April 22, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Virginia voters back mid-decade redistricting effort pushed by Democrats

Virginia voters approved a mid-decade redistricting plan Tuesday that could boost Democrats’ chances of winning four additional U.S. House seats in November’s midterm elections that will decide control of the closely divided Congress. The constitutional amendment narrowly backed by voters bypasses a bipartisan redistricting commission to allow the use of new districts drawn by Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly. But the public vote may not be the final word. The state Supreme Court is considering whether the plan is illegal in a case that could make the referendum results meaningless. The Virginia redistricting referendum marked a setback for President Donald Trump, who kicked off a national redistricting battle last year by urging Republican officials in Texas to redraw districts.

click here for more

The goal was to help Republicans win more seats in the November elections and hold on to a narrow House majority in the face of political headwinds that typically favor the party out of power during midterm elections. But the Virginia redistricting referendum could help nullify Republican gains elsewhere. “Virginia just changed the trajectory of the 2026 midterms,” Democratic state House Speaker Don Scott said in a celebratory statement. “At a moment when Trump and his allies are trying to lock in power before voters have a say, Virginians stepped up and leveled the playing field for the entire country.” Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who campaigned for the new map, quickly shifted her attention to the November election. “I understand the urgency of winning congressional seats as a check on this President, and I look forward to campaigning with candidates across the Commonwealth working to earn Virginians’ trust,” she said in a statement.

Key moments from Kevin Warsh’s congressional testimony

Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, fielded questions at his confirmation hearing Tuesday about his commitment to an independent monetary policy, his pre-nomination argument that AI-driven productivity gains would give the central bank room to cut interest rates and his plans to divest more than $100 million in financial holdings he has declined to fully disclose. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) used her opening statement to brand Warsh as both a “sock puppet” for Trump and an opportunist whose views on rates have tracked the availability of the Fed chairmanship rather than the state of the economy. When her questioning turn came, she tried to force Warsh to prove she was wrong. He mostly declined to play. “Independence takes courage. Let’s check out your independence and your courage,” she said before asking if Trump lost the 2020 election. Warsh wouldn’t answer directly. “I’m just asking you a factual question,” she said. “I need to measure your independence and your courage.”

click here for more

After Warren tried a third time, Warsh pivoted, pointing to how the Fed had sowed the seeds of a “huge inflation problem” that year. Warren’s point was that a Fed chair who can’t bring himself to state plain facts that might displease the president who nominated him isn’t going to stand up to that president when it matters. It was a theme Democrats returned to throughout the hearing. Asked by committee chairman Tim Scott (R., S.C.) about how he would address affordability, Warsh provided a stiff indictment of the institution he hopes to lead. “The Fed missed its mark,” he said. “The fatal policy error” of 2021 and 2022 “is still a legacy that we’re dealing with.” What he said is needed now is “a regime change in the conduct of policy,” which he said includes a new inflation framework, new tools and a new approach to communicating its messages. It was just the opening salvo of a sustained critique that ran through the hearing. Warsh described the institution as one that has “lost its way,” that “wandered outside of its remit” and that is “in the business of politics” because of its own choices. He mocked “FedNow,” a real-time payments network the central bank launched several years ago, by calling it “Fed Yesterday.” He was no gentler on the culture. Warsh said he preferred “messier meetings” where “people don’t show up with rehearsed scripts,” a critique aimed squarely at how the Federal Open Market Committee now operates. He complained that “too many Fed officials past and present opine in advance about where they think interest rates should be,” a shot at the forward-guidance practice that has defined Fed communication for more than a decade.

State legislators tour Camp Mystic to learn more about July 4 flood

State legislators who serve on special committees investigating the July 4 flash flood that devastated the Texas Hill Country toured Camp Mystic on Monday to get a better understanding of where and how 25 children and two counselors were swept to their deaths during the disaster. It marked the first time the Texas Senate and House investigating committees visited the privately operated Christian camp for girls, located on the south fork of the Guadalupe River near the village of Hunt, about 18 miles southwest of Kerrville. The committees’ meeting agenda said media was not allowed to accompany the legislators on the tour due to a restraining order restricting access to the site.

click here for more

The order stems from a lawsuit filed by one flooding victim’s parents against Camp Mystic, some members of the Eastland family who own and operate the camp and other parties. The tour followed a withering court hearing last week that explored Camp Mystic directors' delay in responding to alerts and warnings about the approaching flash flood and their flawed evacuation effort. The Senate committee is examining the circumstances surrounding the July 4 flash flood in the Texas Hill Country, including actions that were taken at youth summer camps. The House committee is looking into factors contributing to the devastation at Camp Mystic and will identify steps to strengthen the state’s preparedness and response to flooding and other natural disasters. The committees are expected to issue a report on their findings this summer. The Texas Department of State Health Services also is investigating Camp Mystic, examining whether directors broke any laws in their response to the July 4 flood. The agency also is exploring rules governing youth camps. The agency has received more than 600 complaints and requests to not renew Camp Mystic’s state license this year, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said.

Texas jobs market seen slowing down in 2026

The Texas economy is now expected to add jobs at a rate of 1.4% in 2026, according to a model-based forecast from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas — a significant downshift from the bank’s forecast just a few weeks ago. The bank’s previous 2026 employment forecast, released in early April, had projected a growth rate of 1.9%, implying an addition of nearly 280,000 jobs and a significant upswing from earlier estimates for the year. The latest forecast, released on Friday, implies an addition of around 206,000 jobs. “Texas employment growth slowed sharply in February,” Luis Torres, a Dallas Fed senior economist, said in a statement, “and year-to-date growth is now more aligned with earlier forecasts for 2026.”

click here for more

Those figures, though, are the midpoints on a wider statistical range the bank’s modeling system projected. Even a few weeks ago — after the unexpectedly rosy 1.9% projection — researchers were cautioning that they expected the year-end number to land closer to the low point of the range because of several more lasting economic challenges, especially labor market constraints stemming from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Torres reiterated that sentiment with the release of the new projection. “Given several headwinds, our expectations are for this year’s growth to come in at the lower end of the forecast’s confidence band, at around 1.0 percent,” he said in the release. “Declining immigration is constraining labor supply, and higher productivity is suppressing labor demand.” State business activity, meanwhile, has recently moderated, the bank’s monthly surveys of executives around the state have shown, and labor demand has been low. In February, the information, manufacturing and professional and business services sectors recorded jobs gains, the Dallas Fed’s report noted, while trade and transportation, other services and oil and gas all notched employment losses. Construction and education and health services also recorded job losses — representing a reversal from those sectors’ recent solid gains.

State Stories

Federal court of appeals rules in favor of Texas' Ten Commandments law

A federal appeals court has ruled against a number of Texas families who sought to block school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. In a split opinion filed Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state of Texas and reversed a ruling by a federal judge that prohibited some Texas schools from displaying the Ten Commandments. "Yes, Plaintiffs have sincere religious disagreements with its content," Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan wrote for the nine-judge majority. "But that does not transform the poster into a summons to prayer." Senate Bill 10, which was passed into law last year, requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

click here for more

Several families, both from religious and nonreligious backgrounds, brought the lawsuit against a number of Texas school districts, including Plano ISD, in July 2025. A federal judge in August issued a preliminary injunction temporarily preventing the school districts named in the case from displaying the Ten Commandments. Tuesday's opinion reversed that injunction. The ACLU of Texas, which is representing the families in the case, said in a statement that it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse Tuesday's decision. "The First Amendment safeguards the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when and if to provide their children with religious instruction," the statement said. "This decision tramples those rights." The districts, represented by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office, appealed the preliminary injunction. Paxton asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to evaluate the case along with a challenge to a similar law in Louisiana and the court heard arguments in January. According to the Associated Press, the court ruled in February that it was too soon to decide the constitutionality of the Louisiana law. In a social media post, Paxton called the opinion a "major victory for Texas and our moral values." "The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it’s important that students learn from them every single day," he said.

Cornyn slams Paxton over sex offender's 'sweetheart deal' in Texas US Senate race

Incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's campaign is lashing out at his Texas runoff opponent over a "sweetheart deal" for a sex offender. Adam Hoffman, a lawyer in Waco, Texas, was facing a life sentence for the sexual abuse of a child that lasted three years. Attorney General Ken Paxton, however, reduced the charges last week so that Hoffman will serve only 30 days in jail and will not be required to register as a sex offender, according to reporting from KWTX in Waco. The initial plea offered by Paxton's office would not have required Hoffman to serve additional jail time, but it was rejected by the judge.

click here for more

“Crooked Ken Paxton took a horrific first degree felony case and reduced it down to two class A misdemeanors, initially suggesting it would accept no additional jail time,” said Cornyn campaign senior advisor Matt Mackowiak in a news release. “A child was sexually abused for three years, and Ken Paxton thinks that should be a misdemeanor with no jail time and no requirement to register as a sex offender." "This is one of the most outrageous examples of leniency towards a violent criminal in modern Texas history," he added. "The only person (in) Texas that thinks this sentence is appropriate is Ken Paxton.” As has been the case throughout the U.S. Senate race in Texas, Paxton did not respond to a request for comment. Paxton is set to face Cornyn in the May 26 Republican primary runoff for a U.S. Senate seat. Despite Cornyn's continuous efforts to highlight Paxton's failures, both professionally and personally, Paxton continues to swing polls in his favor. The winner of the Republican runoff will face Democrat state Rep. James Talarico in the November 3 General Election.

UT announces new Dell Medical Center, research campus after $750 million gift

After a historic $750 million gift from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, The University of Texas at Austin’s future hospital has a name: The UT Dell Medical Center. It will be part of the newly announced UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research, which will focus on clinical care and research in combination with advanced computing and artificial intelligence. At a press conference Tuesday, the Dells, along with state and university officials, emphasized the opportunity to build a world-class university medical center that integrates modern technology from the ground up. “By bringing together medicine, science and computing in one campus designed for the AI era, UT can create more opportunity, deliver better outcomes, and build a stronger future for communities across Texas and beyond,” said Michael and Susan Dell in a news release.

click here for more

The Dells' gift is one of the largest ever given to a United States university, and the couple are now the first donors to surpass $1 billion in lifetime giving to UT Austin. They were also integral in launching the university’s medical school — also named for the Dells — with a $50 million donation in 2013. In addition to the new university hospital and research campus, the Dells’ latest investment will also support undergraduate scholarships, student housing and UT’s Texas Advanced Computing Center. Michael Dell, a UT alumnus, joked at the press conference that his parents had sent him to the university decades ago to become a doctor — a plan that "got derailed" when he founded Dell Technologies from his dorm in the Dobie residence hall. "So far, it's worked out," Dell said. "But Susan and I never lost our connection to medicine and our belief that this university can do great things for this community." That dorm building is now set to be renamed "Dell House," UT officials announced. Dr. Claudia Lucchinetti, dean of the Dell Medical School, said the Dells’ gift represents "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to define what the future of health should look like." “We are building an integrated, patient-centered model powered by AI and advanced technology that shifts the focus from treating sickness to advancing health itself through prevention, prediction and precision,” Lucchinetti said. “This will transform how we care for patients, how we train the next generation of physicians, and how we accelerate life science innovation to improve lives at scale.”

Dallas County canceled Domingo Garcia's voter registration, saying he died. Still alive, he's working to get it reinstated.

Dallas attorney and politician Domingo Garcia is sounding the alarm about potential voter suppression now that he's received a letter from Dallas County Elections telling him that his own voter registration has been canceled. The letter, signed by Dallas County Elections Administrator Paul Adams, says Garcia's voter registration is canceled as of April 10, 2026. The letter cites Section 16.031(a) of the Texas Election Code, which, according to the Texas Secretary of State's Office, includes registrations canceled due to death or mental incapacity, or someone identified as registered to vote in a different county or state. Garcia says he has been told that the state informed Dallas County that he was dead.

click here for more

"I sent a letter requesting that I have a hearing over the next 10 days to prove that I'm alive and that I should be reinstated," Garcia told WFAA. "You know, too many people have fought. And whether it was women during suffrage or Hispanics and Blacks through the civil rights movement to have that right to vote and for it to be just taken away, via letter, that's just not right. And we're going to make sure it doesn't happen to me, and it does happen to any other Texan or American." "And I'm just wondering how many other votes are getting these letters without the proper protocol," Garcia said. "And we're just trying to get the word out in case other people are facing similar problems like mine." He says several people have contacted him after his social media post, indicating that they are in similar situations. Garcia says he has voted in every election since 1976, when he was 18 years old, and voted in the most recent March primaries. In a statement, the Secretary of State's Office said, "We are reviewing this case to determine what may have caused the issue. Our office is not currently doing any large-scale voter list maintenance." The Secretary of State's Office also said that voters can check their registration with the "Am I Registered" tool on VoteTexas.gov. "If a voter is mistakenly removed, they can notify the voter registrar, and their registration will be reinstated with immediate effect," the office said. WFAA has also reached out to Dallas County Elections for comment.

TCEQ can withhold documents related to cancer-causing emissions for now, Texas Supreme Court rules

Texas' top environmental regulator does not have to produce thousands of documents related to carcinogenic emissions limits after the agency was accused of delaying their release, the Texas Supreme Court ruled. In its ruling, the high court reversed a decision that found the Texas Commissioner on Environmental Quality violated a deadline to ask the attorney general’s office whether more than 6,000 files could be withheld after a public records request from the Sierra Club, and environmental nonprofit. The court found the commission didn't blow the deadline for two reasons: The commission put its request to the attorney general's office in "interagency mail" within the timeframe, and TCEQ reset the 10-day period by sending an email to the Sierra Club for clarification on their information request.

click here for more

Justices Brett Busby and Debra Lehrmann dissented. While the ruling doesn't end the case — a trial court must now decide whether or not the files are protected from being released at all — the nonprofit said the decision was a disappointing. "While it's not a total loss because they're remanding it back to another court, it certainly isn't the ruling we were looking for," said Cyrus Reed, the legislative and conservation director for the Texas chapter of the Sierra Club. The case dates back to 2019, after the commission requested the Environmental Protection Agency raise the limit for how much ethylene oxide can be emitted into the environment. Ethylene oxide is a colorless gas used mainly to make other chemicals like antifreeze, according to the National Cancer Institute. In small quantities it is used as a pesticide and sterilizing agent. The Sierra Club requested documents related to how TCEQ determined the ethylene oxide emissions limit could be raised.

Cuban says ‘no’ when asked if he wants Harris to run for president in 2028

Investor Mark Cuban on Tuesday said “no” when asked if he wants to see former Vice President Kamala Harris run for president in the 2028 election. Cuban was once one of Harris’s surrogates in 2024 when she ran against President Trump. But at Politico’s Health Care Summit on Tuesday, when asked by Politico’s senior executive editor Alexander Burns what Harris’s message on health care was, Cuban added, “Don’t remember, don’t care.” “Those days are gone,” he said. “… I don’t care at this point in time. Right now, we’ve got until 2028. I don’t care who the candidates are. I’m not trying to pick a candidate. I’m not trying to promote a candidate. I’m trying to change how f—ed up this health care industry is right now, and that’s all I care about.”

click here for more

When Burns pressed Cuban further about his “no” answer, Cuban replied, “There’s time for a lot of new s— right now.” The former “Shark Tank” star said he was open to supporting a Republican supportive of Trump and of the president’s Department of Health and Human Services, citing lowering drug prices and speeding up drug trials. Cuban referred to legislation co-sponsored by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) that would crack down on health care conglomerates that own multiple parts of the industry. “Until you break those companies up and make them divest their non-insurance assets, they own your health care,” Cuban said, later telling the Federal Trade Commission to “do your job.” He praised the possibility of an independent running on a health care affordability platform, but dismissed any possibility he would run a campaign on that platform, adding that “it won’t be me.”

Texas lawmaker targets JetBlue over alleged customer spying claims

The internet is in an uproar after viral posts raised questions about a major airline's pricing methods—prompting one Texas congressman to act. On April 18, an X user known as NuggetSince94 said the price of a JetBlue flight jumped by $230 in just a 24-hour timeframe. "I love flying @JetBlue but a $230 increase on a ticket after one day is crazy," NuggetSince94 wrote. "I’m just trying (to) make it to a funeral." In a now deleted comment, JetBlue replied: "Try clearing your cache and cookies or booking with an incognito window. We're sorry for your loss." Screenshots of the exchange quickly spread online, alleging that the sixth-largest airline in the U.S. quietly admitted to surveillance pricing—or dynamic, algorithmic pricing based on personalized data.

click here for more

"Crazy, Did JetBlue just admit to raising prices when they know you're tracking the price?" one user wrote. In response to Chron's request for comment, JetBlue said the reply from the JetBlue's crewmember on social media was incorrect, and apologized for the "error." "JetBlue fares on JetBlue.com and our mobile app are not determined by cached data or other personal information," the company wrote. "Pricing is based on real-time availability and is managed through our reservation system. Fares can change at any moment as seats are purchased or as inventory is adjusted based on demand, and are not guaranteed until a purchase is completed." However, this is not the only post that has garnered widespread attention. On Feb. 23, a user named Sarah Zimmermann posted on X, complaining that she was unable to buy points on the JetBlue website during a limited-time special deal and received an error message.

A TPUSA tour stop triggered a pro-LGBTQ event at Baylor. Then came the Baptist blowback.

When the conservative political group Turning Point USA scheduled a campus tour stop at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, for Wednesday (April 22), organizers advertised it as “a chance to honor Charlie’s mission” and as a venue for enacting free speech. But though free speech was part of their program, TPUSA, which was led by activist Charlie Kirk until his assassination in September, probably didn’t expect to be the catalyst for an event welcoming LGBTQ activists to speak at the Christian university. The competing event, called “All Are Neighbors,” is the result of grassroots activism from progressive student leaders. “They’re (TPUSA) pushing a message that is aligned with Christian nationalism,” said J.W. LaStrape, president of Baylor’s College Democrats chapter. “We’re going to push back on it by celebrating the marginalized folks that the Christian nationalist vision excludes.”

click here for more

Baylor has maintained that hosting the duel events is part of its commitment to open discussion and said the events will be aligned with institutional policies. “Historically, Baylor has opened its doors to a wide range of student-invited speakers with differing viewpoints on theology, politics, research and many other subjects,” a spokesperson told RNS in a statement, adding that Baylor doesn’t “institutionally endorse” the views of event speakers. But the events have generated controversy among stakeholders, including the Baptist General Convention of Texas, a group of Texas churches that announced Friday they would be reviewing their historic relationship with the university. Event participants told RNS the tensions surrounding the events are emblematic of larger religious and political trends. “It’s two very different visions of the future, and (of) what is possible, and the kind of America, as well as college campuses that we want,” said the Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, a Baptist minister and president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance who is speaking at the “All Are Neighbors” event.

RGV leaders mourn banking pioneer Robert C. ‘Bobby’ Norman

Valued McAllen Economic Board Of Directors member Robert C. “Bobby” Norman died unexpectedly on Tuesday, April 14. Norman is described by his colleagues as a pioneer who was committed to advancing economic opportunity in McAllen and the broader Rio Grande Valley region. He was a mentor, a friend, and a warm, but also a strategic, teaching leader. In addition to his service to the McAllen Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Norman dedicated 30 years of his life to developing banking and business in South Texas. The impact of his knowledgeable perspective will be a lasting fixture in his passing, as Rio Grande Valley leaders look back on his teachings.

click here for more

Norman’s community minded work reached many corners of the Valley, from Mission to Weslaco to McAllen. He served on the boards of the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce, Mission Boys & Girls Club, the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Development Board. In addition, he served as both a board member and the chairman of Mission Regional Medical Center and South Texas Higher Education Authority, Inc. A community staple, according to Suarez, Norman was the reason many bankers came to McAllen, highlighting the profound and lasting mark he left on the local finance world. “You could ask him anything and he really would give you a good opinion, good advice, and he was great at listening and trying to understand different points of view,” she recounted. Suarez believes Norman will go down in McAllen history as a community leader that led the Chamber of Commerce and MEDC through a transition that left them in full alignment with the city. As a result of this, a flurry of opportunities continue to rise. He’s recognized as a key player in the ongoing development of a $225 million Valeo manufacturing plant within the city.

Cruz: Schumer will shut down government weeks before midterms

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) predicted Tuesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) would shut down the government shortly before this year’s midterms. “On Sept. 30, funding for the federal government will end. Chuck Schumer is not a creative guy, he’s not hard to predict. Last year, right before the election, what did Schumer do? He shut the whole government down, and the Democrats believe that shutdown helped them politically, and it benefited them in New Jersey and Virginia,” Cruz said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” referencing a shutdown surrounding health care issues that lasted more than a month. “I will wager, right now, $100, that Schumer intends — on Oct. 1 — to do the same thing, to shut the whole federal government down for a month, so that on Election Day … the government is shut down, you have four-hour lines again in airports, and the Democrats can say, ‘See, the Republicans are in charge, they don’t know what they’re doing,’” he added.

click here for more

Republicans are facing a rocky road to the midterms, with issues such as low approval ratings for President Trump, concerns around affordability and dissatisfaction with the recent U.S. conflict against Iran dogging the GOP as it approaches November. According to a polling average from Decision Desk HQ, Trump’s approval rating is sitting at 40.8 percent, while his disapproval is at 56.3 percent. Earlier this month, former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany warned that the upcoming midterms “will be hard” for the GOP. “Not to put too rosy a picture on it though, midterms will be hard for Republicans. It’s just historically difficult to win when you’re in power, but I would like my odds more with this president than prior presidents,” she said on “Fox & Friends Weekend.” During his CNBC interview, Cruz also discussed the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin warning on Tuesday that the department is going to be unable to pay out employee salaries beginning early next month. The Hill has reached out to Schumer’s office for comment.

Gateway Church founder officially registered as sex offender in Palo Pinto County

Former Gateway Church senior pastor Robert Morris is officially registered as a sex offender, according to online records from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Morris was released last month from an Oklahoma prison after serving six months on charges related to his sexual abuse of Cindy Clemishire in the 1980s. The former spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump is registered and serving his probation in Palo Pinto County, where he owns a lakefront property on Possum Kingdom Lake, according to the online records. Morris will be required to verify his registration quarterly for the rest of his life.

click here for more

Texas agriculture commissioner candidate calls for moratorium on data centers

Dozens of communities across the state have been pushing back against data centers, and farmers are weighing in. Concerns continue to grow over the amount of water these projects require. Spectrum News has reported on county judges pushing for moratoriums to limit the growth of data centers. Now, the Texas Farmers Union is also calling for a halt to data center growth. Texas farmers say they’ve been enduring many hardships, particularly over the past five years. Between higher production costs and low commodity prices, many have not been able to break even. With data centers popping up throughout the state, some are worried these projects could exacerbate the problems affecting the already strained industry. “I love the business,” said Clayton Tucker, a rancher in Lampasas. “I love being with the animals. I just don’t love the economic situation.”

click here for more

Seeing the challenges farmers have been facing led Tucker to run for agriculture commissioner. He’s the Democratic nominee on November’s ticket, and the data center boom in Texas is one of his top issues. “We are calling for a full moratorium on all data center construction in Texas,” Tucker said during a news conference while representing the Texas Farmers Union. He is particularly concerned about the amount of water data centers require, and with droughts already affecting Texas farmers, he fears these projects could strain the industry even more. “On day one, I will start issuing ag impact studies to slow them down, to gunk them up and to really put the brakes on them because we need to study what’s actually going on,” Tucker said. His opponent, Republican candidate Nate Sheets, points to other factors he says are affecting farmers more than data centers. “As it relates to agriculture in Texas, the real issue that I feel is the greater issue than just the encroachment of data centers, is the continued loss of agriculture in Texas due to the consolidation in agriculture,” Sheets said.

Texas AG sues California kratom retailers for selling products he says violate state law

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued two California-based online kratom companies for allegedly selling products to Texans that contain an illegal amount of a controlled substance, he announced Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed in Collin County district court last week, accuses Pure Leaf Kratom and Outcast Distribution of selling products that contain nearly 50 times the legal limit of 7-hydroxymitragynine — also known as 7-OH — an alkaloid found in kratom products the suit says can cause life-threatening symptoms or even be fatal when chemically manipulated. “I will not allow California-based companies to illegally ship their potentially deadly substances into Texas,” Paxton wrote in a statement. “Synthetic kratom products can be incredibly dangerous, and my office will continue to work to protect Texas consumers from the harms of adulterated kratom products.”

click here for more

KERA News has reached out to Pure Leaf Kratom and Outcast Distribution for comment and will update this story with any response. It comes about two months after Paxton sued North Texas kratom retailers operating under the name Smokey’s Paradise in Midlothian. An Ellis County judge granted the state a temporary injunction last week preventing Smokey’s from selling kratom products. Kratom is a leafy plant that can be consumed in capsule or powder form or mixed into food or drinks, producing opioid-like effects, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved kratom for any use, but some people use it to manage drug withdrawal symptoms and cravings. In 2023, state lawmakers passed the Texas Kratom Consumer Health and Safety Protection Act. It limits the 7-OH level of any kratom product to 2% of the product's total alkaloid content and bans synthetic alkaloids.

Arlington approves $273M deal to keep Dallas Cowboys in city through 2055

The Arlington City Council voted Tuesday, April 21, to approve a $273 million agreement to keep the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys’ lease of the stadium, enacted after a voter-approved ballot measure and extended for one year during the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to run until 2040 with an option to extend toward the end of the lease. Under that lease, the city owns AT&T Stadium, but the Cowboys take care of the maintenance and upkeep. Arlington paid $325 million for the construction of the stadium, with the rest financed by the Cowboys. Under the agreement approved on Tuesday, the Cowboys would extend their lease for another 15 years and invest at least $750 million into “maintenance, operation, and improvement of the complex” through 2055, while the city of Arlington would invest that $273 million over a 20-year period into a “maintenance and operation account.”

click here for more

When voters approved the city’s contribution to AT&T Stadium in 2004, they also agreed to pay a half-cent sales tax increase, a 2% hotel room tax, and a 5% rental car tax. Those taxes allowed the city to pay back its debt 10 years early. In 2016, Arlington voters also approved a ballot measure to give $500 million in tax revenue to fund a new Texas Rangers stadium. The council approved the proposal 7-2, with District 3 council member Nikkie Hunter and District 7 council member Bowie Hogg voting against it. Hogg previously told the Star-Telegram that although the deal would be a positive outcome for the city, he wanted the council to debate whether voters should have the right to re-approve it, as they did in 2016. Local business owners told council members that the Cowboys bring vital money and visitors to the downtown corridor.

National Stories

Iran seizes ships in Strait of Hormuz after Trump extends ceasefire

Iran attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz this morning, saying its Revolutionary Guard seized two of them and further inflaming tensions over the key waterway. It comes after U.S. forces seized an Iranian ship and boarded a tanker linked to Tehran’s oil trade. President Donald Trump said last night that he was extending the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely so its leaders “can come up with a unified proposal,” but that the naval blockade Tehran considers an act of war will continue. The truce was set to expire today, and Trump had vowed not to extend it.

click here for more

Trump said he was prolonging the ceasefire until peace talks have reached a conclusion one way or another. Vice President JD Vance had been expected to lead a delegation to Pakistan, but a second round of negotiations is now uncertain. Iran’s forensics chief said nearly 3,400 people had been killed in the country since U.S.-Israeli strikes began Feb. 28. More than 2,200 people have been killed in Lebanon, 32 have been killed in Gulf states, and 23 have died in Israel. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed, and two more died of noncombat causes.

Justice Department charges Southern Poverty Law Center with fraud over investigations into extremist groups, Blanche says

A federal grand jury in Alabama indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on 11 counts of wire and bank fraud-related charges on Tuesday, the Justice Department announced, accusing the group of paying members of extremist groups as part of its efforts to investigate them without disclosing the practice to donors or banks. The SPLC has denied the allegations. "The SPLC is a nonprofit entity that purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups and conducting research to inform law enforcement groups with the goal of dismantling these groups," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference announcing the charges. "The SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred."

click here for more

Blanche said the group was charged with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The SPLC is a nonprofit that tracks white supremacist and other hate groups across the U.S., and has been a frequent target of President Trump's allies. It is best known for its work investigating the Ku Klux Klan. The charges came hours after the center's interim president and CEO Bryan Fair said in a video that the organization was being investigated by the Justice Department in connection with a now-defunct program that used paid confidential informants to infiltrate far-right groups. Blanche said the paid informant program at the Southern Poverty Law Center went through at least 2023. He also claimed that the investigation into the group started years ago, but was shuttered during President Joe Biden's term, until the Trump administration revived it.

D.H.S. will run out of money for paychecks in May, secretary says

Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary, said on Tuesday that his department would run out of money to pay employees the first week of May if Congress failed to reach a deal to reopen the department. “The money is going extremely fast,” Mr. Mullin said during an interview with “Fox & Friends.” “The president can’t do another executive order for us to use money, because there’s no more money there.” Missed paychecks could renew chaos at airports as lawmakers remain divided over a deal to end the two-month shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

click here for more

The threat of them also ramps up political pressure on Congress to unlock funding, which had eased after President Trump signed memos calling on his administration to use existing money to pay all department employees, including Transportation Security Administration officers. Mr. Mullin said the money to fund paychecks was drawn from a portion of Mr. Trump’s signature domestic policy bill, which gave the department more than $170 billion over four years to carry out the president’s immigration crackdown. But he said that payroll costs were amounting to more than $1.6 billion every two weeks, and that available funding for salaries would dry up after this month. The dysfunction has frustrated many department employees who have been dealing with financial uncertainty since the shutdown began. More than 90 percent of the department’s roughly 260,000 workers are considered essential, meaning that most employees continue to work without pay.

Patel gets in shouting match with reporter as he defends job performance

FBI Director Kash Patel got into a shouting match with a reporter amid questions over his job performance following an explosive article from The Atlantic alleging excessive alcohol use by the director. The outlet reported that while in charge of the bureau, Patel has consumed alcohol “to the point of obvious intoxication” in front of White House officials and other Trump administration staff. On multiple occasions within the past year, the article said, members of his security detail have also “had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated.” Patel fielded a number of questions about the article in his first appearance before the Justice Department press corps since its publication. “I can say unequivocally that I never listen to the fake news mafia, and as when they get louder, it just means I’m doing my job,” he said.

click here for more

When asked about video showing Patel partying and drinking with the U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team, he said, “I’m on the job. I’m the first one in. I’m the last one out. I’m like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey, and champions my friends when they raise a gold medal and invite me in to celebrate. I’ve never been intoxicated on the job, and that is why we filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit. And any one of you that wants to participate, bring it on, I’ll see you in court.” Patel then erupted at a reporter who narrowed in on a specific detail of the story mentioning that at one point the director was unable to log into FBI systems. The Atlantic reported that Patel “panicked, frantically” as he believed his job to be in jeopardy. Patel claimed Tuesday that the detail was untrue, though his $250 million defamation suit against The Atlantic confirms he had “had a routine technical problem logging into a government system.” Patel was asked by NBC’s Ryan Reilly what he was thinking on the day he was unable to log in to his government computer. “The problem with you and your baseless reporting is that is an absolute lie. It was never said. It never happened. And I will serve in this administration as long as the president and the attorney general want me to do so,” Patel said, telling Reilly, “you are off topic.”

Indicted Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigns from Congress amid expulsion threat

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., announced Tuesday she is resigning from the House of Representatives after Republicans vowed to force a vote to expel her from the chamber. "Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida's 20th District," she wrote on social media Tuesday afternoon. "I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately." "This fight is far from over," Cherfilus-McCormick, who was indicted by a grand jury last year for allegedly stealing COVID-19 emergency funds, added in her statement. She is facing 53 years in prison as part of a separate criminal indictment.

click here for more

Cherfilus-McCormick’s abrupt announcement came after Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., pledged to file a motion to expel her, teeing up a vote later this week. It takes two-thirds of the House to remove a lawmaker, but a growing number of Democrats have voiced support for the expulsion effort. It also came just minutes prior to a House Ethics Committee hearing that was slated to recommend sanctions against her for committing a bevy of violations involving financial misconduct. House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., announced the panel lost jurisdiction with Cherfilus-Mccormick's eleventh-hour decision to quit Congress. The committee panel found "clear and convincing evidence" in March that the Florida Democrat misused federal disaster relief money that was improperly paid to her family’s healthcare company, among other misconduct.

Johnson touts ‘bipartisan’ path for FISA reauthorization, but obstacles remain

Speaker Mike Johnson is raising the possibility of a “bipartisan” path forward on extending a key spy authority after negotiations among House Republicans blew up late last week. “We’re confident that we’ll be able to find strong bipartisan consensus that builds off of the really meaningful reforms that we included in the legislation the last time we reauthorized it,” Johnson said during a news conference Tuesday morning. The emergency short-term reauthorization Congress cleared last week expires April 30, putting pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal quickly. Among the options GOP leaders are discussing: If the Senate can advance a three-year extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with policy changes, the House could then pass it with a majority of Republicans and some Democrats, according to three people granted anonymity to share direct knowledge of ongoing conversations.

click here for more

It’s also possible Johnson could put that measure on the House floor under an expedited procedure that does not require prior adoption of a party-line rule, but would need a two-thirds majority voting in the affirmative to secure passage. House GOP leaders still need to appease hard-liners who have very specific demands for new guardrails on warrentless surveillance practices as part of any reauthorization measure. House Democratic leaders, meanwhile, aren’t promising cooperation — and they’re skeptical Johnson is as close to a deal as he might suggest. “His confidence meter was always pretty high, and then he put a bill on the floor that had zero consensus among his caucus, and looked like the disaster that it was after midnight,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California told reporters Tuesday. He added that he has not had “any discussions” yet with Republican counterparts on next steps for Section 702, and “absent those conversations, it’s going to be hard to find bipartisan consensus.” Aguilar also said that Democrats would follow the leads of House Intelligence Chair Jim Himes of Connecticut and Jamie Raskin of Maryland. Johnson is planning to meet Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Darin LaHood of Illinois later Tuesday as the pair of Republicans works with Democrats on a bipartisan FISA extension plan, according to two people granted anonymity to share private scheduling.

CDC won’t publish report showing covid shots cut likelihood of hospital visits

A report showing the efficacy of the covid-19 vaccine that was previously delayed by the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been blocked from being published in the agency’s flagship scientific journal, according to three people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The report showed that the vaccine reduced emergency department visits and hospitalizations among healthy adults by about half this past winter. The move, which has not been previously reported, has raised concerns among current and former officials that information about the vaccine’s benefits is being downplayed because they conflict with the views of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been an outspoken critic of the shots. Kennedy’s vaccine agenda has received pointed questioning from lawmakers during budget hearings that began last week and conclude Wednesday.

click here for more

The Washington Post reported two weeks ago that Jay Bhattacharya, who is temporarily overseeing the CDC, delayed publication of the report over concerns about methodology. The report had been scheduled for publication March 19 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. In recent days, a decision was made that the report would not be published, according to two of the people who spoke to The Post. Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, confirmed the delay two weeks ago. At that time, he said it was “routine for CDC leadership to review and flag concerns about MMWR papers, especially relating to their methodology, leading up to planned publication.” Nixon said that Bhattacharya had raised concerns about “the observational method used in the study to calculate vaccine effectiveness” and that the scientific team was working to address them. Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, is leading the CDC while Erica Schwartz, a top health official during President Donald Trump’s first term, awaits Senate confirmation. On Tuesday, Nixon described the decision differently: “The MMWR’s editorial assessment identified concerns regarding the methodological approach to estimating vaccine effectiveness and the manuscript was not accepted for publication,” a characterization that differs from accounts by people familiar with the report’s review.

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