February 27, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Trump to speak Friday at Port of Corpus Christi, with energy exports and water infrastructure in focus

President Donald Trump is set to visit the Coastal Bend on Friday, marking his first stop in the region during his second term in office. Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks Friday afternoon at the Port of Corpus Christi, the nation’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas and one of the country’s top petroleum hubs. The visit follows his State of the Union address earlier this week, where energy policy was a central focus. The president is expected to highlight fossil fuel production and exports along the Texas Gulf Coast.

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According to Kara Rivas, Flint Hills Public Affairs Manager, only two major refineries adjacent to the port — CITGO, Valero, — are among only 11 facilities in the United States capable of processing heavy Venezuelan crude oil, giving the Coastal Bend an outsized role in the nation’s energy supply chain. During his address to Congress, Trump said shipments of that crude would soon be arriving in the United States. White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said the president understands the economic importance of energy production in Texas. “That’s why he’s so excited to come visit tomorrow and talk with folks about it,” Jackson said. “I won’t get ahead of the President on any specific announcements, but what I will say is that he understands how important this is, and a lot of his agenda is also about bringing more companies and more investment to Texas. Under the Trump administration, companies have invested billions in the state of Texas, and that will create thousands of good-paying jobs.” Local officials are also hoping to raise regional concerns during the visit. State Sen. Adam Hinojosa said he wants to brief the president on ongoing water infrastructure challenges in South Texas. “We want to make sure he is fully aware of the infrastructure issues we have, specifically with water, and the urgency of our need,” Hinojosa said. “Having the opportunity to visit with him in more depth about those challenges would be very helpful. He’s coming to Corpus Christi for a reason, and we are eager to better understand that, but we also believe this is an important opportunity to discuss the critical issues facing our community.”

Crenshaw has Texas primary problems

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) is at serious risk of losing his primary. House GOP leaders are growing increasingly concerned about Crenshaw’s fate next Tuesday as he faces a strong challenge from state Rep. Steve Toth. A pro-Crenshaw super PAC has spent more than $1 million bashing Toth on TV. That’s a clear sign that the incumbent’s allies see the challenger as a serious threat, even though Toth has spent very little money himself. The race extends to a May runoff if no candidate clears 50% next week. “I’ve heard [Crenshaw has] got a tough race,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told us this week. “I mean, I supported him, hopefully he pulls it out on Tuesday.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) upended the contest by endorsing Toth this week, and Cruz immediately cut an ad for a pro-Toth super PAC. The House Freedom Caucus’ political arm got behind Toth as well.

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“He was completely underwater before the race even started,” Toth told us of Crenshaw’s favorability rating. “There’s no way Ted Cruz would jump in. There’s no way the Freedom Caucus would jump in. There’s no way that these different players would get involved in this thing, if the numbers weren’t incredibly good.” We’re not sure aboutthat. The Freedom Caucus has endorsed failed candidates in the past. But Cruz’s nod is significant. “Steve Toth is the best candidate for that seat,” Cruz told us on Thursday. “He’s a strong conservative, and I think his principles and values reflect the values of the voters of the district.” Cruz had already been planning to endorse against Crenshaw. But the divide between the Texas Republicans grew worse recently when Crenshaw voted against the ROTOR Act, Cruz’s aviation safety bill. Cruz announced his support for Toth just hours after the failed ROTOR vote in the House.

Paramount emerges victorious over Netflix in Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war

Paramount emerged as the victor in the months-long battle for Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix backed out of the bidding war Thursday, leaving Paramount poised to acquire Warner’s vast media empire, including CNN. Netflix said it has “declined to raise its offer for Warner Bros.” after the Warner Bros. Discovery board determined that Paramount has submitted a “superior” offer for the media giant. “The deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid,” the streamer said, suddenly ending the corporate tug-of-war. With that announcement, Paramount suddenly moved much closer to taking over CNN, HBO, and the rest of the assets owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, or WBD for short.

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The regulatory review process will still take several months at a minimum. But barring any further surprises, Paramount CEO David Ellison will assemble a sprawling entertainment and news empire with dozens of TV channels, multiple movie studios and two leading newsrooms. WBD CEO David Zaslav wished Netflix well and extended a friendly hand toward Paramount in a statement Thursday evening. “Once our Board votes to adopt the Paramount merger agreement, it will create tremendous value for our shareholders,” Zaslav said, alluding to the fact that WBD’s stock price more than doubled during the months-long bidding war. Paramount most recently offered $31 per share. “We are excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery,” Zaslav added, “and can’t wait to get started working together telling the stories that move the world.”

Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency

Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting. President Donald Trump has repeatedly previewed a plan to mandate voter ID and ban mail ballots in November’s midterm elections, and the activists expect their draft will figure into Trump’s promised executive order on the issue. The White House declined to elaborate on Trump’s plans. “Under the Constitution, it’s the legislatures and states that really control how a state conducts its elections, and the president doesn’t have any power to do that,” said Peter Ticktin, a Florida lawyer who is advocating for the draft executive order.

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Ticktin attended the New York Military Academy with Trump and was part of his legal team that filed an unsuccessful 2022 lawsuit accusing Democrats of conspiring to damage him with allegations that his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. “But here we have a situation where the president is aware that there are foreign interests that are interfering in our election processes,” Ticktin went on. “That causes a national emergency where the president has to be able to deal with it.” The emergency would empower the president to ban mail ballots and voting machines as the vectors of foreign interference, Ticktin argued. The idea of claiming emergency executive powers based on allegations of foreign interference attaches new significance to the administration’s actions to reinvestigate the 2020 election. Trump has never accepted defeat, while never finding evidence of widespread fraud. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is leading a review of election security that officials said focuses on foreign influence. A 2021 intelligence review concluded that China considered efforts to influence the election but did not go through with them. Ticktin said he’s had “certain coordination” with White House officials but declined to specify, citing safety concerns. But his input has successfully led to a presidential action before. Ticktin represents Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk imprisoned on state charges arising from breaking into voting equipment, whom Trump said he pardoned in December. (The presidential pardon did not free Peters from her nine-year prison term because the president has no power over state crimes.)

State Stories

Harris County seeks to abolish elected treasurer after attempted fraud

Harris County commissioners unanimously voted Thursday to strip County Treasurer Carla Wyatt's office of a key responsibility and pursue abolishing the office entirely during the next legislative session. It’s the first step in a long process that could require approval from a majority of voters both statewide and within Harris County. Commissioners voted 4-0 to add abolishing the office to the county’s legislative agenda, the items the county will ask lawmakers to support during the next legislative session in January 2027. The move came after treasurer's office staff approved for payment two fraudulent checks totaling nearly $53,000, according to a county document obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

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Fraudsters intercepted and altered two checks, one for $24,328 and another for $27,530, intended for county vendors. A county financial system that alerts officials of potential problems flagged the payments, but the treasurer’s office approved them anyway, the document shows. Commissioners unanimously approved transferring that alert system and the employees tasked with overseeing it from the treasurer's office to the Office of Management and Budget. While the funds have since been recovered, it’s the latest in a series of mistakes that have shaken commissioners’ faith in Wyatt, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the fraud incident late Thursday. Commissioners first discussed potentially reducing Wyatt’s duties after she was charged with misdemeanor burglary of a vehicle in December. Judge Lina Hidalgo said at a January Commissioners Court meeting that it was too soon to consider sidelining Wyatt, who has not been convicted and is expected to go before a judge in March. Hidalgo was not at Thursday's meeting.

Defense of a third party theory emerges in Prairieland ICE center shooting trial

When Thomas Gross arrived in a vehicle under drizzle outside a federal ICE detention center in Johnson County late on July 4, the Alvarado Police Department lieutenant says he saw a person dressed in black tactical gear running and a detention security officer following. Gross got out and drew his pistol, a 9mm Glock. Nearly immediately, Gross, who had been dispatched to the Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado for a problem the nature of which was not clear, was shot by a person firing a rifle from a position opposite the person who was running. The shooter, federal prosecutors allege, was Benjamin Song, a 32-year-old former Marine Corps reservist. Song may have been justified by defense of a third party because he believed that he was protecting the running person, defense attorneys have suggested in cross-examination of government witnesses at the joint trial of Song and eight other defendants that is underway in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth.

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The defendants’ attorneys refer to their clients as noise demonstrators and argue that they hoped to, in a protest, bring hope to immigrants detained by ICE. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office describe the defendants as domestic terrorists aligned with antifa. The defense theory was made clear on Wednesday in defense questions, particularly from attorneys Cody Cofer and Phillip Hayes. That Gross drew his pistol was “extremely reasonable” under the set of facts, FBI Special Agent Clark Wiethorn, the case agent, testified. Gross was shot in his upper shoulder, and the projectile left the back of his neck and took a path through tissue and muscle, but avoided vital organs, Gross testified. The evidence that Song was the shooter comes from a green mask the assailant wore from which samples that tested positive for Song’s DNA were taken and from interviews with cooperating sources, the government has said.

Senator John Cornyn: From day care fraud to suitcases full of cash: Somali fraud is worse than you think

While the outrage surrounding the Somali day care center scam has largely subsided, there may be an even deeper scandal going on in Minnesota than initially meets the eye, with tentacles reaching across the globe. Over the past two years, the Department of Homeland Security has reported that approximately $700 million in cash has been flown out of the Minneapolis airport in suitcases to far-flung destinations. This enormous sum has been largely tied to Somali nationals. No one knows where this money has come from or where it is going, but here’s the most alarming part: This activity is not currently illegal. To address the national security risks posed by this clandestine movement of funds, I will introduce legislation that will tighten TSA regulations for noncitizens transporting cash through American airports and allow us to literally follow the money.

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My legislation, the Stop Somali Currency Airport Smuggling through Hawalas Fraud Act, will strengthen the customs form for noncitizens taking cash out of the country to ensure we know who is moving it and why. The bill will require disclosure of whether the cash was received from a government contract or benefit program, and additional information about both the individual transporting the cash and the recipient. By requiring the form to be filed 72 hours in advance, my legislation will give U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents time to fully vet the form before allowing noncitizens to leave our country carrying large sums of money. This legislation offers a necessary update so that illegal immigrants can no longer legally fly out of the United States to their home countries with suitcases full of cash. Current U.S. law only requires those traveling out of the country to declare cash in excess of $10,000. Furthermore, the current customs form does not require individuals to disclose the source of the cash, meaning we have no way to know whether the money was obtained through licit means. Increasing reports of government fraud in Minnesota suggest that this money may be coming from illegitimate sources. It is also quite possible that these millions are bolstering the arsenal of al Shabaab, an active terrorist affiliate of al Qaeda that has previously been linked to Somali nationals living in Minneapolis. The current laws on the books should be brought up to date to rectify this loophole.

Dell jumps after projecting AI server sales of $50 billion

Dell Technologies Inc. shares jumped in early trading after the company gave an outlook for sales of its artificial intelligence servers that exceeded estimates, a sign of robust demand for machines helping fuel the AI data center build-out. The company will generate about $50 billion in AI server revenue in the current fiscal year, which ends in January 2027, Dell said Thursday in a statement. “The AI opportunity is transforming our company,” Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said in the statement. Dell enters the year “with a record backlog of $43 billion — powerful proof that our engineering leadership and differentiated AI solutions are winning,” he said.

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Dell’s servers designed to run AI workloads are attracting customers from companies that rent computing power like CoreWeave Inc. and Nscale Global Holdings Ltd., as well as corporate clients and major AI providers. The Texas-based company has been working to hold down costs and improve margins even as prices for memory chips rise rapidly. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Dell reported an operating margin of 14.8% for its server and networking unit, compared with an average estimate of 12.9%. In its computer unit, the margin was 4.7%. Analysts, on average, projected 6.18%. “Across the industry, the environment remains highly dynamic, with unprecedented AI demand creating sustained supply tightness and frequent pricing resets,” Clarke said in prepared remarks, referring to the memory chip issue. The shares gained about 10% in early trading before markets opened in New York. The stock has increased 13% in the past 12 months. Earnings, excluding some items, will be about $12.90 a share in the current fiscal year, Dell said in the statement. Sales will be about $140 billion. Analysts, on average, projected profit of $11.56 a share on revenue of $126.3 billion.

Tarrant County seeks 200 more election clerks to man March 3 primary polls

Tarrant County is short about 200 election clerks needed to man the polls during the March 3 primaries, elections administrator Clint Ludwig told the Fort Worth Report. It’s unusual but not unheard of to have such a shortage of poll workers. However, Tarrant County is typically “pretty close to fully staffed” a week ahead of Election Day, Ludwig said. “We can’t figure it out,” Ludwig said Wednesday about the shortage. “We’ve been working the phones feverishly, trying to find enough clerks and judges, and it’s just been a struggle this year for some reason. I don’t know.” In total, the county needs close to 2,000 clerks to fully staff 200 voting sites March 3. Without a full staff, some polling sites risk closure. Of the still-needed 200 clerks, Ludwig said the county wants 75 to 80 bilingual Spanish speakers and 10 to 15 bilingual Vietnamese speakers.

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During the primaries, each polling site is led by two elections judges — one Republican and one Democrat — and at least two clerks. The clerks help voters check in and scan ballots. Tarrant County pays election clerks $15 per hour. On Election Day, clerks start their shifts at about 5:30 a.m. to set up voting equipment and get the polls ready, then typically work until 8 or 9 p.m., Ludwig said. Clerks may work a half-day, he noted. It’s an unglamorous job without many perks, he admitted, but it’s a chance to be “part of the process and see how it works.” “It’s an opportunity to serve your local community and help provide democracy where you live,” Ludwig added. The primary ballot includes partisan races at the county, state and federal levels. Voters cast ballots as either a Democrat or a Republican to nominate candidates to face off in the general election in November.

Why Austin’s Live Music Fund grants left musicians confused and angry

Theo Love looked into the camera, took a breath and read aloud the survey comments about the city’s music grants to the Austin Music Commission. Venues are suffering and denied funds that were given to musicians who have not performed for years. It was the biggest help to buy the piece of equipment that we couldn’t afford. This thing was messed up in every way. Love edited that last one on the fly. No f-bombs in a public meeting. Love — a musician on the advisory panel for Austin Texas Musicians, a nonprofit that did the survey — cringed as he repeated some of the criticisms during the January 2025 meeting he attended via a video call.

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But he wasn’t surprised. Every year, there are complaints, suspicions and whispers about who gets the grants and why. Maybe it was DEI. Maybe I made too much money. Maybe it was politics or cherrypicking or rigged applications. But the reasons behind who wins the Live Music Fund grants are more complicated. An Austin Current review of application scores, city policies, emails, presentations and Music Commission meetings shows the 2024 grants, the last ones awarded, were shaped by three colliding forces: priorities, scoring and confusion. First, priorities. City staffers prioritized diversity, but avoided race-based DEI questions, instead focusing on what they considered related issues: health care, bank accounts, residence in traditionally high poverty census tracts.

With 5 data centers on the horizon, Hays County water advocates see the fight as just beginning

Water advocates in Hays County have identified five potential data center developments in the region that they plan to protest. The organizers said they are hopeful after the San Marcos City Council blocked another proposed data center last Wednesday. With the 5-2 vote, the proposed site located at 904 Francis Harris Lane in San Marcos will not move forward at this time. Hundreds of speakers showed up at the council meeting with concerns ranging from accessing water for their generations-old ranches to being able to safely swim in rivers around San Marcos. These issues — opponents say — still exist for the other potential sites in the region. "These data centers affect not only residents of San Marcos, but anyone who loves to go to the river, anyone who lives in Central Texas," said Chia Guillory, a librarian in San Marcos.

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Organizers have flagged several projects they're keeping an eye on throughout or just outside of Hays County. Of the five projects currently being watched, two are in Caldwell County, but organizers said the developments would directly impact Hays County residents' access to water, including drawing from the Edwards Aquifer. Another site they are watching is a proposed Cloudburst data center just up the road from the project that was blocked. Construction was projected to start last May but still hasn’t broken ground. Cloudburst did not respond to KUT's request for comment about the project. The fight over the data center that was just blocked isn't over yet either. The developers can resubmit their proposal in six months, but they have not said whether they plan to do so. With all of these proposed or initiated projects, Hays County residents are questioning the county’s plans to manage water use. Throughout Central Texas, at least 14 different counties are experiencing moderate to extreme drought including Hays, Travis, Williamson, Guadalupe and Caldwell. The strain on the watershed has been felt throughout the region, with aquifers within Hays County reaching historic lows.

Former Dallas County judge and DA candidate testifies in misconduct trial, denies allegations

In her first public statements since being accused of allowing a staff member to stand in for her during a criminal court proceeding nearly five years ago, former Dallas County District Judge Amber Givens denied the allegations while testifying Wednesday before a three-judge panel. Givens’ testimony came on the second and final day of her judicial misconduct trial held at the state Supreme Court in Austin. Her statements to the panel contradicted previous testimony from two prosecutors and two probation officers who witnessed the hearing at the center of the case. The former felony court judge received a public reprimand and an admonishment from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct last year after it determined she had allowed her court coordinator to stand in for her during an August 2021 bond hearing.

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The commission also ruled that Givens had treated attorneys poorly in her courtroom on three specific occasions, and had taken action in two criminal cases after she had been recused from them. Givens appealed the findings, which then voided them and led to this week’s trial. The trial was presided over by a Special Court of Review, whose members are three justices from various appellate courts in the state. Two prosecutors from the attorney general’s office presented the case against Givens. The panel didn’t issue a ruling, and it could be weeks before a decision is released. Among the options the justices have is to reinstate some or all of the sanctions, or to dismiss them. If they uphold the public reprimand — the harshest sanction available — Givens would not be able to serve as a visiting judge, which many former judges choose to do after they leave the bench. Givens resigned from her position presiding over the 282nd District Court in December to run for Dallas County district attorney. She’s taking on incumbent John Creuzot, who was among the witnesses called to testify at her trial. Both are Democrats and will face off in the March 3 primary. Since no Republican candidates filed for the position, the primary winner likely will get the job after the November general election.

Cece Cox retiring from Resource Center

Cece Cox will be retiring as CEO of Resource Center, effective 2027, Resource Center Board Chair Christopher LaGrone announced in a letter this morning. LaGrone noted that Cox’s retirement comes after “19 years of extraordinary leadership anchored in vision, courage, heart and steady guidance that has helped Resource Center grow and deepen its impact.”

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LaGrone wrote: “Cece’s leadership has shaped Resource Center into what it is today: a place where LGBTQIA+ people and those living with HIV/AIDS can access affirming care, find community and build healthier, more connected lives. Under her tenure, Resource Center has grown in both scale and impact — expanding health and wellness services, strengthening education and advocacy, broadening the wraparound support and advancing critical LGBTQIA+ initiatives. “And beyond our walls, Cece has been a steadfast leader for LGBTQIA+ people across Dallas and throughout Texas — advancing dignity, equity, and safety through partnership, advocacy, and trusted presence. “’Resource Center was a touchstone for me as a young adult coming out, and it has been an honor to work with the remarkable board and staff to build upon the organization’s incredible history in serving the LGBTQIA+ community. As I reflect on all we have accomplished together, I am excited to welcome and support the next leader who will guide Resource Center into its bright future,’ said Cece.

Opponents say Bo French’s campaign distracts from Railroad Commission priorities

Four of the five Republican candidates vying to lead the Texas Railroad Commission have similar priorities for the state’s energy industry: addressing demand from data centers, cleaning up orphan wells, and increasing transparency and accountability in the agency. The fifth candidate — Bo French, the former Tarrant County GOP chairman — has run a very different campaign ahead of the March 3 primary. French’s campaign is based on three principles described on his website. He wants to end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the Railroad Commission, end “massive overregulation” in the oil and gas industry, and stop an “Islamic invasion of Texas.”

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French has stoked controversy on social media for years and survived relatively unscathed. Last summer, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and a chorus of other Republican leaders called for French’s resignation as Tarrant County GOP chairman over a survey he posted on X asking his 49,000 followers whether Jews or Muslims were the “bigger threat to America.” He deleted the poll, saying “some people clearly misunderstood the intent,” and said he regretted posting it. French has perhaps the biggest audience on social media among the Railroad Commission candidates, including incumbent Jim Wright. He regularly posts several times a day, crusading against what he describes as radical Islamic extremism and calling for the deportation of all immigrants living in the United States. He has used phrases like “third world savages” to describe immigrants. “Entire neighborhoods have been transformed into third world favelas,” French wrote in a Feb. 23 post, using the term for impoverished urban settlements in Brazil. “Third worlders, who brought Islam, have teamed up with Marxists, and now together they openly talk about rounding us all up when they take power and disposing of us.”

North Texas districts pass on school prayer under Senate Bill 11

As February draws to a close, school districts across Texas are facing a deadline to decide whether to set aside a daily period for students to pray. Senate Bill 11 requires every school district in the state to hold a vote before March 1 on a resolution to adopt a policy allowing daily time for prayer or reading religious texts. Notably, the law doesn’t require districts to adopt such a policy, only that they vote on it. Most North Texas districts have opted not to set aside time for prayer and scripture reading. Officials in many of those districts have cited a range of logistical issues, including finding designated spaces and carving time out of the school day. Under the bill, students would only be allowed to participate in prayer or scripture study if their parents have signed a consent form. Districts that adopt a prayer policy must make sure prayer and scripture reading don’t take place in the physical presence or within earshot of a student whose parents haven’t signed a consent form.

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Dallas ISD trustees voted unanimously Thursday not to adopt a policy creating a designated period for school prayer. In doing so, the district joined a lengthy list of North Texas school districts that have opted not to adopt such a policy. School boards in Fort Worth and Grapevine-Colleyville ISDs all approved resolutions stating that those districts won’t designate time for prayer, and several other districts, including Arlington, Plano, Irving and Grand Prairie ISDs, also passed similar measures over the past month. During Thursday’s Dallas ISD meeting, Trustee Lance Currie, the son of a Baptist minister, asked fellow board members not to adopt a designated prayer time “not in spite of my faith, but because of it.” Dallas ISD already has a policy in place allowing students to practice their faith in schools, so long as they don’t disrupt class or take learning opportunities away from other students. Currie said he supports that policy and hopes to see it remain in place. But he worried that having a single designated period for prayer would lead to difficult questions among students about who participates, who doesn’t and why.

Irving cancels DART withdrawal election in 7-2 city council vote

Following in the footsteps of Plano and Farmers Branch, Irving moved Thursday night to rescind a May 2 special election that would have allowed voters to determine the future of DART in their city. The city council voted unanimously to approve the interlocal agreement between DART and the city for general mobility program funds. It then voted 7-2 in favor of cancelling the election, with council members Luis Canosa and John Bloch voting against it. This comes after months of back and forth between DART and its member cities, six of which were recently slated to hold withdrawal elections. Earlier this week, city council members in Plano and Farmers Branch voted to take their measures off the ballot after striking an agreement with DART.

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Addison will keep their election, following a Tuesday city council vote. As a compromise between the transit agency and member cities thinking about withdrawal, millions of dollars in sales tax contributions will be returned to the cities across six years. The DART Board’s governance and funding models are expected to change, too, with the City of Dallas no longer holding a voting majority. Resident Michael McPhail told the council, “I have to admit, I thought this was a high-risk play and you won, good work.” He went on to thank the council for reaching a compromise with DART and getting the issue on the agenda. “Hopefully DART will behave better in the future,” McPhail added. Other speakers thanked the council, mayor and city staff for their role in brokering a deal with DART. Council member David Pfaff described it as Mayor Rick Stopfer’s “crowning achievement” as his three-term tenure at the city’s helm comes to an end, per city term limits. DART Board Chairman Randall Bryant told the council that the new agreements provide guarantees to member cities and “a pathway for the future.” After the vote, Bryant told KERA it was "a great day," following major strides in governance and funding solutions. “We still have to work on service and there's a lot of priorities within each city that we have to figure out how to bring together,” Bryant said. “There are a lot of things that hinge on the legislative session and so we need to get prepared for that starting now, too.” Withdrawal elections are still slated to be held in Addison, University Park and Highland Park.

National Stories

Hillary Clinton told lawmakers during closed-door testimony that she 'never met Jeffrey Epstein'

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the House Oversight Committee during roughly six hours of testimony Thursday that she has no new information about Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, and she criticizedRepublicans' handling of their investigations into the late convicted sex offender. "I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island home or offices," she said in her opening statement, which she posted on X and delivered at a closed-door hearing with lawmakers. After the interview, Clinton told reporters that she "answered every one of their questions as fully as I could" and that those questions "were repetitive." The answers, she said, were that "I never met Jeffrey Epstein" and "I knew Ghislaine Maxwell casually, as an acquaintance."

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"I don't know how many times I had to say I didn't know Jeffrey Epstein," she said, adding that the session took an odd turn toward the end, when one of the members asked her about UFOs and the “pizzagate” conspiracy theory. Committee chair James Comer, R-Ky., said the interview was "productive." "I think we learned a lot," he said, adding that on some questions involving the Clinton Global Initiative, Clinton told lawmakers, "You have to ask my husband." Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said Clinton "took every question from every single member" on both sides of the aisle. In her opening statement, Clinton accused the panel of engaging in partisan "fishing expeditions" by forcing her and her husband to sit for depositions and said it was interviewing the wrong people. "[Y]ou have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump's actions and cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers," she wrote in the statement.

Why Trump got involved in a state Senate race — and why he might lose

As North Carolina’s longtime state Senate leader weighed President Donald Trump’s push to redraw the congressional map last year, his team privately hoped to get something in return, according to two people familiar with their thinking. The GOP Senate leader, Phil Berger, was facing a formidable primary challenge from a popular sheriff. And Berger’s team thought redistricting wouldhelp secure Trump’s endorsement, said the two people, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. In an interview, Berger vehemently denied any quid pro quo and said he never spoke with Trump to seek his support. But several weeks after he helped pass the new map meant to net one more House seat for Republicans, the president made an unusual endorsement in a local race.

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“Phil Berger has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election,” Trump wrote on social media, making no mention of redistricting in a long list of Berger’s accomplishments. He urged Berger’s opponent — a staunch ally who chaired Trump’s 2020 campaign in North Carolina — to drop out. The race shows how the power of Trump’s endorsement can advance his agenda. But it could also end up demonstrating Trump’s limits as Republicans are bracing for electoral losses. With days to go until the March 3 primary, one of the most powerful Republicans in North Carolina is locked in a tough fight for reelection, despite Trump’s help. Challenger Sam Page, the longtime Republican sheriff of Rockingham County, could end up unseating Berger, according to state GOP operatives — an outcome that would upend North Carolina politics. Berger, who has led his chamber since 2011, has more resources behind him, but his team has privately indicated they are worried the Senate leader could lose his race next week, people familiar with their outlook said.

Anthropic CEO says it 'cannot in good conscience accede' to Pentagon's demands for AI use

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday that the artificial intelligence company “cannot in good conscience accede” to the Pentagon’s demands to allow unrestricted use of its technology, deepening a public clash with the Trump administration that is threatening to pull its contract and take other drastic steps by Friday. The maker of the AI chatbot Claude said in a statement that it’s not walking away from negotiations but that new contract language received from the Defense Department “made virtually no progress on preventing Claude’s use for mass surveillance of Americans or in fully autonomous weapons.” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, said earlier on social media that the military “has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal) nor do we want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement.”

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Anthropic’s policies prevent its models from being used for those purposes. It’s the last of its peers — the Pentagon also has contracts with Google, OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI — to not supply its technology to a new U.S. military internal network. “It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision,” Amodei wrote in a statement. “But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic an ultimatum on Tuesday after meeting with Amodei: Allow the Pentagon to use the company’s AI as it sees fit by Friday or risk losing its government contract. Military officials warned that they could go even further and designate the company as a supply chain risk or invoke a Cold War-era law called the Defense Production Act to give the military more sweeping authority to use its products. Amodei said Thursday that “those latter two threats are inherently contradictory: one labels us a security risk; the other labels Claude as essential to national security.” In a post before Amodei’s announcement, Parnell reiterated that the Pentagon wants to “ use Anthropic’s model for all lawful purposes” but didn’t offer details on what that entailed. He said opening up use of the technology would prevent the company from “jeopardizing critical military operations.”

Trump’s foreign policy: Resurrecting empire

President Trump’s foreign policy has veered wildly across the globe, but has remained consistent in its aggressive nature and reliance on the use of force. He has seized the leader of Venezuela while claiming the country’s oil and attacking nearby civilian boats. He has pushed Cuba into a humanitarian crisis through a blockade, and asserted a right to control Canada and Greenland. And he has amassed the largest U.S. military force in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, threatening a new war against Iran after attacks last June. Mr. Trump calls his policy “America First” — a stated focus on U.S. interests as he defines them. But it is not isolationism or a retreat from the world, as some analysts have argued. Nor has it manifested yet in a push to create “spheres of influence,” where the administration would be content to dominate only the Western Hemisphere and leave other regions to rival powers.

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From one perspective, it is a resurrection of the mission of empire — acquiring the territories and resources of sovereign peoples — that animated European and other well-armed powers up to the 20th century. It is also an embrace, and even a celebration, of Western imperial histories. In his inauguration speech last year, Mr. Trump praised President William McKinley, who transformed the United States into an overseas empire during the Spanish-American War by acquiring the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico. Mr. Trump’s form of American primacy was most clearly articulated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month in a speech at the Munich Security Conference. “For five centuries, before the end of the second World War, the West had been expanding — its missionaries, its pilgrims, its soldiers, its explorers pouring out from its shores to cross oceans, settle new continents, build vast empires extending out across the globe,” Mr. Rubio told an audience of mostly European officials.

This Republican and Democrat are trying to expand critical women's health program

Two senators from opposing parties are pushing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to renew and expand a health care screening program aimed at uninsured and underinsured women. Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Katie Britt introduced the new legislation on Thursday. It would expand access to a CDC program that provides heart health risk screenings and other medical support. The bill authorizes $250 million over the next five years to increase eligibility for the program and permit additional health care providers to participate. “Heart health, or heart disease, is the number one killer of women in both Alabama and in Maryland,” Alsobrooks told NOTUS.

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“Having the opportunity to reauthorize a program that has been so helpful to so many women, to expand it, to increase the funding and to allow women to be screened for heart disease, is really important.” The existing program operates in a select number of states, and only patients who are already participating in a specific cancer detection program are currently eligible, she said. Alsobrooks added that she valued the opportunity to introduce the bill alongside Britt, emphasizing the need for bipartisan teamwork on issues that impact their constituents on both sides of the aisle. “In this environment, it’s important to get things done, and to be able to do so in a way that really enhances the lives of people across parties,” Alsobrooks said. “We’re looking to find more and more of these spaces where we can invest in our families, and I’ve enjoyed doing it. Katie Britt and I are mothers, so we initially came together around being mothers.”

Religious parents awarded $1.5M after Supreme Court win in LGBTQ+ books case

A group of religious parents who sued the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland after it refused to let them opt their children out of classes discussing books on LGBTQ+ characters will receive a $1.5 million settlement. The agreement, approved on Feb. 19 by District Judge Deborah L. Boardman, also requires the school board to alert the parents when classes will be discussing books with LGBTQ+ themes and allow their children to skip those lessons. The parents filed the suit in May 2023 after the school system introduced a pre-K through fifth grade English/language arts curriculum in 2022 with some LGBTQ themes and removed the option for parents to opt students out of the lessons. The curriculum had already drawn tensions among the county’s religious parents, with some worrying about appropriateness and arguing the material promoted a particular ideology.

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According to the plaintiffs — Tamer Mahmoud and Enas Barakat, who are Muslim; Jeff and Svitlana Roman, who are respectively Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox; and Melissa and Chris Park, who are Catholic — the school system decision to remove the opt-out option infringed on their religious rights. The case was heard last June by the Supreme Court, which ruled 6-3 in favor of the religious parents, with the three liberal justices dissenting. In his opinion, Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said the board’s refusal to allow opt-outs infringed on the parents’ religious rights. The court instructed the lower court to order the board to restore the option to opt out.  The books, Alito wrote, were “designed to present certain values and beliefs as things to be celebrated and certain contrary values and beliefs as things to be rejected.” After the Supreme Court decision, the Montgomery County Public Schools introduced an opt-out request form parents can fill out if they believe the use of instructional material would interfere “with their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

U.S. tells embassy staff in Israel to leave now if they want amid Trump threats to attack Iran

The United States on Friday told some embassy staff that they could leave Israel — and that those who want to must do so quickly — as fears of an American attack on Iran fueled alarm throughout the region. The message, conveyed in an email from Ambassador Mike Huckabee that was sent to the U.S. mission, instructed those wishing to leave to “do so TODAY.” NBC News has seen the email, which was first reported by The New York Times. The guidance was issued out of “an abundance of caution” after meetings and calls through the night including conversations with the State Department, Huckabee said in the email. “There is no need to panic,” the email read. “For those desiring to leave, it’s important to make plans to depart sooner rather than later.”

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He also urged anyone intending to leave to go ahead and book flights, citing the likely surge in demand out of Israel after the embassy's move. In a public notice early Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem confirmed that non-emergency government personnel and family members would be allowed to leave Israel, citing “safety risks.” It did not elaborate on the risks leading to the “authorized departure.” The move falls short of the ordered departure instituted this week for some personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. It comes after the latest round of talks between Washington and Tehran on Iran's nuclear program ended Thursday with no sign of a breakthrough. President Donald Trump has overseen a huge military deployment in the Middle East, America's biggest in decades. Iran has threatened to attack American bases in the region if it is attacked, and an escalation could also draw in Israel, which fought a 12-day war with Iran in June.

Copyright February 27, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved