April 20, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Texas lawmakers to visit Camp Mystic in first meeting of Independence Day Floods investigatory committee

On Monday, ten Texas lawmakers will visit the Camp Mystic site where 25 campers and two counselors died during the Independence Day Floods. The lawmakers are members of the Texas House and Senate general investigating committees on the July 2025 flooding events. It will be the first time the two committees have met since their formation in the fall of last year. The goal of the committees is to examine the facts of what happened in the early morning hours of the July 4 floods, including the actions taken by youth camps, and identify ways to strengthen the state’s response to flooding and other natural disasters, according to a joint statement from Speaker Dustin Burrows and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

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The campsite visit comes a week after a three-day evidentiary hearing in Travis County civil court, where owners and operators of the camp, the Eastland family, testified about their actions on the night of the flood. The hearing was part of a lawsuit filed by Cile Steward’s family, the 8-year-old camper who died in the flood and is still the only camper whose body has not been recovered. A judge in that lawsuit ordered the camp to stop all renovations to the campsite near the Guadalupe River. The hearing this past week centered on Camp Mystic’s challenge to that order. Attorneys representing the Steward family said in a statement they are grateful the committee members are visiting the campsite, and have a request for the lawmakers. “We would ask the Committee to stand outside Cile’s cabin, Twins II,” the statement reads. “Then look to the left at the loud speaker less than 50 feet away. Then look to the right at the two-story building less than 20 paces from her door. And then ask: if the Eastlands had used that speaker at any time to tell Cile to run to up those stairs to safety, would she still be alive?”

Greg Abbott leans into his ties to Elon Musk. What will it mean for the midterms?

Gov. Greg Abbott told business leaders gathered in Fort Worth last month a familiar tale about how he helped lure Elon Musk to Texas. It was 2020, and the world’s richest man wanted to build a massive Tesla factory somewhere far from California’s onerous regulations. So the Republican governor got to work, directing agency appointees to speed up permitting processes for Tesla and waiving some all together. Musk later moved to Texas and recently assured the governor that “everything that he's going to be doing is going to be located in the state of Texas,” Abbott said.

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The Republican governor, who is running for a record fourth term this year, has repeated a version of the spiel multiple times in recent months, holding Musk up as the state’s “leading economic developer.” According to Abbott’s office, Musk has invested more than $11.6 billion in his businesses here and is set to create more than 22,000 jobs. But Musk is more than just an eye-popping example of the success of the state’s business-friendly policies for Abbott to tout on the campaign trail. Their growing relationship comes as Musk has supercharged his political activity, becoming one of the biggest political benefactors in the nation. The upcoming midterms in Texas could provide a test of how much the tech titan is willing to engage in the politics of his new home state. While he spent nearly $300 million to help President Donald Trump claim the White House in 2024, Musk’s giving in Texas has so far been more limited — though it has begun to grow in the last couple of years. “At a moment in which Republicans are expressing some public concern about the outcome of the November elections in Texas, staying close to Musk and his resources is an essential activity for the leader of the state party,” said Joshua Blank, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. “They want to know they’ve got more artillery waiting for them if they need it.”

Trump Administration to begin refunding $166 billion in tariffs

When President Trump unveiled his sprawling global tariffs last spring, he boasted that they would generate windfall profits and “make America wealthy again.” But after suffering a significant Supreme Court defeat, Mr. Trump is about to pay the money back. The Trump administration on Monday is set to take its first steps toward returning more than $166 billion collected from tariffs that were struck down in February. Just over a year after imposing many of the duties, the government is expected to begin accepting requests for refunds, surrendering its prized source of revenue — plus interest. For some U.S. businesses, the highly anticipated refunds could be substantial, offering critical if belated financial relief. Tariffs are taxes on imports, so the president’s trade policies have served as a great burden for companies that rely on foreign goods. Many have had to choose whether to absorb the duties, cut other costs or pass on the expenses to consumers.

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By Monday morning, those companies can begin to submit documentation to the government to recover what they paid in illegal tariffs. In a sign of the demand, more than 3,000 businesses, including FedEx and Costco, have already sued the Trump administration in a bid to secure their refunds, with some cases filed even before the Supreme Court’s ruling. But only the entities that officially paid the tariffs are eligible to recover that money. That means that the fuller universe of people affected by Mr. Trump’s policies — including millions of Americans who paid higher prices for the products they bought — are not able to apply for direct relief. The extent to which consumers realize any gain hinges on whether businesses share the proceeds, something that few have publicly committed to do. Some have started to band together in class-action lawsuits in the hopes of receiving a payout. Many business owners said they weren’t sure how easy the tariff refund process would be, particularly given Mr. Trump’s stated opposition to returning the money. Adding to the uncertainty, the administration has declined to say if it might still try to return to court in a bid to halt some or all of the refunds.

U.A.E. asks U.S. about a wartime financial lifeline

The United Arab Emirates has opened talks with the U.S. about obtaining a financial backstop in case the Iran war plunges the oil-rich Persian Gulf state into a deeper crisis, U.S. officials said. U.A.E. Central Bank Gov. Khaled Mohamed Balama raised the idea of a currency-swap line with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Treasury and Federal Reserve officials in meetings in Washington last week, the officials said. The Emiratis emphasized that they had so far avoided the worst economic effects of the conflict but might still need a financial lifeline, the officials said. The talks highlighted the U.A.E.’s concern that the war could inflict major damage on its economy and its position as a global financial hub, depleting its foreign reserves and scaring away investors who once saw it as a stable and secure place for their money.

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The conflict has damaged Emirati oil-and-gas infrastructure and shut off their ability to sell oil using tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, depriving it of a key source of dollar revenues. Emirati officials haven’t made a formal request for a swap line, which would give the U.A.E. central bank inexpensive access to dollars to support its currency or shore up its foreign reserves in case of a liquidity crisis. In talks with the U.S. in recent days, they have portrayed the proposal as preliminary and precautionary, the U.S. officials said. But they have also argued that it was President Trump’s decision to attack Iran that entangled their country in a destructive conflict whose effects may not be over, some of the officials said. Emirati officials told the U.S. officials that if the U.A.E. runs short of dollars, it may be forced to use Chinese yuan or other countries’ currencies for oil sales and other transactions, some of the officials said.

State Stories

Demand tsunami: Energy leaders foresee exponential need as Texas economy expands

Could nuclear energy be key to Texas data center boom? Driven by economic growth, data centers and an increasingly urban population, industry leaders in Texas foresee energy demand increasing exponentially over the next decade. “We’ve had this relatively flat growth for the last two decades,” said Tony Robinson, president and CEO of nuclear power company Framatome. “That’s changed, and I think we’re using the wrong term. I don’t think it’s a surge in demand. I think it’s a tsunami.” Robinson cited the amount of power needed by data centers, for cloud computing and crypto mining, the state’s growing population along with all the electronic devices used by consumers as major contributions to this increase in energy needs. “The amount needed on a daily basis is astronomical,” he said. Robinson was one of several speakers at the Texas Christian University’s Ralph Lowe Energy Institute’s Global Energy Symposium on April 15, an annual event that looks at the state of the industry.

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A year ago, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the nonprofit corporation that operates the state’s power grid, said the current power demand record for use in Texas was 85.5 gigawatts, set in August 2023. The organization now expects an estimated peak demand of 218 gigawatts by 2031. One single type of energy source is not going to provide the kind of power needed in the state or the nation, Robinson said. The state will need wind, solar, natural gas, geothermal and other forms of energy, he said. “It’s not going to be just oil and gas, it’s not going to be just nuclear,” he said. “We need all of the above.” Nuclear power can produce clean, fast and renewable energy, but can be hampered by public perception, said Brian Gitt, senior vice president of business development for Oklo Inc., a firm that designs fission reactors. Gitt compared a reactor to “a big tea kettle” that boils water to produce energy. Opponents said nuclear projects have significant issues to consider, including a lengthy approval process. “High up-front costs and first-of-a-kind deployment make advanced nuclear designs economically risky,” officials with environmental group CleanWisconsin said in a statement. “Although the Trump administration recently announced an $80 billion-plus commitment to help fund new reactors, there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical that these projects will materialize.”

After ICE detentions, Elgin families find relief from surprise donor

In the final days before a court judgment threatened to push her property closer to foreclosure, Bricia felt hopelessness. Efforts by the 43-year-old Elgin resident, who has cancer, to sell her land to pay thousands in back property taxes had gone nowhere. Like many other residents of Elgin, a Hispanic-majority town 30 miles northeast of downtown Austin, Bricia had watched her household’s finances crumble after the detention of her husband, a Mexican immigrant and construction subcontractor who had lived in the country without legal authorization. Immigration arrests have continued to rise in Central and Southern Texas, leaving many without their primary source of income, as detailed in an April 12 American-Statesman story. But just before Bricia’s Wednesday court hearing, she and the other families featured in the Statesman’s story about the economic fallout following deportations became the recipients of unexpected help. A Houston businessman, Lee Ackerley, has pledged to give $10,000 to each featured family.

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“Just felt sympathy for the people and wanted to reach out,” the soft-spoken Ackerley told the Statesman. “I don’t want to get into politics, but they seemed to be in need and I thought I could help.” Donations from Ackerly and others helped Bricia gather the money this week to pay Bastrop County for overdue property taxes under a payment plan. Although she still owes taxes, she’s no longer at immediate risk of the county moving to foreclose her house. Bricia asked the Statesman to withhold her last name due to fear of retribution. Ackerley’s support also helped Margarita, a Mexican baker who has remained in the United States after her husband was detained by immigration agents earlier this year because her 2-year-old-son has severe digestive health issues. (The Statesman is withholding Margarita’s last name because of her legal status.) A week ago, she was still $800 short on her April rent and unable to pay her electric and water bills. News of the donations “surprised me a lot,” Margarita said Wednesday. “It provides for everything that I had due today, the light, the water. Everything was due today.”

2026 school bond elections include Texas' largest ever. Here’s what’s in it

Early voting starts Monday, and on the ballot in Dallas ISD is the state’s largest ever school bond package. The district’s $6.2 billion election is nearly twice the size of the last record- setter, when Dallas ISD put forward a $3.7 million package in 2020. Voters approved $3.5 billion. The bulk of this year’s package is the $5.9 billion Proposition A. If approved, it would build 26 replacement schools, including safety and security upgrades; add science labs, buses, technology, playgrounds and more; and renovate hundreds of other buildings and replace hundreds of portable classrooms. “I started my career in a portable, and I hope to end my career with zero portables in this district,” said former Dallas ISD chief of operations David Bates, who has since moved onto El Paso ISD. “We want to create additions at our campuses to eliminate all portable buildings."

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Prop B, for $144.7 million, would add and upgrade technology for classrooms, staff, students. Prop C, for $143.3 million, would fund debt service refinancing. Prop D, for $23.25 million would repair and renovate district pool facilities. The district had considered putting forward a smaller package worth $4.9 billion but opted for the larger one. If approved, the total package would raise the average homeowner’s taxes by about $3 a month, or $30-$35 a year. Trustees argued the need for such a large bond is there. School board member Byron Sanders, who represents the area that includes South Oak Cliff High School, said it was losing students as grades slipped beforea2015 bond renovated and nearly completely modernized the school. “We went not only from building a new school and bringing back new kids, our academic trends started to rise over time too,” he said at a news conference earlier this year. “You also have the school that has the highest school effectiveness index score in the entire school district.”

Dallas County leaders expect smoother city, school district elections after chaotic March primary

Early voting for May municipal elections begins Monday, and Dallas County leaders say they’re confident this election will go smoothly — a stark contrast to the chaotic, location-specific March primary Election Day. This election, voters can choose from 68 vote centers throughout early voting and on Election Day for 46 Dallas County city, school district and proposition elections. Elections Administrator Paul Adams said voters can feel comfortable casting their ballot. "Voters should not be worried," he said. "If they happen to be at lunch or out at work and not close to the vote center that's near their house, they will have an opportunity to vote at any location, whether that be near work, whether that'd be near where they're shopping, out for the day."

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The election process will run similar to last November's general election — and all previous elections for more than a decade — instead of the recent separate, precinct-based primary elections. That’s because municipal elections in Texas are nonpartisan — meaning there is no required party affiliation on the ballot, which is why there’s no primary like there is for state, congressional and U.S. senatorial races. "When you walk in ... you sign in and you cast your ballot," Adams said. "There will be no division by party like we saw back in March because none of these elections are partisan races.” The confusing March 3 voter experience came as a result of changes to that partisan primary process. Republican and Democratic parties have legal authority to conduct their primary Election Day jointly or separately, countywide or precinct-specific based on a voter's registered address. After the Dallas County Republican Party's decision for separate, precinct-based voting on Election Day, Dallas County's Democratic Party had to align their voting process. County officials estimate at least 30,000 voters showed up at that wrong location to vote on Primary Election Day. The county has authority over early voting operations, which was countywide for the primary election.

The Spurs are the most exciting team in the N.B.A.

Last June, Victor Wembanyama, a young center for the San Antonio Spurs, went to Zhengzhou, China, to study martial arts and meditation. Wembanyama, twenty-one at the time, was already known for his unconventional training methods. Even at seven feet four inches tall, with an eight-foot wingspan, he did handstands. He played speed chess in between bursts of cardio exercise to hone his pattern recognition and decision-making while under intense physical stress. He practiced (really) high kicks, astonishing his teammates. Wembanyama astonished people easily and often. He could dunk without jumping, and he blocked shots so easily that before long all it took to stop an opposing ball handler was an intimidating glare. But he could also dribble the ball up the court and drain step-back threes, or toss elegant little lobs to his high-flying teammates—not the sort of stuff associated with seven-footers. When he arrived in the N.B.A., in 2023, he was the most heralded rookie in recent memory, and the salient thing about him wasn’t his size. It was his audacity. But, last February, a little more than halfway through his second year in the league, he’d been diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis in his shoulder, and he’d missed the rest of the season.

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The narrow, specialized life of a professional basketball player had taxed his body past its limits. And so Wembanyama decided to expand those limits, any way he could. That June, he quietly went to the Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of the ancient discipline Shaolin kung fu, for ten days, to see what he could learn. His first question for the monk who oversaw his stay was whether he would have to shave his head in order to become “a true kung-fu practitioner.” Yes, the monk answered. And so Wembanyama sat down on the temple’s stone steps, and the monk got a razor and shaved off the center’s soft brown curls. “There was no ritual, no audience,” the monk later wrote, in an account of Wembanyama’s time at Shaolin. The monk was struck by the seriousness of his commitment. “When it was done, he touched his head and smiled.” Without Wembanyama last spring, the Spurs cratered, losing nineteen of their remaining thirty games. Once the paragon of consistent excellence—from the late nineties to the late twenty-tens, the Spurs made the playoffs every year, twenty-two seasons in a row—the team now seemed oriented toward the future, toward Wembanyama’s prime. But Wembanyama was not the type to wait around. The Spurs began this season 5–0, and even thrived for a time without Wembanyama, who sat out twelve games in November and early December with a strained calf. Things seemed different in San Antonio.

LaMantia reviews RioPlex's high-level strategy meeting in Brownsville

Following lessons learned from a presentation by William Dietrich, CEO of the Port of Brownsville, RioPlex wants to start running workshops for contractors wishing to do business with tier one companies operating at the port. This was confirmed by Morgan LaMantia, a board member of RioPlex, at the conclusion of a high-level strategy meeting held by board members and visionary partners at the offices of Texas National Bank in Brownsville. One of the two top speakers was Dietrich. “It was a great meeting,” LaMantia said. “I think his (Dietrich’s) remarks were incredibly insightful and useful for it gives RioPlex a new goal that we need to start striving for. That is, creating workshops where we can bring in contractors and service providers that can service these tier one companies that are coming to into the Port of Brownsville and having workshops to be able to train them (the contractors and service providers) on how to respond to requests for services, for quotes, how to conduct themselves in interviews.”

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LaMantia gave an exclusive interview to the RGG Business Journal at the conclusion of the strategy meeting. “We want to bring those groups together, those tier one businesses, with our local businesses, so that it is our local architects, our local contractors, our local subcontractors that are getting those jobs and getting those contracts (from the tier one companies),” LaMantia said. “So that we're keeping that value here in the (Rio Grande) Valley, and it's not leaving by going to companies out of San Antonio or Corpus.” It was put to LaMantia that Dietrich successfully walked a fine line in giving advice to the RioPlex board members on what local contractors should be doing to secure contracts from the tier one companies while also explaining that as a government official, he had to adhere to certain rules and regulations. But it was clear Dietrich wanted local contractors to do well.

Magnolia mayor facing assault charge has bonded out of Tarrant County Jail

Magnolia Mayor Matthew Dantzer was released from jail Friday after paying bond, days after he was arrested and accused of assaulting the city secretary in October. City Secretary Christian Gable in November filed a human resources complaint against Dantzer in which she claimed that he assaulted her when they were on a work trip in Fort Worth for a convention in October. Gable was pregnant at the time. Following an investigation by the Texas Rangers, Dantzer was arrested Tuesday on charges of assaulting a pregnant person and official oppression.

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Dantzer's attorney, Douglas Atkinson, released a statement last month denying the allegations. “Mr. Dantzer maintains his innocence and looks forward to the opportunity to defend himself in the appropriate legal process. Mr. Dantzer remains dedicated to faithfully serving the citizens of the city of Magnolia,” Atkinson said in the statement. The mayor was arrested in Magnolia on Tuesday and taken to the Montgomery County Jail before being transferred to Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth. A Tarrant County Jail representative said that after Dantzer's $15,000 bond was paid, he was released on Friday. Gable has also filed a lawsuit against Dantzer and the city, alleging sexual harassment dating to 2021. When Gable filed her complaint last year, the city ordered an investigation into it. City officials, however, said no action was taken afterward as the outside firm looking into it determined the evidence was inconclusive. Gable's lawsuit alleges the city failed to adequately investigate the incident and that it violated the Whistleblower Act after she accused Dantzer of assault. Gable also alleged that she suffered bodily injury from the assault and that it led to the delivery of her baby two weeks early. The case will be prosecuted by the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office.

Beyond inspiring, Cruz says moon missions are also a race against China

If you found yourself looking to the sky in awe during the Artemis II mission, you weren’t alone. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was right there with you. But geopolitics here on Earth is also joining our missions into space, as Sen. Cruz made it clear, America is in a race with China. "China has stated their intention to go to the moon, to land an astronaut on the surface of the moon by 2030. And we are going to beat China back to the moon. And we’re in the middle of what is, essentially, a land grab,” the Republican told us on Inside Texas Politics. Sen. Cruz says the most critical territory on the moon is near the southern pole, where there would be access to water. He says they’ve also mapped craters high enough to provide access to solar power that could power a lunar base.

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“It is American policy,” Cruz said proudly. “We are going to create a lunar base, a base on the surface of the moon to engage in exploration, to engage in discovery. The funding is there.” The lawmaker says there won’t be a major cut to NASA’s budget, so these missions are expected to move full steam ahead. Artemis II was the first crewed flight that took humans the farthest we’ve ever been from Earth. The four astronauts used the 10-day mission to successfully fly around the moon and back using the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. Artemis III, expected in mid-2027, will test our ability to rendezvous and dock between Orion and a private commercial spacecraft that will be used to land astronauts on the Moon. SpaceX and Blue Origin developed the commercial landers, and one or both will be tested during this docking mission in low Earth orbit. Artemis IV is the big one, with a target date of early 2028. This is when American astronauts will head back to the surface of the moon. The crew will transfer from Orion into the chosen lunar landers that will take them to the surface and back.

GOP battle over Salazar’s Dignity Act immigration bill has Republicans lashing out, with Gill leading the way

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) has a message for those attacking her and her signature Dignity Act immigration reform and border security legislation: Bring it on. The South Florida congresswoman has faced an onslaught of criticism from right-wing commentators and from fellow Republicans in Congress over the bill over the last few weeks — complete with calls for primary challengers to end not only her career, but that of any GOP co-sponsor. “I welcome it,” Salazar said Thursday of the primary threats. “Those are the rules of the game.” “I like that game. It’s better than the Cuban game or the Venezuelan or the Iranian,” Salazar said. “It’s not pretty, it’s not perfect, it’s not comfortable, but it’s the American way of doing business.” Days earlier, she approached one of the fiercest Republican critics of her bill, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), on the House floor. “I said, why don’t you explain to me what is it that you know that I don’t about immigration?” Salazar said of their conversation, adding it was “very nice” and that Gill had “some legitimate points.”

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Salazar said that she pitched Gill on doing a public, perhaps televised, debate over her legislation. Asked about that conversation, Gill — first correcting a question about the measure by noting its official name is the Dignidad Act — said he had good conversations with both Salazar and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), another one of the bill’s cosponsors. “We’re just diametrically opposed on this issue. I’m taking the conservative side and they’ve taken the Democrat side,” Gill said. “We are so wildly divergent on this issue. It’s hard to imagine how we reach some form of consensus.” As for a public debate about the bill, Gill said he would be open to doing something like that. “I think that the bill needs to be scrapped entirely. And we can start with something fresh, and maybe we can discuss that, but I think we’re pretty far off from the Dignidad Act being something that’s actionable,” Gill said. “I don’t think that anybody seriously thinks that I’m going to vote for this under any circumstances with any amendments to it whatsoever.” Under the legislation, those migrants in the country illegally prior to 2021 — who do not have criminal records — could pay $7,000 in restitution and any back taxes owed and get a new legal status. They would also not be eligible for welfare programs, and the legal status would not provide them a path to citizenship.

Tesla's robotaxis come to Dallas, Houston as Musk's vision takes shape

Tesla is rolling out its robotaxis in Dallas and Houston, the electric vehicle maker said on ?Saturday, marking further expansion of its nascent service in the ?United States since its Austin, Texas, launch last year. The company's official robotaxi account on X ?announced the launch and posted two videos showing its best-selling Model Y SUVs running in the two cities with no human driver or monitor in the front seats. It posted two map images outlining service ?boundaries, but did not ?disclose further details such as fleet size or pricing. "Try Tesla Robotaxi in Dallas & Houston!" CEO Elon Musk said ?reposting the X post. Tesla's move comes as the robotaxi business has regained momentum with Alphabet (GOOG)'s Waymo and Amazon' (AMZN)s Zoox speeding up expansion.

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Expanding the ?robotaxi service ?and wider adoption of its ?full self-driving software, a version ?of which underpins the technology, is key to Tesla's growth strategy as Musk has pivoted the company's focus to artificial intelligence and robotics from EVs. Much of the company's $1.3 trillion valuation hinges on that bet. Tesla first deployed a small group of self-driving taxis in an area ?of Austin with human safety monitors ?and other restrictions. The company has since ?widened the service area ?and started removing the monitors. Last year, Tesla also started ?a ride-hailing service in the ?San Francisco Bay ?Area. Musk has promised to expand the robotaxi service rapidly in the U.S., but missed earlier predictions of its robotaxis operating ?widely in multiple ?U.S. metro areas by the end of 2025.

San Antonio leaders eye long-term future for Pre-K 4 SA

Some San Antonio City Council members are pushing for an early renewal of Pre-K 4 SA, the city-funded early childhood education program. Pre-K 4 SA leaders laid out a budget for the upcoming fiscal year at a Wednesday City Council meeting that will maintain its current staffing and services. There are several more steps before that budget is approved, but council members were generally impressed with the program that educates 3- and 4-year-old children. Pre-K 4 SA proposed spending $62.3 million in its 2027 fiscal year budget, which will run from July 2026 to June 2027.

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Council members proposed asking voters to renew the program for an even longer period of time before its 2029 expiration. A report published in January showed a strong need for more affordable early child care in San Antonio. The nonprofit will launch an online family search tool and assist early child care providers in extending child care to weekends and non-traditional hours for military families and other workers in the upcoming year, Baray said. Pre-K 4 SA is also a partner in the construction of Educare San Antonio, an early child care center for 200 children that will open at Texas A&M-San Antonio in August. Much of its work next year will stay the same. Sarah Baray, Pre-K 4 SA’s CEO, highlighted the addition of a new South Education Center in October 2025 and the launch of more robust planning and support for families that need to be connected to additional services, like housing, transportation and employment. The South Education Center has been more successful than anticipated, Baray said. “One of the data pieces that we collected is around instructional quality, which we thought might be a little lower than in our preschool programs to start, because it’s a new program,” she said. “Actually the baseline scores are very high. We’re very excited about that.” Pre-K 4 SA will maintain the exact same staffing levels as it had in the previous year — 502 employees. A majority of those will work at its preschools.

John Whitmire calls Greg Abbott ICE fight futile; experts disagree

Mayor John Whitmire says the city must walk back its new policy limiting Houston police officers’ cooperation with federal immigration agents after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to pull $114 million in grants over the measure, saying fighting back would be “a waste of time.” But some council members are calling on the mayor to challenge state leaders – particularly since Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the city over its policy. Legal experts say Houston could have a good case, and that a judge could block Abbott from following through on his threat. Houston’s new policy eliminates a requirement that officers wait 30 minutes for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to arrive when they encounter someone with an immigration warrant. These are civil documents that do not on their own give officers the authority to make arrests.

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Legal experts and the authors of the ordinance argue Houston’s new policy brings the city in line with the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits officers from detaining people excessively. For instance, once the original reason for a traffic stop is addressed, a driver with an immigration warrant must be released even if federal agents have not reached the scene. But the measure – and similar policies in the cities of Austin and Dallas – has come under attack from Republicans. Paxton’s lawsuit alleges Houston’s policy violates a 2017 state law prohibiting cities and counties from “materially restricting” cooperation with ICE. And Abbott says the ordinance falls afoul of the terms of Houston’s agreements to receive federal public safety grants that are passed through the state. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld that 2017 law, called Senate Bill 4, after a lawsuit questioned whether parts of the bill were unconstitutional. But that case did not set a clear precedent, said Marc Levin, the Houston-based chief policy counsel for the Council on Criminal Justice. “A court hasn’t ruled on whether or not SB 4 is in conflict with the U.S. Constitution,” Levin said. “There hasn’t been a ruling on the points at issue here.”

National Stories

Vance heads to new talks with Iran. At stake: peace and his own standing.

The vice president is scheduled to lead an American delegation back to Islamabad, Pakistan, this week for another round of in-person negotiations with Iran after failing to secure a deal just over a week ago. Whether the talks even occur seems in dispute. Hours after President Trump announced the trip on Sunday, Iranian state media said that Tehran had not yet agreed to any such meeting. Later, Mr. Trump announced that a Naval destroyer had attacked an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to skirt the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. The conditions for a new round of diplomacy were, at best, imperfect, and the stakes for a second failure high, both for ending a war that neither side seems to want to prolong and for Mr. Vance himself.

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As a two-week cease-fire nears an end, and as Mr. Vance prepared for another long journey to Pakistan, Mr. Trump again threatened maximalist consequences if Iran failed to agree to his terms. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” the president wrote on social media on Sunday. “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” While Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, will also be at the talks, Mr. Vance is center stage, tasked with finding a way out of a war that is increasingly unpopular with Americans and that has continued to weaken the global economy and the vastly complex energy supply chain. It is also a conflict that Mr. Vance told Mr. Trump, during deliberations on whether to attack, could be seen as a betrayal to loyal voters who did not want more wars. He has nonetheless defended it publicly Mr. Vance spent 21 hours in Pakistan last weekend negotiating with the Iranians, only to walk away with no deal. Allies and adversaries alike say that if he is unable to make any progress this time, it will be the latest political setback, as the world watches, for a man who wants to succeed Mr. Trump.

Authorities identify 8 young children shot and killed by a Louisiana father

Eight children, ranging in age from just 3 to 11 years old, were killed early Sunday morning in Shreveport, Louisiana, in a shocking act of violence that marks the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in more than two years. A father, identified as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, fatally shot his seven children and a cousin, and critically wounded two women, including his wife, in a rampage across at least two locations before sunrise. After the shooting, which authorities described as “domestic in nature,” the gunman fled the area in a carjacked vehicle and was pursued by police, who shot and killed him. The Caddo Parish Coroner’s office identified the victims as Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5.

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As the shooting unfolded, some children tried to escape out the back door, said state Rep. Tammy Phelps during a news conference with other city officials. A 13-year-old boy escaped from the roof and was injured, police said. Much about the circumstances and the motive of the shooting remains unclear. “This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport,” Mayor Tom Arceneaux said in a news conference. As police continue to piece together what led to the massacre, here’s what we know so far. Police first responded to reports of shots fired in the Cedar Grove community of Shreveport, a northwestern Louisiana city with about 180,000 residents, just after 6 a.m. local time Sunday morning, according to Shreveport Police Cpl. Chris Bordelon. Police believe Elkins first shot his wife at a residence on Harrison Street. Then he went to another home on West 79th St., where he shot the eight children and the other woman, the mother of the eighth child killed.

Meet Tony Lyons and his $100 million quest to boost RFK Jr.’s MAHA movement’s midterms clout

Tony Lyons, longtime book publisher for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., seems to be everywhere in the Make America Healthy Again movement. He has raised what he said would be as much as $100 million toward Republicans in the midterms and convened scientists at a hotel near the White House to discuss vaccine injuries and other health topics. His efforts also include spending millions on a Super Bowl ad on nutrition featuring Mike Tyson, and bringing together representatives from Google, Walmart and other firms for a “MAHA Summit” that offered corporate sponsorships at rates from $250,000 to $1 million. The end goal: proving to the White House that the MAHA coalition is a reliable voting bloc, and that it would be wise to give more priority to Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy’s agenda after the midterms.

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“If Secretary Kennedy is going to complete the mission of really trying to stand up to these corrupt companies, to these corrupt agencies…he has to have more time,” Lyons said in an interview. The challenge for Lyons, a member of Kennedy’s inner circle who runs the political operation behind the MAHA movement, is motivating a growing group of Kennedy fans who are sharply critical of the administration’s recent moves on pesticides and other actions and want MAHA groups to amp up their criticisms. Worries at the White House about the unpopularity of Kennedy’s vaccine agenda led to a recent shake-up at the top ranks of his department. MAHA “needs to distinctly be its own thing that will eventually transcend MAGA when this term is over,” said Alex Clark, an influencer whose “Culture Apothecary” podcast was an introduction to MAHA causes for many conservative women. “Tying it to one admin is a mistake and could cut the legs off its longevity,” said Clark, who was recently among the activists invited to the White House in a bid to win back MAHA support. Lyons—who wears many hats in the movement without getting paid, he says—wrangles a long list of groups, influencers and donors and urges them to support the administration and make MAHA a deciding factor in the coming midterm elections.

Comer warns ‘something sinister’ may be behind deaths, disappearances of 11 nuclear, space-linked scientists

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., warned Sunday that "something sinister could be happening" after 11 scientists mainly tied to the U.S. nuclear and space research programs reportedly died or went missing under mysterious circumstances, raising urgent national security concerns. Comer said on "Fox & Friends Weekend" that when he first heard about the disappearances, they sounded like "some kind of crazy conspiracy theory." But the details of the case changed his mind and prompted him to alert multiple government agencies. "We've put a notice out to the Department of War, to the FBI, to NASA, to the Department of Energy, that we want to know everything that they know about what happened with these scientists, because those four agencies were predominantly the agencies that those 11 individuals were affiliated with. And we want to try to piece this together."

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Comer plans to bring the leaders of these offices before Congress, but said he sent the letters first to allow them time to ensure their testimony would not compromise any potentially classified investigations. He said he hoped anyone with information would bring it to the Oversight Committee, and that anyone affiliated with America's nuclear program should be on alert, given the possible security risks to the nation. "We know there are many countries around the world that would love to have our knowledge and nuclear capabilities. And these are the people that were at the forefront of it, and they're either dead or missing." Missing or deceased figures include experimental propulsion researcher Amy Eskridge, 34; retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William "Neil" McCasland, 68; NASA scientist Monica Jacinto Reza, 60; contractor Steven Garcia, 48; astrophysicist Carl Grillmair, 47; Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist Nuno Loureiro, 47; NASA engineer Frank Maiwald, 61; Los Alamos–linked employees Melissa Casias, 53, and Anthony Chavez, 79; NASA researcher Michael David Hicks, 59; and pharmaceutical scientist Jason Thomas, 45.

Hegseth recites 'Pulp Fiction' speech at Pentagon prayer service

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, leading a Pentagon prayer meeting, quoted a fictional Bible verse taken from a violent monologue in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film “Pulp Fiction,” originally delivered by actor Samuel L. Jackson just before his character shoots a helpless man to death. Hegseth told the audience at a monthly Pentagon worship service Wednesday that he learned the prayer from the lead mission planner of the “Sandy 1” team that recently rescued downed Air Force crew members in Iran. Hegseth said the verse frequently is spoken by combat search-and-rescue crews, who call the prayer “CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17” from the Bible.

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“And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother,” Hegseth recited. “And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1, when I lay my vengeance upon thee.” The infamous Ezekiel 25:17 speech from “Pulp Fiction” is almost entirely a screenwriter’s creation; only the final refrain is loosely inspired by the actual biblical verse. The majority of the monologue in Tarantino’s film is adapted from the opening of the 1970s Japanese martial arts film “The Bodyguard,” with action star Sonny Chiba. Hegseth’s minute-long prayer closely followed those scripts, with only the last two lines resembling language from the Bible. In Hegseth’s version, he replaced “and they shall know that I am the Lord” from the book of Ezekiel with the call sign for a U.S. A-10 Warthog aircraft. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said some outlets accused Hegseth of mistaking Jackson’s performance with actual Scripture, and called that narrative “fake news.”

Republicans stare down a growing, neverending FISA crisis

Hill Republican leaders are finding themselves in a never-ending crisis over the fate of a government spy law that has unleashed a bitter, intraparty battle within the House while also threatening to derail a host of other GOP priorities. Republicans now have scant legislative days to build new plans to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. But President Donald Trump, GOP leaders and White House officials have failed to come up with a workable framework for months — and there is no agreement yet on the path forward. Some House Republicans hope they’re in the final stages of massaging a multi-year extension that would incorporate some minor changes intended to pacify privacy hawks. Others are already predicting they’ll face the same internal schisms come April 30, when the current short-term extension runs out.

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For many Republicans, the high-drama meltdown in the House was entirely predictable and has been months in the making, after Trump demanded a clean extension of the surveillance law despite well-documented skepticism within his own party. “A trainwreck,” was how Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles described it, as he walked off the House floor in the pre-dawn hours of Friday morning. Speaker Mike Johnson had just tried and failed to secure a long-term reauthorization after days of ultimately fruitless negotiations across his conference. “I don’t know how we solve it,” said one House Republican of the current impasse, granted anonymity to speak candidly. It’s gotten to the point where Senate Republicans, who have until now largely taken a back seat on FISA, are warning they are prepared to grab the wheel if the House can’t figure it out. “We’ve just got to have optionality here,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Friday of the path forward, shortly after clearing the House-passed, 10-day emergency Section 702 extension to avert a looming expiration. “I don’t know what the House is going to be able to do, and so we’ll be preparing accordingly.”

Copyright April 20, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved