June 11, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

USDA's Rollins called screwworm a 'little pest' amid U.S. spread. Last year, she called it 'terrifying'

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told CNBC on Monday that the New World screwworm is a “little pest.” In the past, she called the parasite “terrifying.” The discrepancy in messaging before and after the flesh-eating pest was detected in the U.S. offers a window into how Rollins is managing the screwworm threat now that it has reached inside the border. And it shows how the administration is racing to alleviate fears that the parasite could further raise the price of beef amid rising inflation. Since screwworm was detected in Texas last week, Rollins has hit the airwaves to reassure the U.S. public that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is ahead of the infestation and that it does not pose a risk to the food system. She has also heaped blame on the Biden administration for the spread, arguing that lax immigration enforcement of the southern border helped the parasite move forward.

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“The food supply is not at risk. This is not a virus, it’s not a disease, it’s just a little pest, a larvae that lands in a calf’s wound, for example, and it can be treated,” she said on CNBC Monday. “Under the last administration with the massive movement under the open borders policy, the cartels, etc., border security, that’s when it began to make its way back up toward America.” Last September, however, Rollins was more forthcoming about the threat posed by the screwworm in an appearance on Fox News. She was discussing screwworm as it spread north toward the U.S. from Central America. “At a time when our beef supply is at its lowest already in 75 years ... it is really terrifying, prices are very high for that reason, it could take us into even another phase of real compromise of getting good beef at a good price for Americans,” she said. “We’ve got a plan, we’re on it.” And at a Senate hearing in May 2025, Rollins said screwworm was a “major threat” that would “devastate our cattle industry in this country.” Rollins on Wednesday doubled down on blaming the Biden administration when she appeared at another Senate hearing, arguing that “we know this development is a serious threat, but it did not catch us off guard.”

In a divisive vote, Dallas City Council direct staff to explore options for City Hall site

Dallas City Council has directed City Manager Kimberley Bizor Tolbert to pause renovation and repair process of the City Hall building — and to look at leasing options for a new location. The vote was made during a special called meeting on Wednesday. Council Members Laura Cadena, Adam Bazaluda, Paula Blackmon, Bill Roth, Cara Mendelsohn, and Paul Ridley voted against. A temporary restraining order granted on Tuesday — filed by Blackmon, Bazaldua, and Mendelsohn — attempted to stop any action related to City Hall. While the city removed agenda items from the special meeting that involved redevelopment work on the property, it still included an item related to approving a repair strategy. Council Member Chad West made a motion related to repairs — to stop a repair strategy. That approved motion directs staff to bring back leasing options for a new city hall by August 26.

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"One of the main things that have been asked for from my residents in my town hall and from many of the speakers over the course of the last several months is to have a true side-by-side comparison," West said. "We cannot do that if we stop the process today." That motion did not include direction to staff to bring back estimates on the cost to demolish the building and where the materials would go. Bazaldua proposed an amendment that would have included this, but it was rejected by the majority of council members who voted in favor of West's motion. Cadena pleaded with her fellow council members to vote in favor of Bazaldua's amendment before it was rejected. She said materials have historically been dumped in her District 6, located in west Dallas. "This is a great concern to me," Cadena said. "We have a lot of industrial area in district six because of the zoning that has been passed that was also in part [sic] of environmental racism." The vote comes after months of debate among both council members and residents on whether to stay and repair years of deferred maintenance at the I.M. Pei-designed building or to relocate and redevelop the site.

Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell on Brendan Sorsby backlash: "They don't want to play us"

The Brendan Sorsby saga has put billionaire Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell in a pickle. Should he seize on the court ruling that restored Sorsby’s eligibility as more evidence of the necessity of federal intervention in college sports? Or should he circle the Red Raider wagons? On Monday, Campbell called the decision the “outcome of a broken system.” By Wednesday, he was toeing the party line for the school he supports. “This kid did not impact the integrity of a single game,” Campbell told Dan Dakich on Wednesday, via Sam Khan Jr. of The Athletic. “He didn’t bet on a single game he played in. He didn’t hurt anybody. There are kids that will suit up this fall who have actually hurt people and done bad things, and nobody’s talking about boycotting them or not playing them. . . . There are kids that are playing that have gotten DUIs, that have beaten up women, kids that have committed horrible acts. Nobody boycotted Penn State when that horrible situation happened there.”

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So why does Campbell think so many schools have been criticizing Texas Tech? “It’s because the college football world doesn’t think that Texas Tech should be as good as we are,” Campbell said. “We’ve been a disruptor, just like Indiana has, so we’ve been a target. The volume has gone up and a lot has been directed at me, Coach McGuire, and our university, but that’s not fair. “If this had happened at LSU, people would say, ‘Ah, it’s LSU. They’re always going to do what they do.’ But it happened at Texas Tech, and people don’t want to compete with us. Of course ADs in the Big 12 are saying crazy things that they don’t want to play us. They don’t want to play us because they know he’s good and they don’t want us to be as competitive. They want to have a better chance at winning the conference. So they’re inherently conflicted in their opinion.” But Campbell is conflicted, too. And if this had happened at another Big 12 school, Campbell would be trying a lot harder to leverage the situation into the legislative action for which he has been pushing so hard. Likewise, any of the schools that have criticized Texas Tech would be doing the same thing Texas Tech is now doing, if they were the ones facing the loss of their starting quarterback for the 2026 season. It’s all obvious, and it’s all predictable.

Oil executives warn White House that gas prices will get worse

Oil and gas executives have warned the White House that gasoline prices could surge in coming months as fuel inventories fall to critical lows, complicating the Trump administration’s efforts to contain inflation that has already rattled American consumers. Industry officials say they are doing everything they can to sound an alarm that prices are about to soar as the commercial and government inventories that have mitigated price rises so far are rapidly depleting, according to multiple people familiar with the conversations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from the administration. Some inventories could be wiped out within weeks, the executives have warned, coinciding with the peak summer travel season. “I have absolutely no doubt the White House — from the president on down — is fully aware of the nearly universal alarm among oil companies and analysts about the direction of travel for oil prices this summer,” said Bob McNally, who was an energy adviser in the George W. Bush administration and founded the research firm Rapidan Energy Group.

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The warnings underscore the rising political and economic risks confronting President Donald Trump as the conflict with Iran drags into its fourth month, with little indication that a diplomatic breakthrough is imminent, despite periodic White House predictions of progress. Already Trump’s administration is confronting the highest rate of inflation in three years, which has led to a significant drop in his standing among voters and deepened concern among Republicans about widespread losses in the midterm elections, which could cause them to lose control of one or both houses of Congress. The Labor Department’s consumer price index rose at a 4.2 percent annual pace in the year ending in May, driven by surging gas prices. Trump has publicly brushed off concerns about the rising prices. “I love it. I love the inflation,” Trump told reporters Wednesday when asked about the new figures. Oil prices will drop “like a rock” once the war concludes, he said. Industry executives suggest otherwise.

State Stories

Greg Abbott tells PUC, ERCOT not to pass new data center costs to customers

Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday issued an order aimed at making sure Texas ratepayers do not take on the costs of building new infrastructure to power the hundreds of data centers seeking to join the state’s grid in the coming years. The order marks the first time the Republican governor has sought to put limits on the explosive growth of data centers, which have drawn backlash, especially in heavily GOP areas of the state, for their heavy use of energy and water. The governor directed the Public Utilities Commission and ERCOT to ensure new data centers do not pass on costs for new electrical infrastructure to ratepayers. He also called on lawmakers to require data centers to use water efficiently and to repeal their lucrative sales tax exemptions.

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“The rapid scale of data center development requires oversight to ensure everyday Texans are not burdened with the costs of infrastructure driven by data center expansion,” Abbott wrote in a letter to the heads of the PUC and ERCOT. More than 480 “large” data centers have requested to connect to the ERCOT grid through 2032, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator. Currently, only a dozen of the hundreds of data centers drawing power from the state’s primary grid are considered “large” electricity users, meaning they consume at least as much power as 18,750 households. The governor has been a strong supporter of the tech boom in Texas, touting the state as the “epicenter of AI development.” Last fall, Abbott appeared alongside Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai as he announced the tech company would plow $40 billion into data center development in Texas. “We must ensure that America remains at the forefront of the AI revolution, and Texas is the place where that can happen,” Abbott said at that press conference. But there has been growing political pressure to rein in the energy-intensive industry. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller last month called for a temporary moratorium on new data center development. Counties across the state have considered local pauses on data center development. And both Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows have directed lawmakers to study the water and energy demands of data centers ahead of the next legislative session.

Weeks before Texas screwworm cases, state lawmakers were warned of devastating consequences

Less than a month before New World screwworm was confirmed in Texas for the first time in decades, state lawmakers heard warnings that an infestation of the flesh-eating parasite posed a growing threat to the state’s livestock industry, wildlife populations and economy. “Screwworm is a serious concern for [the U.S. Department of Agriculture], our state partners, and our livestock producers because of the damage and disruption it would cause to the U.S. livestock industry if not quickly identified and treated,” said Dudley Hoskins, the USDA’s undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. The warning was one of many presented to legislators during a May 11 hearing of the Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs.

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In the meeting, agriculture officials and industry experts discussed the parasite’s steady march north through Mexico — and the destructive effects its arrival in Texas could bring. Just weeks later, on June 3, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed New World screwworm in a calf in Zavala County. This marked the first U.S. case since the pest was eradicated from the country in the 1960s. In the days that followed, four more cases were confirmed in Texas. A fifth case was confirmed by the USDA on Tuesday. May’s committee hearing offered a glimpse into how lawmakers and state officials viewed the threat before the first Texas cases were detected, along with how they planned to respond if the parasite reached the state. New World screwworm larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, including livestock, wildlife and pets. Officials have stressed that the parasite doesn’t threaten the safety of the U.S. food supply, but it could disrupt food production by harming livestock. Throughout the hearing, several Texas officials expressed confidence that the state was prepared to respond if — or when — screwworm reached Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Executive Director David Yoskowitz told the Senate panel that his agency was in regular contact with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with neighboring state agencies, about the growing screwworm threat. This confidence was echoed by State Veterinarian Bud Dinges, who also serves as the executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission. He said TAHC was “prepared to facilitate an effective and efficient New World screwworm response at a moment’s notice.”

After divisive U.S. Senate runoff, Texas Republicans seek unity at state convention in Houston

The runoffs are over. Nominees are set for the 2026 midterm election. Now, Texas Republicans are cooling their intraparty political attacks and turning their attention to November’s general election. That means coming together to unify as a party and defeat Democrats — just some of the goals for the 2026 Texas Republican Party Convention, which kicks off Thursday in Houston. Over three days, the biennial event will host many of Texas’ top GOP leaders, state party officials and delegates and midterm election candidates, along with thousands of dedicated Republican voters who are expected to attend from across the state. This will be the first big statewide meeting of Texas Republicans since before May’s contentious party runoffs and will give the state GOP a chance to strategize and plan for the coming years.

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But underlying tensions from this year’s primary season are still fresh in Republicans’ minds. At the center of that divide was the mudslinging-filled runoff for the U.S. Senate between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton. The race — which Paxton won with nearly 64% of the vote — highlighted a years-long divide between the party’s traditional Republicans and growing MAGA base.So far this year, the latter faction has come out on top. “MAGA candidates won hands down,” said Nancy Sims, a University of Houston political scientist. While the U.S. Senate battle wasn’t the only runoff putting some of the state’s Republicans at odds, there isn’t much time to sit with hurt feelings: Election Day is Nov. 3, less than five months away, and current polls show it wouldn’t be impossible for Democrats to flip seats. This week’s gathering in Houston serves to “pull everyone back together and rally the troops to go out and win the Fall elections,” said Sims. In some cases, the post-runoff olive branch has already been extended. One notable example comes from Gov. Greg Abbott and Bo French, the controversial Republican nominee for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. Days before polls closed, Gov. Abbott forcefully came out against French, even going as far as to say he, “doesn't know anything about oil and gas.”

Some Big Bend National Park projects in limbo amid shifting border wall plans

On lists of the most stunning places in Texas, Big Bend National Park is frequently at the top. Not among the most-visited parks in the country, it’s a rugged and isolated preserve of West Texas desert wilderness. That’s part of the draw — Big Bend is larger than Rhode Island, spanning an 800,000-acre stretch along the Rio Grande, and if you time your visit right, it’s not uncommon to spend hours on a trail without meeting another person. Yet, once a remote vista lucky to draw 300,000 visitors in a year, the park has seen a more than 40% growth in visitation over the past decade. That’s still far below more accessible staples like Great Smoky Mountains, which draws 23 times the number of visitors as Big Bend in a given year, but it’s on the rise; and as the park’s popularity has grown, so too has its stature.

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Big Bend has topped headlines in recent months over shifting plans by the federal government to construct a border barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border. The park, a central biosphere and ecological crossing for wildlife in the region, was once thought to be safe from that development because of the region’s low illegal crossing numbers. The Border Patrol sector tasked with immigration enforcement in Big Bend has historically seen the lowest number of encounters of any southern border region. But while public attention has focused on the border, a vital change to infrastructure in the park’s heart has been put on hold. Through the end of March, more than $75 million in federal funds first approved in 2020 was earmarked to perform repairs in Big Bend’s most popular area, the Chisos Mountain Basin. The oasis of comparative greenery and shade found at the end of a 7-mile narrow, curvy two-lane road houses visitors’ favorite views and trailheads, the sole in-park lodge and a lone food truck — the only hot meal for tens of miles in any direction. That lodge, built in 1964, has seen better days. The main building, formerly a restaurant and now closed to the public, has an eroding foundation and guest rooms are nearly universally missing some shingles.

City of Houston passes Whitmire’s $7.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2027

Houston City Council approved Mayor John Whitmire's proposed $7.5 billion budget for the next fiscal year, with a vote of 15 to 1. Whitmire acknowledged the budget wasn't perfect, but he called it an important step toward putting the city on a sound financial footing. "I'm just as confident today as I was a month ago when we rolled it out," Whitmire told council members as they prepared to vote on the budget. "I want you to hold me, and I know you will, to the commitments that have been made."

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The budget aimed to close a deficit of more than $200 million without raising property taxes. Its sole new source of revenue is a monthly administrative fee of $5 per residential unit customer, designed to support solid waste services. That new fee will take effect July 1 and be included with residents' water bills. A proposed amendment aimed at offsetting the cost of the new fee for low-income residents and seniors was not immediately adopted, instead being referred to a committee for further consideration. Whitmire said the amendment, as originally presented, constituted an "illegal use of public funds," but he held out hope that some offset would be adopted — and potentially would be extended to veterans. The defeat of that amendment triggered a silent protest by more than a dozen members of the public, many of them identified by their T-shirts as members of the Northeast Action Collective, a community group aimed at improving environmental conditions and quality of life issues in neglected neighborhoods. The protestors held up signs and waved red cards — the latter a measure with added symbolism ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Houston serving as a host city. Council Member and Vice Mayor-Pro-Tem Amy Peck announced she would vote for the budget, but that her vote came with reservations, particularly regarding the administrative fee. "If residents are asked to pay more, they deserve better service in return," Peck said. "If I do not see a measurable, meaningful improvement in the performance of the new Solid Waste Division, I will personally author a Prop A ordinance to repeal this fee."

Austin employee worked full time for city and state, audit says

An Austin Public Health financial analyst drew a full-time paycheck from the city while also working full time for a state agency, according to a new city auditor report that found the now-former employee never disclosed the outside job and that her performance suffered as a result of the dual employment. The Wednesday report comes two months after the American-Statesman reported that three top Austin IT officials were fired after the city found they had undisclosed second jobs, including two who were working simultaneously for the city of Dallas. Together, the cases raise new questions about how Austin monitors outside employment and potential conflicts among city workers.

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The Austin City Auditor’s Office said it received multiple complaints that Marie Joelle Dan, a financial analyst on Austin Public Health’s financial services team, worked full-time for both the city and state. Investigators found Dan was employed by a state agency in April 2023 when the city health department hired her as financial analyst and that she received a promotion in July 2024. She also was employed by the same state agency in 2021 when she worked as a temporary employee for the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, according to the report. Dan did not disclose the outside employment to her manager or the city, investigators found. City employees are required to disclose outside work and potential conflicts of interest. She resigned from the city in November 2025 after the auditor’s office interviewed her. The report does not name the state agency Dan worked for but a spokesperson for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission confirmed Dan's previous employment.

As screwworm nears, rural Zapata County has no vet to get drugs to fight it

As cases of New World screwworm increase, the South Texas ranching county of Zapata is especially concerned because they don’t have a veterinarian to treat livestock or pets. Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell says ranchers must take livestock 50 miles away to Laredo to receive veterinarian care, including prescriptions for antibiotic medications to treat screwworm infections. There are at least five confirmed cases of New World screwworm, including 4 in Texas since it first was detected north of the border on June 3. The infected include calves, a goat and a dog in New Mexico, so far.

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency in all 254 counties in Texas due to the screwworm threat. The federal government is deploying inspectors along the border, as well as setting up traps and traps and dispersing sterilized flies from the air to stop the spread. The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that in its larvae stage feeds on the tissue of warm-blooded animals and causes infections with its screw-like teeth. It can kill livestock in two weeks; pets and people also can get infected. “We are all really concerned and scared, really scared of what’s coming,” Rathmell told Border Report this week. Rathmell and his family are ranchers. They own between 800 to 1,000 head of cattle, many which graze on the banks of the Rio Grande overlooking Tamaulipas, Mexico. The screwworm was first detected in southern Mexico in November 2024 and has slowly been making its way north toward the border. In September, a case of New World screwworm was detected 70 miles southwest of Zapata in Sabinas Hidalgo in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León. Rathmell says they fear it will soon be in their community and that the FDA-approved preventative drug for treating screwworm, injections of ivermectin, are expensive. And if cows get infected, antibiotic treatments can only be given by a veterinarian, which they don’t have in Zapata County.

San Antonio biotech company unravels amid trade-secret lawsuit

In the 30 years since it was founded, Alamo Biologics LLC became part of San Antonio’s robust regenerative-medicine industry, manufacturing products derived from placental tissue for use in wound care and surgery. This month, it sought refuge in bankruptcy. The company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization after a confidential settlement tied to a trade-secret lawsuit devolved into a multimillion-dollar collection fight. The bankruptcy caps a legal saga that began more than two years ago, when Alamo Biologics was accused of using proprietary manufacturing processes allegedly disclosed by a former executive of a company that owned them.

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California-based Human Regenerative Technologies LLC and Skye Orthobiologics LLC sought to collect a judgment of nearly $3.5 million, including asking U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam in San Antonio to appoint a receiver to take control of some Alamo Biologics assets. Pulliam granted a preliminary injunction restricting Alamo Biologics from making and selling products at the center o’f the trade-secret dispute before the parties reached a confidential settlement that resulted in the agreed judgment. It agreed to make interest payments, a $50,000 principal payment and a final $3.4 million balloon payment due Dec. 31. The company made the earlier payments but failed to make the balloon payment, later telling the court it lacked the money to do so. As Human Regenerative and Skye intensified collection efforts, Alamo Biologics warned that a court order appointing a receiver and directing the turnover of accounts receivable would force it to “terminate its employees” and “close its doors.” Last week, it told the court that Alamo Biologics and related businesses carried more than $9 million in debt and that accounts receivable were already pledged to secured lenders.

Trump administration to install barriers in Big Bend National Park

The Trump administration confirmed on Tuesday it is planning to build 17 miles of metal barriers through Big Bend National Park to prevent off-road vehicles from driving to and from the Rio Grande. The barriers would consist of four-foot tall metal posts with a continuous cross beam to allow the passage of wildlife and people on foot, different from border walls that typically stand 15 to 30 foot tall, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. While much of the park is too rugged for vehicles to pass, the department said it has determined some low-lying areas were accessible and required security.

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The announcement follows the Trump administration's earlier decision to abandon plans for a wall in the park after backlash from local officials and residents in West Texas, who argued it would spoil the area's natural beauty. On Tuesday, the administration published a waiver exempting contractors from federal environmental rules in order to fast-track construction of the vehicle barriers and roads within a rugged stretch that extends from Big Bend Ranch State Park to roughly 50 miles northeast of the national park. Environmental groups quickly panned the move as "militarizing" the national park and ruining its hiking trails and scenic overlooks. "The only people benefiting from this destruction are the billionaire contractors set to pad their pockets while paving over our natural heritage and permanently locking a great American river behind hideous steel barriers," said Laiken Jordahl, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity. The Trump administration has already awarded more than $4 billion in border security construction contracts in and around Big Bend National Park. But they are facing a flurry of lawsuits from environmental groups, as well as pushback from sheriffs and local officials. Critics argue the 500-mile long Big Bend Sector, which stretches from El Paso to Lake Amistad, is too rugged for most migrants to cross and does not need more security infrastructure.

Brazoria County passes resolution outlining requirements for future data centers

Brazoria County has joined a growing number of local governments across Texas in passing a resolution outlining desired regulations for data centers built within its jurisdiction. In a unanimous vote Tuesday, all five members of the Brazoria County Commissioners Court passed a three-page resolution outlining its requirements. The resolution states the court is in opposition to any future data center or related industry in the county that does not safeguard electric grid reliability, water and energy usage, agricultural land and public infrastructure. The county south of Houston also wants developers of such future projects to conduct independent impact assessments based on those criteria. Ahead of the vote, lifelong Brazoria County resident Wesley Burnett told the court he and his family had been affected by a recently built data center.

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"The constant noise and vibration are still a daily nuisance," Burnett said. "The disturbance is not occasional; it's continuous. It's 24 hours a day, 365 days a [year]. It creates not just a noise, but also a physical sensation that you can feel in your body." In response to growing concerns about data centers and their impact on local communities and infrastructure, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter Wednesday to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas directing them to ensure that data centers carry the financial burden for their electric infrastructure and power costs. Abbott also directed the agencies to "identify necessary actions" to protect "Texans, their property, and resources." Additionally, Abbott's letter included related legislative objectives to enforce these directives. A day before the governor sent his letter, Brazoria County Judge L.M. “Matt” Sebesta Jr. voiced frustration with the state government and called on lawmakers to pass statewide regulations. Sebesta accused the state government of tying local officials’ hands, limiting what restrictions they can place on data centers locally. "You can say something to us. We can send this resolution, [but] this resolution is not worth the paper it is printed on unless you take your a—- and not only talk to your state reps, your state senator and the governor, you need to go to Austin," Sebesta said. "Austin is a couple hundred miles away. What happens in that pink dome, it's brainless, spineless and gutless once they get amongst one another."

How can the Spurs get over an NBA Finals gut punch for the ages?

De’Aaron Fox had to know what was back there, right behind him: A stubborn team that wouldn’t go away. The swift approach of crushing heartbreak, accompanied by searing regret. And OG Anunoby, soaring high while closing fast. “I just thought I’d be able to outrun ’em,” Fox said. But he could not. The Spurs could not. And it’s hard to imagine how they’ll get over this. Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday was not the type of fight in which the loser shrugs his shoulders, dusts himself off and moves on. Once the Spurs discovered a new generation of demons by blowing a 29-point lead, and once the Knicks awakened Madison Square Garden by making that lead disappear, it became clear that whichever side that fell short in the end was going to forfeit a piece of its soul.

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And after a 107-106 gut punch that put them in a 3-1 series hole and, in terms of sheer pain, might be rivaled in franchise history only by a certain Ray Allen 3-pointer? Sure, there’s still a chance the Spurs will bounce back. Eventually. “It’s going to take us a minute,” guard Stephon Castle said. They might need more than one. To mount the biggest rally in NBA Finals history, the Knicks required 27 game minutes, from the Dylan Harper layup that gave the Spurs a 71-42 second-quarter lead to the Jalen Brunson floater that put New York ahead 105-104 with 1:22 to play. In between those baskets, the Spurs settled for far too many 3-pointers, and probably got too little rest for Victor Wembanyama, who scored 24 points in almost 44 minutes but faded down the stretch. When asked if he wore down during a fourth quarter in which he shot 2-of-9 and missed two key free throws late, he said, “Yeah, I guess I did.” But even with their best player hitting a wall, and even with pandemonium shaking the walls of the most famous arena in the world — and presumably the train station below it, too — the Spurs weren’t beaten yet.

Texas landowners fight massive transmission line project at Austin hearing

Hundreds of Texas landowners gathered in Austin this week to challenge proposed transmission line routes tied to a major statewide power infrastructure project. The Bell County East to Big Hill 765-kV transmission project, proposed by Oncor and the Lower Colorado River Authority, is designed to move power across Texas and strengthen the state grid as demand rises from population growth, data centers and industrial expansion. In March, the utilities filed plans with the Public Utility Commission of Texas that included 122 potential route options. This week, administrative judges are hearing testimony about those routes before eventually making recommendations to the PUC.

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For Burnet County resident Jan Rose, the possibility of a transmission line crossing her property is overwhelming. “It’s going to traverse our property, not along the property lines, but right through the middle, about 150 feet from our front door,” Rose said. Rose is one of hundreds of Texans participating in this week’s hearing, arguing why their land is not an appropriate location for future transmission infrastructure. “We have 13 minutes to present this whole case (to the administrative judges),” Rose said. The proposed project spans multiple counties across Texas and is part of a broader effort to expand the state’s electric transmission capacity. Oncor and LCRA argue they studied dozens of route options to reduce impacts to homes, landowners and environmentally sensitive areas.

National Stories

World Cup players and officials are being detained or barred entry into U.S.

Some World Cup players and team staff are being questioned or outright barred from entering the United States, angering their fans and heightening concerns about how immigration enforcement will be carried out during one of the world’s most international sporting events. Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was named Africa’s best men’s referee last year, was denied entry to the U.S. on Saturday at Miami International Airport and forced to fly back home. Artan has an “iconic” status in Somalia and is a “symbol of resilience,” said Ciise Aden Abshir, senior adviser for Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports. “He was the first referee from Somalia who absolutely reached these heights” — one of 52 referees selected by FIFA for this year’s tournament. Now, Abshir said, that “dream has been shuttered.”

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“The whole nation is pissed off now,” Abshir said, adding that fans are angry at both the U.S. government and FIFA, global soccer’s governing body. “This tournament should be given to a country that gives everybody equal opportunity.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which screens travelers arriving at international airports, confirmed that it denied entry to a Somali referee, whom officials did not name. He had arrived in Miami on a flight from Istanbul and was rejected after undergoing additional inspection. Officials said he “was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.” Abshir said that Artan’s visa was approved and “everything was under control,” and that Somali officials are waiting to hear from the U.S. government on why exactly he was denied entry. Abshir said Artan reported being detained for 11 hours and questioned. Artan was greeted by a crowd of supporters and officials when he arrived Wednesday in Mogadishu. “I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he told those gathered at the airport, according to the Associated Press. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”

Absent House Republicans leave majority up for grabs

House Republicans have reached a boiling point over their colleagues who have skipped votes in recent months, leaving their razor-thin majority ungovernable and at times giving Democrats majority status. On Tuesday, a few hours before a vote on a critical border security bill, Republicans expressed anger over how their ability to pass legislation would be made more difficult by the absence of GOP lawmakers who were back home campaigning. “Look, I had a pretty darn competitive primary. During the thick of it, it was competitive, I was missing valuable campaign time back home. But I did my job,” Rep. Andy Barr (R-Kentucky) recalled telling his colleagues, referencing his campaign for the GOP nomination for the Senate. Later Tuesday, the vote to pass the party-line bill funding border security operations remained tied at 213-213, which would fail in the House, where there are no tiebreakers.

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Lawmakers focused on a surprise conservative vote against the bill, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Michigan), who eventually caved and gave GOP leaders the most narrow victory possible. But the reason Walberg had to switch his vote was that three Republicans were missing. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (New Jersey) has a mysterious illness that has sidelined him for more than three months, with no public explanation. Two other members — Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman — decided to stay home in South Carolina for primary day in their losing bids for the gubernatorial nomination. Without singling out the South Carolinians, Barr said that it’s inexcusable that Republicans are missing key votes and putting the GOP agenda in danger while seeking higher office. The Republican leadership team has driven home the message in private that members need to focus on their daytime job first, voting in the House, according to several Republicans. But they are reluctant to call out their own members in public, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota) initially denied that he makes this point. “Everybody should be here,” Emmer said.

Bill Gates tells lawmakers he was not aware of Epstein's crimes

Bill Gates appeared before members of Congress on Wednesday and said he never witnessed or knew about any of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. Gates was on Capitol Hill to answer questions about his relationship with Epstein, as the House Oversight Committee continues its investigation into the late sex offender. He took part in a closed-door transcribed interview. "I'm glad to be here voluntarily to testify to help with the committee's work," Gates told reporters before the interview. "I hope my testimony is helpful to the important work of the committee to find justice for the victims.

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In the text of his prepared opening statement, Gates described how he first met Epstein in 2011 through people in his "professional and philanthropic work" on global health. He continued to have conversations with Epstein through 2014 about potential donors, according to the statement. Gates said he was aware "that Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed." "I accepted the introduction without applying the scrutiny I should have," Gates said. He added that he "made it clear to Epstein from the outset that he would never play a role in any of the work or receive any compensation." Gates also admitted to extramarital affairs in the statement and said Epstein used that information to "pressure me to re-engage with him." Gates said Epstein was unsuccessful in his effort. Lawmakers said they've seen Epstein try to blackmail powerful people before. "He uses that over and over again," Rep. Robert Garcia, the lead Democrat on the committee, said of Epstein during a break in the interview. "The theme of blackmail, the theme of using his power and information against others is very common." Gates said he realized in 2014 that Epstein "would never deliver on his promises" and stopped communicating or meeting with him.

The IRS cut staff. Now it's rushing to hire thousands.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called any concerns over the cuts to IRS staffing “a complete fallacy” in a testimony to Congress earlier this month. Frank Bisignano, the IRS CEO, told lawmakers that the “pundits out there saying IRS is going to fail” as a result of sweeping staffing cuts are wrong. “I feel good about the number of employees I have right now,” Bisignano said in March. Internally, however, the agency is projecting an entirely different picture. While the Trump administration publicly stated that the IRS has suffered no ill effects from the staffing cuts, the agency was sounding the alarm that it would be unable to handle tax season, requesting special permission to hire thousands of employees on an expedited basis.

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The IRS ultimately requested, and received, special authority to hire 8,000 employees on an expedited basis, according to an internal memorandum obtained by NOTUS. The agency has “seen massive cuts to its staff in 2025 through workforce reduction initiatives” and “ongoing staffing shortages put the 2026 Filing Season at risk,” Alex Kweskin, the agency’s top human-resources official, said in the late-February memo to the Treasury Department that was later passed on to the Office of Personnel Management. “Processing of tax returns, return information, balance due, delinquent returns, and correspondence for taxpayers and practitioners remains an on-going issue,” he said in the memo, noting that the agency is still dealing with backlogs. The Trump administration allowed the IRS to use a hiring authority that’s available to federal agencies when a “critical hiring need or severe shortage of candidates exists.” An Office of Personnel Management official confirmed that it has granted the accelerated hiring authority to the IRS, which declined to comment. The IRS will have the approval through September, though Kweskin said in the memo the need would remain through that time “at a minimum.” The authority empowers agencies to bypass the normal steps that typically bog down federal hiring, such as consideration of veterans’ preferences or a full rating and review of top candidates.

Iran responds to a second day of US strikes by firing at Gulf states and Jordan

The U.S and Iran traded strikes for a second day, pushing the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. The American attack, which lasted into Thursday morning in Iran, appeared more intense and wider than the day before, but Tehran released little information on the extent of the damage. An Indian official said a U.S. attack on an oil tanker allegedly trying to violate Washington’s blockade on Iranian ports killed three Indian mariners, underscoring the danger to seafarers. It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have rattled the Middle East. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the U.S. and Iran, which hit countries in the region that host American bases.

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The new exchange of fire came as efforts to negotiate an end to the war appeared stuck, with U.S. President Donald Trump warning that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire ... meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it. Central to the negotiations is Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region. Iran announced Thursday that the strait was closed — but it was unclear what that meant since it has severely restricted traffic through the waterway since early in the war and only a trickle of ships have gotten through. The U.S. military’s Central Command disputed the claim — and Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. has undertaken a secret mission in recent weeks to sneak ships through the passage. The two sides also remain at odds over Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran insists is peaceful but which the U.S. and Israel fear could be used to build an atomic weapon due to its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The U.S. and Israel said a major reason they went to war on Feb. 28 was to ensure that Iran would never be able to do that.

Mamdani was to meet with Colombia’s leader until Trump administration stepped in

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani was planning to hold his first meeting with a foreign leader this week, but the Trump administration effectively nixed it in a behind-the-scenes effort that marks a new flashpoint between the mayor and President Donald Trump, said four people familiar with the matter. Mamdani was poised to meet with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a fellow democratic socialist who has accused the White House of meddling in his country’s upcoming elections. For New York’s young mayor, the engagement was intended to discuss democracy in the Americas, though many would probably see it as a sign of Mamdani’s ascendance as a leader of the global left, said the people, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

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But the Colombian government quietly called off the event following a meeting between U.S. and Colombian officials in Bogotá in which State Department officials made clear that this week’s engagement was unacceptable, a move Colombian officials interpreted as a threat to arrest Petro on site if he proceeded, said two people. A State Department official told The Washington Post that the visit would violate visa restrictions the U.S. imposed against Petro following his comments last year criticizing U.S. support of Israel’s war in Gaza and imploring U.S. soldiers to disobey presidential orders to kill. “A visa is a privilege, not a right,” said the State Department official. “Any individual’s U.S. visa is at risk of revocation if they visit America and outrageously implore U.S. soldiers to disobey orders of the duly elected president of the United States.” The meeting was first conceived as a part of Petro’s itinerary tied to events at the United Nations in Manhattan. Colombia holds the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council in June, and although the Trump administration revoked Petro’s visa last year for his public comments, it continues to allow travel to the U.N. under its responsibilities as the host of the world body’s headquarters.

DHS funding bill advances out of committee along party lines

The House Appropriations Committee advanced legislation Thursday to fund the entire Department of Homeland Security for the coming federal fiscal year, hours after President Donald Trump signed into law a separate bill that would fund the country’s immigration enforcement agencies through the end of his term in office. The committee advanced the legislation — which will likely face a bumpy path to passage given continued partisan disagreements over Trump’s immigration policies — along party lines after a markup that ran late into the night Tuesday, most of the day Wednesday and early into the morning Thursday. While Democrats acknowledged that Republican appropriators had included some language to rein in what they described as excessive immigration enforcement tactics, they expressed their desire to see additional constraints on ICE and CBP as they voted no.

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The bill advanced Thursday contains billions in funds for both agencies. “The American people are demanding substantial reforms to how ICE and the Border Patrol operate,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “While I welcome the incremental measures the majority has included in this bill, which make progress toward some of the reforms necessary to protect our communities … they still fall far short of what is required to earn our support.” Under the measure, DHS will receive just shy of $100 billion in the coming fiscal year, with about $28.4 billion going to disaster relief. The measure also provides considerable funding for immigration enforcement activities at the department. Those funds come in addition to the reconciliation bill signed by Trump that allocated roughly $70 billion to cover ICE and CBP operations during the current fiscal year. That money would pay for the hiring of additional border agents and security technology through 2029.

Copyright June 11, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved