April 1, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Trump signs order directing creation of a national voter list, a move already facing lawsuit threats

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and to restrict mail-in voting, a move that swiftly drew legal threats from state Democratic officials ahead of this year’s midterm elections. The order, which voting law experts say violates the Constitution by attempting to seize states’ power to run elections, is the latest in a torrent of efforts from Trump to interfere with the way Americans vote based on his false allegations of fraud. The president has repeatedly lied about the outcome of the 2020 presidential campaign and the integrity of state-run elections, asserting again Tuesday that he won “three times” and citing accusations of voter fraud that numerous audits, investigations and courts have debunked. The order signed Tuesday calls on the Department of Homeland Security, working in conjunction with the Social Security Administration, to make the list of eligible voters in each state.

click here for more

It also seeks to bar the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to those not on each state’s approved list. Trump is also calling for ballots to have secure envelopes with unique barcodes for tracking, according to the executive order, which was first reported by the Daily Caller. Federal funding could be withheld from states and localities that don’t comply. “The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary. It’s horrible what’s going on,” Trump said, repeating his false allegations about mail ballots as he signed the order. “I think this will help a lot with elections.” Within minutes of Trump signing the order, top elections officials in Oregon and Arizona, two states that rely heavily on mail ballots, pledged to sue, arguing that the president was illegally encroaching on the right of states to run elections. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said the state’s vote-by-mail system was designed by Republicans and is now used by 80% of voters. Arizona doesn’t need the federal government to tell it who can vote, and federal data isn’t always reliable, he said. “It is just wrongheaded for a president of the United States to pretend like he can pick his own voters,” Fontes told The Associated Press. “That’s just not how America works.”

Commissioners pass rodeo resolution, stop short of calling for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s resignation

Harris County commissioners on Tuesday approved a resolution honoring the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo but stopped short of calling for County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s resignation after a dispute at the event led to the revocation of her title as an ex-officio director of the rodeo. Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s original resolution would have condemned Hidalgo, who did not attend the court’s business meeting on Tuesday, for an incident in which she was removed by security from a rodeo concert after attempting to enter the chute area without proper credentials. On Tuesday, Commissioners Lesley Briones and Rodney Ellis voted to pass part of Ramsey’s resolution recognizing the rodeo’s accomplishments but removed a paragraph calling on Hidalgo to apologize and resign for making disparaging remarks about the annual event.

click here for more

Ramsey, the lone Republican on the five-member commissioners court, voted against the tweaked motion. The other county commissioner, Adrian Garcia, was not in attendance. “When you make unfounded accusations about such a historic organization, there should be something said, you just shouldn’t ignore it and say, ‘Well, it didn’t happen,'” Ramsey said. “Unprecedented removal of Judge Hidalgo’s credentials from attending the rodeo. That’s never happened.” The county owns NRG Park, which is leased to tenants such as the rodeo. Ramsey’s resolution was proposed at the commissioners court meeting on March 19, but the item was tabled after a rule change in February that moves resolutions from the commissioners court's regular bi-weekly meetings to business court meetings.

Trump berates allies while signaling he will wind down the war

President Trump said that he was considering pulling the United States out of NATO over the war with Iran, as he heaps pressure on allies to manage the fallout of a conflict he signaled he would wind down in two or three weeks. In an interview with Britain’s Telegraph newspaper published on Wednesday, Mr. Trump was asked whether he was reconsidering U.S. membership in the military alliance. “Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration.” The remarks came hours after President Trump said that he expected the U.S. military campaign in Iran would be over “very soon” and dismissed Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has jolted global energy markets, as a problem for other countries to resolve.

click here for more

In a social media post on Tuesday, Mr. Trump again denigrated U.S. allies, chiefly Britain, for not heeding his call for help in securing the strait, through which one-fifth of global oil supplies normally travels, and said that the United States would not come to their aid in the future. Mr. Trump was scheduled to deliver “an important update” on the war in a national address at 9 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary. On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Trump told reporters that he had achieved his primary goal of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, though there is no evidence that the United States or Israel has destroyed the country’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade fuel. Earlier Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the U.S. had achieved such control of Iran’s skies that it was flying B-52 bombers directly over Iranian territory.

Could Dems blow it in Virginia?

In 20 days, Virginia voters will decide if their legislature is allowed to gerrymander the state’s congressional map to turn 10 of the 11 House seats blue for the midterms. Yet despite a high-profile push that includes former President Barack Obama, Democrats are growing increasingly skittish about the referendum. A nonprofit allied with House Democratic leadership upped its investment to $20 million this week. Private polling indicates a tight race within or not too far outside the margin of error, according to sources briefed on the results. Initial early-voting results also raised fresh concerns that Democratic voters weren’t turning out. That disparity is now shrinking. But there are still real concerns about Black voters, particularly because Republican mailers have featured Obama’spast comments disparaging gerrymandering to suggest he doesn’t support the referendum. In fact, Obama has made TV ads in favor of it.

click here for more

Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger won the state by 15 points in 2025, but overall, the Old Dominion is far more purple than blue. “There’s no equivalence between her win in November and this referendum,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said of Spanberger. “We still have three weeks to go. To think, ‘It’s in the bag,’ would be a fatal mistake. We have to close very strong.” Plenty of Democrats believe they’ll still win the redistricting referendum, yet the margin is too close for comfort. There’s also a massive financial gap in their favor. Virginia Democrats’ pro-redistricting campaign has reported raising $38.3 million compared to Republicans’ $8 million. Some Republicans have privately suggested this signals that Virginia GOP leaders know they’ve lost the referendum and are saving their money for later in the cycle. Dems’ challenge.The Democrats urging a yes vote on this referendum are the same ones who pushed voters to pass a bipartisan redistricting commission in 2020. But that was a lifetime ago politically, particularly before President Donald Trump incited a mid-decade national redistricting battle. Virginia is a pivotal part of the Democrats’ response to the GOP effort. The current Virginia delegation is split 6D-5R. The new map would be an aggressive gerrymander of 10D-1R.

State Stories

Nueces River Authority's COO alleges executive director misled board, put $30M grant at risk

The chief operating officer of the Nueces River Authority is alleging that Executive Director John Byrum presented inaccurate water sales figures to the NRA board and to Corpus Christi City Council, directed staff not to speak with board members, and jeopardized a $30 million flood mitigation grant through repeated delays. Travis Pruski wrote a letter dated March 27, 2026, to the NRA Board of Directors outlining the allegations. KRIS 6 News has obtained a copy of that letter and verified its authenticity. KRIS 6 News reached out to Byrum, who declined to comment, citing personnel matters. Pruski has served the NRA for more than twelve years, first as a board member and later as its chief operations officer. In the letter, he describes coming forward as a matter of obligation — and said he is aware it may cost him his job.

click here for more

"I am fully aware that coming forward with this information may carry serious professional consequences, and I accept that without reservation," Pruski writes. "I did not write this letter because it was easy — I wrote it because it was right." The central allegation in Pruski's letter concerns figures Byrum reportedly presented at the August 8, 2025, NRA board meeting. According to the letter, Byrum told the board that 36 million gallons per day of desalination capacity for the Harbor Island desalination plant had been sold and that corresponding revenue was already in the bank. When a board member questioned the number, Byrum confirmed it. Pruski said that he was solely responsible for water sales to customers outside the City of Corpus Christi and that internal tracking records showed only 21 MGD was committed and paid for at that time. The 36 MGD figure, he alleges, was not accurate until November 4 — nearly three months after the board meeting. Pruski further alleges Byrum repeated those figures at Corpus Christi City Council meetings in September and October 2025, and that Byrum's current presentation materials — still used in public settings — contain inaccurate information about partner cities and water districts. "The board made significant financial decisions based on information that did not reflect operational reality," Pruski writes.

South Congress Hotel will be replaced by a splashy boutique brand

For years, South Congress Hotel has occupied one of the most valuable—and polarizing—pieces of real estate in Austin. It takes up an entire block of an avenue that has become, depending on your perspective, either the city’s most successful commercial corridor or its most disappointingly hyper-gentrified one, a once-scrappy mix of local stores and vintage shops that has steadily, and then swiftly, turned into a luxury shopping mall populated by global brands like Hermès and Nike. The hotel was always meant to be the center of the action, and it opened right at the moment, in 2015, when South Congress began its tip toward modern luxury. And yet, despite the hotel’s location, its retail and restaurant spaces, and its sleek, midcentury-inspired design, it never quite became the scene it yearned to be. Now it’s about to be emptied out and reimagined completely, with new owners and new management with a glamorous track record.

click here for more

In a deal that quietly closed late last year, the hotel has been acquired by a partnership between the Hyatt corporation and investment firm Timberline Real Estate Partners. The plan: to transform it into the first Texas outpost of the Standard hotels brand. When the property reopens in spring 2027, it will be the Standard, Austin—the brand’s first new U.S. outpost in more than a decade, and a signal that Austin, for better or worse, now belongs squarely in the same cultural conversation as the cities where the Standard built its reputation: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and London. South Congress Hotel, which reportedly employs 126 staffers, will shut down at the end of May. Nearly all of the existing restaurants and retailers on the property will close, with the exception of the coffee shop Manaña. Hyatt aims to accommodate any affected bookings at its other properties. The hotel was previously owned by New Waterloo, the hospitality group behind the popular Austin restaurants Sway and La Condesa and the new Albert Hotel, in Fredericksburg

No officers on school campus when shooting happened, sheriff says

There was no police officer on a Hill Country school’s campus Monday when a student shot a teacher and then killed himself, Comal County Sheriff Mark Reynolds said Tuesday. Hill Country College Preparatory High School in Bulverde typically has a school resource officer provided by the Bulverde Police Department, but that officer had not yet arrived on campus when the shooting happened about 8:30 a.m. Monday, Reynolds told the Express-News. “They came pulling up after,” Reynolds said. “They weren’t on campus yet.”

click here for more

The student, a 15-year-old boy, wounded the teacher and then shot himself, Comal County officials say. Reynolds has declined to release the name of the teacher and student, citing privacy concerns. Texas law requires all public school districts to have at least one armed security officer — a licensed peace officer, school resource officer or commissioned security personnel — on each campus during normal school hours. Christina Eckert, a spokesperson for Comal ISD, said the district’s contract with the Bulverde Police Department calls for the school resource officer to be on Hill Country College Prep’s campus from 8:55 a.m. to 4:55 p.m. “This tragedy happened at 8:34 before the school day began,” Eckert said. Eckert said the district considers Hill Country College Prep’s school day to begin at 8:55 a.m.

How Maureen Galindo went from a housing activist to a TX35 runoff

When a new owner started making improvements to Maureen Galindo‘s downtown apartment complex in 2017, she saw an opportunity to put her community psychology training to work. Then a 31-year-old single mom, she’d just finished the courses for a master’s program in Portland focused on improving the health of underserved communities, and moved her three small children to San Antonio where they could live more affordably. Months after moving into their $830 per month apartment, however, a massive public redevelopment project on San Pedro Creek had already started to spur change in the neighborhood, putting Galindo at the forefront of an affordable housing fight that would later become the topic of her master’s thesis — and shape her trajectory for the next decade to come. Last month Galindo shocked political watchers by finishing first in Democrats’ primary for a brand-new congressional district in Southwest San Antonio — outperforming the national party’s favored candidate Johnny Garcia, who she’ll now face in a May 26 primary runoff.

click here for more

“The reason I got the most votes with the least amount of money in this race is from eight years of grassroots organizing, working with people, empowering people,” Galindo said of the March 3 election results. “[They know that] I’m going to fight for the people and get the millionaires and billionaires who have taken over our political system out of there.” The 35th Congressional District is ground zero in the Trump administration’s efforts to squeeze more Republican seats out of Texas, and both parties now consider it a top target in the battle for control of the U.S. House. But Democratic Party leaders have long believed their chances at holding the redrawn district — which now stretches east to include three counties President Donald Trump won — hinged on finding the right candidate to win back moderates and Hispanic voters that appear to be trending away from the GOP. After failing to land a higher-profile recruit, party leaders have hung their hopes on Garcia, a longtime sheriff’s deputy whose connections to the centrist Blue Dog Coalition and a pro-Israel PAC have made him the best-funded candidate in the race, but also given some local progressives pause. “Trump [carried] this seat by 10.5% and so to win it, there needs to be a candidate who has appeal to a broad, big coalition of voters beyond just the Democratic base,” said Phil Gardner, a senior adviser at Blue Dog Action PAC, which spent $300,000 on TV ads for Garcia in the first round. “Johnny — his life story and his career in law enforcement — is the right match.”

Fort Worth delays vote on tax break for $1.1B data center as concerns grow

The Fort Worth City Council delayed a vote Tuesday, March 31, on a tax agreement for developers proposing a $1.1 billion data center in west Fort Worth that has stirred fear and confusion in residents, and prompted a larger discussion about how the city navigates the data center boom. Edged Data Centers, a subsidiary of the sustainable infrastructure company Endeavor, plans to develop an AI data center near the intersection of Interstate 20 and Chapin School Road, near the Veale Ranch development owned by Dallas-based PMB Capital. The council first discussed a tax agreement for Edged at its work session on March 10. Fort Worth’s economic development department proposed a 50% break on property taxes for the equipment owned by the developer for 10 years. In exchange, Edged must invest $1.1 billion for the construction of the data center and create 50 jobs with an average salary of $73,000.

click here for more

Fort Worth District 3 council member Michael Crain, whose district is where the data center would be located, added the following requirements to the proposed agreement: the company will comply with the city’s residential noise ordinance, agree to water limits included in a study performed by Kimley-Horn, provide an annual report detailing its compliance with the tax agreement, and comply with lighting and setback requirements set by the city. The requirements also say that the company must comply with state and federal environmental standards, and — a major demand from residents — it must maintain a website with contact information and post regular updates about the construction process. The property Edged wants to develop was rezoned for medium industrial use in 2025, and a map of the Veale Ranch development designated it for industrial use. Fort Worth’s 2023 Comprehensive Plan officially designated the area as a “growth center.” Developers and representatives from the city of Fort Worth met with residents on March 24 to give an overview of the development and answer questions from residents, who had a laundry list of concerns about the project.

Mavs CEO seeks to clarify comments about potential move to Dallas City Hall site

Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts sought to clarify recent comments about the possibility of the team taking over Dallas City Hall during a press conference on Tuesday, March 3. The clarification follows a Dallas Morning News report that Welts, speaking at a sports economics panel Friday, said Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert first approached the Mavericks more than a year ago about City Hall potentially becoming the site of a new arena. “Last week in a panel discussion, I gave a very quick answer that really didn’t capture the context of a conversation that I had with city manager Kim Tolbert,” Welts said following a media luncheon Tuesday.

click here for more

“In a very long conversation with the city manager, we were discussing a variety of potential sites for a future Mavericks arena. And in that conversation, she told me that it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars to renovate City Hall. And it could be that the city would have to consider moving out of City Hall. That really was the summation of our conversation,” he added. According to a city report, Mayor Eric Johnson in August 2025 directed the city’s finance committee to review the condition of City Hall and identify solutions for deferred maintenance. In a statement, Tolbert said she had already directed city staff in May and June 2025 to brief the City Council on the “urgent need to fund repairs to city facilities, including Dallas City Hall.” She added, “It is not breaking news that I have met with the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars about the two teams remaining in Dallas. I have had discussions with officials from both teams about their needs for a modern, fan-friendly arena experience. We have also discussed the future of the American Airlines Center, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, the City’s commitment to downtown, and the Mayor’s recent charge to the Finance Committee related to deferred maintenance at City Hall. Following the March 4, 2026, Dallas City Council meeting, the Council directed me to explore multiple options, including the disposition of the City Hall site. It will be up to the Dallas City Council to decide whether to repair or move out of City Hall. Until the City Council makes that decision, we will continue discussions with the Mavericks on other issues.”

Third Future nets $11.7M to run two Waco schools

Waco Independent School District will turn over control of South Waco and Dean Highland elementary schools in July to the nonprofit Third Future Schools at an estimated cost of $11.7 million a year. The Waco ISD board approved the contract unanimously with little discussion Monday during a special meeting at Waco High School. The deal is intended to keep the state from taking over the local district due to several years of failing grades at two schools. The deal will affect some 1,800 elementary students, about 14% of Waco ISD’s enrollment of just under 13,000. Waco ISD and Colorado-based Third Future Schools will host a series of meetings on the changes for Dean Highland and South Waco families over the next three months, with the first held Tuesday evening.

click here for more

The Colorado-based firm will begin April 7 to interview applicants for positions at Dean Highland and South Waco elementaries for the next school year. Current staff at the school have until this Sunday to express interest in applying to be Third Future employees. Faculty and administrators who have an ongoing contract with Waco ISD will be placed at other campuses if they are not hired by Third Future. Third Future is expected to finalize staff selection by April 17, Waco ISD officials said. Representatives from Third Future Schools were present during the board meeting but were not available for interviews. The firm, which runs schools in multiple Texas communities, offers an average salary of $75,000, well above Waco’s average of $63,613. But Third Future Schools are known for highly scripted instruction and extended educational schedules. The two schools will have 184 instructional days, 10 more than other schools in the district.

Judge rejects Johnson Amendment settlement brought by Texas churches, keeping ban on pastors endorsing candidates

A federal judge rejected a settlement that would have lifted an IRS ban on pastors endorsing candidates, saying the court had no authority to approve an agreement, in a surprising end to a decades-long battle. Judge J. Campbell Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas also dismissed the lawsuit filed by the National Religious Broadcasters, a Christian communicators group, and two Texas churches that was at the heart of the anticipated settlement. The plaintiffs had argued that the ban on endorsements violated their religious liberty. Under the IRS rule, known as the Johnson Amendment, tax-exempt nonprofits are barred from taking sides in political campaigns. In dismissing the case on Tuesday (March 31), Barker said courts are barred from “providing declaratory relief with respect to federal taxes,” and therefore the court could not approve the settlement, as it required the court to make a decision that affected the plaintiffs’ tax status.

click here for more

“The Johnson Amendment exempts organizations from taxes if they do not participate or intervene in political campaigns. If credited, then, plaintiffs’ claims would restrain the assessment or collection of a tax based on certain activity,” he wrote. Barker also wrote that it is ”not obvious that the government will ever assess an income tax against plaintiffs or impose any other tax consequence under the Johnson Amendment.” He also wrote that there was a simple solution for churches that wanted to avoid being penalized for endorsing candidates: “Put differently, if the plaintiffs here gave up their 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, none of the harms they allege could occur.” Michael Farris, general counsel for the National Religious Broadcasters, said the plaintiffs were surprised by the ruling and planned to appeal the decision. He said the judge’s ruling would require the plaintiffs to violate the law to get their case heard. “We think that is an error,” he said. “I think the judge was trying to do his very best as he understood the law. But I just disagree.”

Bacliff man indicted in Texas Killing Fields cases of Laura Miller, Audrey Cook

Galveston County prosecutors have charged a Bacliff man in connection to two notorious 1980s Texas Killing Fields deaths that are among the state's most enduring murder mysteries. James Dolphs Elmore Jr. is charged with manslaughter and felony tampering with evidence in the 1984 killing of 16-year-old Laura Miller, county officials announced Tuesday. Miller disappeared in September 1984 after she left home to use a pay phone at a nearby store. Her body was found in February 1986. Laura Miller is the late daughter of Tim Miller, the founder of Texas Equusearch, an organization inspired by Laura's death that is dedicated to finding missing people.

click here for more

Elmore is also charged with tampering with evidence in the murder of 30-year-old Audrey Cook. Cook, who lived in Houston, disappeared in December 1985. Her body was found in 1986 — though she wasn't positively identified until 2019. The area known as the Texas Killing Fields is a stretch of land along Interstate 45, south of Houston, where the bodies of more than 30 women have been found since the 1970s. In one area along Calder Road in League City, in north Galveston County, four bodies were discovered between 1983 and 1991. The Killing Fields cases have been the subject of countless movies, books and news reports. While the deaths are often talked about as one collective mystery, law enforcement officials have said killings connected to the area are the work of multiple people.

El Paso immigrant advocate Dylan Corbett appointed by Pope Leo XIV to Vatican social justice body

Pope Leo XIV has appointed a prominent El Paso immigrant advocate to the Vatican body that promotes the church’s social doctrine on issues such as justice, peace, immigration, health and work. Dylan Corbett, the executive director of Hope Border Institute in El Paso, is among 11 appointees announced Monday to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. He was part of a delegation of El Pasoans who met with Pope Leo in October 2025 to discuss the impacts of the Trump administration’s policies on migration, particularly mass detention and mass deportation. “I think my appointment really reflects the Holy Father’s concern for the plight of migrants, the situation of the undocumented here in this country and at the border and in Mexico. And so it’s an honor to be able to help advise him on these issues,” he said in an interview with El Paso Matters.

click here for more

Corbett worked for the dicastery in Latin America before founding Hope Border Institute in El Paso in 2015. The organization combines research, human rights advocacy, leadership development and humanitarian action in pursuit of justice on the U.S.-Mexico border. He will continue to serve as executive director of Hope Border Institute, but said the appointment to serve on the governing board of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development will involve frequent travel to Rome. El Paso Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz praised Corbett’s selection for the dicastery. “His unwavering commitment to accompanying migrants and advocating for policies rooted in the Gospel and in the church’s social teaching has gone a long way to bring attention to this matter on the U.S.-Mexico border,” Seitz said. “His work has consistently reflected a deep commitment to justice, compassion, and the common good, particularly for those on the margins.”

‘In God’s way’: With $50M, small Austin university to reshape business education

Austin Christian University launched quietly in 2023 in the backyard of a Georgetown church, with two dozen students and a university president just a few years older than some of its inaugural students. Leaders kept the new school quiet intentionally, testing a bold idea internally to see if it had broader appeal. Three years in, the school has 63 students, 15 faculty members, a Lion mascot, and plans for a new building funded by a top Austin-area business leader. Now, it’s ready to share its vision as the “future of Christian business education.” Last Friday, hundreds of community members gathered to celebrate a $50 million gift for a new academic building from Roger Bringmann, a vice president at a California-basedsemiconductor company Nvidia, which is worth more than $4 trillion, and his wife, Lynne.

click here for more

Bringmann’s investment in Austin Christian University comes as conservative Texas leaders seek to increase religion’s influence in public K-12 schools and reform a higher education system they say is too woke or out of touch. The university is connected geographically, spiritually and monetarily to Celebration Church, a nondenominational megachurch with seven Central Texas and global locations. Speakers at the ACU event outlined their vision to become a global leader in higher education by focusing on business education that goes hand-in-hand with religious conviction. “We’re not just another university,” Connor Champion, ACU’s now 29-year-old president, told Friday’s crowd. “We’re a movement.” In a Georgetown parking lot under the hot Texas sun last week, an enthralled audience applauded Champion’s vision. Their excitement was a feeling Bringmann knew well.

Silicon Valley company buys former 3M campus in Austin

The former 3M campus in Northwest Austin has been sold. The entirety of the 107-acre campus at 6801 River Place Blvd. was purchased earlier this month by SE Cosmos LLC, an entity which appears tied to Silicon Valley-based SB Energy, according to newly released Travis County property records. Los Angeles-based Karlin Real Estate LLC redeveloped the campus — now named Highpoint 2222 — into a 1.1-million-square-foot life sciences campus. SB Energy was already tied to the property through a site plan application filed with the city of Austin earlier this month. It is further tied to the property through the March 20 special warranty deed, which lists SE Cosmos’ address as one that matches SB Energy’s Silicon Valley address. The SE Cosmos LLC entity was registered in Texas in October.

click here for more

The connection to SB Energy helps solve the mystery of the tenant that has been referred to in documents as "Cosmos," as part of $610 million in improvements at Highpoint 2222. Neither SB Energy nor Karlin responded to requests for comment before publication. Stream Realty’s Brad Philp is the landlord representative for the property, and referred comment to Karlin. It's unclear who represented SB Energy in the acquisition. SB Energy, which is backed by Japanese investment conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp., is involved with some of the largest energy-related projects in the region. In January, it announced a $1 billion strategic partnership with prominent artificial intelligence company OpenAI. That was part of the AI venture Stargate LLC, which was created by OpenAI, SoftBank, Austin-based Oracle Corp. and Emirati state-owned investment firm MGX Fund Management Ltd.

Dallas says city following Proposition U, AG Ken Paxton lawsuit should be thrown out

Top Dallas officials have fired back at Attorney General Ken Paxton’s recent lawsuit, denying they’re illegally withholding money from the police and arguing the state’s case is so weak it should be thrown out. In a response filed last week, attorneys representing Dallas, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland said the lawsuit fails to clear basic legal hurdles and that the court lacks jurisdiction over the dispute. Art Martinez de Vara, the attorney representing the two residents who are suing Dallas along with the attorney general, said it’s “disappointing that they won’t just do what the voters have asked them to do and instead are claiming sovereign immunity against the people.”

click here for more

“Cities aren’t above the residents and we look forward to asserting that in court.” Meanwhile Tuesday, former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings participated in a panel hosted by the Dallas Bar Association, warning that the two 2024 Dallas voter-approved charter amendments Paxton is using to bring his legal challenge against the city reflect deep frustration from voters with city leadership. "The council and the mayor, right now over the last 4 years, created an environment that people felt this was the only way to deal with this issue," said Rawlings referring to Dallas voters' approval of propositions S and U. "They couldn't work it through their representative government and that's what got us into this conundrum."

Fort Worth ISD’s new state-appointed board holds first meeting amid takeover, promises transparency and improvements

Fort Worth ISD’s newly appointed board of managers held its first public meeting Tuesday night, marking a pivotal moment for the district as state leaders take control following years of failing campus ratings. The meeting introduced an entirely new leadership team — including Board President Pete Geren and acting Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata — both appointed by the Texas Education Agency as part of the state’s intervention. “This board is new — new to everybody in this room,” Geren said. The overhaul comes after Marilyn Miller Language Academy received five consecutive 'F' ratings, triggering the TEA to step in and replace the elected school board with state-appointed leaders. The district currently has 11 failing campuses.

click here for more

Geren called the moment one of “transformational change” for the district. Licata, who will serve as acting superintendent, struck an energetic tone as he addressed the room. “I’m excited — I’m wired,” he said. During the meeting, Licata introduced a new “theory of action” which includes "excellent academic performance for all students," along with strengthening classroom instruction, excellent talent, enhanced pathways for graduates, and excellent service to students, families, and staff. “We have an opportunity here and we have to take advantage of it, and we will,” Licata said. “Thank you for holding me accountable.” Public comment quickly turned into a call for transparency and accountability from parents and community members.

National Stories

Kristi Noem responds to husband's 'Bimbofication' fetish photos

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has responded to revelations that her husband, Bryon Noem, frequently engaged in online “bimbofication” fetish content. In a statement to the New York Post, representatives for Kristi Noem said, “Ms. Noem is devastated. The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time.” On Tuesday, The Daily Mail reported that Bryon Noem, who has been married to the recently demoted DHS secretary since 1992, has been a frequent participant in online fetish chatrooms, and sent over $25,000 in digital payments to the women he was chatting with.

click here for more

The Daily Mail obtained a trove containing thousands of text messages, as well as photos of Mr. Noem roleplaying, many of them produced while Noem was serving in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. Bimbofication is a roleplaying kink centered around exaggerated hyper-sexual femininity in order to embody stereotypical “bimbo.” Big boobs, big butts, full lips, and no intellect. As author and podcaster Tina Horn writes of bimbofication in her book Why Are People Into That?, “Sometimes, you don’t want to be a fully integrated self during sex … Bimbofication offers a clear delineation between the moaning, cumming, uninhibited sex object you dream of being and the mild-mannered alter ego you have to be the rest of the time.” “You might not want to literally look and act like a dumb blond in bed, but the dumb blond can be a marvelous symbol of something many of us do want to be: someone whose simple existence is dedicated only to being admired and enjoying herself” Horn adds.

Hillary Clinton 2028? It’s not as crazy as you think

Don’t look now, but Hillary Clinton is headed to New Hampshire. The Granite State’s Democratic Party just announced that the former secretary of state and two-time presidential aspirant will give the keynote address at the McIntyre-Shaheen Dinner in Nashua on April 25. Could it just be a harmless speech? Sure. But the McIntyre-Shaheen Dinner keynote slot is usually reserved for Democrats plotting a White House run — in fact, it was founded in 1959 by supporters of John F. Kennedy with the explicit purpose of boosting his campaign. And in every presidential election cycle since, the eventual Democratic president and vice president have stood at that podium — and nearly every keynote speaker who wasn't already in the White House was angling to get there. At first glance, the idea of another Clinton run sounds crazy.

click here for more

The former first lady will be 81 in 2028, and the Democratic Party is still smarting over its fatal decision to clear the field for an 81-year-old in 2024. And her designation as the first Democrat to lose a general election to Donald Trump would seem to disqualify her outright — especially at a time when the party is determined to find a fresh face. But not all 81-year-olds are cognitively equal. Former President Joe Biden’s decline was so extreme that it required around-the-clock vigilance on the part of his staff to keep him on script and out of public view whenever possible. It got so bad that staffers dressed in disguise to remain by his side — here’s Megan Hayes, White House director of message planning, dressed as the Easter Bunny, guiding him away from reporters. Clinton, by contrast, has been spoiling for debates in the public eye of late. In mid-February, she appeared at the Munich Security Conference, where she sparred on a panel with Hungarian intellectual Gladden Pappin and others over the Ukraine war. Her remarks were sharp, forceful, and substantive, and she often appeared to get the better of her younger co-panelists.

A federal office designed to stave off the next financial crisis is being dismantled by the Trump administration

The Trump administration is looking to lay off staff—after already pushing out nearly half of the workforce—at a small federal office with a daunting mission: providing analysis to stave off the next financial crisis. The Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research began President Trump’s second term with 196 employees. It now has about 100 and is looking to get down to 70, according to a current and former employee and documents obtained by Government Executive. OFR leadership informed staff earlier this month that it would institute reductions in force in the coming weeks, after which the office will have shed about 64% of its workforce since last January. “I think it’s scary and concerning,” said one employee still remaining at OFR.

click here for more

“We are already a small office but we have people who are focused on a number of different areas…that are crucial for the functioning of the U.S. economy.” Trump previously laid off dozens of OFR staff in his first term, though staffing was slowly rebuilt under the Biden administration. Congress initially stood up the office as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act to collect data and publish analysis related to potential risks to the financial sector and the U.S. economy. It reports to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a separate entity within Treasury made up of various regulators in government. Congressional Republicans sought to essentially eliminate OFR entirely as part of last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, saying the office was duplicative and FSOC can conduct its own research. The Senate parliamentarian ultimately ruled the provision could not be included in the bill due to the mechanism lawmakers were using to pass it.

Supreme Court rules against Colorado ban on ‘conversion therapy’ for LGBTQ+ kids

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ kids in Colorado, one of about two dozen states that ban the discredited practice. An 8-1 high court majority sided with a Christian counselor who argues the law banning talk therapy violates the First Amendment. The justices agreed that the law raises free speech concerns and sent it back to a lower court to decide if it meets a legal standard that few laws pass. Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the court, said the law “censors speech based on viewpoint.” The First Amendment, he wrote, “stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.” Gorsuch’s opinion drew support from liberal Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.

click here for more

A state could similarly not ban talk therapy designed to affirm a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, Kagan wrote. “Once again, because the State has suppressed one side of a debate, while aiding the other, the constitutional issue is straightforward,” she wrote. In a solo dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that states should be free to regulate health care, even if that means incidental restrictions on speech. The decision, Jackson wrote, “opens a dangerous can of worms” that “threatens to impair states’ ability to regulate the provision of medical care in any respect.” The decision is the latest in a line of recent cases in which the justices have backed claims of religious discrimination while taking a skeptical view of LGBTQ+ rights. Counselor Kaley Chiles, with support from President Donald Trump’s Republican administration, said the law wrongly bars her from offering voluntary, faith-based therapy for kids. Chiles contends her approach is different from “conversion therapy” practices from decades ago, like shock therapy. Her attorneys argued that the ban makes it hard for parents to find therapists willing to discuss gender identity with kids unless the counseling affirms transition.

Hegseth lifts suspension for Army pilots who did fly-by at Kid Rock’s estate

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday announced that the Army crew that flew two AH-64 Apache helicopters near singer Kid Rock’s Nashville, Tenn., estate over the weekend will not face disciplinary measures or an investigation. The military personnel had been suspended for their actions, a spokesperson confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday, but that suspension was lifted later in the day by Hegseth. “Thank you @KidRock. @USArmy pilots suspension LIFTED. No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots,” Hegseth said in a post Tuesday on the social platform X. The helicopters, which were from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, flew in the Nashville area Saturday, including near the home of Robert James Ritchie, known as Kid Rock, near a residence he owns and has dubbed “The Southern White House.”

click here for more

“The personnel involved have been suspended from flight duties while the Army reviews the circumstances surrounding the mission, including compliance with relevant FAA regulations, aviation safety protocol and approval requirements,” Maj. Montrell Russell, an Army spokesperson, said in a statement earlier Tuesday before Hegseth’s announcement. Russell said that because there was an active investigation, which Hegseth has since lifted, it would have been “inappropriate to discuss specific findings at this time,” adding that the Army “takes any allegations of unauthorized or unsafe flight operations very seriously and is committed to enforcing standards and holding personnel accountable.” Rock posted a video of the encounter on the X with the caption, “This is a level of respect that s--- for brains Governor of California will never know. God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her.” The singer, who earlier this year performed at an alternate halftime performance in protest of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show, is an ally of Trump.

The World Cup is around the corner. Are cities and states prepared?

In June, 11 U.S. cities will welcome millions of fans for soccer’s World Cup. Staging the planet’s most popular sporting event is never easy, but this year the conflict in the Middle East and the congressional impasse over funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are creating additional complications. Officials in the host cities say they are excited to welcome the world and to benefit from the economic activity of soccer’s premier event. New York City, for example, has invested more than $35 million in its preparations, but its host committee predicts that 1.2 million visiting fans will pump $3.3 billion into the regional economy. “We are quite well prepared for the influx, and preparations have been ongoing over the past two years, both in the category of preparedness, but also in the category of how we can make sure every New Yorker benefits,” said Maya Handa, who was appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s World Cup czar earlier this year.

click here for more

“So we are incredibly excited about the boost that this is going to provide to our hospitality industry. We also are preparing to support small businesses as they experience a surge of customers and visitors.” But an ongoing standoff in Congress over funding for the Department of Homeland Security delayed the distribution of $625 million in federal dollars to help the host cities offset security costs. The conflict in the Middle East, and the fear that Iran will retaliate with a terrorist attack in the United States, has only heightened security concerns. “I’m worried every day about public safety threats,” said Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas, a Democrat. “I also recognize that you can’t control for everything. … We’ll go through a lot of steps to make sure we’re as ready as possible.” In addition to security, states and cities must prepare to face more typical challenges of such events, such as protecting people from extreme heat, upgrading transit systems, and ensuring the welfare of homeless people who might be displaced.

America now has an EV Rust Belt. High gas prices won’t rescue it.

At first, North America’s biggest auto-parts supplier was thrilled to snag the job of making enclosures for the batteries in General Motors’ new electric pickup. The contract was so big—and promised to be for years to come—that Magna MG 4.30%increase; green up pointing triangle International built a new factory in a Michigan cornfield. Five years later, that million-square-foot plant is mostly empty and losing money, a casualty of America’s messy breakup with electric vehicles. It is one of dozens of now desolate or sparsely used EV parts plants across the country. Now the war in Iran has driven gas prices up so sharply that EV enthusiasts are daring to wonder whether U.S. car buyers are willing to give the vehicles another look. But Magna and its big Detroit customers are forging ahead with plans to roll back EV investments.

click here for more

It can take years to pivot a factory and supply chain from one type of vehicle to another. And it would take four to six months of higher gas prices for most Americans to reconsider more fuel-efficient vehicles, said Paul Jacobson, GM’s chief financial officer. “We certainly don’t see it today,” he said recently. GM said this week it would idle the Detroit factory where it builds the big electric trucks that Magna supplies, due to weak demand. “The magnitude of uncertainty is unparalleled,” said Magna Chief Executive Swamy Kotagiri, who joined the company as an engineer in 1999 and has run it since 2021. A Magna team recently walked through the St. Clair EV parts factory trying to figure out what equipment might be repurposed. It will take 18 to 24 months, the company figures, to find new customers and get enough production to be profitable again. Shareholders have cheered the decisions by Detroit automakers to scrap their boldest EV dreams—looking beyond $50 billion in charges tied to broken supplier contracts and wasted investments. Many of the hundreds of workers hired and then laid off by Magna in St. Clair have had other job opportunities with nearby factories looking for workers.

Supreme Court weighs Trump's contentious attempt to limit birthright citizenship

Tackling one of President Donald Trump's most provocative policies, the Supreme Court on Wednesday considers the lawfulness of his proposal to limit the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship for people born on U.S. soil. Announced on the first day of Trump’s second term in office as part of his hard-line immigration policy, the executive order at issue would limit birthright citizenship to people who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident. As a result, babies born to temporary visitors who entered the country legally or to people who entered illegally would not be citizens at birth. Trump said Tuesday he plans to attend the oral argument in person, which would be a first for a sitting president.

click here for more

His executive order upends the traditional understanding of a provision of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment known as the citizenship clause. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States,” the clause states. The clause, ratified with the amendment after the Civil War to provide equal rights to formerly enslaved Black people, has long been assumed by officials at all levels of the government to apply to almost anyone born in the United States, regardless of the legal status of their parents. The few exceptions understood at the time included children born to diplomats and foreign invaders. Trump's executive order was immediately blocked by courts around the country and has never been in effect. Most legal experts predict he faces an uphill battle to win the case. The plan, if it were implemented, would affect thousands of babies born every year across the U.S.

TMZ has a new obsession: Vacationing members of Congress

Nestled between headlines about Britney Spears (“Spears Sets Sail With Sons After DUI Drama”) and Tiger Woods (“The Only One Driving Is Me!!!”), the celebrity tabloid news outlet TMZ is slamming lawmakers for skipping town as the partial government shutdown stretches into its seventh week. “Lindsey Graham was ineffective talking his colleagues into keeping the government open, but he had a great convo with Mickey Mouse Sunday ... at Disney World!!!” the outlet wrote in one story. It’s the latest instance of the outlet taking an interest in members of Congress. TMZ executive producer Harvey Levin told NOTUS they now have a producer and a photographer circulating Capitol Hill. “TMZ has covered politics for years, but several months ago we decided to amp up our presence and our voice,” he said in a statement.

click here for more

Over the past few months, TMZ staff has questioned lawmakers on things ranging from Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show to what it’s like to work on the Hill. For the most part, lawmakers told NOTUS they don’t mind a celebrity-centric outlet covering the halls of Congress. Recently, the outlet has devoted particular attention to how members of Congress are behaving during the funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security. TMZ requested tips on Thursday about sightings of lawmakers who left D.C. without reaching a funding deal, leaving many DHS employees to miss paychecks for at least two more weeks. One was Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, who was photographed at a Las Vegas casino, according to TMZ reporting. Garcia shared the post on X. “Actually I don’t mind what tmz is doing here,” he wrote. “Like the story says my dad has lived in Vegas for 15 years and I had just finished lunch with him. I try to see him whenever I can. And like I said a few days ago, Speaker Mike Johnson should have never sent us all home.”

Copyright April 01, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved