April 3, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

‘I think it’s time’: The inside story of Pam Bondi’s ouster

On Wednesday morning, Attorney General Pam Bondi descended the sun-splashed steps of the White House with President Trump, smiling at him just before entering the presidential limousine for a two-mile ride to the Supreme Court. It was on that short ride in “The Beast” when Bondi learned she was being removed from her job. During the drive, Trump told her, “I think it’s time,” she would later tell an associate. The ensuing hours were as awkward and chaotic as Bondi’s 14-month tenure as the nation’s top law-enforcement official. Trump and Bondi briefly sat near each other during the Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship, but the president soon switched chairs. Later, Bondi would ask Trump if she could keep her job until the summer. The president declined.

click here for more

Trump had decided earlier in the week that he was replacing her. He was frustrated she didn’t do more to contain fallout from the department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigative files and incensed that she had not successfully prosecuted a number of his political enemies. Trump has floated Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin as attorney general to other advisers but hasn’t decided on anyone, according to White House officials. He is also interested in evaluating how soon-to-be interim Attorney General Todd Blanche performs, they said. Bondi and Trump had talked about her leaving since around the beginning of the year, according to a person familiar with the discussions, and he had regularly expressed dissatisfaction with the speed at which she handled his agenda. She is expected to leave the Justice Department in about a month. On numerous occasions, she seemed to go out of her way to appease him, launching what many prosecutors in the department viewed as weak probes of Trump’s favored targets. Some of those cases were later blocked by judges or grand juries. The Justice Department even had a giant banner with Trump’s face on it hung on its main building, an unprecedented move that illustrated his control over the agency. Last week, she appointed a prosecutor to look into allegations of election fraud in 2020 in a bid to address another gripe the president had.

Governor calls for swift action as Nueces River Authority faces leadership allegations

Gov. Greg Abbott is demanding a thorough investigation into the Nueces River Authority after a top official at the agency accused Executive Director John Byrum of lying to the board, putting a $30 million grant at risk, and telling staff to hide information from the people who are supposed to be watching over them. "Every member of a Texas board or commission should uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in service of the people of Texas," Abbott press secretary Andrew Mahaleris wrote in a statement to KRIS 6 News. "Governor Abbott expects a thorough investigation into the allegations brought forth and for the Board to act swiftly once the investigation is complete."

click here for more

Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo is also calling for answers. She announced she will place the matter on the April 14 City Council agenda so it can be discussed publicly. "From the beginning, there were serious concerns with the NRA's presentation," Guajardo wrote. "I did not see a clear, logical plan, funding mechanism, or sufficient information to support the NRA's multi-million dollar project. Unfortunately, what the news is reporting now reinforces those concerns." Guajardo said she has asked the city manager for an immediate update. The NRA is a state agency created by the Texas Legislature in 1935. It manages water resources for all or parts of 22 counties across more than 17,000 square miles of South Texas. A 21-member board oversees the agency. The governor appoints all board members to six-year terms, and those appointments must be confirmed by the Texas Senate. The governor also picks the board president. The NRA does not receive state or federal tax money. It pays its bills through fees for services and interest on investments. The governor appoints that board, subject to consent from the Texas State Senate. Eric Burnett is the president of the board.

Florida virtual school approved for Texas vouchers through loophole

A Florida-based virtual school could receive Texas taxpayer funds through the state's new $1 billion private school voucher program, despite provisions in the law meant to block out-of-state schools from joining the program. State records show that the Texas Comptroller's office approved NFC Academy — North Forest Baptist Church Academy based in Tallahassee — to participate in the voucher program on March 13. The school, which teaches a biblical worldview to students in grades K-12, had been “pursuing approval” for the Texas program, according to its website. Texas vouchers can go to different providers, including private and virtual schools, pre-K programs, homeschool materials and other vendors, like therapists or tutors.

click here for more

Vendors and private schools have different eligibility requirements. But NFC Academy appears to have entered the program through a potential loophole between how the two categories are defined — allowing out-of-state schools to receive state funds if they are "acting as a vendor." The school was only allowed on the program as a vendor — not as a virtual school — and therefore is not eligible for the full funding amount of $10,500 for private schools, according to the Texas Comptroller's office. However, it is still listed as an online school on the state's map. Dee Carney, director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, said the Florida school's approval goes back to a key question she has been asking about the voucher program: “Who's benefiting: private entities or the Texas public?”

The March jobs report will be released on Friday. Here's what to expect

Nonfarm payrolls are expected to bounce back — barely — in March as the bar keeps getting lower for what constitutes a healthy labor market. The U.S. economy is projected to show job gains of 59,000 for the month, an anemic rate by the standards of previous years this decade but enough to keep the unemployment rate at 4.4%. If the estimate is reasonably accurate, it actually would represent above-trend job growth for a labor market that has created virtually no jobs over the past year. Immigration restrictions, shifting demographics and geopolitical uncertainty have left companies eager neither to hire nor fire workers en masse, resulting in a static labor market and a series of ho-hum monthly counts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS will release the number Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, though the stock market will be closed in observance of the Good Friday holiday.

click here for more

“We have to revise our idea of what a good or bad job number is,” said Guy Berger, chief economist at Homebase, which provides workforce management services for small businesses. A report like February’s showing job losses “would have been raising alarm bells about the state of the labor market,” he added. “Now we’re like, yeah, that was a very bad report, but it doesn’t freak anybody out about the job market. I didn’t look at that report and say, wow, we’re on the verge of tipping into recession.” Echoing views expressed by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and other central bankers, Berger said he’s more focused on the unemployment rate as a gauge of labor market stability. With the changes to the workforce, it’s requiring ever-smaller payroll growth to keep the jobless rate steady. The current unemployment rate of 4.4% is just 0.2 percentage point above where it was a year ago, despite the anemic payrolls growth. In a recent report, the St. Louis Fed updated previous research on the breakeven level for job growth. The bank’s economists now think that number could be as low as 15,000, with a high end of 87,000.

State Stories

Texas attorney general under scrutiny over hotel room payments

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office is under scrutiny after agency employees reallocated taxpayer-funded hotel rooms to donors and other private citizens, some of whom failed to cover the cost of the stay until the state comptroller began auditing the agency’s finances earlier this year. Two senior officials involved in the incident resigned soon after it was brought to agency leadership’s attention. Paxton, who is in a contentious runoff for the GOP Senate nomination against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, was impeached in 2023 over allegations that involved improper relationships with a donor. The more recent investigation centers on hotel rooms the agency booked for employees attending last year’s inauguration of President Donald Trump and Supreme Court arguments over a new state law, defended by Paxton’s office, that requires adult websites to verify users’ ages.

click here for more

The agency paid more than $20,000 for a nonrefundable block of 10 hotel rooms at the Courtyard Marriott. Then, a winter storm prevented several of the travelers from getting to Washington. The agency would have been on the hook for approximately $16,000 of unused hotel rooms, documents obtained through an open records request show. Instead, agency employees identified private citizens who wanted the rooms and agreed to pay out of pocket for them. “The intent was to relieve the OAG of its financial obligation for the unused rooms,” deputy first assistant attorney general Ralph Molina said in an investigative report conducted by the agency. The people who agreed to take the rooms included major Paxton donors Terry and Jennifer Lacore, controversial Albanian businessman Bashkim Ulaj and chair of the Albanian Republican Party Fatmir Mediu. Keith Craft, lead pastor at Elevate Life Church in Frisco, later took one of the rooms as well. The list was first reported by Texas Bullpen.

Patients face higher costs as Blue Cross, hospital system fail to strike deal

Thousands of Houston patients could pay more or be forced to switch doctors after Memorial Hermann Health System and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas failed to agree to a new contract. The health system is no longer in network for Blue Cross Blue Shield commercial and Blue Advantage Marketplace plans after the sides could not agree to terms by an April 1 deadline, Memorial Hermann said in a statement. As a result, many patients with Blue Cross Blue Shield plans will need to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for medical services at Memorial Hermann. The health system includes 14 hospitals and hundreds of doctors’ offices and clinics in the Houston area.

click here for more

Certain patients, such as those who are pregnant or being treated for a disability, acute condition or life-threatening illness, may still be eligible for in-network rates at Memorial Hermann. Those patients should fill out a continuity of care request form or call the phone number on their insurance card, the health system said. Memorial Hermann accused the insurer of asking for “unreasonable demands” and dragging out talks until the April 1 deadline as a negotiating tactic. The reimbursement rates and contract language that Blue Cross Blue Shield proposed during negotiations “ignore the financial realities facing health systems today,” Memorial Hermann said in its statement. “We will not prioritize a for-profit insurer’s bottom line over the best interests of our patients, providers, employers and employees,” Memorial Hermann said in the statement. Memorial Hermann accused Blue Cross Blue Shield of employing similar tactics in contract talks with health systems across the United States, including several in Texas.

CBP: Border wall will go through National Butterfly Center

As the temperatures hovered in the 90s on Tuesday, noisy chachalaca birds honked in the trees at the National Butterfly Center, and butterflies twitted about. But Jeffrey Glassberg, president of the North American Butterfly Association, which runs the center, worries their habitat will be destroyed if a border wall is built through it as the federal government has planned. U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed to Border Report on Tuesday that they have awarded a contract to build 34 miles of border wall through the Rio Grande Valley from Rio Grande City to Weslaco, including through the National Butterfly Center, and other areas that previously had been exempted by Congress, including La Lomita Chapel, Bentsen State Park, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and historic cemetaries.

click here for more

“The border wall in the areas near La Lomita Chapel and the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas will be constructed along the existing flood levee. This will involve constructing a reinforced concrete levee wall adjacent to and matching the height of the current levee, with 30-foot steel bollard panels installed on top. This approach is intended to enhance both security and flood protection in the area,” a CBP spokesperson said. “They have contacted us. And obviously I don’t feel good about it,” Glassberg told Border Report. Beloved birding preserve on South Texas border might not reopen if wall is built through it He shared a letter CBP sent to them telling them the federal government is interested in the National Butterfly Center’s property, which borders the Rio Grande overlooking Mexico, and requesting permission for agents to enter the property. It offers them $1,000 for a right of entry, but also says the agency can take the property via “eminent domain, in accordance with the Declaration of Taking Act.“

South Plains Bankers acquires Bank Of Houston

South Plains Financial, the Lubbock-based parent of City Bank, has officially closed its all-stock acquisition of Bank of Houston, folding the Houston lender into City Bank and planting a much bigger flag in the Houston market. The deal pulls roughly two dozen Bank of Houston branches into the City Bank network and marks a major step in South Plains’ push into the state’s largest metro. Bank of Houston CEO James D. (Jim) Stein is joining South Plains and will keep leading the Houston team under the new structure. The transaction became effective on Wednesday, according to a Form 8-K on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, after the companies secured approvals and non-objections from the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the Texas Department of Banking. The filing notes that BOH Holdings was merged into South Plains and that Bank of Houston was merged into City Bank, leaving South Plains as the holding company and City Bank as the surviving bank.

click here for more

On a pro forma basis, South Plains has said the combined franchise will operate about 26 branches with roughly $5.4 billion in assets, $3.8 billion in loans and $4.6 billion in deposits, figures the company disclosed when the deal was first announced. South Plains Financial has framed the purchase as a scale play in the fast-growing Houston metro and a way to broaden City Bank’s product lineup for local customers. Under terms described in the proxy and registration materials, Jim Stein, Bank of Houston’s chairman and CEO, will join the boards of South Plains and City Bank and will serve as Houston Market President — BOH under an employment agreement that guarantees at least two years of service and an annual base salary of not less than $350,000, plus performance-based pay and allowances. Those details are laid out in proxy materials filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which also outline non-compete provisions, equity treatment and severance protections tied to the integration. The acquisition gives City Bank a deeper footprint in Harris County and, by South Plains’ estimate, pushes the combined company into the upper tier of Texas-headquartered banks by Houston-area deposits. Industry observers have cast the deal as a relatively low-risk way for a West Texas bank to buy instant scale in the state’s largest city at a time when community banks keep consolidating, according to coverage from American Banker and the Houston Business Journal.

Jason Kidd responds to Mark Cuban's comments about Luka Doncic trade

An NBA game was to be played here in Fiserv Forum Tuesday night, but as Mavericks-Bucks tipoff neared, coach Jason Kidd found himself having to put out a brush fire 1,000 miles away in Dallas about a trade that occurred 423 days ago. Not just any trade, Kidd realizes, but The Trade of Luka Doncic from which the franchise largely has moved on – or had until former majority owner Mark Cuban seemingly brought gasoline and matches to a podcast interview that was released Tuesday.

click here for more

“When are we going to move on?” Kidd asked a Dallas Morning News reporter during a brief one-on-one interview about 90 minutes before tipoff Tuesday. “We have to move forward. We're focused on the present and the future and we've got an incredible opportunity to build.” Kidd’s initial rhetorical question could have been meant for Mavsland in general, but, clearly, it mostly was directed at Cuban, whom Kidd said he phoned Tuesday after the Intersections podcast’s release. During the podcast, Cuban expressed regret for selling the franchise to the Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont families in December 2023 and criticized general manager Nico Harrison’s Feb. 1, 2025, trade of Doncic. Then suddenly, briefly, he injected Kidd into the conversation. “That doesn’t justify it for our coach and our general manager to stand up and trade our best player.” Cuban offered no specifics or elaboration, but those three words, “for our coach,” essentially hung Kidd out to dry. Kidd, on multiple occasions, has said he didn’t learn of the trade until the 11th hour. During the following day’s news conference, Kidd praised Doncic, but emphasized, “When you look at the vision of the team and what Nico wants to build, I truly support that and truly believe the players we’re getting are ones that can help us win a championship.”

Bexar County's notorious records requester wants to prove that he's a journalist

Joseph Brantley had a few bones to pick after he resigned from his job helping manage Bexar County’s budget nearly two years ago. The 38-year-old Army veteran believed he hadn’t been paid fairly, and that his bosses had worked him too hard and sabotaged his efforts to find another job. He felt wronged and was looking for a way to balance the scales. Brantley found it in a right that belongs to every American: requesting government records. Since July, he has flooded county government with hundreds of open records requests. He has acknowledged that he started blitzing the Bexar County Courthouse with such requests out of spite. But he says his motivation now is higher-minded — it’s about informing the public.

click here for more

Brantley is billing himself a “citizen journalist.” His vehicle is a Facebook page where he posts frequently inflammatory stories about county government based on the records he gets his hands on. Now he wants to prove to county officials that he’s a member of the media. The policy targets anyone who submits more than 15 open records requests in a month or 36 in a calendar year. Once someone hits that threshold, they’re notified of their “zealous” status. When county staffers spend a total of 36 hours in one year, with no more than 15 hours in a single month, tracking down the documents for such requesters, the county can start charging them for the time. In the five months since the policy went into effect, Brantley is the only person who’s been designated a zealous requester. Well, Brantley and “Audie Kyle” — an alias that he uses to file records requests to get around the limits. Why? Because he wants to get around restrictions Bexar County Commissioners Court imposed last fall on so-called “zealous requestors” to rein in a surge in records requests — which was largely driven by Brantley.

The plan to move millions of people around Dallas-Fort Worth during the World Cup

Expect traffic around AT&T Stadium to be a nightmare during the World Cup, but there’s a plan to help alleviate some of the stress hundreds of thousands of soccer fans will put on our transportation system this summer. The North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee and the North Central Texas Council of Governments presented Thursday their mobility playbook, which focuses heavily on rail and bus service to move fans to and from Arlington on match days. Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said it’s likely a million additional people will use local roads and public transportation systems over the 31 days the World Cup is in town, during which time nine matches will be played at AT&T Stadium (which will temporarily be renamed Dallas Stadium for the tournament).

click here for more

Each of those games will be the equivalent of a Super Bowl, officials have said, with upward of 100,000 people descending upon Dallas-Fort Worth. The Trinity Railway Express, with service from downtown Fort Worth, will operate four-car trains instead of the standard three-car trains, and they’re adding two additional train sets with a locomotive and four cars each. On match days, TRE trains from Fort Worth and Dallas will carry fans to the CentrePort/DFW Airport near State Highway 360 and Trinity Boulevard in Fort Worth, and shuttle buses will transport people to a bus hub closer to the stadium. TRE tickets are available via the GoPass app. Additionally, there will be 125 regional charter buses to carry passengers who can’t fit on the trains. These buses can carry 50 passengers each and will operate with priority on Interstate 30 using specially managed lanes. Transportation officials will be able to change the directional flow of traffic on these lanes depending on the need.

Burglary charge against Harris Co. treasurer Carla Wyatt dropped after insufficient evidence

A grand jury decided to drop a vehicle burglary charge filed against Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt in December, court documents show. The document, filed on Wednesday, shows the grand jury failed to find an indictment against Wyatt and returned a no-bill, indicating there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

click here for more

A spokesperson for the Harris County District Attorney's Office would not discuss the specifics of the case with Eyewitness News, but did provide the following statement: The role of grand juries is especially important in cases involving elected officials. They provide independent, community-driven oversight and ensure prosecutors have probable cause that a crime was committed before any charges move forward. Wyatt was charged with burglary of a vehicle after investigators said she was in a parking lot on Washington Ave. on Dec. 28, when she opened the unlocked door of a minivan and got inside. The owner and witnesses called the police. Investigators reported that Wyatt denied any wrongdoing and told them she had permission to be in the Toyota minivan. The owner told investigators she did not know Wyatt and did not give her permission. According to court records, Wyatt was charged with DWI in 2023 and with violating conditions of her bond in 2024, but the case was dismissed in August after she completed a pretrial diversion program.

Feds seek access to three Texas state parks for border wall

Federal officials have already traced a path for a border barrier through multiple Texas state parks, according to documents obtained by Inside Climate News. A top Border Patrol official wrote to leaders of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) on March 6, assuring them that border wall construction at state parks and Big Bend National Park was “on hold.” But the Border Patrol had already sought access to state parks to lay the groundwork for construction in the weeks prior, those documents show. Letters sent by the Border Patrol to TPWD included detailed maps of where the border barrier would go within Big Bend Ranch, Seminole Canyon and Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Parks. The documents, obtained under the Texas Public Information Act, show that Border Patrol is targeting an area in Seminole Canyon that could restrict access to ancient rock art on the Rio Grande.

click here for more

In Big Bend Ranch State Park, the maps show the barrier project near the Grassy Banks campground and Contrabando Canyon. Paul Enriquez, the director of the Border Patrol’s infrastructure portfolio, said in an email obtained through the records request that construction on TPWD land and at Big Bend National Park is not a priority, as the agency targets high-traffic areas. But he did not rule out construction at the state parks. He wrote that these areas will eventually be reviewed to determine whether to implement a “barrier, roads, and/or technology.” Public outcry has mounted since early February, when plans of a border wall through Big Bend became public. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has since updated an online map to show “detection technology” in the Big Bend national and state parks instead of a physical barrier. But agency leadership in Washington, D.C., has not publicly stated that a wall is off the table. Facing mixed messages from federal sources, Big Bend residents and outdoors enthusiasts remain on high alert. A protest against the border wall in Big Bend is planned outside the Texas state capitol on Saturday, April 4. “None of these comments are binding in any way. They are just statements,” said Laiken Jordahl, a national public lands advocate with the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity. “They could show up with bulldozers and dynamite trucks and start building in the state park tomorrow. And nothing could stop them.”

El Paso County school enrollment drops 2.7% as declining births, migration reshape classrooms

El Paso County’s decline in student enrollment accelerated this year, as demographic forces reshape schools and the broader community, according to newly released state figures. El Paso’s traditional public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools had 160,463 students in the 2025-26 school year, a 2.7% decline from the previous year, according to an El Paso Matters analysis of Texas Education Agency data. That rate of decline is two to six times faster than most other years in the past two decades, with the exception of the 2020-21 school year, when the COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning led to a 3.5% decline in enrollment.

click here for more

The enrollment decline is driven by a number of demographic factors, especially a birth rate that is falling at twice the national average, and the consistent migration of people leaving El Paso in search of better economic opportunities or a more attractive lifestyle. El Paso County’s school enrollment topped 180,000 as recently as the 2012-13 school year, state records show. Each of El Paso County’s nine traditional independent school districts saw an enrollment decline in 2025-26, ranging from 2% in Canutillo, Clint and Socorro to 6% in Anthony. The El Paso and Ysleta school districts – which are located in older areas of the city – both saw enrollment losses of 4%. Total enrollment in the nine traditional public school districts declined by 3% this year compared with the prior year. The enrollment picture for El Paso’s nine open-enrollment charter school systems was mixed. Harmony Public Schools and Burnham Wood Charter Schools both added about 150 students. Five of the charter school systems saw declining enrollments.

Carrot shipment hid $2.7M of meth seized at Texas-Mexico border, feds say

Turns out not every carrot is meant for the Easter Bunny; some are apparently stuffed with $2.7 million worth of meth. Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection uncovered the drugs hidden inside a shipment of carrots at the Pharr International Bridge, putting a quick stop to what might be the least healthy vegetable delivery in Texas history. In a Thursday news release, CBP said the discovery happened March 30 when officers encountered a commercial tractor-trailer entering from Reynosa. The vehicle was sent to a secondary inspection, where nonintrusive imaging technology and a K-9 team flagged something suspicious among the veggies.

click here for more

A closer look turned up 1,055 packages of methamphetamine tucked inside the carrot shipment, weighing nearly 300 pounds. Authorities estimate the drugs have a street value of about $2.7 million. “The criminal element is always thinking of ways to get their narcotics through our international crossings, but as this seizure aptly illustrates, our CBP officers are experts in their field and use all available tools and technology to thwart these smuggling attempts,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry. CBP officers seized the narcotics and the tractor-trailer. Special agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations have launched a criminal investigation.

Houston’s favorite meteorologist has seen enough

Since moving to Houston in 2012, meteorologist Matt Lanza has seen it all. Freak windstorms. Record-setting freezes and droughts. Hurricane Harvey (2017), Tropical Storm Nicholas (2021), and Hurricane Beryl (2024). For the past eleven years, Lanza has shared his “hype-free” forecasts on Space City Weather, a bare-bones blog that he runs with fellow meteorologist Eric Berger. The website enjoyed a modest following until Harvey dumped some 27 trillion gallons of rain over southeast Texas and Louisiana, sending Houstonians scrambling for a reliable forecast. The site received around four million page views over the course of the disaster. Now it’s the first place many people turn when the forecast darkens. Last week, Lanza announced that his family was moving to Connecticut, partly to be closer to his elderly parents and partly because Houston’s extreme weather had become a little too extreme, even for a professional. “I do worry about our vulnerability here to hurricanes, and not just Beryl-type storms—much bigger storms,” he explained.

click here for more

He’s leaving his day job at CenterPoint Energy, the Houston utility where he serves as chief meteorologist, but will continue contributing to Space City Weather and its sister site, The Eyewall, which focuses on Atlantic hurricanes. "My parents are getting older. We’ve got two kids, and my parents only get to see them once a year. That started stirring up thoughts of moving. It was that combined with just being done with hurricane stuff for a while. It’s a different world now than it was five or ten years ago in terms of how we forecast and cover hurricanes. We have to constantly talk people off the ledge. "It used to be that if there was a storm in the Atlantic, seven or eight days out, people might not give much thought to it. Now people see something like that on social media and panic, no matter how much you educate them. There are people on social media trying to score engagement points. We have to constantly battle people that are scaring people for engagement. It gets tiring," he said.

Billy Bob’s Texas celebrates 45 years with retirement party for Billy Minick

Billy Bob’s Texas celebrated its 45th anniversary by saying goodbye to an icon. The “world’s largest honky-tonk” opened in the Fort Worth Stockyards on April 1, 1981. For the past four plus decades, the venue has welcomed such names as George Strait, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks and many more. On Wednesday, April 1, around 100 people attended the club’s 45th anniversary celebration and retirement party for Billy Minick. Minick, a Fort Worth native, has been with Billy Bob’s since the beginning. While initially hired to oversee bull riding at the club, his role grew to general manager and even part owner. “What a turnout,” Minick said to the room with his wife Pam nearby. “I’d like to thank so many of you people that showed up and listened to our stories.”

click here for more

Wednesday’s festivities began around noon and the first speaker was Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Flores, who presented Minick with a special recognition from the city. The recognition cited Minick’s storied past with rodeo and his places in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame and Bull Riding Hall of Fame. His long tenure at Billy Bob’s was also mentioned. “To you my friend, I don’t say goodbye, I say adios,” Flores said. Billy Bob’s founder and namesake Billy Bob Barnett was next and praised Minick for his work during the ups and downs of the club’s four plus decades. “[Minick] probably did more to bandage this thing and make it run like a top,” Barnett said. A couple of video messages were played next, one from Texas country singer Kevin Fowler and country music icon Reba McEntire. “My gosh, you have helped me in my career so much. But it’s not about me, it’s about you,” McEntire said. “I hope you have a wonderful day today. You’re surrounded by people who love you, care about you, me included.”

National Stories

House GOP tumult while the Senate frays but holds

House Republicans are in open revolt. GOP lawmakers held a nearly three-hour call Thursday, during which Speaker Mike Johnson pitched them on passing the Senate’s Department of Homeland Security minus ICE and CBP funding bill. That’s the same bill that Johnson called a “joke” a week ago. Johnson is now telling House Republicans they must accept this bill because the Senate doesn’t have the votes for anything else. That’s proven to be a tough sell. Another problem for House Republicans — the SAVE America Act, which they’ve passed multiple times, is going to end up in reconciliation, leaving it at the mercy of Senate parliamentary rules. House Republicans now may hold off voting on the DHS funding until the reconciliation process begins. We’ll see what the White House thinks about that. This DHS bill doesn’t have the votes right now — or anywhere close.

click here for more

Trump vs. the Senate. The Senate is holding — for now. President Donald Trump’s nonstop lobbying of Senate Republicans to weaken the Senate’s institutional powers is running into a brick wall. There are signsthat this reality — even Trump has limits in dealing with the “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body” — may finally be settling in at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Thanks to GOP senators’ refusal to blow up the filibuster for the SAVE America Act, Trump tried to impose voting restrictions via executive order this week. Democrats immediately sued to stop him. Plus, as Senate Republicans stood by the Judiciary Committee’s “blue slip” policy, Trump bypassed the Senate by installing some U.S. attorneys, only to later lose in court. Now, rather than go nuclear on the filibusterin the face of Democratic opposition, Hill Republicans will use reconciliation to fund ICE and CBP for three years.Trump finally embraced the Senate’s DHS funding deal after being forced to go around Congress twice to pay DHS employees amid the never-ending shutdown.

Who could be next after Bondi firing?

President Donald Trump’s firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, which followed frustration over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and broader prosecutorial decisions, is sparking questions about who could be next. The move followed a series of recent shake-ups across the administration. Kristi Noem was removed as Homeland Security secretary after months of controversy and shifted into a lower-profile envoy role. Greg Bovino, a central figure in Trump’s immigration crackdown, was pushed out of his Customs and Border Protection post amid backlash over enforcement operations. In his second term, Trump has often avoided outright firings, instead sidelining officials he views as potential liabilities by shifting them into less prominent or alternative roles. Noem’s move is one example.

click here for more

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has emerged as a target amid rising tensions with the president. In recent weeks, Trump has privately polled Cabinet members on whether to replace Gabbard, frustrated in part by her defense of a former deputy who undercut the administration’s justification for military action against Iran, according to the Guardian. The friction escalated after a Capitol Hill threats hearing, where Gabbard declined to condemn Joe Kent following his resignation over comments that Iran posed no imminent threat. Allies say her reluctance to fully align with the administration’s posture deepened concerns. Still, Trump has publicly downplayed the tension, saying aboard Air Force One that while they do not always see eye to eye, he believes Gabbard is fit to serve.

Trump signs order imposing 100 percent tariff on brand name drugs

President Trump signed an executive order Thursday targeting imported brand name drugs with a 100 percent tariff, citing the U.S.’s “import reliance” as reason for the decision. “I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to impose a 100 percent ad valorem duty rate on the import of patented pharmaceuticals and associated pharmaceutical ingredients,” Trump’s executive order stated. The Section 232 tariffs enacted through this order are designated for national security concerns. Some brand name drug manufacturers will fare better than others. Companies that have approved plans to start manufacturing facilities in the U.S. will face a 20 percent tariff instead. Drugs coming from the European Union, Japan, South Korea or Switzerland and Liechtenstein will be subject to a 15 percent tariff, while drugs from the United Kingdom will face an unspecified “lower” rate subject to a U.S.-U.K. trade agreement.

click here for more

The pharmaceutical industry was swift to condemn Trump’s latest drug tariffs. “Tariffs on cutting-edge medicines will increase costs and could jeopardize billions in U.S. investments announced in the last year. Every dollar spent on tariffs is a dollar that can’t be invested in communities across the country,” said Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of the pharmaceutical trade group PhRMA. “The innovative biopharmaceutical sector has a robust U.S. manufacturing footprint. In fact, two-thirds of the medicines that are consumed in the U.S. are made in America,” he added. “And when innovative medicines or their inputs are sourced from other countries, these products overwhelmingly come from reliable U.S. allies, like Europe and Japan.”

Iran beefs up defenses, recruits children as it prepares for ground war

Iran is responding to the threat of a ground operation on its soil by stepping up defenses around its biggest oil port, while threatening to attack a wider array of targets around the Gulf and launching a mass recruitment drive reminiscent of its 1980s war with Iraq. The steps come as President Trump has ordered thousands of Marines and Airborne troops to the Middle East. While the president hasn’t said he plans to put boots on the ground, the deployments would give the U.S. more options for ground assaults or raids, and they have set off preparations and a wave of new threats from Iran. Analysts and people familiar with Iranian military tactics say the country is gearing up for a fierce fight that could give it the chance to inflict more casualties than it can against the U.S. and Israel’s dominant air forces.

click here for more

Tehran is also mobilizing its population in ways that seek to harness the spirit of the 1980s war with Iraq. They include drives to recruit millions of Iranians, including children—a fixture of the tributes to martyrs via street signs and posters that are still a part of Iran’s daily life. Iran is hardening defenses on Kharg Island, Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the parliament’s National Security Commission, told the legislature’s news agency this week following a visit to the oil export hub and possible focus of any ground operation. Steps include boosting guided-missile systems, laying mines along the coastline and booby-trapping facilities, an Iranian official said. Military analysts say tunnels have likely been carved into many of the islands, which Iran is preparing to defend with missiles and other munitions. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have demonstrated the use of wire-guided first-person view drones, which are possessed in greater numbers by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, posing a potent threat to any U.S. troops.

Lawsuit challenges warrantless searches and forced entries by ICE

A coalition of legal groups on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, saying the agency had allowed federal immigration agents to routinely enter homes to carry out searches and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The lawsuit, filed in the District of Columbia, contends that the Homeland Security Department and its subsidiary, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, broke with their longstanding practices last year in adopting an undisclosed policy that allowed agents to force their way into homes without judicial warrants. The suit asks that a federal judge invalidate the policy entirely. The legal groups brought the case on behalf of several people in Minnesota whose homes were searched. The lawsuit described how residents faced violent confrontations with armed agents in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

click here for more

“With guns drawn and masks on, DHS agents have left children hiding in closets, detained U.S. citizens, and marched people in their pajamas out into the street in subzero temperatures,” the lawsuit said. The existence of the new home entry policy came to light through information provided by two government whistle-blowers this year. The New York Times reported on their account in January, which held that the policy stemmed from a memo signed by Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, on May 12, 2025. After the shift in the department’s procedures, forced entries became a more visible and common tactic during federal operations in Minnesota this year. President Trump sent more than 3,000 agents to the state as part of his sprawling immigration crackdown that began in December. ICE agents routinely relied on an administrative form signed by superiors to justify entering homes in lieu of a warrant signed by a judge, according to the lawsuit. The Trump administration empowered agents to use the so-called I-205 Form at issue in the case as an administrative warrant, permitting them to use armed force to enter a home with only an ICE officer’s signature. By the Department of Homeland Security’s estimates, the lawsuit claims, more than 1.5 million people could be subject to forced entries by agents using an administrative warrant. The department has maintained that all the individuals served with administrative warrants have already had an immigration judge decide that they can be deported.

Hegseth forces out Army’s top general, two other senior officers

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked the Army’s top officer to step down and retire, defense officials said Thursday, an extraordinary move amid the war with Iran and the latest in a series of clashes between the Pentagon chief and the service’s senior leadership. Gen. Randy George had been expected to hold the job of Army chief of staff for more than another year, until the fall of 2027, and complete what is typically a four-year assignment as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But Hegseth decided to go in another direction, representatives for the defense secretary said. Two other Army generals were removed along with George, said two defense officials, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the shake-up. They are Gen. David Hodne, who became the head of the service’s Training and Transformation Command in October, and Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., the chief of Army chaplains.

click here for more

George’s retirement is “effective immediately,” Sean Parnell, a Hegseth spokesman, said in a terse statement posted on social media that also expressed gratitude for George’s “decades of service to our nation.” “We wish him well in his retirement,” Parnell’s statement said. Hegseth, a prolific social media user, did not immediately post his own sentiments about the general’s removal, first reported by CBS News. A spokesman for George could not be reached immediately for comment. With George’s ouster, Hegseth has remade nearly the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff, a panel of senior military officers at the Pentagon that advises both the president and the secretary. The only ones remaining from when Hegseth took office in January 2025 are Gen. Eric M. Smith, commandant of the Marine Corps, and Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, head of the Space Force.

Trump’s White House ballroom gets final approval days after a judge ordered a halt to construction

President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom won final approval from a key agency on Thursday, despite a federal judge recently ordering a halt to construction unless Congress allows what would be the biggest structural change to the American landmark in more than 70 years. The 12-member National Capital Planning Commission, the agency tasked with approving construction on federal property in the Washington region, took the vote because U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s ruling — which came two days earlier — affects construction activities but not the planning process, said the commission’s Trump-appointed chair, Will Scharf. A vote of 8-1, with two commissioners voting present and one absent, allowed the plan to move forward.

click here for more

Despite the agency’s approval, the judge’s ruling and a legal fight over the ballroom could stall progress on a legacy project that Trump is racing to see completed before the end of his term in early 2029. It’s among a series of changes the Republican president is planning for the nation’s capital to leave his lasting imprint while he’s still in office. Before the vote, Scharf, a top White House aide, noted that Leon’s order has been stayed for two weeks as the administration seeks an appeal. He said, as he understood the decision, it “really does not impact our action here today.” Reading from notes, Scharf also delivered an impassioned defense of the project that reviewed the full history of changes and additions to the White House that were criticized when they were made but have become beloved with the passage of time. He spoke about the addition of the north and south porticos and the balcony added by President Harry Truman. Scharf suggested that Trump’s proposed ballroom will similarly come to be viewed as a wise addition — despite drawing contemporary opposition from some members of the public and government officials. “I believe that in time this ballroom will be considered every bit as much of a national treasure as the other key components of the White House,” Scharf said.

Tiger Woods called Trump after DUI crash, he told cop on bodycam video

Golf legend Tiger Woods told a police officer that he spoke to President Donald Trump on the phone shortly after his DUI rollover crash in Florida, a bodycam video obtained by TMZ and published Thursday shows. “Thank you so much. All right. You got it. Bye,” Woods is heard saying on the police video, as he walked over to an officer who had beckoned him back to the crash scene. “I was just talking to the president,” Woods told the cop. The golfer then is heard saying to a man whom TMZ identified as his manager, that “he was very apologetic for what he did last night.”

click here for more

Trump, the evening before, during an interview on Fox News’ “The Five,” claimed that Woods would not be playing in the upcoming Masters tournament. Days before, Woods publicly left open the possibility of playing in the Masters, and he had not made any statement before the crash that he had decided not to participate. Woods is dating Trump’s former daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump, who was previously married to Donald Trump Jr. Woods, 50, was charged by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office with driving under the influence after Friday’s crash, which occurred after his Land Rover SUV clipped a truck’s trailer in Jupiter, Fla. The golfer had two opioid pills in his pants and had “bloodshot and glassy eyes,” “extremely dilated pupils,” and was “sweating profusely,” according to an arrest affidavit. Shortly after the crash, Trump called Woods a “very close friend.” “I feel so badly. He’s got some difficulty. There was an accident, and that’s all I know,” Trump told reporters. “He’s an amazing person, amazing man, but some difficulty.” Woods said on Tuesday evening that “I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health. This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery.” He has pleaded not guilty in the case.

As first Easter of Leo's papacy approaches, his priorities come into sharper focus

Almost one year after Pope Francis made his final public appearance on Easter, Pope Leo XIV is approaching his first celebration of the feast as pontiff — a moment that offers a more defining glimpse into a papacy focused on unity, peace and social justice. While Leo’s first year has largely implied continuity with Francis, analysis of his leadership style highlights his willingness to empower clergy and delegate authority. On Holy Thursday (April 2), which commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, Leo departed from one of Francis’ most symbolic gestures. In past years, Francis used the washing of the feet ceremony to highlight marginalized groups — including prisoners, migrants and women — underscoring his outreach to those living on the peripheries of society.

click here for more

This year, though, Leo washed the feet of 12 priests from the Diocese of Rome at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. The move reflects both a return to tradition — Benedict XVI, who was succeeded by Francis, was the last pope to wash the feet of diocesan priests in Rome — but also his focus on empowering clergy and promoting a more missionary role for priests. “The great missionaries bear witnesses to quiet, unobtrusive approaches, whose method is the sharing of life, selfless service, the renunciation of any calculated strategy, dialogue and respect,” Leo said during the Chrism Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday, as priests renewed the promises made during their ordination. Leo’s style of governance is becoming visible in balancing continuity and reform. Breaking with Francis, who chose to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican as a sign of simplicity, Leo has returned to the Apostolic Palace. The move last month came as senior Vatican officials, who handed in their resignations after Francis’ death, are awaiting confirmation or replacement.

Copyright April 03, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved