September 23, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Virtual border wall makes 'most sense' for West Texas, land commissioner says

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said she believes a virtual border wall makes "the most sense" for much of West Texas in a meeting with the Houston Chronicle's editorial board this week. The Republican politician's comments represent a rebuttal of the Trump administration's plans to construct a physical barricade across much of that region, which have drawn widespread opposition from landowners and Republican and Democratic politicians alike. "The bottom line is there are places where physical barriers make sense, and there are places where they don't. And we just want the solution that's best for Texas," Buckingham said in the interview. "I think especially when you get to West Texas, a virtual wall, in my opinion, makes the most sense for most of that area."

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In July, Buckingam sent a cease and desist letter to U.S. Customs and Border Protection after one of the federal agency's contractors was discovered to be clearing state-controlled land without permission. But in the middle of a reelection campaign, Buckingham has largely avoided making public statements on the topic. The General Land Office did not respond to a request for comment on whether Buckingham planned to resist the Trump administration's efforts to build a border wall across the more than 13 million acres of land the state agency controls, most of which is in West Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has also appeared to question the logic of a physical border wall in West Texas, telling the New York Times earlier this year that "rugged, isolated areas like Big Bend are great opportunities to deploy technology to aid in securing the border.” Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced it was pausing construction on vehicle barriers and access roads in Big Bend National Park amid protests within the park and pushback from Republican politicians, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

Trump weighs diesel export ban as fuel prices soar

President Trump said Tuesday he is considering restricting diesel exports in an effort to curb soaring fuel prices, an idea that is quickly gaining traction with more Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. “I’ve called for that, too. I said, ‘Let’s not send out the diesel.’ We make a lot of diesel. I’ve called for it—I’ve called for it with my people,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is “examining” a diesel export ban and “whether it’s feasible in the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work.” Trump said the decision would be coming “fast, one way or the other.” The idea of implementing an export ban on diesel used in trucks and farm machinery has gained support with some Republicans who are facing tough elections this November, including Senate candidates in Iowa, Michigan and Alaska.

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In the U.S., diesel prices have vaulted to new records in the wake of the missile strikes that have crippled fuel-making facilities in the Middle East and Russia. The national average for a gallon of diesel reached $6.53 Tuesday, up nearly a dollar over the past month, according to Dow Jones Energy. America produces more fuel than it consumes, and refiners have historically shipped large amounts abroad to chase higher prices. Commercial diesel inventories in the U.S. have dropped 11% since the start of the war with Iran, while exports of the fuel are up 31% on a weekly basis, according to the Energy Information Administration. Speculation has swirled for weeks that Trump officials would consider a temporary ban on some fuel exports, but the administration repeatedly denied it would resort to that measure. The oil industry is strongly opposed to any export ban, given U.S. fuel makers are likely to lose the trust of some overseas buyers and lose money. Trump’s openness to potential restrictions is sure to send the industry scrambling. Industry lobbyists who had checked in with the administration in recent weeks had felt that there was no appetite to enact a ban, according to people familiar with the matter. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Jarrod Agen, the executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council, have all been opposed to the idea, according to an administration official.

The FBI anti-corruption squad was circling Susan Collins — until Trump got in the way

In the final weeks of 2019, a top fundraiser for Sen. Susan Collins walked into a perilous meeting at a Corner Bakery in Washington, D.C. For the first time in her two-decade Senate career, the Republican lawmaker from Maine was in danger of losing her seat. President Donald Trump’s dismal approval ratings were dragging her down in the polls, and she was falling behind her likely 2020 Democratic challenger in fundraising. Scott Reed, head of the Collins super PAC, was on a mission to close that gap. Reed was meeting that day with three executives from a Hawaiian defense contractor, Navatek. A year earlier, Collins had helped their company land a multimillion-dollar Navy research contract in Maine. Now, seated at a coffee shop not far from the U.S. Capitol, Reed asked them for a $500,000 donation. Government contractors are banned from making political contributions. More consequentially, for the company to offer donations to Collins in exchange for an official action, or for Collins to accept, would constitute criminal bribery.

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Federal judge orders Texas to air-condition its prisons

Texas must fully air-condition its prisons by the end of 2029, a federal judge ordered on Tuesday, saying the lack of cooling in most lockups in the sun-blasted state violates the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman was a major victory for prisoners’ rights advocates, who have complained for decades about poor conditions behind bars. In his 150-page order, Judge Pitman, of the Western District of Texas, said that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which operates the country’s largest prison system, had “failed to act with reasonable urgency or commitment to install air-conditioning.” “In a state where outdoor heat indexes exceed 130 degrees, inmates in Texas prisons are suffering — and in some cases dying — in extreme heat every summer,” Judge Pitman wrote. The decision came nearly six months after the case went to trial, one of the most extensive attempts to mandate that a state cool its prisons. The suit was initially brought by one inmate, but several advocacy organizations representing people incarcerated in prisons statewide joined.

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Texas oversees an inmate population of about 140,000, and close to two-thirds live in areas without air-conditioning, according to the state prison agency’s website. Heat readings from inside state lockups have regularly topped 100 degrees in recent years, and the state received nearly 15,000 inmate grievances related to heat over the past three summers, court records said. Texas prison officials have acknowledged that 23 people had died from heat-related causes between 1998 and 2012 and that high indoor temperatures have caused staff illnesses and injuries. But they emphasized in court filings that they have worked to add more air-conditioning each year and that they take certain measures during the hottest months, including allowing inmates access to cool respite areas and conducting wellness checks.The plaintiffs presented evidence of additional heat deaths more recently. Climate experts also testified at trial that they expected Texas to have increasing temperatures and more heat waves in the future. In his order, Judge Pitman, an Obama appointee, asked the state to submit status reports to the court every six months, describing their progress on installing air-conditioning. The first report, due on March 22, 2027, must describe the state’s plan to complete installation, as well as how much funding officials will request from the Texas Legislature. The judge said that “financial considerations” would not be a legitimate reason for failing to comply with his order.

State Stories

The Texas trader at war with his electric company over power poles

Salem Abraham made his fortune trading stocks and commodity futures from the high plains of the Texas Panhandle. The self-described data junkie now has a new obsession: the wooden poles that carry power lines. Ever since an aging pole snapped in high winds about 60 miles from his ranch and sparked what ballooned into the biggest wildfire in Texas history, Abraham has been studying the metal tags nailed on poles that indicate when they were last inspected. Over the past two years, he has driven hundreds of miles crisscrossing the region, through back alleys and along highways to tally the condition of poles. He also fought in court to get the inspection records for poles along more than 200,000 miles of electric distribution lines in eight states served by Minnesota-based utility Xcel Energy. “I’m just trying to figure out a puzzle here,” Abraham said. “And when there’s data involved, I’m pretty good at figuring out the puzzle.”

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His hypothesis is simple: Abraham thinks the records will show Xcel was negligent in Texas and had fallen behind in inspecting its equipment ahead of a February 2024 disaster that killed two people and 15,000 head of cattle. Xcel has said its equipment was likely involved in igniting the blaze, but the utility disputes that it was negligent in maintaining and operating its infrastructure. Abraham has a personal connection to this fight. He lost an estimated 3 million to 4 million trees at his ranch near his hometown of Canadian, in what became known as the Smokehouse Creek Fire. “I can’t get my trees back,” he said. “We’ve got a bigger problem, which is this is everywhere. The world needs to know this is dangerous, and it’s going to get worse.” The skirmish in this remote corner of Texas is part of a bigger conflict confronting utilities and their customers across the country. America’s electric grid is under mounting strain. Much of the infrastructure was built in the years after World War II and is ill-equipped to meet the soaring power demands of the AI era. Extreme weather conditions are wrecking equipment and challenging reliability. Wildfires such as the one in Texas are becoming more common and are no longer restricted to the West Coast and Hawaii. Utilities, regulators and lawmakers are grappling with how much money to invest to prevent fires—and how to make restitution when their equipment sparks a blaze.

Texas comptroller fires dozens of employees, casts it as end of 'wasteful spending'

The Texas comptroller’s office terminated 41 employees after agency leaders were ordered to submit lists of the people they’d let go first. The terminations, which have not previously been reported, come as Republican Comptroller Don Huffines is campaigning on shrinking the size of the state’s government with his own version of the federal government’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Huffines is running against Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin. Multiple agency leaders received a script laying out the mechanics for the firings around the Labor Day weekend, according to a copy of the document reviewed by The Dallas Morning News. Agency directors were instructed to take the employee’s badge, not allow them to return to their desk and not apologize.

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“Don’t say you are sorry or get into a discussion about it,” the document said. “Simply state, ‘The decision is final, and your recourse can be found in the termination letter.’” Huffines has made a series of staffing changes in his first month and a half in office after Gov. Greg Abbott appointed him to replace Kelly Hancock, who had been serving as the state’s acting comptroller since last summer. The Dallas businessman and former state senator defeated Hancock in March’s Republican primary. Myko Gedutis, vice president for the Texas State Employees Union, which represents about 8,000 state workers and retirees, criticized the firings and said employees who’ve given their careers to public service deserve better treatment. “Firing state workers en masse – with instructions to do so crassly – is clearly a decision based on political ideology not business needs or what is best for Texas taxpayers,” Gedutis said. The website for Society for Human Resources Management, a professional association of HR workers, includes a page on handling terminations including guidance to “not apologize.”

Summit Midstream to proceed with Double E pipeline

Summit Midstream has made the final investment decision to proceed with the mainline compression expansion project on the Double E Pipeline. The decision came after a successful open season and is supported by a new long-term firm transportation agreement with a major shipper. The expansion is expected to enter service in late 2028. “We had high expectations, but we were surprised to the upside,” Heath Deneke, president, CEO and chairman of Summit, said. The level of interest was about two times the amount of capacity available, more than anticipated, he told the Reporter-Telegram. The open season resulted in 550 million cubic feet per day of new long-term take-or-pay commitments. The long-term take-or-pay transportation agreement with the major shipper covers 200 million cubic feet per day, bringing Double E's total contracted firm capacity to about 2.2 billion cubic feet per day.

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Deneke said the company is in discussions with multiple shippers to subscribe the remaining 450 MMcf per day of capacity. Deneke said there are a number of pipelines taking natural gas out of the Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast for export as liquefied natural gas. What is lacking is in-basin infrastructure to move natural gas to the Waha hub or downstream, he said. “The key to unlocking growth as producers drill and develop their inventory, the most important constraint in expanding production is not just price but physical infrastructure,” he said. The expansion will include installation of a bi-directional mainline compressor station, increasing the pipeline's forward-haul capacity to Waha by 900 MMcf per day. Deneke said the company is excited about opportunities emerging from data center development in Texas and New Mexico. Those centers are attracted by the low-cost, abundant natural gas supply and are looking for supplies from the Waha hub, he said. Another opportunity is connectivity with additional pipelines, he added.

Who’s investigating the Austin ICE shooting? Here’s what we know

At least three agencies are now investigating Sunday’s ICE shooting in north Austin, as questions remain about what led federal immigration agents to shoot a Venezuelan food delivery driver. On Sunday, federal immigration agents shot 28-year-old Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in north Austin while he was working as a food delivery driver. Outside of that, few details have been confirmed about what led to the encounter between Garces Perez and ICE agents.

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According to DHS’s initial statement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is leading the investigation with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assistance. Austin police and the Texas Rangers are also conducting their own review, creating multiple reviews into the same shooting. “I think DHS is 100% capable of doing it fully and fairly without (FBI assistance),” Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) President Mathew Silverman told KXAN on Monday. FLEOA represents all sorts of federal law enforcement officers, including ones who work at DHS. “It just seems that FBI does have their hand in a lot of this stuff and FBI also has the resources and abilities to be able to do things a lot quicker.” However, several Democratic elected officials and immigrant-rights advocates have expressed skepticism of the federal government investigating previous ICE shootings this year. That skepticism has emerged elsewhere in Texas. In August, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said federal officials failed to provide any information on the July 7 fatal ICE shooting of 52-year-old Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston.

Camp Mystic under investigation for manslaughter, other criminal charges

Camp Mystic, the girls’ summer camp where 28 people died in July 2025 during flooding in the Hill Country, is under investigation by the Texas Rangers, who may be pursuing criminal charges against the camp. Fourteen search warrant affidavits were filed and executed against the family and staff members that run the camp last week. KUT News obtained one of the affidavits, which was filed against Tweety Eastland. Eastland's husband, Dick, was one of the 28 people that died last year. According to the affidavit, the Rangers have probable cause to believe the camp's leaders committed criminal offenses, including: manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, injury to a child, abandoning or endangering a child and deadly conduct.

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"These offenses were committed against child campers—including both deceased victims and surviving campers of the flood event," Brant Johnston, an investigator with the Texas Rangers, wrote in the document. The affidavits sought to allow the Rangers to investigate electronic data from Tweety and other members of the Eastland family, as well as members of the camp's staff. It was approved by a Kerr County state district judge Thursday. The Rangers first began investigating Camp Mystic in March after it was revealed that hundreds of complaints were made against the camp. More than a dozen families are also suing the camp and its leaders for negligent behavior leading up to and during the Fourth of July flood.

Amidst South Texas drought, McAllen desal bids to determine need for another water rate increase

McAllen is working to diversify its water portfolio amid persistent South Texas drought conditions by developing a brackish groundwater desalination facility. But if the final cost exceeds current estimates, water users in McAllen could see a second rate increase in a handful of years. McAllen Public Utilities Director Mark Vega said he does not expect another rate increase — in addition to the extra $14 a month residents have paid since last October — will be necessary. The city should have a clearer picture when the production wells go to bid next February. “The more contractors that we can attract to bid this project, the better that will bode for us,” said Vega.

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Sergio Espinosa, an engineer/hydrologist with Carollo Engineers — a water-focused environmental engineering and consulting firm partnering with McAllen for the desal facility — said the team is trying to attract local contractors while also “trying to make sure (McAllen) gets the best bang for our buck.” In a Sept. 14 project presentation to the city commission, Vega repeatedly stressed that the current estimates are preliminary, meaning final construction cost is uncertain at this time. The most recent estimates put the raw water production wells at $35,785,000; raw water yard piping and electrical facilities at $10,194,000; desalination plant and related facilities at $121,567,000; and the deep injection wells at $15.2 million. This equals a grand total of $182,745,000 for the construction of the project. When asked how close bids must come to estimates for last year’s rate increase to remain sufficient, Vega said there is no single threshold because savings or overruns can balance across phases. He added that the city would have a clearer sense of whether the project is on budget after the second phase is bid — likely around 2028.

Jeffress goes after Talarico again on national TV

James Talarico’s beliefs “disqualify him from being a Christian,” according to Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church of Dallas. Jeffress, a frequent Fox News contributor, was interviewed Friday, Sept. 18, by Carly Shimkus on Fox and Friends First. The segment ostensibly was about the influence Mainline Christians could have in swaying the midterm elections toward Democrats but Jeffress quickly dismissed Mainline Christians as irrelevant dinosaurs. “If Democrats win in November — and they could win in November — it’s not going to be because of the influence of Mainline Protestants,” he said. “I mean, simply put, Mainline Protestants are just about extinct in America today.”

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Attendance at Mainline churches has been “dropping like a rock” and Mainline Protestants are “running for the exits” because “they’re tired of the woke theology instead of biblical content coming from their pulpits.” Jeffress then correctly stated that about 10% of Americans today are Mainline Protestants but he then overstated the share of Americans who are evangelicals — claiming that’s 30% of the population when, in fact, Pew Research Center says it is about 23% of the population. Mainline Protestants are “not concerned about what the Bible says,” Jeffress asserted, while saying evangelicals vote their biblical values. Jeffress is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. That led him to repeat his attack on Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, echoing what he said the previous week at the GOP Midterm Convention in Dallas. Jeffress contends Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, “appears to be such a wonderful follower of Jesus Christ” but is not. “His policies, his beliefs, religious beliefs, contradict those of Jesus Christ completely and you can certainly say James Talarico’s beliefs don’t disqualify him from being senator here in Texas but they do disqualify him from being a Christian.” The only examples he gave of Talarico’s “un-Christian” beliefs are his support for LGBTQ people, his failure to condemn all forms of abortion and his belief that there’s more than one way to faith in God.

Kavita Pallod Sekhsaria: Texans have real reasons to be worried. Indian Americans enjoying football isn't one of them.

(Dr. Kavita Pallod Sekhsaria is a board member of the Hindu American Foundation and a psychologist.) This past weekend, I found myself at The University of Texas’ football stadium to cheer on the Longhorns as they took on the UTSA Roadrunners. Memories quickly flooded back about the heat my friends and I endured as students at the games, the frustration of entering campus right after the glorious title win in 2005, and the fun nights after big wins. But walking onto campus and striding up to the stadium 15 years after I graduated felt different. And it was abundantly clear why: I now had my kids with me. My 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter were decked out in Longhorn gear, absolutely buzzing with excitement, and it felt like everyone noticed. I’ve always felt a sense of belonging and comfort in Austin, but seeing the warm smiles and encouragement for bringing my kids into the Longhorn family was palpable.

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So, I shared a photo of myself and my friends at the game with the Hindu American Foundation, where I serve as a board member. Feeling so secure on the ground was something I wanted to share with my fellow brown-skinned Longhorns, knowing we’ve all felt confused, hurt and angry at the sentiment we’ve all seen online about whether we belong in the stands. Just a week earlier, a candidate for state railroad commissioner, Bo French, shared a racist post on X about the diversity in the stands at the Longhorns’ stadium. After, we enjoyed the game and put away our phones. The man behind me accidentally poured beer on my shoulder, and we both laughed. Another fan teased us for the number of pretzels we’d bought for our group of 19. We cheered our boys on and booed the refs into reviewing a call. We celebrated the 30 points and griped with each other about whether quarterback Arch Manning looked hesitant and why we weren’t scoring more. All of us fans cheering on the team in our section didn’t know much about each other, but we knew what mattered. We were wearing burnt orange, and we wanted the same thing. Walking out, my kids were still talking about the fireworks, still holding onto the day. Then, I glanced at my phone and saw that the photo I shared was attracting vitriol on the HAF account. Commenters posted memes about Indians eating cow dung. People said they could imagine how bad the picture smelled. My face was marked with demonic symbols. They attacked every facet of us that was visible.

Tarrant decorum policy challenged in new lawsuit against the county, O’Hare

In a lawsuit filed Monday, Sept. 21, four Tarrant County residents claim the Commissioners Court decorum policy violates the First and 14th Amendments as well as the Texas Constitution. Plaintiffs Reed Bilz, Katherine Godby, Elizabeth Miller and Karla Palomares say defendants Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare and the county have “created a culture of fear and chilled protected speech” with the decorum policy. Each are regular attendees of the monthly commissioners court meetings. Their complaint asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to condemn the policy as unconstitutional and bar its use. Created under O’Hare’s leadership, the decorum policy prohibits personal attacks, impertinent, profane, obscene, or slanderous remarks as well as threatening, disruptive or unruly behavior.

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The policy has been used to eject 14 people from meetings in 2026. Most of the time, those kicked out receive a criminal trespass warning. Two men who were kicked out twice this year were arrested and charged with disrupting a meeting and disorderly conduct. O’Hare and the county did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A political science professor and a First Amendment expert both told the Star-Telegram the policy was concerning because of its vagueness. Leah Nesbitt, a spokesperson for the county judge’s office, said in August that O’Hare has a duty to maintain an orderly meeting for the public’s benefit and efficiency’s sake. She also said the sheriff’s office decides who is arrested. “The Commissioners Court Decorum Rules exist to allow as many voices as possible to be heard at meetings in an orderly manner,” Nesbitt said. “Every large county in Texas has a decorum policy, many of which are more strict than Tarrant County’s. These rules do not silence passionate or critical voices. Maintaining order is necessary to serve all constituents efficiently and effectively.”

American teen who posted ‘ICE raid’ videos sees mother deported

The mother of an Edinburg teenager who earlier this month was arrested by immigration agents and posted about it on social media, was arrested outside her work and deported on Monday. Luis Ochoa, 17, told Border Report that his mother, Teresa Ochoa, 31, was arrested at 5 a.m. outside Carmelita’s Restaurant in Alamo, Texas, where she worked as a cook. Luis was standing outside the U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility in Edinburg where his mother was being held Several hours later. He was rocking back and forth and nervously fidgeting with his phone, worried about his family’s future.

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The Edinburg High School senior tried to go in and see her and retrieve some documents he said she had but he and his lawyer, Carlos Moctezuma Garcia, were not allowed. A couple of hours later, the teenager learned that his mother had been deported back to Reynosa, Mexico. He says he is the oldest of four and has two younger brothers and a 5-year-old sister. He says he is worried about how his stepfather will care for them. “She did not sign nothing but she still got thrown,” Ochoa told Border Report. He says CBP had asked her to voluntarily deport but she had refused. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, in response to questions from Border Report, confirmed and arrest and deportation: “On Sept. 21, ICE arrested Teresa de Jesus Ochoa Briseno, an illegal alien from Mexico, during a targeted operation in Alamo, Texas. During the arrest Ochoa Briseno repeatedly refused lawful commands from ICE officers and was warned repeatedly about her failure to comply. Ochoa Briseno was arrested without further incident. She was issued a final order of removal and was returned to her home country on Sept. 21.”

RRC Commissioner urges oilfield operators to report theft

Oil and gas regulator Wayne Christian on Tuesday urged Texas oil and gas operators to report petroleum product and property theft, citing testimony before the Texas Senate Committee on Natural Resources from RRC staff, industry leaders and law enforcement officials serving on the State Task Force on Petroleum Theft (STOPTheft). The testimony underscored the need for more data to combat the growing economic impact of theft and reinforced the importance of continued coordination through STOPTheft. “It has become clear that increased reporting of oil theft by industry is essential to identifying trends and quickly gathering available evidence,” Christian said. “While industry participation is critical, we must also continue to work to restore confidence that when an oil theft is reported, justice will be served.”

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Texas Alliance of Energy Producers President, petroleum economist and STOPTheft appointee Karr Ingham shared a preliminary industry estimate indicating that oilfield theft has a staggering $4.3 billion economic impact on Texas. According to data from the Texas Comptroller, 92.7% of Texas oil and gas companies qualify as small businesses or microbusinesses, making them especially vulnerable to theft-related losses. Christian emphasized that smaller oil and gas operators often face greater difficulty absorbing the financial burden caused by stolen oil, equipment and other critical assets. These losses place considerable strain on their operations and threaten the continued viability of many small producers. “We must remain vigilant and continue working together to protect the strength of our oil and gas industry while keeping energy affordable for every Texan,” Christian said. “We are not just talking about stolen oil. Criminals are stealing equipment, vehicles, materials and other property that our producers need to keep operating. The combined cost of these losses continues to put significant pressure on smaller operators, who are less able to absorb these costs.”

Why Ken Paxton has started talking about the trailer he grew up in

Attorney General Ken Paxton recently started doing something new on the campaign trail – talking about his childhood. At his earliest events in major cities, his stump speeches were short and to the point, often focused on his economic plan. But earlier this month at Willow Park Baptist Church in Parker County, he spoke about penny-pinching while growing up on Air Force bases where his dad was stationed. “For part of my childhood we actually lived in a white trailer parked outside of the base, with no air conditioning,” he said. “I might add, it was pretty hot.” The pivot comes as Paxton has faced criticism from his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, that he’s profited from public office and is out of touch, and as polls show Republicans in Texas have yet to fully coalesce behind Paxton.

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A Democrat hasn’t won statewide office in Texas in decades, but in the final stretch of the important race, polls continue to reflect a neck-and-neck contest for U.S. Senate. Recently, Paxton has spent the majority of his time campaigning in Republican strongholds surrounded by rural constituencies, including Lubbock, Longview, Bryan and Corpus Christi. Some in these rural areas say Paxton’s more humanizing approach can help him win over the Republican voters who remain unconvinced in a key part of the GOP electorate. Paxton has rarely opened up about his private life, which has at times been the subject of controversy, and even more rarely talked about his past, outside of passing mentions of his kids and grandkids. In recent speeches, including at the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas, he’s talking about his upbringing. “We counted every dollar because it was not always easy. Washington talks a lot about working families. I was definitely raised in one,” Paxton said in Parker County. “These are the kind of people that I grew up around.”

Pastors for Texas Children names new leader

Pastors for Texas Children has named Holly Gaskill Bandel executive director, succeeding founder Charles Foster Johnson, who is focusing on expanding the national network. Founded in 2013, Pastors for Texas Children works to connect congregations with local schools, educate faith leaders on public education issues and advocate for policies that serve the common good of Texas children, families, and communities. This Texas model now has spawned Pastors for Children, a national organization dedicated to planting state affiliates across the country. “The work we began in Texas has demonstrated the power of pastors and congregations standing together for children and their public schools,” Johnson said. “Pastors for Children will take that witness beyond Texas, building a network of state affiliates and ensuring that the voices of faith leaders who believe in strong public schools are heard in Washington.”

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Bandel brings more than 25 years of pastoral leadership, nonprofit experience and community engagement to her new role. She has been involved with Pastors for Texas Children since 2018 and has extensive experience building partnerships between churches, public schools and communities. Bandel currently serves as pastor of First United Methodist Church in Sachse, Texas, a Dallas suburb. Previously, she served as executive associate minister at First United Methodist Church Dallas, where her responsibilities included mission and community ministries, public education advocacy and school partnerships. Her ministry career also includes leadership positions at Stonebridge United Methodist Church, Creekwood United Methodist Church, First United Methodist Church Plano and Anna United Methodist Church. “I have seen firsthand what happens when congregations build genuine relationships with their neighborhood public schools,” Bandel said. “Our schools are at the heart of our communities, and supporting the children, educators and families they serve is an important expression of our faith. I am grateful for the opportunity to lead Pastors for Texas Children and to work alongside clergy and congregations across Texas in this important ministry.”

City Stories

Lewisville High School students gifted laptops by tech companies

Students from Lewisville High School were gifted refurbished laptops from AT&T and nonprofit Compudopt, which they will be able to keep even after graduation. The laptops were passed out to students Wednesday by State Senator Tan Parker at Lewisville High School. Originally, AT&T and Compudopt donated the refurbished laptops to Communities in Schools of North Texas, which then offered to give the laptops to local students. School districts often hand out laptops to students, which they can take home to do work, but must then return at the end of the year or before graduation.

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The students who received these laptops will get to keep them, with the companies recognizing the benefits of students having a laptop to use in college or for work. “I feel very blessed because this helps us out in many ways,” said America Martinez, a senior at Lewisville High School, to the district. “Being able to keep this after we graduate is a blessing. It’s nice to see that other programs care about our education.” AT&T partnered with Compudopt and Human I-T to host 10 laptop distribution events at retail stores nationwide. The events helped collect 1,000 laptops that could be refurbished and donated to students. In addition to helping out students across the nation, the program is also part of AT&T’s effort to decrease retail e-waste through a campaign that has already recycled more than 10,000 pounds and $1 million worth of electronics from customers. “Our Retail E-Waste Campaign shows what’s possible when our customers take a simple action that creates meaningful impact,” said Mylayna Albright, the vice president of corporate responsibility at AT&T. “By recycling old devices, customers are helping reduce e-waste while putting laptops directly into the hands of students and families who need them. It’s a powerful example of how environmental responsibility and digital access can work together to help more people get connected and prepared for the future.”

National Stories

US judge dismisses Michigan climate lawsuit against oil companies

A US judge on Tuesday dismissed an antitrust lawsuit in which Michigan accused four major ?oil companies of colluding to forestall competition in ?renewable energy, including electric vehicles, a decision in line with prior rulings in similar cases. US District Judge Jane Beckering in Grand Rapids rejected ?the lawsuit filed in January by Michigan Attorney ?General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, against BP, Chevron, Exxon, Shell and the American Petroleum Institute.

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The judge said antitrust ?laws protect against none of the injuries for which Michigan ?sought a remedy, except for energy overcharges. "The distance is too great between the alleged conspiracy and Michigan’s and its residents’ overcharges to find ?that the conspiracy proximately caused the overcharges," Beckering said. The ?complaint said the companies sought to "restrain the emergence of electric vehicles and ?renewable ?primary energy technologies in the United States." Other judges have rejected similar climate lawsuits including in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and South Carolina. A lawyer for Chevron ?previously called ?Michigan's lawsuit “baseless as ?demonstrated by multiple related court dismissals." Chevron and the other companies have been fighting for years ?against lawsuits by state and local governments ?seeking to ?hold them responsible for climate change, many of which remain pending. The Trump administration has taken a series of actions to ?make ?it easier for automakers to avoid ?building electric vehicles and make them more expensive for consumers to buy, reversing ?Biden administration policies.

What is Trump TV? White House launches 24/7 stream amid president's ban on some media outlets

The Trump administration has launched a streaming channel, dubbed Trump TV, days after President Donald Trump banned several media outlets from the White House. The White House announced the channel on Monday, advertising it as a place to watch his administration's "biggest moments." "TRUMP TV IS STREAMING NOW. 24/7, updated in real time, with top past moments, announcements, and the latest and greatest from the administration all in one place," the White House said in its official X account Monday. "Not every big moment has made it on your TV, now it can." While it has been branded as a 24/7 channel with real-time updates, the account has dug into the archives. As of Tuesday morning, Trump TV was streaming old White House events with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

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White House spokesperson Kaelan Dorr announced the channel on Monday, calling it a place for the "administration's greatest hits, unfiltered." "The press, in some cases, reported inaccurately or not at all on the Administration’s many record breaking accomplishments on behalf of all Americans.. Trump TV is a 24/7 livestream of the Administration’s greatest hits, unfiltered," Dorr said on X. "All on the White House YouTube Channel and Official App." It's unclear how extensive the channel’s programming will be, as the White House YouTube page already livestreams most of Trump's speeches, events and the White House press briefings. The ban on reporters from the three news outlets, which began over the weekend, marked a clear escalation of Trump’s long-running efforts — in the courts and through administrative action — to restrict news coverage he finds objectionable. They were also the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States, where the government is constitutionally forbidden from restricting the press.

Zelenskyy to seek offramp for years-long Russia war in UN speech after Trump reveals peace deal is close

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to address the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday as President Donald Trump presses for an end to Russia’s war and Kyiv seeks to shape the emerging diplomatic push after more than four-and-a-half years of conflict. Zelenskyy’s speech comes the day after he met with Trump in New York, where the two discussed finally putting an end to the war. Trump said that he believes a deal can be reached, though he did not disclose what that agreement would involve. "We’re working very closely with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, and we will get that one done," Trump said, adding that an agreement would happen "more quickly than people understand."

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The Ukrainian president has said he is bringing "concrete security proposals and de-escalation measures" to New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) gahtering. His government is also seeking additional air defenses, support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and help protecting food exports through the Black Sea. The meeting with Trump came as Russia and Ukraine appeared to be weighing a possible pause in attacks on energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy has said Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy sector, critical infrastructure and food exports should stop, followed by matching de-escalation steps from Kyiv. Trump has also urged Ukraine to halt its strikes on Russian oil refineries. Ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy, he called the campaign "a serious hit against the Russians," but added, "It’s also a serious hit on the price of diesel." In his U.N. address on Tuesday, Trump said he could use new tariff authority against buyers of Russian energy "if necessary" to bring the war to an end. "This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended. The whole World suffers as 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, are being killed each month. What a shame!" Trump said.

How Trump has cracked down on dissent since the killing of Charlie Kirk

The very public murder of Charlie Kirk on a Utah campus last September sent convulsions of grief through the political right. Within days, the Trump administration began transforming the slain prophet of young conservatives from a martyr to a cause. “The last message that Charlie Kirk gave to me before he joined his creator in heaven was, he said, that we have to dismantle and take on the radical left organizations in this country that are fomenting violence,” Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff, said three days after the killing. “And we are going to do that.” The message Mr. Miller described quickly turned into policy. Now, a year later, it is clear how bright a line of demarcation the period after Mr. Kirk’s death has become in the efforts by President Trump and his allies to target Americans they see as “the enemy within.” The administration’s nearly exclusive crackdown on left-leaning organizations and activities has ushered in a pitched battle over political dissent and free speech.

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Officials have taken a governmentwide approach to scrutinizing citizens and organizations opposed to Trump policies. Tax agents have examined nonprofit groups. Investigators have looked into the books of labor unions. Prosecutors have brought charges against anti-ICE protesters, asserting that a leftist conspiracy is provoking political violence on the streets. These efforts came together this year in Minnesota, the scene of heated protests in response to the government’s aggressive immigration sweep. Federal investigators infiltrated neighborhood watch committees, church meetings and an environmental group in an operation that surveilled hundreds of ordinary people. Ultimately, 15 protesters were charged with conspiring to impede immigration enforcement as members of the far-left movement known as antifa, but prosecutors did not accuse them of any violent acts beyond kicking an ICE vehicle and sideswiping another. When Paul Kirk-Davidoff, a meat cutter and union organizer in Minneapolis, saw in court files that undercover agents attended a meeting he had set up last February about resisting ICE, he said: “First I laughed, then I thought this is scary.” From the start of his second term, Mr. Trump has wielded power to punish those he views as opponents, including law firms, universities, pro-Palestinian activists and news outlets, three of which he banned last week from the White House. But after the Kirk killing and assassination attempts on the president, Mr. Trump and his allies have recast the effort in existential terms.

Trump defends war against Iran in speech at United Nations

President Donald Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials met Tuesday, an unexpected engagement that came even as he threatened in his address to the U.N. General Assembly that he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal isn’t reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war. Trump told reporters that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met for about three hours with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders but he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange. “It was a very good meeting,” Trump said. The president later added that the Iranian officials were “not the highest level, but it’s something.”

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Witkoff said in a posting on X that the talks were conducted through mediators who shuttled between the U.S. and Iranian teams. He added that he was hopeful the effort “will prove constructive and promising.” The engagement comes after months of U.S.-Iran communications languishing following the collapse of a short-lived ceasefire that was brokered in June. U.S. and Iranian negotiators met separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators in Doha in early July for indirect talks. Earlier Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump is open to meeting with Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, while he’s in New York for the General Assembly. “This is a president that will meet with anybody for the most part, because he believes that engaging with people is important if you’re going to solve problems,” Rubio said on NBC’s “Today” show. “It doesn’t mean you’re going to end up agreeing with them, but it’s important.” Trump also met Tuesday with leaders and senior officials from Gulf Cooperation Council nations — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates — as well as Jordan to discuss the way ahead with the war in Iran.

Republican senator calls for Judiciary Committee to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden

Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis is calling on Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ranking Member Dick Dubin, D-Ill., to subpoena both Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden as part of an investigation into "the use of presidential family relationships for private financial benefit, preferential treatment or access by domestic and foreign interests" that Curtis is urging the senators to open. Curtis' letter comes after he posted a video on X Friday saying that reports that Donald Trump Jr.'s two-day wedding afterparty in May had been funded by a Russian oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin "stink" and are "corruption." He promised further action on the topic.

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President Donald Trump said last week that his son had repaid the oligarch for the afterparty costs, though no evidence of that alleged repayment has been publicly offered. "As I understand it, he paid them back. He didn't want to have that, so I hear he paid them back. A person that he knows pretty, I guess a friend of his, gave him a wedding party. That's very common," the president said. "The country should not have to accept one standard for the family of a Republican president and another for the family of a Democratic president. Nor should congressional oversight begin and end when control of the White House changes hands," Curtis writes in the letter. "I therefore respectfully request that the Senate Judiciary Committee launch an investigation into the use of presidential family relationships for private financial benefit, preferential treatment, or access by domestic and foreign interests," Curtis' letter continued. "As part of that investigation, I urge the Committee to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to testify regarding their past business dealings, relationships with foreign individuals and entities, gifts, or other benefits they have received, and any instances in which their relationship to the President was invoked or understood to provide value."

John Fetterman’s party of one

The GOP’s first-ever midterm convention needed a Democrat. The two-night production at the American Airlines Center in Dallas in early September was built around the case that the Democratic Party has been captured by socialism, and the organizers wanted someone from inside the party to help make it. Naturally, John Fetterman, the glowering senator from Pennsylvania who had gone from progressive celebrity to his party’s biggest headache, was at the top of their list. Convinced by Dave McCormick, Pennsylvania’s Republican senator and one of his few friends in Washington, Fetterman recorded a 64-second unscripted video outside the steel mill in Braddock, where he served as mayor for 13 years, that aired at the convention. He called himself “a commonsense Democrat” who would “reject the extremes and socialism” and promised to work with Trump to protect Pennsylvania steel.

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Fetterman’s appearance revived a question that has followed him through his ever-growing estrangement from much of the Democratic Party: Was he preparing to leave it altogether? “I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party,” he said afterward, adding that if Democrats took control of the Senate in November, “I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on.” But the speculation persisted, amplified by the creation of an X account by anonymous former staffers who threatened to divulge damning details about the way Fetterman runs his office. By last week, Fetterman was shouting at reporters in the Capitol, “I’m not going to be a Republican! Why can’t you guys just wait till the midterms? And if I turn a Republican, then I’ll be a liar.” The same day, the Washington Examiner reported that Fetterman had attended a retreat at the Murdoch family ranch in Montana in July. Tré Easton, Fetterman’s former legislative director, takes the senator at his word about his Democratic identity. “I haven’t bought into the party-switching thing,” Easton told me. And why would Fetterman switch? If Democrats end up with a 51-49 margin after the midterms, “he is the most powerful Democrat in the Senate if he stays a Democrat.” And if he switches? “There goes all of his novelty.” Last month, a New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena poll found that just one in five likely Democratic voters in Pennsylvania views Fetterman favorably, compared with four in five Republicans. Still, Fetterman holds an F rating from the National Rifle Association, passionately supports same-sex marriage and trans rights, and votes with Democrats most of the time — which means joining the GOP will likely result in a primary challenge, too.

Missouri's congressional map heads to US Supreme Court again

The fight over Missouri’s congressional map returned to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time late Tuesday, after an appeals court ordered the revival of new districts backed by President Donald Trump. The new map was drawn to help Republicans gain a U.S. House seat in the pivotal midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. The Supreme Court has twice blocked efforts to use it in November. The latest emergency appeal comes after an unusual federal appeals court ruling that ordered a last-minute return to a GOP-friendly map even after the Supreme Court halted such a move. The justices had left in place a Missouri Supreme Court decision requiring the state to use its previous map. The state court ruled that the new districts could not take effect unless voters approved them in a statewide referendum.

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The U.S. Supreme Court gave supporters of the new map until midday Wednesday to respond to the latest appeal. The dispute has caused confusion for over a million potential voters who could be shuffled among districts. Absentee voting already is underway in Missouri using districts adopted in 2022, after the last census. The new congressional map backed by Trump significantly reshapes a Kansas City-based district held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Republicans hope the map could help them win seven of the state’s eight House seats — one more than they currently hold. Missouri’s redistricting battle has been the longest and most complex among roughly a dozen states that sought to change their U.S. House districts over the past year. Districts are usually redrawn at the start of each decade, after a census. But Trump spurred a spate of mid-decade redistricting last year when he urged Republican-led states to redraw districts to gain an edge in the midterm.

Copyright September 23, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved