December 19, 2025: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

US says price increases eased last month but data may be distorted and Americans aren't feeling it

At a time when Americans are frustrated and angry over the high cost of living, the government released a report Thursday showing that inflation had cooled unexpectedly in November. But economists quickly warned that that last month’s numbers were suspect because they’d been delayed and likely distorted by the 43-day federal shutdown. And most Americans have not felt any let up in the high prices they are paying for food, insurance, utilities and other basic necessities. The Labor Department reported Thursday that its consumer price index rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier. Yet, year-over-year inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Americans, dismayed by high prices, handed big victories to Democrats in local and state elections last month.

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The inflation report was delayed eight days by the shutdown, which also prevented the Labor Department from compiling overall numbers for consumer prices and core inflation in October and disrupted the usual data-collecting process. Thursday’s report gave investors, businesses and policymakers their first look at CPI since the September numbers were released on Oct. 24. Consumer prices had risen 3% in September from a year earlier, and forecasters had expected the November CPI to match that year-over-year increase. “It’s likely a bit distorted,’’ said Diane Swonk, chief economist at the tax and consulting firm KPMG. “The good news is that it’s cooling. We’ll take a win when we can get it.’’ Still, Swonk added: “The data is truncated, and we just don’t know how much of it to trust.’’ By disrupting the economy – especially government contracting – the shutdown may have contributed to a cooling in prices, she said. Shoppers walk around the Somerset Collection mall, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Troy, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)1 of 2 | Shoppers walk around the Somerset Collection mall, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Troy, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun) People shop at the Somerset Collection mall, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Troy, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)2 of 2 | People shop at the Somerset Collection mall, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Troy, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun) By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO Updated 10:59 AM CST, December 18, 2025 Leer en español Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit WASHINGTON (AP) — At a time when Americans are frustrated and angry over the high cost of living, the government released a report Thursday showing that inflation had cooled unexpectedly in November. But economists quickly warned that that last month’s numbers were suspect because they’d been delayed and likely distorted by the 43-day federal shutdown. And most Americans have not felt any let up in the high prices they are paying for food, insurance, utilities and other basic necessities. The Labor Department reported Thursday that its consumer price index rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier. Yet, year-over-year inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Americans, dismayed by high prices, handed big victories to Democrats in local and state elections last month. The inflation report was delayed eight days by the shutdown, which also prevented the Labor Department from compiling overall numbers for consumer prices and core inflation in October and disrupted the usual data-collecting process. Thursday’s report gave investors, businesses and policymakers their first look at CPI since the September numbers were released on Oct. 24. Consumer prices had risen 3% in September from a year earlier, and forecasters had expected the November CPI to match that year-over-year increase. Related StoriesGovernment will release September jobs report next week, ending data drought from federal shutdownGovernment will release September jobs report next week, ending data drought from federal shutdownUS retail sales rose slightly in September, adding to months of big gainsUS retail sales rose slightly in September, adding to months of big gainsFed's preferred inflation gauge stayed elevated in September as spending weakenedFed's preferred inflation gauge stayed elevated in September as spending weakened “It’s likely a bit distorted,’’ said Diane Swonk, chief economist at the tax and consulting firm KPMG. “The good news is that it’s cooling. We’ll take a win when we can get it.’’ Still, Swonk added: “The data is truncated, and we just don’t know how much of it to trust.’’ By disrupting the economy – especially government contracting – the shutdown may have contributed to a cooling in prices, she said. Kay Haigh, global co-head of fixed income and liquidity solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, warned that the November numbers were “noisy ... The canceling of the October report makes month-on-month comparisons impossible, for example, while the truncated information-gathering process given the shutdown could have caused systematic biases in the data.’'

Economic anxiety has Texas manufacturers and retailers on edge

The latest tranche of Texas Business Outlook Surveys from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas was released the last week in November. The outlook self-described — at least among the Texas manufacturing, services and retail sectors surveyed — is not one of unbridled optimism. Some 310 businesses responded to the survey, which includes five “special questions” aimed at the measuring the economic pulse of Texas business. The survey was taken between Nov. 10 and Nov. 18. For reference, the federal shutdown officially ended Nov. 12. The special questions were specific, relating to revenue and employment. The answers, mixed at best, leaned negative.

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The first question was simply about earnings: How has your firm’s operating margin, defined as earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) as a share of total revenue, changed over the past six months? Only 21% of respondents answered that their EBIT had increased slightly or significantly. Only 2% of that 21% cited a significant increase in EBIT. About a third (33%) said their EBIT was unchanged, while 47% said it had decreased, with 13% saying their pre-tax and interest earnings had decreased “significantly.” That’s worse than November 2024, when 36% reported declines EBIT, and on a par with 2022 (49%) and 2023 (48%) during the worst periods of the post-pandemic inflation. Asked what they expect from the next six months, 29% of respondents said they expect a decline in EBIT. That’s a higher negative than 2024, when only 18% said they expected a decline.

MAGA infighting erupts at Turning Point USA Conference

Members of the MAGA faithful gathered here Thursday to kick off Turning Point USA’s America Fest, the largest meeting for the organization since its founder, Charlie Kirk, was shot to death on a Utah college campus in September. Despite that somber backdrop, the event quickly devolved into a spectacle of MAGA infighting. Ben Shapiro, the first speaker after widow Erika Kirk, ripped into those who would take the same stage in the coming hours and days. He called out conservative commentators, blasting Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Steve Bannon as “frauds and grifters.” “The conservative movement is in serious danger,” Shapiro said, arguing the danger is not just on the left, but “from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty.”

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He called Bannon “a PR flack for Jeffrey Epstein” ahead of the imminent release of files related to the late convicted sex offender, while praising President Donald Trump and his administration’s handling of the issue. Trump pushed to stop Republicans in Congress from voting to release the files, though he signed the legislation once it was passed. Both Bannon and Trump appear in photos with Epstein that were released by House Democrats. Shapiro particularly focused on Carlson — both for elevating Owens’ conspiracy theories about Kirk’s murder and for his recent interview with far-right influencer Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust denier who has repeatedly pushed antisemitic tropes. Carlson, a former Fox News host, now hosts his show on X and routinely garners millions of views. “The people who refused to condemn Candace’s truly vicious attacks — and some of them are speaking here tonight — are guilty of cowardice,” Shapiro said, adding later: “If you host a Hitler apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of refuse like Nick Fuentes … you ought to own it.”

Paxtons agree to unseal records in divorce case after media challenge

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, Angela, have agreed to unseal their divorce case after a group of media organizations requested the records be made public. According to an order signed by the Paxtons’ lawyers, the couple has agreed that the court can “restore full public access to the case file.” The judge presiding over the case must sign off on the order for it to become official. A hearing is scheduled for Friday morning. State Sen. Angela Paxton filed for divorce in July alleging adultery. Soon after, she asked for the court record to be sealed. A previous judge handling the case agreed and put all of the records under seal. Ken Paxton supported the decision, saying the press was attempting to unfairly invade his personal life.

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Eight media organizations, including The Texas Newsroom, and nonpartisan nonprofit the Campaign for Accountability, filed requests to unseal the records. The media group argued Paxton’s divorce records should be public because he is an elected official running for office who has faced repeated allegations of corruption. The attorney general’s finances, which are a subject of the divorce case, have been central to the misconduct allegations against him. While he has been charged with multiple crimes during his decade in statewide office, Paxton has never been convicted. Paxton is now challenging John Cornyn in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

State Stories

ERCOT CEO: Data centers must turn off ahead of rotating outages

An unprecedented surge of data centers could be coming to Texas, prompting concerns over how the state’s power grid — which infamously suffered deadly blackouts in 2021 — will keep up with the breakneck demand. According to Pablo Vegas, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, residents don't need to be alarmed: A new state law requires data centers to disconnect in phases at the grid operator’s discretion during a severe grid emergency. “If a data center connects onto our grid and the grid gets tight, they have to turn off before we (have rotating outages),” Vegas said in a recent interview with the Houston Chronicle. As Big Tech companies race to develop artificial intelligence, a huge pipeline of data centers — some planning to use as much electricity as entire cities — are seeking to come to Texas, attracted to the state’s plentiful land and relatively cheap energy for industrial customers.

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As a result, near-term electricity demand is expected to grow magnitudes faster in Texas than anywhere else in the country, according to an Energy Department analysis. Even if many of the data centers proposed for Texas aren’t ultimately built, ERCOT has forecasted that electricity demand across its system could increase 70% by 2031. “It's really been just something that we've never experienced before in the history of ERCOT,” Vegas said. The Trump administration has embraced Big Tech’s AI push, arguing that the United States has to outcompete adversaries such as China in developing the potentially transformative technology. Recently, Gov. Greg Abbott appeared alongside Google’s CEO as the tech giant announced $40 billion in AI-related investments across the state, which would make Texas home to more Google data centers than anywhere else in the world. But in welcoming data centers, Texas leaders — particularly Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — have also raised concerns about how the influx could jeopardize the state’s power grid. Those concerns manifested in Senate Bill 6, a law Abbott signed in June that received some pushback from the data center industry.

Business owners search for solutions after termination of HUB program

As the year comes to a close, Jessica Scanlon, founder of Hot Dog Marketing, can already cross one item off of her 2026 to-do list: renewing her Historically Underutilized Business program status. After Comptroller Kelly Hancock abruptly announced in early December that the program would no longer provide benefits to women- and minority-owned businesses, business owners and local advocates have raised concerns, unaware of how they are going to move forward. The HUB program was initially designed to uplift businesses owned by marginalized communities and has now been altered to exclusively support veterans. Hancock announced that the program has been narrowed to strictly support veterans with an impairment connected to their service, and will be renamed the Veteran Heroes United in Business program. Only 31% of veterans in the nation have a service-connected disability, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Over 15,000 Texas businesses have now had their status revoked. According to the comptroller’s fiscal year 2025 semi-annual report, which was released in May, of the 15,762 companies that were registered under the program in FY25, a mere 485 are owned by disabled veterans. Of those 485, none are owned by female vets. Since 1999, the HUB program has served as a gateway for small businesses to play a role in substantial state-funded projects that are usually executed by larger, out-of-state companies. Through the HUB directory on the comptroller’s website, prime contractors can find Texas businesses that specialize in certain areas needed to complete their projects. For contracts greater than $100,000, prime contractors are required to submit a HUB subcontracting plan that demonstrates that they have made a “good-faith effort” to incorporate small businesses in the project. “I’ve been kind of telling people the HUB program is not a DEI program; it’s a small-business accelerator program,” Scanlon said.

Another Texas school district voted to close schools, what’s going on?

Multiple school districts in Central Texas have had to make tough decisions following declining enrollment, increased costs and years of no state funding increases. Now we are seeing more and more districts make tough decisions impacting students and families. On Wednesday, more than 60 people signed up to share their concerns about Leander ISD’s consolidation and closure plans. “Closing a school without a student focused plan raises serious concerns,” said one of the many parents who spoke at the meeting. Parents, teachers and students lined up to speak to the Leander ISD School Board. “I am not going to begin to understand why we would ever consider closing an A rated school,” said another parent at the meeting. The Leander ISD School board ended up voting to close Faubian Elementary and they could discuss further closures in the coming years.

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Leander ISD is not the only district in Central Texas dealing with consolidations and budget deficits though. Austin ISD approves final school consolidation plan, will close 10 schools Last year, facing a budget deficit, Eanes ISD’s board of trustees voted to close Valley View Elementary School and put a halt to the district’s Spanish immersion program to save money. Fast forward to this year and Austin ISD, the largest district in Central Texas, announced the closure of 10 schools and many program moves. “If we don’t make these decisions then we will not move ourselves to get to a balanced state which is something I believe in,” said Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura. School closures are happening across the state, with Fort Worth ISD moving forward with a plan to shut down 18 schools over the next several years and San Antonio ISD has had closures as well. Amidst these closures some parents say they will leave their districts for private schools, charter schools or other districts nearby. Some of the issues schools are facing include declining enrollment, increased costs to operate, budget deficits and competition from charter and private schools.

Brianna Aguilera's family announces next step in independent investigation

The parents of Brianna Aguilera have revealed their next steps in their search for answers in the Texas A&M student's death. Her mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, told PEOPLE that the family plans to conduct a second, independent autopsy once the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office has completed its own investigation. The medical examiner will determine Aguilera's official cause and manner of death within 60 to 90 days after her death. Rodriguez and the family's legal counsel, Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, did not respond to requests for comment from the San Antonio Express-News on the independent autopsy.

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Austin police have said the 19-year-old Laredo native, who fell from a 17th-floor apartment near the University of Texas campus in the early morning of Nov. 29, died by suicide. She became intoxicated at a Texas A&M-versus-Texas tailgate the evening before and argued with her boyfriend over the phone before the fall, police allege. Investigators contend that Aguilera struggled with suicidal thoughts, citing a deleted suicide note police found on her phone dated just days prior to her death. "My daughter was not suicidal," Rodriguez previously said. "I know my daughter better than everyone." Buzbee has said there are "serious and disturbing questions" about Aguilera's death. He believes it would have been difficult for Aguilera to scale the 44-inch balcony railing when she stood at 5 feet, 2 inches and had nothing to climb on. He claims witnesses who heard arguing at the apartment building before she died were not interviewed by police. A supposed suicide note police said they found deleted from her phone was just an "essay," according to the attorney. He slammed the Austin Police Department, saying police lack the legal authority to rule her death suicide without a completed autopsy. If police do not reopen the case and assign a different investigator, Buzbee plans to send a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott requesting an independent investigation by the Texas Rangers. His firm has compiled 30 to 40 pages of evidence to submit for consideration to the Texas Rangers, he said. Amid false reports of a homicide suspect, the Austin Police Department has said that her death "remains an active death investigation and is not being investigated as a homicide."

San Antonio City Council approves moving May municipal elections to November in narrow vote

The San Antonio City Council approved moving the city’s elections from May to November of odd years in a 6-5 vote. San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones began a push to move the election date last month after she became aware of a change in state law that would allow cities to move May elections to November if a city council passed a resolution. The city had until December 31 to approve the resolution. Multiple voting rights groups had expressed support for the measure saying elections in November would gain a higher turnout.

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However, concern was drawn by some council members over local school districts that partnered with the city’s May election and the decision would force districts to change their elections as well. The decision is a monumental shift in the city’s election process that includes adding a one-time, six-month extension to the terms of council members in 2029 and changing inauguration dates from June to December. Who voted Yes: Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia, District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan, and District 9 Councilwoman Misty Spears. Who voted No: District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo, District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito, District 8 Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, and District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte

Dallas company won’t answer questions about White House ballroom

Dallas-based engineering giant AECOM, a lead contractor on President Donald Trump’s new White House ballroom, has declined to provide information sought by Senate Democrats, citing secrecy provisions in its contract with the administration. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called the company’s refusal to answer questions “entirely unsatisfactory” and said Democrats are weighing additional steps to force disclosure. “We’re going to pursue as much facts and evidence as we can,” Blumenthal told The Dallas Morning News. “And we’re reviewing other ways that we can demand more information and also highlight and elevate this issue for the public.” The fight turns on whether contractors on a privately funded White House project have to answer to Congress. Trump picked AECOM as one of the primary firms to engineer the ballroom, the major new build on the site of the East Wing after its demolition in October.

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Trump repeatedly has defended the project, arguing the White House needs a larger space for major events, including during a Hanukkah reception Tuesday night. He also noted that a judge had declined, for now, to block construction on what has become one of his signature projects. Trump has pegged the ballroom at $400 million, roughly double early estimates. “Who else but in our country would sue to stop a $400 million beautiful ballroom that people have been after?” he said. “The White House has wanted a ballroom for 150 years.” The Adelson family, casino magnates, major Republican donors and owners of the Dallas Mavericks, are among the private contributors backing the project. Miriam Adelson attended Tuesday’s White House event. Democrats argue the public deserves full transparency about how the ballroom is being financed and whether donors with federal business stand to benefit. Blumenthal, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and other Democrats wrote to the White House in October seeking a complete accounting of the ballroom’s financing and the terms under which donations were accepted.

Defendants in Camp Mystic wrongful death lawsuit respond, ask for case to be moved to Kerr County

The defendants in lawsuits brought by the families of Camp Mystic attendees, who died during a July 4 flood, filed a motion on Dec. 12 to have the Travis County cases moved to a Kerr County court. The parents’ lawsuits argue that the camp and its owner were negligent in preventing the flood-related deaths of their children. KXAN reached out to the plaintiffs’ attorneys, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for their responses to the motion. In the defendants’ motion to transfer venue, their attorneys wrote that Travis County is an improper venue because the camp is in Kerr County, and that “all relevant events” happened there.

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“Potential witnesses include camp staff members who reside in Kerr County and local Kerr County officials. Furthermore, a site visit may be necessary so that the factfinder can see and appreciate the layout of the property and its elevations and the extent of the flood’s damage,” the motion states. The motion also denies the plaintiffs’ claim that Mystic Camps Family Partnership, Ltd. and Mystic Camps Management, LLC “had any employee, much less employees with decision making authority, in Travis County on July 4, 2025, the date of the catastrophic flooding giving rise to this lawsuit.” Both businesses are registered in Travis County. “These entities exist purely for estate planning purposes of Willetta Eastland and Richard Eastland as a means of passing on the legacy of their life’s work to their children,” the motion states. One of the lawsuits specifically points to Willetta and those business entities for establishing venue. According to the Dec. 12 filing, neither she nor any other defendant were in Travis County at the time of the flood.

Who enforces Texas’ new parental rights law? Houston judge raises question while weighing legal challenge

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others were in a federal court Thursday in Houston, seeking a preliminary injunction that would block Texas from enforcing four key provisions of Senate Bill 12. The expansive "parental rights" law was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott this summer. In part, it effectively bans all programming related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), prohibits employees from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation and bars student clubs based on gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools. The law also requires schools to take disciplinary action against employees who provide health services against the wishes of students' parents or guardians. That aspect of SB 12 has sparked confusion among school nurses and districts across the state.

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A key question raised by U.S. District Court Judge Charles Eskridge, who did not immediately issue a ruling Thursday after hearing arguments for more than three hours, centers around who exactly is charged with enforcing the new law. Attorneys for two of the defendants, Katy ISD and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, argued they should not be included in the suit because they are not enforcers of consequences for not following SB 12. When asked in court who the defendants thought the enforcer would be if not Morath or the three districts that were sued, Katy ISD attorney Christopher Gilbert said it was a good question and speculated it might be Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. "I am surprised to hear that that is a good question for the court to ask," Eskridge said. The lawsuit was filed in August by the ACLU, Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA) and others against Morath and three school districts: Houston ISD, Katy ISD and Plano ISD. This lawsuit attempts to stop four specific aspects of SB 12 from going into effect statewide, characterized by the plaintiffs as the GSA club ban, the inclusivity ban, the social transitioning ban and the ban on discussion of LGBTQ+ identities.

Special prosecutors appointed in case to remove Keller ISD trustees

Special prosecutors will evaluate whether Keller ISD trustees violated state open meetings laws — and whether those alleged violations warrant removal from office. A judge appointed a district attorney and special prosecutors to represent Texas in a dispute brought by a north Fort Worth group of homeowners seeking the removal of Keller ISD trustees. The appointment, formalized in a Dec. 8 court order, names Johnson County District Attorney Timothy M. Good as lead counsel for the state in a lawsuit alleging that several Keller ISD trustees violated the Texas Open Meetings Act while pursuing a now-abandoned plan to split the district in two. Good also deputized a team of special prosecutors, including Fort Worth attorney Dee J. Kelly Jr., to assist in the case.

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“This is very good news for us,” Cary Moon, a former Fort Worth City Council member and chairman of the Heritage Homeowners Association legal task force, said during a press conference this month regarding updates to the case. “As I said, we’ll have our day in court.” The lawsuit targets board President John Birt, trustee Heather Washington and outgoing board member Charles Randklev, alleging they conducted Keller ISD business outside public view through closed-door meetings, encrypted messaging and improperly approved consultants, all in violation of state transparency laws. Keller ISD declined to comment on the litigation, citing pending legal action. Birt, Washington and Randklev did not respond to requests for comment. The suit stems from a failed proposal to split Keller ISD along Denton Highway, a plan that sparked months of public backlash, student walkouts, multiple lawsuits and the resignation of former Superintendent Tracy Johnson.

Here’s the city’s 30-year funding plan to resolve a $3 billion pension shortfall

Dallas will lock in rising annual payments for its police and fire pension system through 2030, then shift to a funding model tied to investment performance under a new 30-year plan to close a $3 billion shortfall. Plan details: The city will ramp up funding and will stick to the money it budgeted in the first five years. In 2024, the city paid $202 million. This year, they’ll pay $220 million. This will continue until 2030 when “actuarially determined contributions” kick in. That means that after the five-year ramp up, the city’s yearly contributions will become flexible. They will be dependent on how the pension system’s investments perform.

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If the pension system is able to raise more money through investments, then the city gets to contribute less. If it doesn’t, then the city will pay more. The city has set caps on how much it’ll pay in a single year in case it finds itself in the midst of an economic downturn, and that cap is only applied on about 15% of the money the city is supposed to pay. What it means: The city will give about $288 million to the pension system in 2030. A majority of those payments – about 85% – is aimed at paying off the liabilities the pension system has accumulated so far, and those are fixed dollars the city will pay regardless. The remaining dollars, which are subject to caps, will pre-fund benefits for active employees based on the city’s projected number of officers. That portion of the plan is designed to ensure first responders currently in service receive the benefits they were promised. Those dollars, about $37 million, are expected to fluctuate with investment gains and losses. If they exceed the cap, set at 5% above or below projections, the city would spread the additional costs over as long as 20 years or until Jan. 1, 2053, whichever comes later.

Austin reaches four-year, $63 million deal with city's firefighters

After months of back-and-forth, Austin has OK'd a four-year labor contract with the Austin Firefighters Association. The hope is that the $63 million deal will boost recruitment at the Austin Fire Department by increasing wages and adjusting staff schedules. Those schedule adjustments are intended to prevent gaps in service amid a hiring slump and burnout among firefighters. The firefighters union said yes to the tentative deal Wednesday night with 72% of members approving the contract. The Austin City Council passed it unanimously Thursday, capping off a contentious contract negotiation. Outgoing AFA President Bob Nicks said the deal maintains a four-person requirement for shifts, a key sticking point in the negotiations for the union.

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"I think this agreement is a good deal for labor and management," he said. "It wasn't easy getting here." The city and the AFA previously agreed on a deal back in October ahead of the citywide vote on Proposition Q. The budget proposal in Prop Q would have covered some gaps in AFD's overtime budget. But the ballot measure's failure pushed the city to propose reducing staff on AFD shifts to save money, prompting the union to walk away from the bargaining table last month. After the fallout, the union put together a petition to amend city law to require that four-person standard, but has agreed to drop that effort as a condition of the contract. Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax said the deal resolved months of heated negotiation — and addressed concerns for both sides.

Dallas prepares to be the broadcasting hub for FIFA World Cup 2026

FIFA World Cup 2026 will come to the Dallas-Fort Worth area next summer, but media will start moving into the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas next month. The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center is on track to deliver the broadcast center by January 14, said Rosa Fleming, Director of Convention and Event Services. That's when around 2,000 broadcast media representatives will be able to move in their equipment. The broadcast center will be operational on May 27, ahead of the Dallas-Fort Worth matches. Sixteen North American cities are hosting the World Cup, but there will be only one broadcast center. All 104 matches will be broadcast out of Dallas.

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Fleming said Dallas stood out from the rest because of the city's hospitality and its downtown life which includes public transportation options. The convention center has one million square feet of exhibit space, three ballrooms, 88 meeting rooms, a 9,816-seat arena, and a 1,750-seat theater. It is also next to a 1,000-room hotel, the Omni. Arlington is one of the host cities, with nine matches coming to AT&T Stadium. It's being referred to as as Dallas Stadium by FIFA, despite objections from locals. Argentina, England, Japan, Austria, Netherlands, Croatia, and Jordan are the teams playing in June. Brett Wilkinson, Public Affairs Specialist, called the lineup a "dream draw." "We've got some of the most popular soccer teams in the entire world with some of the best fan bases," Wilkinson said. "So we're really positioned for Dallas to just be really kind of the center of FIFA World Cup 2026." Dallas City Council approved $15 million for convention center construction to make the broadcast center a reality.

National Stories

‘Execution was abysmal’: Trump economy speech doesn’t meet GOP hopes

‘Execution was abysmal’: Trump economy speech doesn’t meet GOP hopes In private, some Republicans worry after Trump’s primetime economy speech that changing voter perceptions may be a slog. President Donald Trump speaks during an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Washington. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool) President Donald Trump speaks during an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Washington. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool) | AP By Eli Stokols 12/18/2025 05:49 PM EST As soon as President Donald Trump finished delivering his primetime address to the nation Wednesday night, he asked his senior aides how he did. “They all responded with some version of ‘great’,” a journalist inside the White House Diplomatic Room for Trump’s speech later shared in a pool report. And on the airwaves and across the internet, Trump’s usual defenders gushed about the speech. But offline and away from the cameras, many Republicans on Wednesday were far less ebullient about the president’s attempt to improve his dismal numbers on the economy — and increasingly downbeat about what that may mean for their party’s chances in next November’s midterm election.

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“It’s the right idea to talk about the economy more, but the execution was abysmal,” said one Republican operative who served in the first Trump administration and, like others interviewed for this story, was granted anonymity to speak candidly without fear of retribution. “He’s a very effective salesman when his heart is in it or when he’s on the attack. But the ‘I feel your pain’ speech — he just doesn’t have that club in his bag.” Trump’s speech instead focused on the border and men playing in women’s sports, issues that played well in 2024 but have seemed less salient in elections this year. White House deputy chief of staff James Blair told POLITICO last month that Lt. Gov Winsome Earle-Sears, who lost her race for Virginia governor, talked too much about transgender issues. “It’s not even in the top five issues, according to voters,” he said at the time. Few Republicans will criticize Trump directly. But his schedule over the last few weeks — with several speeches ostensibly focused on the economy — indicate that the White House understands that they are losing the messaging war on affordability. And Trump’s decision to lay it all at the feet of former President Joe Biden could, according to critics, reinforce the belief that the administration is stuck in 2024 rather than planning for 2026.

Trump move to dismantle climate agency blows up Senate funding deal

A potential deal to fund large swaths of the federal government, including the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services, collapsed on Thursday night after Colorado senators demanded that Congress stop President Trump’s efforts to dismantle a key climate agency. A Democratic senator involved in the negotiations over passing a five-bill package of appropriations bills before Christmas said that Trump’s attempt to break up a premier weather and climate center based in Boulder, Colo., was like a “stick of dynamite” that exploded any chance of a bipartisan breakthrough on spending. Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet (D) and John Hickenlooper (D) objected to moving forward with the so-called minibus spending package that, if enacted into law, would result in 85 to 90 percent of the federal government being funding through September of 2026.

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“We need to fix this problem,” Bennet said, explaining his opposition to moving forward with the spending package. “We’ll have to work together. We’ll have to work together to figure out how do this. “We have to find a way together to fix this problem,” he added. Bennet said that his Republican colleagues know how critical the center is to providing scientific analysis of weather patterns. “Everybody on that floor knows what an excellent job [it] does,” he said, pointing to the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) made a herculean effort to get the spending package passed before Christmas and it looked earlier in the day as the Senate might be on track to clinching a deal after conservative GOP senators dropped their objections to the bill. But Bennet and Hickenlooper took the lead in bringing the package to a dead halt by objecting to an agreement to set up date and amendment votes on the Senate floor. They were infuriated by the Trump administration’s announcement Wednesday that it plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, a leading research institution specializing in climate science.

Democrats say the release of the Epstein files won’t be the end of the story

The Department of Justice is expected to drop the Epstein files by Friday at midnight in order to comply with the legal deadline. Democratic lawmakers have been fighting for this moment — forcing Congress to pass a law compelling the DOJ to release the files, pushing out documents obtained by the Oversight Committee and keeping the disgraced financier and sex offender in the news. Democratic lawmakers say they’re waiting with bated breath for the files. And they say what happens next depends on what they read. “There’s so many different things that could happen,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. In a brief interview with NOTUS Tuesday, he said it was a possibility the Trump administration would continue to conceal information. President Donald Trump and members of his administration have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

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Despite Trump’s campaign promise to release the Epstein files, his administration withheld their release until Congress passed bipartisan legislation to force it. Democrats say they believe Trump doesn’t want the files to be released because they could reveal new information about his relationship with Epstein, with whom he was associated before they had a falling out in the early 2000s. A recent release of never-before-seen photos from the Epstein estate from House Democrats on the Oversight Committee last week showed Trump with Epstein, furthering speculation as to why Trump would want to keep the files private. “Ideally, they release everything. I highly doubt that’s going to happen,” Garcia said. “But post Friday, everything has to be on the table. And so the legal approach absolutely has to be on the table, and then the Senate’s already talking about that. So we would like to see what actually happens. And so I think we’re preparing ourselves. Our team’s ready. We’re ready to review what comes out. Everyone knows, everybody’s going to be working for the weekend, and we’re ready to go.”

Kennedy Center board votes to rename to ‘Trump Kennedy Center’

The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted on Thursday to rename the storied arts institution the “Trump Kennedy Center,” an unprecedented change for the U.S. presidential memorial that drew swift condemnation from Kennedy family members and Democratic leaders. The Kennedy Center confirmed the vote in an email to The Washington Post. The law establishing the building designates it as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. “The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” said Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president of public relations, in an email. “The unanimous vote recognizes that the current Chairman saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction.”

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The name change is now reflected on the center’s website. The White House rapid response account on X posted a new logo. “The Trump Kennedy Center shows a bipartisan commitment to the Arts,” Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell wrote on X.Officials did not cite an authority for the board’s ability to change the institution’s name, and critics called the move illegal. President Donald Trump joined the board meeting virtually, which was held in Palm Beach, Florida, and remained until the end of the call, when he thanked members for their vote, according to an attendee who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. The vote comes after months of Trump repeatedly joking about the name change, including at the Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month. It follows a year of upheaval at the center, after Trump overhauled the institution in February, sparking a wave of firings and resignations. Ticket sales have fallen sharply in the center’s three largest venues, according to an October analysis by The Post. “I was surprised by it. I was honored by it,” Trump said of the voteat an executive-order signing Thursday afternoon. “... We saved the building.”

How 2025 changed research and what's ahead

Ask just about any federally funded researcher to describe 2025, and they use words like chaotic, demoralizing, confusing, destabilizing and transformational. “It’s been a very destabilizing year [that’s made] people question the nation’s commitment to research,” Heather Pierce, senior director for science policy at the Association of American Medical Colleges, told Inside Higher Ed. She expects 2026 to be a year of rebuilding and standard setting. Speaking of the National Institutes of Health, which calls itself the world’s largest public biomedical research funder, Pierce said the research community is expecting more major regulation and written policy changes in 2026, which will shed more light on how grants will be funded, how much the federal government will invest in the research enterprise and what priorities will emerge from this administration.

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If the administration’s attacks on federally funded research in 2025 are any indication, the federal government of 2026 will likely be just as willing to advance its conservative ideological agenda by controlling universities through the nation’s research enterprise. And while the administration may not let up in the new year, courts stymied some of its most sweeping changes in 2025 and may continue to be an obstacle in the new year. Soon after President Donald Trump started his second term in January, the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Education and numerous other federal agencies that collectively send billions in research dollars to universities, began freezing and terminating hundreds of grants. Many of the targeted grants—including projects focused on vaccines, climate change, and health and education disparities among women, LGBTQ+ and minority communities—were caught in the crossfire of Trump’s war against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and so-called woke gender ideology. Not only would the terminations lead to the loss of jobs, staff and income, a lawsuit filed by a group of NIH-funded researchers in April predicted that “scientific advancement will be delayed, treatments will go undiscovered, human health will be compromised, and lives will be lost.”

Suspect in Brown, MIT professor shootings found dead in NH

The man believed to be responsible for the mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island and the shooting of a professor in Massachusetts was found dead in New Hampshire Thursday. A shooter dressed in black killed two people and wounded nine others in a classroom at Brown University on Saturday during final exams. Law enforcement sources confirmed Thursday that authorities were investigating a possible link to the Brown shooting and the killing of an MIT professor in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Monday. Federal officials said Thursday night that they could confirm the death of "the Brown University and MIT professor shooter," adding "there's no longer a threat to the public" in a news statement. Law enforcement sources from Massachusetts and New Hampshire tell NBC10 Boston the suspect in the Brown University shooting has been found dead.

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Authorities announced the death of 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. They also said he is believed to be responsible for the deadly shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor in Brookline. Brown students Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov were killed in the shooting Saturday, which injured nine other people. Two days later, on Monday, MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro was shot at his Brookline home. U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley said Neves Valente and Loureiro are believed to have known each other. "Investigators identified the vehicle that he had rented in Boston and then drove to Rhode Island," Foley said. "The vehicle was seen outside of Brown, and there was security footage that showed a person who resembled him." She added that financial investigations linked Neves Valente to the car and hotels he stayed at. "There was security footage that captured him within a half-mile of the professor's residence in Brookline," Foley said. "And there is video footage of him entering an apartment building in the location of the professor's apartment, and then later that evening, he is seen about an hour later entering the storage unit wearing the same clothes that he had been seen wearing right after the murder." FBI Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks said that Neves Valente is believed to have attended the same Portuguese university in Lisbon as Loureiro. Brown University President Christina Paxson added that Neves Valente was enrolled in physics classes at the school between 2000 and 2001, and that he would have attended classes in the Barus & Holley building, where the shooting took place.

DOJ vowed to punish those who disrupt Trump's immigration crackdown. Dozens of cases have crumbled

The federal agent described her wounds as “boo-boos.” Nevertheless, the Department of Justice aggressively pursued the alleged perpetrator. They jailed Sidney Lori Reid on a charge of felony assault, accusing her of injuring the agent during a July protest of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Washington, D.C. When grand jurors thrice declined to indict the 44-year-old on the felony, prosecutors tried her on a misdemeanor. Body camera footage played at trial revealed that Reid had not intentionally struck the agent. Instead, the agent had scratched her hand on a wall while assisting another agent who had shoved Reid and told her to “shut the f—- up” and “mind her own business.” It took jurors less than two hours to acquit the animal hospital worker.

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“It seemed like my life was just going to be taken away from me,” said Reid, who spent two days in jail and worried she would lose her new job and apartment. “It broke my heart because this is supposed to be a good and fair country and I did not see anything surrounding my case that was good or fair at all for anybody.” Reid’s case was part of the Justice Department’s monthslong effort to prosecute people accused of assaulting or hindering federal officers while protesting the Republican president’s immigration crackdown and military deployments. Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered prosecutors to charge those accused of assaulting officers “with the highest provable offense available under the law.” In a recent statement, Bondi pledged that offenders will face “severe consequences.” The Justice Department has struggled to deliver on that commitment, however. In examining 166 federal criminal cases brought since May against people in four Democratic-led cities at the epicenter of demonstrations, The Associated Press found: Of the 100 people initially charged with felony assaults on federal agents, 55 saw their charges reduced to misdemeanors or dismissed outright. At least 23 pleaded guilty, most of them to reduced charges in deals with prosecutors that resulted in little or no jail time. More than 40% of the cases involved relatively minor misdemeanor charges, a figure that appears to undermine Trump’s claims that many of those accused are domestic terrorists. All five defendants, including Reid, who went to trial so far were acquitted.

Copyright December 19, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved