January 15, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

With a tiny majority, House GOP leaders tell members to show up unless it's 'life or death'

As the slim House Republican majority hangs on a razor’s edge, lawmakers are getting a stern warning from party leadership: You should be absent only for matters of life and death. That message has been delivered to members in recent party meetings and private conversations, according to multiple lawmakers, and it has taken on an increasing sense of urgency as the GOP’s margins have shrunk even further in recent weeks with the unexpected death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., and the shock midsession retirement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s office confirmed to NBC News that it is advising members that “outside of life-and-death circumstances, the whip’s office expects members to be here working on behalf of the American people.”

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His office has told members their presence in Washington is essential if they are to “pass legislation to lower costs, secure the border, and support the president’s agenda.” Not excusable absences? Campaign events — an important distinction, given 17 House Republicans are running for higher office. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who is running for governor, said Emmer, R-Minn., told Republicans at a meeting last week: “If you’ve got a family emergency, then you can miss a vote. If you run for another office, no, you show up here.” But not everyone has gotten the memo. Rep. Wesley Hunt, who is running for the Senate in Texas, missed a series of votes this month as he campaigns back home. They include a critical vote Tuesday, when a GOP labor bill was defeated and two others were pulled from the floor because of Republican defections and absences. His vote alone, however, wouldn’t have made a difference on the labor bill, given Republicans were several votes shy of victory. Two other absences met Emmer’s life-or-death standard: Rep. Greg Murphy of North Carolina is recovering this week from surgery, while Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin is at home with his wife, who is also undergoing a surgical procedure.

Trump beats back GOP rebellion on war powers as two pivotal senators flip

Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a final vote on the war powers resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s military authority in Venezuela, ending the push before it could reach the floor. The resolution gained unexpected steam last week after five Republicans — Sens. Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, Todd Young, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins — joined Democrats to help advance it, raising the prospect of a rare bipartisan rebuke of the president’s military policy. But the momentum quickly stalled under Trump’s pressure, and the effort was struck down in dramatic fashion Wednesday night when Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote. To block the measure from reaching the floor, GOP leadership raised a procedural point of order that argued the resolution no longer met the requirements for a privileged vote under the War Powers Act, claiming there were no ongoing hostilities in Venezuela to justify it.

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Without that protection, Republicans were able to block the resolution without voting it down directly. The move gave uneasy Republicans like Hawley and Young an off-ramp to back off without directly reversing their earlier vote. Before the vote, the Trump administration sought to allay concerns raised by some Republican senators about how it would handle an escalation in Venezuela. In a letter this week to Young’s office, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would request congressional authorization if it planned to “introduce US Armed Forces into hostilities in major military operations in Venezuela.” The assurances were enough to convince Young that a formal war powers resolution was unnecessary, the senator wrote in a statement on X. Young added that Rubio had agreed to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the coming weeks to provide an update on operations in Venezuela. “I had to accept that this was all a communications exercise,” Young told reporters before the Wednesday vote. “To have the secretary of state be at my disposal — I mean countless phone conversations and text exchanges — was very reassuring to me.” The Wednesday vote was also a clear win for Trump, who spent the last few days railing against the measure. He publicly lashed out at the five Republicans by name during a Tuesday speech in Detroit, and said last week that they “should never be elected to office again.” Behind the scenes, top officials followed up with calls and meetings, pressing senators to fall back in line.

Widespread Verizon outage resolved after prompting emergency alerts in Washington, New York City

Verizon said Wednesday night that its wireless service was back online after having suffered an outage affecting cellular data and voice services for much of the day. A spokesperson for the company said shortly after 10 p.m. ET that the outage was resolved. "If customers are still having an issue, we encourage them to restart their devices to reconnect to the network," the spokesperson sad in a statement. The spokesperson apologized for the outage and said customers would be given account credits, and that details would be shared with customers directly. The nation's largest wireless carrier had earlier said its "engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly." Verizon issued its statement after a swath of social media comments directed at it, with users saying their mobile devices were showing no bars of service or "SOS," indicating a lack of connection.

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Verizon, which has more than 146 million customers, appears to have started experiencing service issues around noon ET, according to comments on X. Reports appeared to peak in the early afternoon and remained elevated later in the day — sitting close to 33,000 as of 8 p.m. Verizon issued three more statements on social media later Wednesday, again saying its engineers were working to address the issue. But it did not say whether a specific reason for the outage had been identified, or when it would be resolved. "Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry," it said in a statement at 9 p.m. ET. "They expect more from us." Republican New York State Assembly member Anil Beephan, Jr., Wednesday evening had called on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the hourslong outage. In a letter to FCC chairman Brendan Carr, Beephan wrote the outage has, "had a significant and unacceptable impact on public safety, including disruptions to reliable access to emergency communications and critical response systems." “More broadly, the continued instability of a major wireless carrier raises concerns about the resiliency and reliability of our greater communications infrastructure,” Beephan added.

New Texas 2026 polling shows Talarico ahead of Crockett in Senate Democratic primary

The Republican primary for U.S. Senate is potentially heading toward a runoff while Texas State Rep. James Talarico leads the Democratic primary over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, according to a new Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media poll. The poll, which was released Thursday, surveyed more than 400 likely Texas Democratic primary voters. The results showed Talarico held a 47% to 38% advantage over Crockett, with 15% of likely Democratic primary voters undecided. The margin of error for the Democratic primary portion of the poll is +/- 4.8%.

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Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said Talarico has “momentum” with Hispanic and white voters, while 80% of Black voters support Crockett, according to a press release. Kimball added that men supported Talarico 52% to 30% and women were evenly split. Crockett and Talarico will debate each other in Georgetown on Jan. 24 at 2 p.m. CT during the AFL-CIO COPE Convention. The livestream of the debate will be available on the KXAN+ streaming app, which is available on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. The debate will also be carried live on the KXAN website and mobile app. The Republican primary remains tight between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, polling shows. Paxton held a 27% to 26% lead against Cornyn, with Hunt receiving 16% among likely Republican primary voters. The poll surveyed 550 likely Republican primary voters, with a margin of error of +/- 4.1%. “Neither Ken Paxton nor John Cornyn appears positioned to reach 50% on the primary ballot, as the Republican electorate remains sharply divided. With Wesley Hunt gaining traction at 16%, a runoff between the two candidates now appears likely in May,” Kimball said. As for the November general election, the poll said Cornyn would fare better against the Democratic challenger when compared to Paxton. Cornyn holds a 47% to 44% advantage vs. Talarico and a 48% to 43% hypothetical lead on Crockett. The polling says Paxton would be essentially tied with Talarico or Crockett, with each candidate receiving 46% of the vote. Nine percent of voters were undecided. The economy is the most important issue for Texas voters, followed by threats to democracy and immigration, polling showed.

State Stories

Fort Bend Rep. Gary Gates passed a bill that helped his business. Now he’s suing to be sure it sticks.

Last spring, when Houston-area Rep. Gary Gates passed legislation closing an affordable housing loophole that threatened to cost Texas cities hundreds of millions of dollars in lost property tax revenue, he considered the law one of his biggest-ever legislative achievements. But the three-term lawmaker, whose business is owning and managing low-income housing properties, wasn’t done. Gates’ new law shut the door on controversial local government agencies that had inked hundreds of deals across the state, including many in the Houston area, where the vast majority of Gates’ properties are located. In exchange for reserving units for lower-income tenants, the properties received a huge tax break. Developers who profited from the deals quickly challenged the new rules in a lawsuit. With hundreds of valuable tax breaks over decades at stake, billions of taxpayer dollars are in play.

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Three months ago, Gates – now acting in his private capacity as an affordable-housing landlord — joined the legal battle opposing the developers. In filings by a nonprofit he formed and funded, he argued that without his law barring the deals, low-income housing owners — like him — were at a competitive disadvantage. That put Gates in a unique position: Privately defending a public law he himself passed that could be seen as protecting his personal business interests. It’s rare for one to plant a flag in the gray area so emphatically. But, Gates said, who better to understand the nuances of bad affordable housing policy and advocate against it than someone who works directly in the space? “If you have legislation dealing with animals, you take it to a veterinarian. If you have legislation dealing with medical issues, you take it to a doctor. It takes someone like me to understand how corrupt this is.” For years, small agencies formed by Texas cities or counties called housing finance corporations – HFCs – teamed up with private developers to provide affordable housing for their residents. As governmental entities, HFCs qualified the projects as exempt from property taxes. Large complexes could save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to subsidize their affordable units. About three years ago, however, a handful of financiers and attorneys discovered an apparent loophole in the Texas law: An HFC wasn’t required to be located where it did its deals.

Trump crackdown on immigrant truckers forces thousands out of work in Texas

Texas has quietly canceled more than 6,400 commercial driver’s licenses for asylum recipients, refugees and DACA recipients in the state since November as it seeks to carry out the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrant workers. The cancellations, which have not been previously reported, amount to about two-thirds of the number of commercial drivers with discretionary immigration status in Texas. Those impacted aren’t permanent residents but have permits to work in the U.S. legally. Many say they had no warning about the change and are now stuck with outstanding truck loans and insurance payments that they can’t afford. “I was shocked,” said Essa Khan Nikmohammad, a 36-year-old former combat interpreter for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan who was granted asylum in 2023. His license was revoked in December. “I came legal. I didn’t cross the border (illegally).”

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Federal officials say the move is meant to improve public safety, pointing to a small number of crashes involving truck drivers with temporary status, including a 17-car pileup on Interstate 35 in Austin last spring that left five people dead. The driver in that case had limited English proficiency. The Department of Transportation launched a nationwide audit after the incident, finding that several states had issued commercial licenses with expiration dates that didn’t match those on drivers’ separate work authorization forms. It threatened to withhold federal highway funds from any state that didn’t work to scrub licenses with discrepancies. .S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also pushed through an emergency rule barring asylum recipients, refugees and DACA recipients from renewing or obtaining the permits required to drive long-haul trucks. It cited “several recent fatal crashes” as justification and said the restriction would help ensure that only drivers with a “legitimate, employment-based reason” to hold a commercial license, like a work visa, are allowed to operate large trucks. A federal court temporarily blocked the rule, but Texas officials have continued to enforce it, saying they are obligated to comply with other federal directives. That means immigrants who find themselves without licenses after the audit cannot reapply for credentials. Duffy’s agency has acknowledged that there’s no conclusive evidence linking a driver’s nationality to roadway safety. More than 5,000 large trucks are involved in fatal crashes each year, according to the DOT’s statistics, dwarfing the number of reports of crashes involving noncitizens. Federal data shows immigrant drivers hold roughly 5% of commercial licenses yet account for just 0.2% of fatal crashes, according to the Associated Press.

Texas Gov. Abbott says people obstructing immigration enforcement should be arrested

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is calling for the arrest of those who are obstructing immigration enforcement. Governor Abbott was reacting to a video shown on Fox News where ICE vehicles are being rammed by a suspect in a car in San Antonio. Abbott described the suspect as a “criminal illegal alien” and went on to say organized groups are obstructing ICE officers.

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Gabriel Rosales with The League of United Latin American Citizens in Texas was quick to react to the Governor’s statement. “They continue to promote a narrative, right? Nobody wants militarized thugs coming into our communities. It doesn't matter what the governor says, he's played his cards. He's let us know what he is,“ he told TPR. Rosales said the Governor doesn’t care about working people in the state. “He just let us know what his agenda is, and it's not to help working people, and it's not to defend the rights of the undocumented that are here working and paying taxes in our community.” The video purportedly shows an alleged suspect ramming two vehicles in a Walmart parking lot with a car before agents pulled him out and arrested him. Governor Abbott’s statement on social media comes as San Antonio has seen an increase in ICE activities around the city.

Mike Miles helped broker nearly $1M charter school consulting deal

State-appointed Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles played a central role early in negotiations for a nearly $1 million contract between a Texas charter school network and a for-profit Colorado consulting firm, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle. Miles used his private Gmail during those talks, emails show, sending a proposal with the consulting firm’s cost breakdowns; flagging a major price increase; and directing where contract documents should be sent. The firm’s services — plus the free use of HISD’s curriculum and training by Miles himself — were intended to help the charter system replicate HISD’s controversial reforms and turn around several of its struggling campuses.

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"I hope the price is still worth it," Miles wrote to the charter system’s superintendent, Edward Conger. It is not uncommon for public school superintendents to engage in outside activities like teaching or giving keynote speeches. In fact, Miles’ contract with HISD allows him to do outside work, under certain conditions. Experts in school leadership and governance told the Chronicle that Miles' role in the arrangement raises concerns about transparency and best practices, including his use of a private email address, free HISD curriculum and his level of involvement. Brett Geier, a former superintendent who teaches K-12 educational leadership at Western Michigan University, said he thought HISD’s top leader should not have been this involved in an arrangement between another public entity and a vendor. “A superintendent is hired and remunerated for the position of improving the district that they've been charged with,” Geier said. “And so, my concern, from a policymaker, a board member, a community member would be: how much time was taken away from his duty right now, whether he was paid for it or not, in terms of leading the Houston ISD.”

Witness says officer paced outside as shooter neared in Uvalde case

New testimony Wednesday added to the growing picture of what jurors are being asked to weigh in the trial of former Uvalde CISD police officer Adrian Gonzales: whether he failed to act when it mattered most during the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children and two teachers. Gonzales faces 29 counts of abandoning or endangering a child, one for each student who was inside the two fourth-grade classrooms where the gunman carried out the attack. Prosecutors say Gonzales was among the first officers to arrive, yet as nearly 400 law enforcement officers waited more than an hour before confronting the shooter, he had a chance to intervene but did not. Melodye Flores, who worked as a teacher’s aide at Robb Elementary, testified she saw the gunman approaching the school carrying a rifle and immediately tried to get Gonzales to intervene.

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Flores told jurors she saw him pacing outside the school while the gunman was approaching the building. “I kept telling him, ‘He’s right there. … You need to do something,’” Flores said, describing the moments before the gunman entered the building. “I was begging him to stop him.” Flores testified that Gonzales did not respond, and seconds later, the shooting began. She described running for her life as gunfire erupted around her. “I thought I was going to die,” she testified. “The shots were so close. I could feel them passing by me.” Prosecutors say her account shows the danger was obvious and immediate, and that Gonzales failed to act in a moment when every second mattered. Other witnesses have also described the chaos inside the school, including teachers who saw the shooter in the hallway and tried to shield children as bullets tore through classroom doors. The emotional testimony spilled into the courtroom on Tuesday when Velma Lisa Duran, the sister of slain teacher Irma Garcia, interrupted proceedings during discussion of locked classroom doors and the delayed police response. Judge Sid Harle ordered her removed from the courtroom and instructed jurors to disregard the interruption.

A&M cancels ethics class, raising questions about course review rules

A Texas A&M University dean canceled an "Ethics in Public Policy" graduate course three days into the spring semester, saying the professor refused to submit information needed to be exempt from a new ban on teaching gender and race ideology. The dean specifically named professor Leonard Bright in a Wednesday email to his colleagues at the Texas A&M Bush School of Government and Public Service and used the course cancellation as a warning about following university processes. But Bright and other faculty advocates say they lack clarity about the rules for the ongoing course review and that administrators are using that ambiguity to their advantage. "It’s a very creative way of trying to sidestep (responsibility)," said Bright, who denied he failed to cooperate with administrators. "The end goal is to stop the discussions."

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Bright is the president of A&M's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, an organizing group that aims to protect faculty's academic freedom. He has been vocal about his concerns with the massive course review and exemption process, which has dragged into the spring semester and left some faculty in limbo as they wait for clear, consistent guidance on the policy — including how the university decides which courses violate its definitions of race and gender ideology. University officials said in a Wednesday statement that A&M has given "detailed written guidance and established a structured framework for syllabus and course review," including timelines, a phased implementation plan and a formal process for requesting course exemptions. "Ethics in Public Policy" is the second known course to be canceled outright under the new ideology ban. The Houston Chronicle also learned of a course that was moved out of the core curriculum and another that had to remove certain readings from Plato, the celebrated Greek philosopher. Texts with "major" LGBTQ plotlines are also blocked from core English courses, according to a departmental email viewed by the Chronicle. The policy — which the Texas A&M Regents passed in November and revised in December — prohibits the teaching of race or gender ideology, or topics about gender identity and sexual orientation, in the core curriculum. Professors can get exemptions to teach those topics outside the core, including at the graduate level. It is not clear yet how many courses have been affected, with topics removed, moved out of the core, or canceled entirely.

Keller mayor and House candidate says vulgar vandal wrote four-letter ICE slur on family member’s property

The mayor of Keller, whose city has been actively helping with immigration enforcement since last summer, said someone vandalized a relative’s business with a four-letter slur against ICE. Mayor Armin Mizani posted a photo on X of what appears to be a commercial sign with the indecent declaration scrawled in all caps. “Let’s be clear,” the Republican mayor wrote on X. “In Texas, nothing will deter us from standing with law enforcement professionals who risk their lives to protect our communities and enforce the law.” In August, the Keller City Council voted unanimously to participate in ICE’s 287(g) program, which grants local law enforcement the authority to perform certain immigration enforcement functions. Since then, Keller has been determining people’s immigration status when they are booked into a regional jail in the city.

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About 30 people protested the council’s decision at the time. Keller was the first Tarrant County city to sign onto the 287(g) program. In Mizani’s social media post about the vandalism, he included a message “to the naysayers who claimed Keller’s resolution and formal partnership with @ICEgov wouldn’t amount to anything.” He said Keller’s jail has turned over 11 people to ICE since August. The offenses included outstanding warrants, theft, drunken driving, drug paraphernalia and fake license plates, Mizani said. The detainees had been arrested by police departments in Southlake, Colleyville, Westlake and Roanoke and brought to Keller’s jail. Mizani also sent out a press release about the 11 detainees under the banner of his candidacy for Texas House District 98, saying “illegal immigrant crime doesn’t just happen at the border. It’s happening here in DFW, in our cities, towns, and neighborhoods.” On Wednesday, Mizani told the Star-Telegram he couldn’t speculate whether Keller’s involvement in the 287(g) program had motivated the vulgar vandal. He said his relative’s property is not in the Keller area.

Racist ICE lawyer back at work in Dallas immigration court

Jim Rodden, an ICE prosecutor, was exposed early last year by the Texas Observer as the operator of a White supremacist account on Twitter. At the time, the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility said that it “understands the seriousness of the allegations and will ensure the allegations are addressed appropriately, fairly, and expeditiously.” Apparently ICE decided Rodden is their kind of guy. Steven Monacelli reported yesterday at the Texas Observer that Rodden is back at work. He was spotted in the Dallas courtroom of Judge Deitrich H. Sims, whom the Dallas Observer has reported is “seen by many as a courtroom bully” and who denies asylum requests at a higher rate than nearly every other judge in the country. And so it goes.

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Mike Culbertson: Future of Corpus Christi depends on smart water strategy

(Mike Culbertson is President and CEO of the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation.) The Coastal Bend stands at a pivotal moment — one that will define the strength, resilience and prosperity of our region for decades to come. The city of Corpus Christi’s decision to pursue a new contract for a regional desalination plant is not only prudent; it is essential for protecting the industries that sustain our economy and for creating the opportunities our community needs to grow and thrive. Water has always been the lifeblood of the Coastal Bend. From energy and petrochemicals to advanced manufacturing, logistics and the hundreds of small businesses that support them, our residents, our industry and our commercial partners depend on reliable access to water. Industries provide thousands of high-wage jobs, generate tax revenue that funds local services and position Corpus Christi as a competitive hub on the Gulf Coast. Yet as our region continues to expand, so too does the pressure on our existing water supply.

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We cannot rely on the reservoirs and rainfall patterns of the past to meet the needs of the future. Drought cycles are becoming less predictable. Industrial investment is accelerating. And our community — like communities across Texas — is working hard to address housing shortages and support residential growth. To put it simply: Our current water sources are no longer sufficient on their own. Bringing new water supplies online is not just about adding capacity. It is about safeguarding what we already have. If we don’t secure additional, drought-proof water, we risk stalling major projects, slowing job creation and undermining the enormous progress the Coastal Bend has made in diversifying and strengthening its economy. Existing employers need certainty. Future employers need confidence. Desalination provides both. A regional desalination facility would give us the stability required to protect current industry and anchor future expansion. It would allow local manufacturers, refineries, and emerging tech and energy companies to plan long-term investments without worrying that water scarcity could interrupt operations or delay growth. More importantly, it would ensure that residential and commercial users are not forced to compete with industry for a finite resource, with industrial users paying their fair share and lowering the cost of water for households and small businesses. This is about balance — ensuring that families, small businesses and major employers all have the water they need to flourish.

‘No delay:’ Crockett, South Dallas residents press city on Fair Park greenspace

South Dallas community advocates, led by Senate candidate and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, pressed the City Council on Wednesday to break a two-year stalemate over who will build a long-promised community park at Fair Park. Crockett, speaking virtually from Washington, was joined by Anna Hill, Eva Jones and other community leaders, wearing blue pins that said “No delay. Our park today.” Crockett, a Democrat, warned that federal funding for the project could be in jeopardy. “Let me be clear, federal dollars are not symbolic,” she said. “They come with expectations, follow-through timelines and responsible local action.” Speakers repeatedly pointed to donor frustration, blaming bureaucratic delays and the city’s Park and Recreation Board, whose chair, Arun Agarwal, has resisted allowing the nonprofit Fair Park First to build the park without more vetting.

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“Isn’t it basic common sense we do due diligence before we hand over the keys to the park?” Agarwal told The Dallas Morning News Wednesday. Agarwal, who was not at the council meeting, said he does not disagree with the speakers and that the park board supports building the community park. That effort to strike common ground has not eased the political pressure as some council members have suggested they may strip the board of its role if the stalemate drags on. Council member Adam Bazaldua, whose district encompasses the 277-acre asset, said Wednesday he’s prepared to shift oversight of the park’s funding and development contracts from the board and place it under City Council authority if delays continue. Agarwal recently announced a taskforce aimed at jump-starting the project, led by former Fair Park First finance chair Keba Batie, former park board chair and council member Lois Finkelman, park board member Vana Hammond, as well as community leaders like Ken Smith, Bonton Foundation CEO Mark Jones and Antong Lucky with Urban Specialists. Agarwal said the goal is to protect donor confidence and prevent commitments from unraveling.

Federal judge says deporting Babson College freshman from Texas was a ‘tragic case of bureaucracy gone wrong’

In a potentially dramatic development in the case of a Babson College freshman who was abruptly deported over Thanksgiving, federal authorities on Tuesday acknowledged they were wrong to expel her in violation of a court order. The court admission was an unusual show of contrition during the Trump administration’s aggressive campaign to swiftly deport immigrants. But it’s unclear whether it will immediately lead to Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, being able to return from Honduras. The federal judge in the court proceeding Tuesday, Richard G. Stearns, prodded lawyers for the administration to find a way to let Lopez Belloza return to the United States and remain here legally. Her deportation, Stearns said, was a “tragic case of bureaucracy going wrong. It might not be anybody’s fault, but she was the victim of it.”

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Lopez Belloza was on her way home to Texas to surprise her parents and sisters on Thanksgiving when she was arrested at Logan Airport. As has become a hallmark of the administration’s immigration push, authorities shuffled her between locations and then out of state. Because it was unclear where she was, her attorney at the time filed for her release in Massachusetts. On the day after Thanksgiving, another federal judge in Boston ordered the administration not to transport her or deport her. By then, though, she had already been relocated to Texas, and despite the court order was deported to Honduras the following day. Her attorney filed a motion for contempt of court, and on Tuesday federal authorities said they’d acted in error. “I want to sincerely apologize,” Assistant US Attorney Mark Sauter said in Boston federal court. “The government regrets that violation and acknowledges that violation.” He said an ICE agent misread the court order and assumed it no longer applied because she was out of Massachusetts by then. Therefore, Sauter said, he didn’t flag it in ICE’s internal systems the way he should have.

Lake Worth parents, faculty press state about ongoing district takeover

In the seven months since Mark Ramirez was hired as Lake Worth school district’s superintendent, Chris Hollie has seen a lot of improvement across the district and is proud the community found a leader it can trust. Despite low ratings from the Texas Education Agency during assessments of the district’s schools, Hollie, who serves as a truancy compliance facilitator for Lake Worth, is proud of the work Ramirez has done to get the district back on track since he was hired in May 2025. He believed even better days were ahead. But now, Ramirez will soon be replaced by a state-appointed superintendent after the TEA announced it was taking over the district because of continuously low ratings. Hollie stood before TEA Deputy Commissioner Steve Lecholop at Lake Worth High School on Wednesday night and told him a huge mistake was being made.

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“This community is about to be changed and flipped upside down,” Hollie said. “The community found somebody that actually cared about the community and you guys are going to strip the community of what we have found.” Dozens more Lake Worth parents and teachers pressed Lecholop at the meeting hosted by the TEA Wednesday night in the Lake Worth High School auditorium. The meeting allowed community members to directly ask the TEA questions about the takeover and how it would affect the district. Over 100 people were in attendance, and dozens spoke passionately to Lecholop. Almost every speaker agreed that replacing Ramirez would be a grave mistake. The TEA announced in December that Ramirez was not being considered to keep his post. “My great hope is that this takeover positively impacts this community,” Lecholop told attendees. “Kids are going to be improving in their ability and their proficiency in reading and math. That’s going to have a positive impact on the community.”

UNT is offering free tuition for 4 years to eligible Texan students in 2026

The University of North Texas announced Wednesday that it will cover all costs for first-year students from Texas, including tuition and other mandatory fees. According to UNT, the “North Texas Promise Program” will begin in the fall 2026 academic year. It guarantees that eligible students who are getting their first bachelor’s degree will have free tuition for up to four years or eight consecutive semesters. “As the largest university in North Texas, UNT has a special responsibility to expand access to transformative educational opportunities across our region and beyond,” said UNT President Harrison Keller.

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“With the North Texas Promise, more outstanding Texas students will be able to access a college education that prepares them to unlock their full potential. I am proud we are able to offer this program grounded in our core values and our commitment to create enduring value for the public good.” To qualify for the program, incoming students must be from Texas and their family income cannot exceed $100,000 per year. Other requirements include ranking in top 25% of high school classes or being eligible for federal Pell Grants. They must be admitted for the fall 2026 semester by Feb. 15 and have submitted a valid FAFSA. UNT said prospective students should apply and submit their FAFSA in January to allow time for processing. The Denton-based university, which has a satellite campus in Frisco, said that students who meet the criteria will automatically be considered for the program without having to submit a separate application.

National Stories

Fear and anger spread after another immigration shooting in Minneapolis

A federal officer shot a man in the leg in Minneapolis after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle, further heightening the sense of fear and anger radiating across the city a week after an immigration agent fatally shot a woman in the head. Smoke filled the street Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd while protesters threw rocks and shot fireworks. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference that the gathering was an unlawful assembly and “people need to leave.” Things later began to quiet down at the scene, and by early Thursday fewer demonstrators and law enforcement officers were there. Such protest scenes have become common on the streets of Minneapolis since a federal agent fatally shot Renee Good on Jan. 7 amid a massive immigration crackdown that has seen thousands of officers sent into the Twin Cities.

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Agents have yanked people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders who are demanding that officers pack up and leave. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described the situation as not “sustainable.” Related Stories Federal officer shoots person in leg after being attacked during Minneapolis arrest, officials say What to know about the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE officer in Minneapolis New video of fatal Minnesota ICE shooting, from officer's perspective, brings fresh scrutiny “This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” he said. Frey described a federal force that is five times as big as the city’s 600-officer police force and has “invaded” the city, scaring and angering residents, some of whom want the officers to “fight ICE agents.” At the same time, the police force is still responsible for their day-to-day work to keep the public safe. The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down.

Mexico weighs its options as Trump’s intervention rhetoric escalates

President Claudia Sheinbaum is facing mounting pressure as U.S. President Donald Trump escalates rhetoric about striking Mexican drug cartels, following Washington’s military action in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro. Trump’s comments — including a Fox News interview in which he said the United States would begin “hitting land” against cartels — have sharpened concerns in Mexico. While similar language has surfaced before, Mexican officials say it took on new significance after the U.S. demonstrated its willingness to use force in Venezuela, raising fears that Mexico could be next. Those concerns prompted a direct phone call between the two leaders on Monday. Sheinbaum said Trump again proposed sending U.S. troops into Mexico. She rejected the offer and instead emphasized what she described as tangible results of bilateral cooperation: a 50% reduction in fentanyl crossing into the United States over the past year and a 43% decline in overdose deaths.

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Trump also asked for Mexico’s position on Venezuela. Sheinbaum responded by invoking constitutional limits. "I told him that we have a constitution, that we are against military interventions," she said in Spanish. She added that Trump acknowledged those constraints. On Wednesday, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51), and Congressman Greg Stanton (AZ-04) introduced the No Unauthorized War in Mexico Act, legislation that would prohibit taxpayer funds from being used for an unauthorized war in Mexico. “Trump is threatening to start a military conflict in America’s own backyard," said Congressman Stanton in a joint statement. "America's security goals must be achieved by working in partnership with Mexico, not attacking it—and certainly not without Congressional authorization.” "My constituents in San Antonio don’t want the U.S. to spend billions in another war that risks destabilizing the region, mass migration, and human rights abuses," Congressman Castro said in the statement. "My legislation, the No Unauthorized War in Mexico Act, would protect our relationship with a close ally and prevent wasting taxpayer dollars on military force in Mexico.”

US freezes all visa processing for 75 countries, including Somalia, Russia, Iran

The State Department is pausing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries in an effort to crack down on applicants deemed likely to become a public charge. A State Department memo, seen first by Fox News Digital, directs consular officers to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses screening and vetting procedures. The countries include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, Yemen and more. The pause will begin Jan. 21 and will continue indefinitely until the department conducts a reassessment of immigrant visa processing. Somalia has drawn heightened scrutiny from federal officials following a sweeping fraud scandal centered in Minnesota, where prosecutors uncovered massive abuse of taxpayer-funded benefit programs. Many of those involved are Somali nationals or Somali-Americans.

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In November 2025, a State Department cable sent to posts around the globe instructed consular officers to enforce sweeping new screening rules under the so-called "public charge" provision of immigration law. The guidance instructs consular officers to deny visas to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits, weighing a wide range of factors including health, age, English proficiency, finances and even potential need for long-term medical care. Older or overweight applicants could be denied, along with those who had any past use of government cash assistance or institutionalization. "The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people," State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement. "Immigration from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits."

Inside the alcohol lobby’s quest to water down federal booze guidelines

The alcohol industry spent the end of 2025 facing down a potential apocalypse. Booze lobbyists swooped in to help. The beer, wine and liquor industry — reeling from declining sales — has long had to reckon with U.S. government recommendations that warned against alcohol consumption, suggesting adults who drink any alcohol at all “drink in moderation” and limit their intake to “two drinks or less in a day for men and one drink or less in a day for women.” A revision to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which was due at the start of 2026, could have proven disastrous if it came in even marginally more restrictive. The government’s new advice is relatively vague, urging adults to “consume less alcohol for better overall health” and “limit” their drinking. It hangs no specific number of drinks on that recommendation.

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The guidelines also removed longstanding warnings that drinking could increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and other maladies, and they don’t distinguish between men and women, who typically metabolize alcohol differently. Booze lobbyists, who blitzed Capitol Hill, the White House and key executive branch agencies in the months leading up to the guidelines revision, may be partially to thank. In all, at least 15 beer, wine and liquor industry companies and trade associations reported lobbying on dietary guidelines in some form or fashion between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to a NOTUS review of federal records. (Lobbyists will disclose next week their federal lobbying activity covering Oct. 1 through Dec. 31.) Two lobbyists who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe their advocacy on behalf of alcohol industry clients said they made the case to Trump administration officials that more generalized alcohol recommendations would align with “make America healthy again” principles of individual choice and health empowerment. They also argued it could help the nation’s domestic beer, wine and liquor manufacturers thrive.

F.B.I. searches home of Washington Post journalist in a leak investigation

B.I. agents searched the home of a Washington Post reporter on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a government contractor’s handling of classified material, a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s tactics in seeking information from the news media. It is exceedingly rare, even in investigations of classified disclosures, for federal agents to search a reporter’s home. A 1980 law generally bars search warrants for reporters’ work materials, unless the reporters themselves are suspected of committing a crime related to the materials. The Washington Post reporter, Hannah Natanson, had spent the past year covering the Trump administration’s effort to fire federal workers and redirect much of the work force toward enforcing his agenda. Many of those employees shared with her their anger, frustration and fear with the administration’s changes.

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A spokesperson for The Washington Post said on Wednesday that the publication was reviewing and monitoring the situation. The F.B.I. agents, executing a search warrant, seized laptops, a phone and a smartwatch during their search. An article in The Post said the publication had received a subpoena on Wednesday morning seeking information related to a government contractor. Speaking to reporters in the afternoon, President Trump made an apparent reference to the case, saying the government had caught “a very bad leaker” of information related to Venezuela. He suggested that similar investigations were underway, saying: “There could be some others, and we’ll let you know about that. We’re hot on their trail.” In a message to staff, Matt Murray, the executive editor of The Post, said neither Ms. Natanson nor the paper was a focus of the investigation. “Nonetheless, this extraordinary, aggressive action is deeply concerning and raises profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work,” he wrote. Court documents indicate that law enforcement officials were investigating Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator in Maryland who has a top-secret security clearance and has been accused of gaining access to and taking home classified intelligence reports that were found in his lunchbox and basement.

Can the ICE agent who shot Renee Good be prosecuted?

There would be many obstacles for any prosecutors trying to bring a case against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis last week. If the state were to charge the agent, the U.S. Constitution makes it difficult for state authorities to prosecute federal officers for actions taken while on duty. Even if the state cleared that hurdle, it is difficult to convict law enforcement officers in any circumstances, let alone those as contentious as the shooting of the woman, Renee Nicole Good. And the Trump administration, all but guaranteed not to bring a federal case, is refusing to share evidence with Minnesota authorities. But Minneapolis’s top prosecutor, Mary Moriarty, said in an interview on Wednesday that lack of access to the federal investigation was “not a complete barrier” to prosecution. “This isn’t a whodunit,” she said, adding that she was exploring ways to compel the F.B.I. to share the evidence.

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A thorough investigation likely would take months and require a detailed analysis of the episode, which began when Ms. Good, parked across a road, was approached by ICE agents and ordered out of her S.U.V. When she instead began to drive, the agent, Jonathan Ross, who was bracing himself against her vehicle with one arm, fired three times, killing her. The episode was recorded on several cellphones and footage was instantly ubiquitous. Legal experts said that while a prosecution was feasible, securing a conviction would be a struggle. Steve Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University’s law school, said that given the videos, finding probable cause to charge Mr. Ross would not be a stretch. But, he said, “it gets much harder after that.” Asked for a representative for Mr. Ross, ICE directed comment to a Minnesota lawyer and Republican candidate for governor, Chris Madel, who said that Mr. Ross had applied to the U.S. Department of Justice for representation. Here’s what to know about the complexities of prosecuting Mr. Ross: Given the Trump administration’s swift reaction to the shooting, and the White House’s tight control over the Justice Department, federal prosecutors will almost certainly not bring charges. Six Minnesota federal prosecutors resigned over questions about whether the department would investigate Mr. Ross, and its push to investigate Ms. Good’s widow. That would leave any prosecution of Mr. Ross in the hands of state authorities, who might have jurisdiction to charge the agent but would have to fight for the ability to do so. The Constitution’s Supremacy Clause bars state prosecution of federal officers in a broad range of circumstances. That clause does not definitively prevent federal officers from ever facing criminal charges. To avoid prosecution, the federal officer must have been performing an act he was “authorized to do by the law of the United States” and have done “no more than what was necessary and proper,” according to a recent judicial opinion. The burden is on the state to show that an officer overstepped those bounds.

Iran warns of retaliation if Trump strikes, US withdraws some personnel from bases

The United States is withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbours it would hit American bases if Washington strikes. With Iran's leadership trying to quell the worst domestic unrest the Islamic Republic has ever faced, Tehran is seeking to deter U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters. The U.N. Security Council is due to meet on Iran on Thursday at the request of the United States. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was pulling some personnel from key bases in the region as a precaution given heightened regional tensions.

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"All the signals are that a U.S. attack is imminent, but that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy," a Western military official told Reuters later on Wednesday. At the White House, however, Trump suggested he was adopting a wait-and-see posture toward the crisis. Trump told reporters that he has been told that killings in the Iranian government's crackdown on the protests were subsiding and that he believes there is currently no plan for large-scale executions. Asked who told him that the killings had stopped, Trump described them as "very important sources on the other side." The president did not rule out potential U.S. military action, saying "we are going to watch what the process is" before noting that his administration had received a "very good statement" from Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday "there is no plan" by Iran to hang people, when asked about the anti-government protests. "There is no plan for hanging at all," the foreign minister told Fox News in an interview on the "Special Report with Bret Baier" show. "Hanging is out of the question," he said. According to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Society, hangings are common in Iranian prisons.

Trump not persuaded to abandon Greenland pursuit after White House talks

Top officials from Denmark and Greenland said after a visit to the White House on Wednesday that they hadn’t persuaded President Trump to abandon his ambitions to annex Greenland. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers at the White House in the midst of an extraordinary standoff between the U.S. and its closest allies over the future of the island of 57,000 people. Political leaders in Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of the Danish kingdom, have repeatedly insisted that their home isn’t for sale after Trump’s plans sparked blowback. A few hours later, Trump reiterated his position that the U.S. needs Greenland for security purposes. “There’s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland,” he told reporters. “But there’s everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela…I can’t rely on Denmark being able to fend themselves off.”

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Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the meeting Wednesday was a positive step forward, even if it didn’t sway Trump on the issue. A “fundamental disagreement” remains, he said, although talks will continue. “We didn’t manage to change the American position. It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering Greenland, and we made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest” of either Denmark or Greenland, Rasmussen said. He added that the U.S., Denmark and Greenland would establish a high-level working group to meet in the coming weeks but declined to give more specifics. Danish officials insist that Washington could achieve all of its strategic aims with Greenland—acquiring more military bases and access to mineral resources—without annexing the island. A senior Trump administration official said that a financial offer was to be part of the discussion and that the president was waiting on the outcome to decide his next move. A senior Danish official wouldn’t confirm that any monetary offers were made but said any effort to annex Greenland fully would be unacceptable. U.S. lawmakers, including some from Trump’s own party, are piling on. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said Trump’s Greenland aims are “incinerating the hard won trust of loyal allies in exchange for no meaningful change across the Arctic.” “Following through on this provocation would be more disastrous for the president’s legacy than withdrawing from Afghanistan was for his predecessor,” McConnell added.

Copyright January 15, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved