential campaign — Cruz acted out a scene from the movie, prompting applause from host Mario Lopez. "That was a one man show," Lopez said.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson: Republican Mayors Association to play role in 2026 elections

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the Republican Mayors Association, a group he launched after he switched from being a Democrat, could help the GOP make gains in the 2026 midterms by attracting urban voters. “For a long time, the Republican Party has basically conceded that Democrats are going to be dominant in our major cities and use them more as foils to talk about,” Johnson said in a CNBC interview that aired Monday. “But what we’re realizing now is that there are a lot of votes in these cities, and they actually impact the statewide races, and particularly swing states. It becomes very important in presidential years.” This comes nearly a week after the city of Miami elected Eileen Higgins, a Democrat, instead of a candidate backed by President Donald Trump in Florida, a red state.

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Johnson said he wanted his association and the Republican National Committee to get involved early in scores of mayoral races in the top 300 cities where there may be an overlap in a key congressional race. “In Miami, the Democrats were really early involved in that race, and it paid off for them, and they outspent us 19 to one in that race,” he said. “We can’t let that happen,” he continued. The midterms next year have the potential to shift the levers of power, and Johnson, who has typically cast himself as opposed to policies that call for more government regulation, said affordability would remain relevant to the GOP. “To a certain degree, people are forgetting that we do live in a free market economy, at least ostensibly, and prices of things are determined by the market,” he said, adding that supply and demand determine prices, and there was a growing feeling that the government can play a greater role in setting prices. “That, to me, is a little bit concerning,” he said. Republicans, he said, will have to be careful about how they respond to it. “If we go down that road, I think that we’re sort of playing to the socialist game here, and if we don’t, we appear not to be sensitive to the issue,” he said.

Texas is suing all of the big TV makers for spying on what you watch

Texas is suing five of the biggest TV makers, accusing them of “secretly recording what consumers watch in their own homes.” In separate lawsuits filed on Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims the TVs made by Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL are part of a “mass surveillance system” that uses Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to collect personal data used for targeted advertising. ACR uses visual and audio data to identify what you’re watching on TV, including shows and movies on streaming services and cable TV, YouTube videos, Blu-ray discs, and more. Attorney General Paxton alleges that ACR also captures security and doorbell camera streams, media sent using Apple AirPlay or Google Cast, as well as the displays of other devices connected to the TV’s HDMI port, such as laptops and game consoles.

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The lawsuit accuses Samsung, Sony, LG, Hisense, and TCL of “deceptively” prompting users to activate ACR, while “disclosures are hidden, vague, and misleading.” Samsung and Hisense, for example, capture screenshots of a TV’s display “every 500 milliseconds,” Paxton claims. The lawsuit alleges that TV manufacturers siphon viewing data back to each company “without the user’s knowledge or consent,” which they can then sell for targeted advertising. Along with these allegations, Attorney General Paxton also raises concerns about TCL and Hisense’s ties to China, as they’re both based in the country. The lawsuit claims the TVs made by both companies are “Chinese-sponsored surveillance devices, recording the viewing habits of Texans at every turn.” Attorney General Paxton accuses the five TV makers of violating the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which is meant to protect consumers from false, deceptive, or misleading practices. Paxton asks the court to impose a civil penalty and to block each company from collecting, sharing, or selling the ACR data they collect about Texas-based consumers. Samsung, Sony, LG, Hisense, and TCL didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Vizio, which is now owned by Walmart, paid $2.2 million to the Federal Trade Commission and New Jersey in 2017 over similar allegations related to ACR. “This conduct is invasive, deceptive, and unlawful,” Paxton says in a statement. “The fundamental right to privacy will be protected in Texas because owning a television does not mean surrendering your personal information to Big Tech or foreign adversaries.”

Bobby Pulido responds to GOP’s claims he urinated on Trump’s Hollywood star

Supporters of President Donald Trump are pissed. Grammy-winning Tejano artist and congressional candidate Bobby Pulido has drawn the ire of opponents after claims that he urinated on Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame recently circulated online. On Dec. 1, U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, shared a story from Fox News on her Facebook page that accused Pulido of defacing Trump’s star. “Bobby Pulido exposed his genitals to urinate on a tribute to President Trump in one of the most crowded public spaces in America, where thousands of women and children pass by at all hours — then tried to hide it,” De La Cruz’s post read. “As a mother, I find this DISGUSTING. If he’s unfit to perform at a quinceañera, he has no business in Congress. SHARE THIS RIGHT NOW!”

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The story, which was published on Nov. 26, references a video that Pulido had posted on his Instagram account nearly 10 years ago. The video has since been deleted, but the story included a screengrab showing Pulido standing over Trump’s star and allegedly urinating. The video was originally shared on May 28, 2016 with a caption that read, “when you gotta go, you gotta go.” When reached for comment, Pulido appeared to not be desvelado about the accusations. “You can’t deface anything with water. It was a joke,” Pulido told MyRGV.com. “It was a water bottle. It was water. I would never expose my genitals anywhere public. I’ve had 30 years of my career, never having a scandal, never having been arrested. Actually, there was a police officer that was there, and I told them, ‘Hey, we’re just taking a picture, doing a joke.’” Pulido, who launched his campaign for Texas’ 15th Congressional District in September, has denied that he actually urinated on the president’s star. He is seeking the Democratic candidacy in order to challenge De La Cruz for the seat she has held since 2022. De La Cruz officially filed for reelection on Monday, Dec. 8. “Fox News is already trying to hit me,” Pulido said. “(De La Cruz) embellished this thing saying that I exposed my genitals, which is slanderous, because I wouldn’t do that. They’re trying to do this instead of focusing on what they’re going to do for the people that she represents. They’re going back to a 9-year-old joke that I made.” He said that he recently removed the video because he “knew they were gonna twist it around.”

Beaumont ISD to appeal TEA takeover decision, officials say

Beaumont Independent School District officials announced Tuesday they will appeal the Texas Education Agency’s decision to take over the district. A BISD spokesperson said the district plans to appeal the takeover after the TEA confirmed it will assume control of Beaumont ISD due to failing academic ratings at two campuses—ML King Middle School and Fehl-Price Elementary—for five consecutive years, meeting the legal threshold for state intervention. Beaumont ISD will become one of eight school districts currently under state control. Previously speaking alongside members of the board of trustees, Allen said she strongly disagreed with the decision and believed the district’s recent academic efforts were not fully considered by the agency.

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“I disagree with this decision. I was very disappointed and frustrated with the decision based on the most recent visit we had, based on the work that we've done. The innovations, the effort, the energy, the intensity of Beaumont ISD implementing so many initiatives,” Allen previously said at a press conference on Dec. 11. State law allows the TEA to intervene when at least one campus receives failing ratings for five straight years. In Beaumont ISD, that threshold was reached at two campuses. Allen previously told 12News in September that academic improvement was underway, noting fewer schools were receiving failing grades. District leaders said they believed TEA Commissioner Mike Morath’s September visit suggested a more limited action, possibly the closure of Fehl-Price Elementary. Morath said a single-campus closure would not resolve broader academic challenges within the district. “In Beaumont ISD, you have two different campuses that reached five years of chronic F status, but you actually have well over half the district that is a D or F campus, and only about 30% of kids that are on grade level,” Morath said. “So it's really a systematic inability to support effective academics.” Dr Allen believes the state's decision is the wrong one. "We have done a massive amount of work" said Allen. "I'll be present. I'm gonna continue to work and lead and work and lead until the last day for me to work and lead."

Connally ISD expresses frustration over state takeover

Connally Independent School District, just north of Waco, is one of the three additional school districts the state will now manage. The district’s director of communications, Michael Donaldson, says they knew the takeover was coming, with two of its schools having earned five consecutive failing ratings, which is the trigger for the state takeover. He is still upset because he says the state recognized the improved educational outcomes the district had made since hiring a new superintendent in 2023. “We simultaneously are being told that we’re making the correct decisions that are going to produce results, but because of the letter of the law we are losing the authority to be able to make those decisions still because we simply ran out of time,” said Donaldson.

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Under state law, Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath can close a campus or appoint new leadership if a district is deemed failing. Miguel Solis, president at Commit Partnership, an education think tank, says the threat of a takeover holds districts accountable to their students. “Oftentimes the things that are holding kids back from getting that result that they, that they aspire to are the systems and structures of the school district,” said Solis. District takeovers have increased since the inception of a 2015 law that gives the TEA the authority to do so. The takeovers happening around the state are majorly affecting districts with students from a lower socioeconomic status. The Texas State Teachers Association blames state leadership for putting districts in situations to fail. “The three districts that were taken over last week, all three of them had 80% or more of their student enrollment were low-income kids. Kids who were sometimes too hungry or too sick to go to school or to listen in class, and yet the state of Texas expects them to pass a high stress standardized test,” said Clay Robison, a spokesperson for the Texas State Teachers Association.

TSTC Waco's star is on the rise with new funds, facilities

This has been a banner year for the Waco-based Texas State Technical College system. In February, TSTC opened its $17 million WorkSITE job training center in Waco’s main industrial park, with funding assistance from McLennan County and the city of Waco. In November, Texans approved a constitutional amendment creating an $850 million endowment for capital needs in the 11-campus system. Now construction is wrapping up on a $72 million Construction Trades Center on the Waco campus, a gleaming contrast to some of the surrounding 1950s buildings that date back to the site’s previous life as James Connally Air Force Base. As the provost of Waco’s TSTC campus, Beth Wooten is in the thick of that growth. She has been a TSTC administrator for 14 years and now is in charge of the academic program at the flagship campus.

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"I’ve told folks recently that I believe the trades are now. It is our time, and so it’s a really, really exciting time for TSTC, not just in Waco, but at all of our campuses across the state," she said. "We’ve never had this opportunity in our 60 years to be able to plan with confidence for capital expansion and deferred maintenance projects. SWe will not receive our first distribution until spring of 2027, so we are currently in the planning phases. We have 11 campuses across the state and that endowment will go to support all 11 campuses. … The endowment portion along with our traditional (state) funds that we will also receive will be $45 (million) to $50 million, is what we’re thinking on an annual basis."

Research shows Texans want to feel heard, participate more amid rapid business growth

Texas has grown rapidly in recent years, and data indicates that development is not slowing down. The Lone Star State gained about 168,000 jobs from September 2024 to September 2025, leading the nation in job growth, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Texas is attractive to businesses looking to relocate or expand their operations due to its tax incentives and grants, lack of a personal income tax and roughly 200 higher education institutions, business leaders said during a Dec. 10 summit held in College Station by industry network YTexas. Amid “global volatility” due to inflation and tariffs, “Texas could, in many ways, be a safe haven for those not necessarily looking to escape the global volatility, but rather be on firmer ground... [with] the ability to land and expand and have this runway of opportunity to move in and continue to grow,” said Dean Browell, the chief behavioral officer for Feedback, a digital ethnographic research firm.

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Feedback studies what people are saying online “unprompted” by analyzing comments and discussions on social media sites and forums. The firm conducted a study looking at the attitudes of business leaders, entrepreneurs and residents surrounding Texas’ economic growth, which Browell presented at the Dec. 10 summit. As businesses of all sizes continue to move to Texas, local governments and associations also need to “support the ones that are already here,” Browell said. Feedback’s October study found that long-term Texas residents want to live in growing communities with strong education systems and plentiful job opportunities. That growth, however, can lead to rising property taxes and living expenses before residents begin feeling the benefits, Browell told Community Impact in a Dec. 11 interview. He said some Texas residents, including those in fast-growth areas such as the Greater Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan areas, are “paying for that growth on the front end, while at the same time enduring infrastructural woes because much of the promised infrastructure to support that growth hasn't necessarily come to fruition as fast.” To thrive in Texas, businesses need access to a skilled workforce, reliable infrastructure, affordable real estate and accessible health care, Browell told summit attendees Dec. 10. Businesses also look for state and local support such as tax incentives, federal opportunity zones and the chance to collaborate with others through business associations or local initiatives.

Tourism taxes tapped to fund Austin homeless services; millions generated amid convention center closure

A new tourism district created to offset the impacts of the convention center's multiyear redevelopment is showing strong early returns. (Ben Thompson/Community Impact) Nearly $1 million in local tourism revenue was directed toward homeless services this fall, representing the first seeding of a stand-alone reserve for Austin's homelessness response. That financing comes as widening tourism promotion efforts during the Austin Convention Center's redevelopment show strong early returns. "If you look no further than this most recent budget, we all know we don’t have enough funding to support a lot of critical services, homelessness included. And so we need to find other ways to pay for this," council member Ryan Alter, who first proposed the homelessness endowment, said in an interview. "By leveraging visitor taxes like we’re doing here, we are allowing for that critical work to be done without increasing our reliance on property taxpayers.”

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City Council voted to create the House Our People Endowment, or HOPE, fund back in 2023. Alter presented the concept as a dedicated funding source for homelessness programs that could expand, and take outside investments, over time. The HOPE fund had yet to receive financing until a Dec. 11 council vote to transfer $942,845 in revenue from Austin's new Tourism Public Improvement District, or TPID. The district was set up late last year to support tourism activity and hospitality bookings amid the convention center's multiyear closure, and related impacts to major events in town. The city's overall fiscal year 2025-26 budget already includes millions of dollars for various homelessness initiatives. From the December transfer, $500,000 will be used for homeless navigation services with the remainder yet to be allocated. Housing and shelter programs could also be supported by HOPE funding that's expected to grow to several million dollars annually in the future, Alter said. "It was always envisioned as part of this [TPID] agreement that some of the money would be used for this purpose. And quite frankly, having fewer people on the streets improves tourism," he said of the HOPE transfer. "When people come to Austin and walk around, they want to feel safe and feel like they’re in a vibrant city. And if you have a large homeless population, people don’t feel that way.”

Chuck Neinas, a key architect and adviser over decades of college sports, dies at 93

Chuck Neinas, the onetime Big Eight commissioner whose media savvy and dealmaking helped turn college football into the multibillion-dollar business it is today, died Tuesday. He was 93. The National Football Foundation announced Neinas' death, with its president and CEO Steve Hatchell calling him “a visionary in every sense of the word.” A cause of death was not disclosed. From 1980-97, Neinas was executive director of the College Football Association, an agency created by several big conferences that sought to wrest control of their TV rights from the NCAA. Two key members, Georgia and Oklahoma, sued the NCAA over TV, and a 1984 Supreme Court ruling in their favor effectively made the CFA a separate business from the rest of college sports. It gave Neinas a key seat at the negotiating table.

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He brought home deals worth billions in the 1980s and ’90s, and those huge contracts set the stage for today’s industry, currently highlighted by a TV deal worth $7.8 billion for the College Football Playoff. After the CFA disbanded in 1997 — with conferences taking their TV rights into their own hands and the Bowl Championship Series, the precursor to today’s playoff, about to start — Neinas founded a consulting firm that helped schools create policies and hire athletic directors and coaches. He was CEO of Ascent Entertainment Group, which owned the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche and their arena when they sold to Liberty Media Group in 2000. But his passion was college sports. He served as interim commissioner of the Big 12 from 2011-12, solidifying that conference during one of many surges of realignment by adding TCU and West Virginia. In a 2014 interview with The Associated Press, Neinas envisioned a future that looks much like today as he pondered lawsuits against the NCAA that would eventually lead to players being paid. “There is a need for some changes,” Neinas said. “The auto industry is always trying to improve their model. College athletics should do the same. But the basics are still sound.” Born in Wisconsin, Neinas was a longtime Colorado resident and was living in Boulder at the time of his death. After working as a play-by-play man for Wisconsin football and basketball, Neinas got a job with the NCAA, where he served as an assistant executive director from 1961-71. He became commissioner of the Big Eight Conference in 1971 until moving to the CFA. During his Big Eight tenure, Neinas chaired the committee that recommended the NCAA withdraw from the U.S. Olympic Committee. That led to a major reorganization and the passing of the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act that governs the Olympics in the U.S. today.

Replace Lake Worth ISD trustees but keep superintendent, board president urges state

Lake Worth ISD board President Tammy Thomas wants to ask the state for a trade: Remove the school board but keep Superintendent Mark Ramirez. “This school board will gladly walk away,” Thomas told the Fort Worth Report after the board’s Dec. 15 meeting. “This school board will gladly let a board of managers and a conservator come in if they will trade us and let us keep Dr. Ramirez.” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced a state takeover of the district Dec. 11, ordering the appointment of a state board of managers and a conservator and directing TEA officials, including himself, to select a new superintendent. The action followed years of low academic performance in the 3,200-student district, including five consecutive failing state academic accountability ratings at Marilyn Miller Language Academy, which triggered the intervention.

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Monday’s meeting was the first since the state’s decision. It came amid uncertainty over how quickly control will be stripped from locally elected trustees and how long Ramirez, who has led the district since May, will remain in his role during the transition. Ramirez confirmed after the meeting that he will not be a candidate to remain superintendent once the state appoints new leadership, a decision he said came from TEA. “I’m disappointed because of the work we’ve started here,” Ramirez said. In a call with reporters last week, Morath did not explain why Ramirez would not be considered to remain as superintendent once the state installs new leadership. Instead, the commissioner praised Ramirez’s short tenure in Lake Worth, calling him “a very skilled leader” who has made “many, many changes” since arriving in May. The district’s elected trustees waited too long to make a leadership change, he said. “If they had taken steps to bring Dr. Ramirez in five years ago, I highly doubt we’d be having this conversation,” Morath said.

Austin faces accelerated funding, design deadline for I-35 cap and stitch project

City of Austin officials now face a 2025 deadline to define the scope of several cap and stitch projects that could reshape traffic and neighborhoods across the city. In an update delivered to the Austin Mobility Committee Dec. 4, city officials were confronted with a revised timeline from the Texas Department of Transportation for its I-35 Capital Express Central project. This new schedule introduces a complex set of financial pressures and risks for the city's cap and stitch initiative, a plan to construct land bridges over the expanded I-35, which is intended to heal the decades-old divide created by the interstate, according to city officials. The update presents a bit of a paradox: while the construction of key city-funded elements has been delayed by three years, the deadline for committing the remaining millions of dollars to the project has been unexpectedly moved forward, forcing difficult decisions on an accelerated timeline.

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In May, Austin City Council approved an advance funding agreement with TxDOT for up to $104 million to fund the roadway support elements for three downtown caps and two northern stitches, using $41 million from a state infrastructure bank loan and $63 million from certificates of obligation. However, TxDOT would be requesting the first substantial payment for the decks themselves in May 2026, under a schedule meant to spread costs over several years, with much larger “balloon payments” due in the final years of construction, when the actual bridge decks are built, city staff said. TxDOT has made the decision to split the massive I-35 overhaul into two primary phases. The first, an "advanced construction package," is scheduled to go to bid in 2027 and will include work on overpasses like the MLK Jr. Boulevard bridge and utility relocations. The second, the "ultimate construction package," which contains the city's cap and stitch elements, will not go to bid until 2029. This means the construction of the city-funded foundational roadway elements and the cap decks themselves has been pushed out three years, from an anticipated 2026 start to 2029.

Brian Gaar: A moment With Rob Reiner that meant everything

The year was 2015. I was not in a good place. I had quit my lucrative (ha) job in newspaper journalism to enter the equally lucrative world of local television, hosting a late-night comedy show on The CW in Austin. It was exhilarating, but I had no idea what I was doing. I was the host and one of three writers, working long hours as we cobbled together a daily program. After hours, I sold ads for the show too. We were all burned out, or at least I was. Living your dream is hard. One night, I was asked to host a comedy show at Cap City Comedy Club in Austin. It was a showcase of TV journalists who were attempting standup for the first time, appropriately called “The Funniest Reporter in Texas.” Good luck, I thought. Doing standup is one of the hardest things in the world, because it’s so obvious when you fail. When you succeed, you can’t imagine doing anything else. When you bomb, it’s unbearable.

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At the time, I was about eight years into comedy. I happily accepted the job because I needed the ego boost (and the $50). It turned out to be one of those nights that I’d never forget, as trite as that sounds. While my life had been hectic and hard, the show was magic. All of the reporters had great sets, and I was on my game. (“Don’t date your cameramen, ladies!” I warned the participants. The room exploded in laughter.) I got off stage, exhausted but happy. Then I saw Rob Reiner. He was approaching me with a big smile. “Great job!” he said, extending a hand. I couldn’t believe it. The director of “This is Spinal Tap,” “When Harry Met Sally,” and “The Princess Bride” liked me. I was floating. Was this what heaven felt like? “Hey thanks!” I replied, mentally noting every detail so I could remember this moment forever. Of course, he wasn’t talking to me. You know that old trope of thinking someone’s talking to you, but they’re really addressing the person behind you? That’s what happened. Reiner’s grandson had been one of the participants, and he was congratulating him. Reiner looked at me, slightly annoyed. “Not YOU, you’re a pro,” he snapped. Somehow, life had gotten even better. No, he wasn’t talking to me, but Rob Reiner thought I was a pro. At comedy. I asked him later if we could get a photo, and he graciously accepted. It’s one of my favorite memories, ever.

National Stories

‘Extremely demoralizing’: Republicans respond to the bombastic Wiles interview

White House aides and allies on Tuesday rushed to publicly defend Susie Wiles after a jaw-dropping interview in Vanity Fair had her pointedly criticizing the president and many in the Cabinet. Most of the critiques were batted away as “inside jokes” or part of a “hit piece” from the media but privately those inside the White House and others close to the president were aghast that the West Wing so fully cooperated with the story. “Why Vanity Fair?” wondered one White House official, who, like others in this story, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the fallout. “They’ve never been remotely good to us.” They added it was “very, very odd.” President Donald Trump Tuesday afternoon said his chief of staff retains his full confidence, telling the New York Post “she’s done a fantastic job.”

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Still, the more than 10,000-word Vanity Fair spread, based on 11 interviews over the course of a year, glossy photo-spreads and on-the-record quotes from Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had many of Trump’s allies scratching their heads, wondering why the very top of the administration would participate in the interview. And how could Wiles, lauded for her political acumen and loyalty, have miscalculated so badly? The interview was “extremely demoralizing,” said a person close to the White House. A second person close to the White House said simply: “So far … WTF.” A third person close to the White House said they’ve known Wiles for decades and was “very surprised” that she participated. After publication, Wiles called the story a “disingenuously framed hit piece,” but did not deny she made the comments. The piece lands as the Trump administration grapples with a host of bad headlines: the unemployment rate is up and Trump’s approval ratings are down. Election losses and GOP underperformance has top Republicans worried about a potentially disastrous midterm election and there is growing fear on the right about a land war in Venezuela.

House GOP will not allow amendment vote to extend ObamaCare subsidies

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said there will not be an amendment vote on extending expiring ObamaCare enhanced subsidies as part of a House Republican health care bill this week, in a move that is infuriating moderate Republicans who had been pushing to go on the record about the subsidies. Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday that about a dozen Republican members in competitive districts are “fighting hard to make sure that they reduce costs for all of their constituents.” “Many of them did want to vote on this ObamaCare COVID-era subsidy the Democrats created,” Johnson said. “We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be.”

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Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), one of the members who had been pushing for a vote to extend the subsidies that expire Dec. 31, fumed at the decision as he emerged from a House Republican Conference meeting Tuesday morning. “I think it’s idiotic not to have an up-or-down vote on this issue,” Lawler said, adding: “It is political malpractice.” “I am pissed for the American people. This is absolute bulls---,” Lawler said. Responding to Lawler’s comments, Johnson noted he recently campaigned for him in New York and said Lawler “fights hard for New York, as every Republican in this conference does for their districts.” Johnson said members worked on a potential amendment through the weekend, and while “everybody was at the table in good faith,” and “agreement wasn’t made.” Negotiations between moderates and GOP leadership on an amendment to extend the subsidies hit a roadblock over the weekend as GOP leaders and other conservatives said any language extending the expensive subsidies would need to be paired with spending cuts, The Hill previously reported.

Why lawyers buy so many billboards

When San Fernando, California, attorney Arvand Naderi is walking around town, it’s not unusual for random people to greet him enthusiastically. But they don’t say hello. Instead, many shout out the phrase, “Guns n’ dope!” To which Naderi knowingly responds, “Don’t lose hope!” The exchange may seem odd to the uninitiated. But alongside a picture of his face, the catchy couplet (“Guns n’ Dope? / Don’t Lose Hope!”) has been plastered on one of his firm’s billboards off the 118 freeway in neighboring Pacoima for seven years, turning him into something of a local celebrity. Since the criminal defense attorney started advertising on billboards ~10 years ago, he estimates he’s purchased ~50 of them. He says he spends $100k+ on billboard advertising a year. Naderi’s ads may be unique, but his reliance on billboard advertising to build his firm is not. The American Tort Reform Association, a lobbying group that advocates for caps on award damages and changes to current civil liability laws, estimates that in 2024 attorneys spent $541m+ on out-of-home and outdoor ads, a category that includes billboards as well as space on buses, subways, and other public areas.

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This is an increase of $70m compared to 2023 and nearly $200m from 2022. Morgan & Morgan, the country’s largest personal injury firm, reportedly spends a staggering $350m annually on marketing alone. So why are so many law firms, from single-attorney practices to firms with thousands of employees, investing so heavily in billboards? As our world is increasingly lived online, advertising has shifted along with it. The business intelligence firm Research and Markets reports that in 2024 the value of the global digital marketing industry was $410B, and is projected to reach $1.2T by 2033. Billboards, on the other hand, are stubbornly, laughably low-tech. They’ve barely changed since the first ones appeared in the US in the 1860s. They’re also not cheap. In Los Angeles, for example, billboards range from $5k to $9k a month (and far more in iconic, highly touristed places such as Sunset Boulevard). So what explains their massive appeal today? The first reason is competition. According to the American Bar Association, in 2024 there were 1.3m practicing attorneys in the United States, a ratio of one attorney to every 260 Americans. While the number peaked in 2019, with 1.352m practicing attorneys, since 2000 this cohort has grown, on average, by 1% a year. “If you do not advertise, you will get eaten by people like me,” says Brooke Goff, a personal injury attorney in Connecticut.

New court filings give a behind-the-scenes look at Trump’s East Wing demolition

A bevy of new details surrounding the Trump administration’s decision to demolish the East Wing of the White House were revealed this week in court filings, as part of a case filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation seeking to pause construction on the sprawling ballroom project. President Donald Trump’s pet project was initially pitched as a renovation of the structure, which traditionally was home to office space for the first lady and her staff. But it quickly ballooned in scope and is now estimated to cost upward of $300 million — though Trump said that number had increased to $400 million Tuesday night at a White House Hanukkah reception. A memo, filed by the White House on Monday evening in response to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawsuit, included declarations from various National Park Service officials and an environmental assessment conducted by the NPS determining that there would be “no significant impact ” on the surrounding environment.

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It also provided the first public estimate of the project’s timeline, which is projected to be completed sometime in the summer of 2028 — just months before Trump is set to leave office. White House officials in the filing called for the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that any halt to the project would amount to a national security risk. The filing did not explain the specific national security concerns, but it has long been known that an emergency operations bunker lies below the East Wing. Instead, the administration only offered to share classified details with the judge in a private, in-person setting without the plaintiffs present. The White House also argued in its response filed Monday that the president has the authority to modify the White House, asserting that he is not subject to normal statues. “Plaintiff’s claims concerning demolition of the East Wing are moot because the demolition has already occurred and cannot be undone,” Department of Justice officials wrote. “The President possesses affirmative statutory authority to alter and improve the White House — authority that expressly overrides other laws.” Earlier this month Trump added a new architect to his construction team, after the original project leader reportedly aired concerns about the scope and size of the ballroom.

What we know about the fatal stabbings of Rob and Michele Reiner and the case against their son

Two days after Hollywood director Rob Reiner and producer Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their home, their grown son, Nick Reiner, was charged with the first-degree murder of his parents. Many aspects of the case are still uncertain as authorities keep details close in an active investigation. But the deaths of the two Hollywood fixtures have upended the entertainment industry as colleagues, friends and fans pay tribute to their legacy. Here’s what we know about the case against Nick Reiner and what comes next.

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Prosecutors charged Reiner, 32, with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of his parents. The charges include a special allegation for allegedly using a knife, and the case rises to a “special circumstance first-degree murder case” as there were multiple murders, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Tuesday at a news conference. Conviction on the charges carries a penalty of life in prison without parole or the death penalty, Hochman said. His office hasn’t decided if it would seek the death penalty and would take the “thoughts and desires of the family into consideration,” he said. Executions in California have essentially been halted since 2006, with a moratorium on the death penalty since 2019. Cases that involve family members are among “the most challenging and the most heart-wrenching” due to the “intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes involved,” Hochman said. Reiner is being held without bail ahead of an arraignment, the district attorney’s office said. He is going through medical screening, a standard procedure, Hochman said.

Next Fed chair in ‘no-win scenario’ as selection process draws to a close

It was always going to be one of the Kevins. At least that was the impression among many across Wall Street and Washington when it came to President Trump’s selection for the next chair of the Federal Reserve. Mr. Trump had hinted for months that he wanted his Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, for the job. But Mr. Bessent kept declining the offer. That placed Kevin A. Hassett, a longtime loyalist and economic adviser to Mr. Trump, and Kevin M. Warsh, a former Fed governor who had been in spitting distance of becoming chair during the president’s first term, in leading positions to take over for Jerome H. Powell in May. The decision comes down to who Mr. Trump believes will be more successful in delivering the substantially lower borrowing costs that he has long struggled to get from the Fed under Mr. Powell.

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Mr. Trump, who elevated Mr. Powell to chair in 2017, appears haunted by that decision. He has made it clear that this time he wants someone more malleable who will take his advice. That prerequisite creates a credibility problem for whoever is selected, one that will be difficult to escape. A chair who is seen as beholden to the president risks eroding the public’s confidence that the Fed is making decisions in the best interest of the economy, not the White House. If that crumbles, borrowing costs could move higher, not lower as the president wants. “Anyone who gets the job is damaged goods,” said Andy Laperriere, headof U.S. policy research for Piper Sandler. “You’re either going to be the guy who succeeds in getting what the president wants, which will not bode well for your treatment in the history books,” Mr. Laperriere said, “or you’re going to be the guy who doesn’t get what the president wants, and he’s going to probably turn on you.”

Warner rejects Paramount’s hostile bid, saying Netflix deal still superior

Warner Bros. Discovery recommended shareholders reject Paramount’s unsolicited all-cash bid for the company Wednesday, saying it believes Netflix’s proposal for its studios and HBO Max streaming service is still superior. Calling the Paramount offer “illusory” in a letter to shareholders, Warner again raised concerns about the credibility of the equity being offered by Paramount and questioned the structure of the Ellison family’s commitment to funding the deal. Paramount CEO David Ellison and his father Larry, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle, are majority shareholders in Paramount, along with RedBird Capital. Netflix earlier this month agreed to pay $72 billion, or $27.75 a share, in cash and stock for Warner’s studio and HBO Max streaming business after the entertainment company splits itself in two.

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Paramount then went hostile with its $77.9 billion proposal to acquire all of Warner. Paramount has been arguing that its offer is a better deal for shareholders and more likely to pass regulatory muster. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that a rejection from Warner was imminent. In its letter, Warner said the Ellison family is using a revocable trust to fund the deal and that documents provided by Paramount about the commitment “contain gaps, loopholes and limitations that put you, our shareholders, and our company at risk.” The Netflix merger, on the other hand, is fully backed by a public company with a market cap of more than $400 billion and with an investment-grade balance sheet, Warner said. “The terms of the Netflix merger are superior,” Warner said in its letter. “The [Paramount] offer provides inadequate value and imposes numerous, significant risks and costs on [Warner].” Paramount’s hostile bid is at $30 a share, though the company has also told Warner this offer isn’t its “best and final” proposal, a signal it could increase the bid. Warner shares closed Tuesday at $28.90.

Trump orders blockade of all 'sanctioned oil tankers' entering and leaving Venezuela

President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Venezuela on Tuesday by announcing that he is ordering a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” entering and leaving the South American country. “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before." He then added that he is "ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela," arguing that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government is using oil revenue to finance illicit operations, including "drug terrorism."

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The U.S. has sanctioned three of Maduro’s nephews and repeatedly conducted deadly military strikes against boats from the Caribbean that it alleges are carrying drugs. Venezuela’s government released a statement Tuesday accusing Trump of “violating international law, free trade, and the principle of free navigation” with what it called “a reckless and grave threat.” It added: “On his social media, he assumes that Venezuela’s oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property.” The statement said of Trump’s post: “Consequently, he demands that Venezuela immediately hand over all its riches. The President of the United States intends to impose, in an utterly irrational manner, a supposed naval blockade on Venezuela with the aim of stealing the wealth that belongs to our nation.” Maduro’s government plans to denounce the situation before the United Nations, the statement said. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in an interview for part of a two-part profile published Tuesday by Vanity Fair that Trump “wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.”

Turning Point’s student membership keeps growing

Three months after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the footprint of the right-wing youth organization he founded continues to grow on college campuses. This week, Turning Point USA chapters at both Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Oklahoma reported membership surges. According to the Indiana Daily Student (IDS) and Indy Star, IU’s chapter says its membership has tripled this fall, from 180 to 363. At the University of Oklahoma—which put an instructor on leave after the Turning Point chapter accused them of “viewpoint discrimination”—the group’s membership has grown from 15 to 2,000 over the past year, NBCreported. Those increases follow other local media reports about new chapters and membership growth at scores of other universities across the country, including the University of Missouri, and Vanderbilt and Brigham Young Universities. Within eight days of Kirk’s death, Turning Point said it received messages from 62,000 students interested in starting a new chapter or getting involved with one.

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“I think that our club has kind of become a beacon for conservatives,” a Turning Point chapter member told IDS, Indiana University at Bloomington’s campus newspaper. “So, after his death, more people showed up, more people got involved, and it was really nice to kind of see a scene in the way people wanted to get involved.” Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012, with the mission of “to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government.” He gained notoriety in conservative circles by traveling to college campuses across the country, challenging students to prove wrong his conservative stances on topics such as race, gender, abortion and immigration. On Sept. 10, Kirk was speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University when a gunman fatally shot him in the neck. After his death, Trump and his allies moved to canonize Kirk as an exemplar of civic debate—and called to punish anyone who publicly disagreed. Numerous colleges and universities have since suspended or fired faculty and staff who criticized Kirk for his political views. Although some faculty and students have objected to new Turning Point chapters, the students growing the organization insist they’re committed to considering all perspectives. “You have a place here, you'll always have a place here,” Jack Henning, president of Indiana University’s Turning Point chapter, told IDS. “We don’t discriminate against any viewpoints at all, we debate them. That’s what American democracy was built upon.”

Copyright December 17, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved