October 29, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

As Trump faces down the midterms, a grim mood takes over the White House

President Trump’s private dining room, located just off the Oval Office, is where he goes to watch television, make phone calls and sift through stacks of printed-out news articles and documents that eat up most of the space. A spot has been cleared for Natalie Harp, a devoted aide who now works out of that room when she is not seated behind the president at his desk. Elsewhere, Bill Pulte, a top federal housing official and purveyor of A.I.-generated images and memes that make their way to the president’s social media feed, spends some of his time making posters. He recently made one of Senator Jon Husted of Ohio, a Republican whose backside Mr. Trump has admired, for the president to display while riding aboard Air Force One. Amid the loyalists, news clippings, poster boards and pieces of art made by his fans is an increasingly unpredictable president staring down the possibility that the Republican Party could lose both chambers of Congress in next week’s elections.

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Many G.O.P. candidates in tight races have tried to distance themselves from Mr. Trump’s policies, his behavior and the widespread allegations of self-dealing in his administration. Behind the scenes, some political advisers and outside Republican groups have warned the president’s aides that Mr. Trump could do more harm than good by holding rallies in battleground states with uncomfortably close races, according to people with knowledge of the conversations. Mr. Trump receives a steady stream of updates from loyalists like Natalie Harp and Bill Pulte. Credit...Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times But the president, under pressure and angry with naysayers, has dismissed polls that reflect his unpopularity, and has raged against unflattering stories that plunge him into a dark mood. Determined to win by turning the midterm season into a referendum on himself, he is set to headline rallies around the country all week, including in Ohio on Wednesday. Mr. Trump remains convinced that his dominant place in the Republican Party is enough to mitigate a tough political climate. But a grim mood has set in around the White House, which has been rocked by turnover, tension among internal factions and anxiety over what happens should Republicans lose legislative control in Washington, according to 16 current and former administration officials and allies of Mr. Trump’s, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

The money behind data center red tape

More than two months into Gov. Greg Abbott’s audit on data center approvals around Texas, millions of dollars and gigawatts of power demand are still tied up in red tape. In early August, Abbott directed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. and the Public Utility Council of Texas to conduct the audit against large loads advancing through ERCOT’s new interconnection process, later expanding the audit to the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The audit aims to reduce the impacts on local communities, such as strains on water and transmission infrastructure and increases in electricity prices for residents. But it’s still unclear how the PUCT will ensure the cost of future transmission upgrades aren’t passed on to the consumer.

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"The commission is developing new rules related to how large-load projects would pay for the transmission infrastructure needed to serve their facilities. These adopted and proposed rules will protect customers from paying for large-load interconnection and improve grid planning. ... The PUCT expects final consideration of the proposed rules by the end of 2026," a spokesperson for the PUCT told the Houston Business Journal. Ken Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University, told the HBJ that the audit may be partly for show, given that a lot of what was required in the audit was already a part of the siting and permitting process for the data centers. “I think a lot of this is just part of the political cycle … it wasn't really adding a lot. It was just making it more visible to the general public, which has a very specific political objective,” Medlock said. “I am sure six or seven months from now there will be another issue that grabs the general public's eye, and we will not be anywhere close to having all the data centers built that are going to get built. And who knows? This may actually start to dissipate right after the elections in early November.” The audit specifically targets the Batch Zero process, ERCOT’s new interconnection approval process that studies and approves new demand loads in groups rather than individually.

Texas county Republicans sue to block election certification unless every ballot is hand counted

A Texas county Republican Party is asking a federal court to stop certification of the state’s upcoming election results unless officials first hand count every paper ballot in the state. The extraordinary request rests on speculative claims about artificial intelligence, foreign-made voting machine components and the possibility of undetected hacking. The Potter County Republican Party and its chairman, Daniel Rogers, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Potter County Elections Administrator Christy Benge seeking to prevent certification of the Nov. 3 election until officials conduct a hand count of every paper ballot cast in every Texas precinct. The case was filed in the Amarillo Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, where it is assigned to U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee who has presided over a series of high-profile conservative legal challenges.

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Kacsmaryk was confirmed to the federal bench in 2019. His Amarillo courtroom has drawn scrutiny over judge shopping because the division has historically allowed litigants filing there to reliably land before Kacsmaryk. The lawsuit does not allege that voting machines in Potter County — or anywhere else in Texas — have actually changed votes. In fact, the plaintiffs explicitly concede that they are not claiming any previous Potter County election was altered or inaccurately reported. Instead, the 27-page complaint argues that the possibility of hacking, software errors and manipulation by increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence makes Texas’ existing election safeguards constitutionally inadequate. The plaintiffs want the court to require a 100% statewide hand count before results for federal races can be certified. The lawsuit attempts to turn a case against one county official into a statewide challenge by asking the court to certify a class of Texas county election administrators, with Benge serving as their representative.

The Hispanic voters who turned on Trump and put Texas in play

Abad Morales, who owns a construction company here in South Texas, was swayed by President Trump’s 2024 campaign question: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” Two years later, he is asking himself the same question—and now, he says, life has only gotten worse. Morales is having a harder time finding workers for his construction jobs and says the cost of everything continues to rise. His company won’t be able to host an annual toy drive this year because he has opted instead to use the money to help friends and local families who have been deported. His frustration with Trump has pushed him deeper into politics. Once largely disengaged, Morales is now running for the city commission in Weslaco and has become a Democratic precinct chair. By his count, he has helped register more than 350 voters this year.

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“I’m done. I don’t think it’s right what he’s doing at all,” Morales, 36 years old, said of Trump. “We need a change. It’s time to put our foot down and make a change.” As Texans head to the polls to decide some of the nation’s most closely watched races, Latino voters—who helped propel Trump’s return to the White House in 2024—once again could play a decisive role, this time in determining whether Democrats win majorities in the House and Senate. ?A recent Wall Street Journal poll found a majority of Latino voters picking a Democrat for Congress over a Republican, 53% to 35%. On Trump’s job approval among Latinos, only 26% approve while 68% disapprove—significantly lower than his approval of 37% with voters overall, the poll found. In 2024, Trump flipped all four counties in the Rio Grande Valley, a predominantly Latino region that had long been a Democratic stronghold in Texas but had shifted rightward in recent elections. At the time, he appealed to Hispanic voters, especially men, with promises to lower the cost of living and tighten border security and immigration enforcement. Now, signs of growing disenchantment with Trump over his handling of the economy and his administration’s immigration crackdown suggest the gains are unraveling.

State Stories

New report finds childcare remains biggest barrier to economic opportunity for Texas women

A new report on Texas women’s economic well-being finds little progress in being made and access to affordable childcare is one of the biggest obstacles. The Texas Women’s Foundation has been tracking women’s economic indicators for more than a decade. Its latest report finds that women working full-time now earn, on average, 81 cents for every dollar earned by men, down from 83 cents in the previous report. The gap is wider for Black and Latina women. “I would say there’s not been a lot of forward progress,” said Karen Hughes White, president and CEO of the Texas Women’s Foundation. The new research, conducted in partnership with the policy group Every Texan, examines 12 indicators of women’s economic opportunity across 252 of the state’s 254 counties, including employment, education, health care and childcare. (Loving and Kennedy Counties were excluded because of insufficient data.)

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The stakes are growing: According to the report, women currently make up 46% of the Texas workforce, but White said they could become the majority by 2040. And, the research shows childcare stands out as the biggest challenge. Half of Texans live in what’s considered a childcare desert. That’s an area with at least three children for every available licensed childcare spot. For families who can find care, affordability is another hurdle. The average cost of center-based infant care in Texas is nearly $12,000 a year. White said that’s roughly the cost of a year of tuition at a public university. “It forces, especially women, to make these untenable decisions about going to work to support their family or being able to afford childcare,” she said. She said women often end up reducing their hours or leaving the workforce altogether. The report comes as Texas lawmakers and state leaders consider ways to address the childcare crisis ahead of the legislative session in January. White said expanding paid parental leave and increasing enrollment in public pre-K could help. But she cautioned that expanding public pre-K can also put financial pressure on private childcare centers, which depend on revenue from older children to help offset the higher cost of infant care. She said policymakers also need to look at what they’ve already tried to see what’s working and what isn’t. “Oftentimes, we’ll have policy changes. We’ll have funding increases. We’ll have stronger participation by philanthropy,” White said. “But we don’t do a good job, in my opinion, of coming back around the table together … to assess what we solved for and where we may have created some unintended consequences.”

Texas faces growing flood threat as Tropical Storm Vance sends moisture north

Moisture from Tropical Storm Vance will stream north into Texas, bringing days of tropical downpours and an increased flood threat to parts of the Lone Star State. Rain will move into southwestern Texas Thursday before expanding northward into the northern part of the state later in the day. Repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms will produce widespread rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches, with isolated amounts reaching up to 3 inches.

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A Level 2 out of 4 flash flood threat is in place from Del Rio to Lubbock on Thursday, with Flood Watches already issued for parts of West Texas. This latest threat comes after Texas and much of the Southwest endured multiple rounds of devastating flooding this year as Pacific moisture repeatedly surged inland, fueled in part by the brewing Super El Niño and an active Pacific basin. Rain will continue spreading north across much of West and Central Texas on Friday before reaching parts of Oklahoma. A Level 1 out of 4 flash flood threat stretches from northern Oklahoma, and southward across Central and West Texas, including Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Fort Worth. For Texans soaked earlier in the week, the spooky weather leading up to Halloween shouldn’t ruin all trick-or-treating plans. By Friday night into Saturday morning, moisture will begin to wane as it shifts north, limiting rainfall to a few light showers across parts of the Midwest.

Texas says 9 islands in Rio Grande belong to state, not Mexico

The State of Texas on Tuesday declared that nine river islands in the middle of the Rio Grande belong to the state, not to Mexico. For years, river islands have provided what officials says are safe havens for cartels that smuggle drugs and migrants into the U.S. from Mexico, giving them a place to hide and wait out border patrols in those areas. A couple years ago, however, the Texas General Land Office declared some islands a part of the state and cleared them of vegetation. Some islands have had military troops land on them recently, and some are also used as border security staging zones.

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“For years, the ownership of these islands has been uncertain, limiting the ability to ensure they are properly monitored and protected,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said. “Now that the GLO has confirmed these nine islands belong to the State of Texas, we are notifying our law enforcement partners so that they can gain access to these state-owned properties to patrol, inspect and clear them of any illegal activity they may encounter, consistent with the law. Texas land will never become a safe haven for cartels, human traffickers, smugglers, or other criminal organizations.” The nine islands are in South Texas and span from Laredo to McAllen, the GLO says. Buckingham last month told Border Report that the Texas Department of Public Safety requested that they map the ownership of these islands in the Rion Grande. In 2023, Buckingham declared Fronton Island off Starr County as part of the state. Last year, her office declared Roma and Bear islands, also in Starr County, also as part of the Lone Star State. Fronton Island was cleared and used by Operation Lone Star, Texas’ border security operation during the Biden administration. Roma Island was cleared in March, and Chinook helicopters and hundreds of military have recently landed on the island as part of Operation Unified Resolve.

Tarrant woman accused of stealing campaign sign listed as ballot board member

The wife of a White Settlement council member who is accused of stealing a campaign sign is on the approved list of appointees to the early voting ballot board, but it is unclear if she is still a member. Jennifer James’ name appears on Page 6 on the list of Republican Party members of the board. Jennifer James and her husband Aaron did not return phone calls from the Star-Telegram seeking comment. Tim Davis, chairman of the Tarrant County GOP, did not respond to email messages. Allison Campollo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, said she saw James on video footage from the ballot board room. Campolo said James was on the approved list for the Republican Party, but it is unclear if she is still on the board. The election board is meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29. The agenda lists public comment and appointing ballot board members for the Nov. 3 election.

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The Tarrant County Election Board, which includes the Republican and Democratic party chairs, the county judge and elections administrator, is responsible for appointing the early voting ballot board members, who must be from the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties. The members’ primary responsibility is to count ballots that were not scanned, which includes mail-in ballots, provisional ballots or if a scanner was down at a voting site, Campolo said. The board live-streams the ballot counting proceedings. James was cited for theft after White Settlement Mayor Faron Young, who is unopposed in his re-election bid, said that on Oct. 1, he checked on his campaign signs after a rainstorm. Young told the Star-Telegram previously that the sign in question was on private property belonging to a dealership, Cars-For-U on White Settlement Road. Young asked to review security-camera footage and saw someone driving up in a blue SUV. He said he recognized Jennifer James taking his sign. “I have no idea why she would do that,” Young said. Jennifer James’ husband, Aaron, is running for his second council term with two opponents for the Place 1 seat. When asked why he filed the police report, Young said he did so because the signs cost money. “We raised funds. I had people who made donations for those signs,” he said. “We shouldn’t be touching people’s private property.”

Dallas VC firm Disruptive raises record $10 billion fund, largest in Texas history

Venture capital firm Disruptive has raised $10 billion for its first flagship fund, setting a record for the largest venture capital investment fund ever raised in Texas. The Dallas-based firm, which operates legally as Disruptive Technology Advisers LLC, announced the raise of its so-called "megafund" on Oct. 27. The announcement comes just a couple of weeks after Dallas Business Journal and other media reported Disruptive had already secured roughly $7.5 billion in commitments toward the $10 billion target. Disruptive plans to deploy the capital in about 10 late-stage companies, with investments of up to $1 billion apiece. The firm is known for backing high-profile artificial intelligence startups including Groq?? and Reflection AI.

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At $10 billion, Disruptive's fund is the largest ever raised by a Dallas firm, and the largest venture capital fund in state history, according to PitchBook? data. Private equity firm Lone Star Funds?, previously headquartered in Dallas but now based in London, previously closed an $8.1 billion buyout fund in 2019. The raise also puts Disruptive among a small group of venture firms managing megafunds — defined by PitchBook as a venture vehicle with at least $500 million in committed capital. Firms such as Josh Kushner's Thrive Capital? and Silicon Valley-based Andreessen Horowitz are among the few that have raised funds exceeding $10 billion in recent years. "The best private technology companies are growing larger, staying private longer and requiring more capital than ever before," Disruptive founder and CEO Alex Davis said in a statement. "We have always focused on a small number of exceptional companies, building the conviction and relationships to be there for founders at their most important moments. The Disruptive Flagship Fund gives us the scale to match the opportunity."

HPD says officers called ICE 88 times from July through September

Houston police officers contacted federal immigration agents 88 times from July through the end of September, according to data issued by the department on Thursday. The calls happened when officers found people with immigration warrants. On average, officers detained people for approximately 45 minutes while waiting for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to respond. According to the figures from the Houston Police Department (HPD), 58 people were released after the calls, 13 were taken to jail for new charges, and 17 were taken into ICE custody.

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In 33 cases, officers were responding to a call for emergency services when they encountered someone with an immigration warrant. The data report doesn’t make clear whether the person placing the call for help was the subject of the warrant. "Out of 300,000 contacts [between HPD and citizens] that have 17 end with ICE involvement speaks for itself," Houston Mayor John Whitmire told reporters on Wednesday. "Very small, very small number. And for anyone to say different about our involvement is just wrong." Related: Houston police responded to a man in a mental health crisis. ICE arrested him Authorities did not provide full details on each interaction, but records obtained by Houston Public Media for incidents from April through June showed contacts between HPD and ICE during responses to a mental health crisis, a suicide attempt and domestic disturbances. Asked by a Houston Public Media reporter about community trust, particularly when contacts involve victims of crimes, HPD Chief Noe Diaz said, "I won't diminish that because that's real. People feel that. But for us, statistically speaking, the calls for service haven't changed in the last quarter."

Republicans for Talarico? New video features former North Texas GOP officials

U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico is reaching out to Republicans with a new video focused on some of the Democrat’s GOP supporters. The video from Talarico’s campaign features former state Rep. Bennett Ratliff and former state Rep. Todd Smith, who used to represent parts of North Texas in the Texas Legislature. It also includes former U.S. Rep. Alan Steelman from Dallas, former Ennis Mayor Russell Thomas and former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley. The former elected officials explain why they’re “passing on Paxton” in the short video shared on X Wednesday afternoon. Talarico, a state representative from Round Rock, is facing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Nov. 3 election for U.S. Senate.

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“I truly believe that he is the most corrupt politician Texas has seen,” Whitley says in the video, later adding that he’s ashamed Paxton is on the ballot. Whitley has crossed party lines in the past to support candidates, including former Vice President Kamala Harris for president and former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, both of whom are Democrats, in 2024. Whitley said he wouldn’t support Paxton relatively early in the general election, after Sen. John Cornyn lost his bid for reelection in a GOP primary runoff. At the time, Whitely told the Star-Telegram he no longer “publicizes himself” as a Republican, but leans conservative and is more of Republican than a “liberal Democrat.” Thomas raises concerns about Paxton’s past legal troubles and his 2023 impeachment in the video. The attorney general was acquitted after a trial in the Texas Senate. Ratliff calls Talarico the best person in the race before the video flips to Smith, who represented House District 92 in Tarrant County for eight terms, before leaving the House in January 2013.

Mavs CEO to retire

Rick Welts, 73, the out CEO of the Dallas Mavericks will retire on Dec. 31, the team announced on Wednesday, Oct. 28. Mavs president Ethan Casson will succeed him. Welts has been CEO since 2024 when he agreed to serve in the position for two years. His impact on the team may be best remembered for the plan to move the team from the American Airlines Center to North Dallas. The Mavs are currently planning to build a new arena at the former Valley View Mall on Preston Road at LBJ Freeway. The team hopes it will be ready for the 2031 season, when the team’s lease expires at the American Airlines Center.

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Texas nonprofit hospitals must offer charity care, but many patients never realize they can apply

Nikki Myles knew the hospital bill about to hit her mailbox would be expensive and probably take years to pay off. But she wasn't prepared for what she saw. Myles, 38, got the bill in March, a couple weeks after an emergency hospitalization that included a three-night stay and surgery to remove her gallbladder. She had hoped doctors at Houston Methodist Hospital in Baytown, Texas — a city on the north shore of Galveston Bay — could treat the unceasing pain in her abdomen with a prescription. But the culprit was gallstones, and her gallbladder had to come out. Myles declined the operation at first because she didn't have health insurance. She relented after her doctor warned her that the horrible pain would return. A few weeks after the surgery, the hospital bills started to arrive. Myles braced for a big number — she thought $20,000, maybe $30,000. The total exceeded $117,000. A first payment of $989 was due in a month.

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Myles said a nurse had mentioned the possibility of financial assistance while she was still in the hospital. But that was the last she remembers hearing about it before she learned of her six-figure debt. "I panicked," said Myles, who was working as a case manager at a Houston-area nonprofit that helps children in foster care. "I had no resources to pay." The burden was too much. She dropped her master's degree courses, which she had hoped would help her land a higher-paying job. Like all nonprofit hospitals, Houston Methodist is required under federal and state laws to offer eligible patients financial assistance, or charity care, as a condition of its tax-exempt status. Hospitals also must communicate to patients that the program exists and make it accessible. But in interviews with Public Health Watch, some patients, researchers and advocacy groups said nonprofit hospitals are falling short in letting patients know about charity care and making it easy to apply. As a result, low-income patients can fall into heavy medical debt that upends their lives.

Judge orders senders of trans advocacy comms in Texas to reveal identity

Who sent the mysterious text messages and mailers purporting to come from Texas transgender advocacy groups? Their identity was not revealed during a court hearing in downtown Austin on Tuesday, but Chris Hilton, who used to work for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, identified himself as the lawyer for the senders. Hilton argued he should not have to divulge the names of his clients. Travis County District Judge Jan Soifer disagreed, and ruled that the clients must agree to answer questions about the matter later this week. Texans across the political spectrum received the communications in recent weeks. They promoted resources for transgender, nonbinary and questioning youth and mentioned several different LGBTQ+ organizations across the state, including the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT).

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But they stood out from the sea of text messages and pamphlets that voters receive during election season because TENT says it didn’t send them. Last week, the organization filed what’s called a “Rule 202” petition in court, asking Soifer to allow it to force the senders to answer its questions in a deposition. In court, Hilton said his clients will stop sending out the pamphlets but argued that their actions are protected by the First Amendment. He said TENT’s rush to expose his clients’ identity before the election is a political ploy, and “doxxing” or publicly revealing personal information about his client would cause them harm. “They seek to inflict some of the same harms that they claim to be suffering, they seek to engage in electioneering,” Hilton said. Mimi Marziani, one of TENT’s attorneys, countered that the communications led to harassment and threats against TENT staff and that they could amount to illegally impersonating the nonprofit. “Somebody has been impersonating our client and sending out millions of unauthorized text messages and mailers to voters across Texas, intentionally creating confusion for voters and strife,” Marziani told reporters after the hearing. She added TENT is “very pleased” with Soifer’s ruling, which Hilton has appealed.

Lawsuit filed against Grand Prairie ISD after play cancellation

South Grand Prairie High School senior Ana Mota, 17, is suing the Grand Prairie Independent School District after district officials cancelled the high school’s planned production of Little Shop of Horrors rather than allow Mota to perform the role of the male lead, Seymour, according to breaking news reports from the Dallas Morning News. The lawsuit claims GPISD violated Title IX, the federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex by institutions receiving federal funds. Mota’s mother, Nancy Jimenez, has also filed a Title IX complaint with the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education.

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GPISD district officials have declined to comment on the lawsuit. News that the play was being cancelled was made public the week of Oct. 12, when Mota told the Morning News that she had been cast as Seymour and rehearsals had already started when district officials stepped. Mota told reporters she was informed she couldn’t play Seymour in the production because of Texas Senate Bill 12, which was passed in 2023 and which bans certain drag performances. At a GPISD Board of Trustees meeting that same week — on Thursday, Oct. 15 — board president Emily Liles defended the school district’s decision but insisted that GPISD Superintendent Gabe Trujillo instead canceled the production based on the OTHER Senate Bill 12, passed in 2025, which bans diversity, equity and inclusion measures in public schools along with school-sanctioned clubs based on sexual orientation or gender identity and anything school curricula on acknowledging transgender identities. Jimenez asked GPISD officials to explain in writing exactly how her daughter playing a male role in a play would violate state law. She never received an answer, the Morning News Reports. Mota’s lawsuit claims the school district is misrepresenting SB 12 and applying it too broadly, noting that cross-gender acting is a centuries-old staple of theater. The lawsuit also points out that Mota is not transgender and “was not engaged in any personal gender transition. She was portraying a scripted fictional character in an official school theatrical production.”

Nuclear power projects flock to Texas, with billions in tax subsidies

On the Texas Gulf Coast, Maryland-based X-Energy is awaiting federal approval to begin building a more than $4 billion, next-generation nuclear reactor at a Dow plastic plant. If successful, it will be among the first of what the nuclear industry hopes will be a new class of advanced reactors that are less expensive to build and safer to run. The venture is one of more than half a dozen similar projects underway in Texas, driven by tens of billions of dollars in federal grants and lucrative tax credits created by a Congress eager to revive the nation’s dormant nuclear energy industry amid a flood of power-hungry data center projects.

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Texas is quickly emerging as an epicenter for the nascent technology. Already, a wave of startup nuclear companies is locating in the state, setting up offices in and around Austin while partnering with universities, including Texas Tech and Texas A&M, which is offering up a more than 2,000-acre site near its flagship campus for companies to build advanced reactors. In Abilene, the startup Natura Resources, founded by local oil billionaire Doug Robison, is building a test reactor on the campus of Abilene Christian University, with plans to one day turn out what are known as small modular reactors, much as GM and Ford produce cars. “I can see Stargate, one of the world’s largest data centers, out my window,” said CEO Jordan Robison. "The need is out there. We need to find clean, firm generation sources. The technology is proven, and we have the ability to bring the cost down.” But the technology is far from proven, and traditional investors, including Wall Street banks and pension funds, have been reluctant to invest. Some are wary of nuclear projects after the last U.S. effort to revive the industry resulted in the construction of two reactors in Georgia whose costs ballooned to more than $36 billion, double what they were budgeted for. Andrew Kleinman, an analyst at the research firm Wood Mackenzie, said while the surge in U.S. power demand has revived interest in nuclear, as yet no one has proven they can build reactors at a cost competitive with more traditional power sources, like natural gas plants or wind and solar farms.

National Stories

Dolores Huerta, United Farmworkers co-founder and civil rights icon, dies at 96

Dolores Huerta, the legendary labor organizer whose advocacy improved conditions for migrant farm workers in the nation’s fruit and vegetable fields and persuaded presidents to do more for women’s equality and immigrant rights, died Wednesday. She was 96. Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union with César Chavez, was celebrated for her enduring rallying cry “Sí, se puede!” — which translates to “Yes, it can be done!” She died of cancer at her home in Bakersfield, California, surrounded by family, said Erik Olvera, a family spokesperson. Well into her 90s, Huerta was marching in protests and encouraging activists to keep speaking out about race, poverty and LGBTQ+ and women’s rights. “It seems like history continues to repeat itself,” she told The Associated Press in August. “You see what’s happening right now in our country, and we know that people have to stand up.”

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Huerta’s resolve cemented her place in history as one of the nation’s most influential labor leaders, civil rights icons and feminist activists. Her three-word Spanish-language slogan was grounded in the belief that people who take action can affect change. Her accolades over the decades included the Presidential Medal of Freedom. When President Barack Obama presented her with the nation’s highest civilian honor in 2012, he praised Huerta as a tenacious leader. He said she was gracious when he stole her slogan for his 2008 campaign. “I’m pleased that she let me off easy ... ’cause Dolores does not play,” Obama joked. Just days after President Donald Trump’s first inauguration, Huerta voiced concern about the rise of so-called “alt-right” groups. “We cannot survive as a nation, as a democracy, if we continue with the racism, with the sexism and homophobia, with the militarization that we have in our society,” she told the AP in 2017. This year, Huerta revealed a shocking chapter in her life story — that she was sexually abused in the 1960s by Chavez, the farmworker movement’s co-founder, leading to the birth of two children who were raised by others. She had kept the secret for 60 years, long after he died. Chavez’s reputation immediately soured, his name removed from the holiday that had been a point of Hispanic pride.

Inside Democrats’ secret effort to stack Alaska’s midterm ballot with another Dan Sullivan

In the summer of 2025, a staffer for Mary Peltola, the Alaska Democrat who was eyeing a run for Senate, received unusual instructions from top campaign aides: Find as many people named Dan Sullivan in Alaska as you can. The staffer complied, combing through voter records to produce a list of Dan Sullivans from across the state. This was no random request. Dan S. Sullivan is the name of the state’s Republican senator. And if the Peltola campaign or its allies could track down and persuade another Dan Sullivan to run for Senate, the confusion could cost the senator crucial votes on the state’s unusual, four-person ballot. The plan worked. This spring, a retired teacher from a tiny fishing village along the Alaska Panhandle, reachable only by air and sea, announced his candidacy for Senate. His name was Dan J. Sullivan.

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The Peltola campaign has repeatedly denied any involvement in his candidacy. But The Times has found, based on interviews and text messages, along with documents prepared for a potential lawsuit against the campaign, that not only did Ms. Peltola’s team work with people trying to recruit Mr. Sullivan to run for Senate, but the effort was much broader. The group worked to coax other would-be spoilers into the race, to dilute the incumbent’s support and help catapult the Democrat to victory. The endeavor, which was internally called the ballot composition project, involved secret trips to far-flung Alaskan communities and the appearance of a mysterious Midwestern operative, who traversed the state using a fake name and made his pitch to would-be candidates over beers at brew pubs. It also involved the Peltola campaign’s lawyers, as well as senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which directs the party’s campaign strategy in Senate races across the country. From Washington to Anchorage, those advisers participated in regular conversations about the effort and even considered forming a new political party to draw conservatives onto the ballot. Ballot-stacking tactics are common in politics and generally considered legal — and have been employed by both parties in Alaska.

Trump turns stolen election claims from rhetoric to action

Democrats, election officials and voting rights groups have long wondered whether President Donald Trump, upon his return to the Oval Office, would again attempt to overturn an election when his party is trailing. It’s no longer hypothetical. Late last week, the president directed the Department of Justice to preemptively contest a potential Republican loss in the Alaska U.S. Senate race. The department is demanding a court hold up certification of a possible Democratic win until it’s determined whether voters were confused by having two candidates with the same name on the ballot. Trump followed that by calling for the prosecution of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, based on a New York Times report that her campaign helped recruit someone named Dan Sullivan to siphon away votes from the Republican incumbent, also named Dan Sullivan.

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Academics believe the lawsuit is the first time since the Civil Rights era that the federal government has sued to halt certification of an election, a duty the Constitution places in the hands of states. Trump for years has claimed elections are rigged when he or his party loses, and this time is no exception. He has used his midterm rallies to say Democrats cheat, criticize election officials by name and call the ranked choice voting system in Alaska, which might hold the key to Senate control, a scam. But the certification lawsuit elevates Trump’s crusade beyond mere rhetoric, indicating that he is preparing to use the power of the presidency to try to reverse a possible loss as his party is struggling to hold its control of Congress. Earlier this week, the president also announced a $1 million bounty for anyone who provides proof of prior or current voter fraud in the country. It wasn’t clear whether or how he planned to follow through. “For at least the last year and a half, they’ve been laying that groundwork,” said Theresa Lee, a senior attorney with the ACLU. “We’ve been preparing for just as long, if not longer.”

James O’Keefe charged over hidden-camera operation at Minnesota polls

Prosecutors in Minnesota charged two conservative activists, James O’Keefe and Cam Higby, on Wednesday with felony identity theft and unlawful voting. The complaints allege that O’Keefe, 42, and Higby, 26, wore disguises and used hidden cameras while giving poll workers the names and addresses of four registered voters at Minneapolis polling places during the August primary. The voters had not authorized them to use their identities, prosecutors said. The complaints do not allege that either man cast ballots. Each faces one count of identity theft and one count of unlawful voting, which covers misidentifying oneself while applying for a ballot. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, or both.

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The pair later posted videos on social media of the visits, during which they were dressed in what they called Muslim clothing: Higby’s face covered by a black veil and O’Keefe wearing a long white robe and skullcap. In the videos, they criticized Minnesota for allowing registered voters to cast ballots without showing IDs and allowing registered voters to vouch for others so they can also register to vote at the polls. In a statement, Higby said he was trying to “expose vulnerabilities” in how Minnesota runs elections. “I never voted, I never signed an affidavit and I never violated a law,” he said. “For showing how Minnesota abuses votes, they seek to take mine away from me permanently.” In a nine-minute video posted Wednesday night, O’Keefe said the charges would allow him to “expose injustice at the highest levels.” “This is an attempt to criminalize investigative journalism,” he said. “The charges are an attempt to distract from what we exposed as insecure elections in Minnesota. Now, this case has become a landmark First Amendment case where everyone’s right to speak truth to power has just been put on the line.”

Hegseth fires a top general

Earlier this week, the Pentagon’s chief planner, Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, was ousted from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. No explanation was given. This comes at an inopportune moment, given that President Trump may be planning to relaunch the war on Iran. Sylvia, the former commander of the 101st Airborne Division, becomes the latest in a long line of senior officers who have been shown the door since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon almost two years ago. No replacement for Sylvia was named, and it is unclear who will take over his responsibilities. In the past, the deputy or vice director of the relevant directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would fill the role on a temporary basis until the president nominated a candidate for Senate confirmation. Sylvia is the second person to be pushed out of the job of director of the Directorate for Strategy, Plans, and Policy at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, known inside the military as the J5, in the past year. His predecessor, Army Lieutenant General Joseph McGee, was forced to retire. “Now is not the time when you’d want to lose the J5,” a former Joint Chiefs of Staff official said. “This person would serve as a critical link between the operational force, the department policy, and the White House.”

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Sylvia’s departure presages more upheaval in the Pentagon’s upper echelons as Trump looks to break the stalemate with Iran and weighs renewed combat after Tuesday’s elections. Trump had considered striking Iran before the midterms, my colleagues and I previously reported, and U.S. Central Command, which is running the war effort, has prepared a variety of strike options. Those plans range from a short burst of strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear sites to a longer campaign aimed at pushing Iran’s economy closer to the brink—and Iran’s government to the negotiating table. But the president has not yet decided how to proceed, and any strikes are unlikely to happen before next week. The war, which began in February, has been relatively quiet in recent months as U.S. and Iranian forces face off in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy supplies. Iran effectively seized control of the strait shortly after the war began, while the U.S. has countered with a blockade of Iranian shipping. The webpage naming Sylvia as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has already been taken down. Sylvia did not respond to a request for comment. If the war has gotten bogged down, Hegseth’s campaign of firings at the Pentagon has not. Sylvia is at least the fifth general pushed out or fired this year, each holding key positions within the military. Hegseth forced out General Randy George, chief of staff of the Army, at the height of the U.S. strike campaign in Iran, despite the Army’s role in restocking key munitions, which are now in short supply.

Fox News ratings sink a staggering 27% in October, but audience still larger than CNN or MS NOW

In the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections, Fox News lost more than a quarter of its overall viewing audience in the month of October, according to new data. That said, the network remains the most-watched news outlet on cable, well ahead of rivals CNN and MS NOW. For October 2026, Fox News is on track to post its lowest-rated month in total-day viewers since December 2023, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen, first reported by Status. FNC averaged 1.1 million total viewers for the month, down 27%, and 98,000 viewers in the key 25-54 demographic coveted by advertisers, a drop of 32%. The ratings decline comes amid a continuation of the drop-off in TV viewers overall — but Fox News has been losing viewers at a double-digit clip as CNN and MS NOW have been slightly up in recent months.

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As Variety has reported, Fox News on many nights draws a bigger live audience than one or more broadcast TV networks. But its viewership is steadily eroding: In the third quarter of 2026, Fox News saw total-day viewership decline 16%, and viewership in the 25-54 demo fall 24%. Both CNN and MS NOW saw small gains in overall audience for Q3. In primetime, Fox News averaged about 2 million total viewers (down 28% year over year) in October, with viewers in the 25-54 demo falling 36% to 183,000, according to the Nielsen data. “Fox & Friends” had its second consecutive month below 1 million total viewers and under 100,000 in the key demo, with October representing its lowest overall viewers since July 2015 (and its lowest in the 25-54 demographic since June 2001). Meanwhile, progressive rival MS NOW saw its daytime audience rise 16% to 588,000 total viewers in October, and CNN viewership was up 3% to 402,000 viewers over the same timeframe, according to the preliminary Nielsen figures.

As support for Trump dips, conservatives fight to boost evangelical turnout in midterms

Ralph Reed, head of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, has worked for decades to get conservative evangelical Christians to the polls. Widely known as a key architect of what is sometimes called the Religious Right, the Georgia-based activist and his organization have expended enormous resources to hone what has become the Republican Party’s core voting bloc — and a crucial player in President Donald Trump’s rise to power. But earlier this month, as Reed drove to a Trump rally in Dalton, Georgia, where his group planned to recruit volunteers to help with voter turnout in the upcoming midterm elections, he acknowledged that getting conservative Christians to vote this year — when the president’s approval rating has hit historic lows — has been challenging. “We’re hearing what you would expect to hear, which is concerns about cost of living, concerns about gas prices,” Reed told Religion News Service in a phone interview, referring to evangelical voters.

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“But also real fear about the extremism and radicalism on the other side.” It’s a dynamic that has left a question mark hanging over conservative Christian voters this election cycle, sparking anxiety among some in the GOP as polls indicate the group’s enthusiasm for the president — like that of many Americans — is dipping ahead of Election Day. With some voters already casting ballots in battleground states across the country, organizers such as Reed are rushing to ensure evangelicals still turn out with their usual gusto — or at least vote enough to limit conservative losses. Recent polling paints a muddy picture of how evangelicals will respond to the upcoming midterms. On the one hand, a recent Pew Research survey found that 73% of white evangelicals who are registered to vote say they are likely to support their local Republican House candidate on Election Day. But while approval of Trump among evangelicals hovered near 80% in many polls last year, recent surveys from Pew, Public Religion Research Institute and The Washington Post show support for the president dipping to anywhere from 66% to 58% with the group. Michael Wear, an evangelical who once helped organize former President Barack Obama’s efforts to court conservative religious voters, stressed that while white evangelicals may be souring on Trump in the near term, that doesn’t necessarily signal a sea change for Democrats.

Copyright October 29, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved