June 26, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

‘I’d love to have his help’: Paxton reveals what he told Cornyn after Senate runoff

“By the way, did John Cornyn ever call and concede?” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick posed the question to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an interview for the inaugural episode of the lieutenant governor’s new Lt. Dan podcast. He sat at a wooden table fashioned with a microphone and branded mug, as Paxton responded from a video screen facing the head of the table. The episode was released about a month after Paxton defeated longtime Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a bruising primary runoff. Paxton faces state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the statewide seat, in the Nov. 3 general election. The interview touches on the theme of party unity that’s being pushed by GOP leaders, as Cornyn voters weigh whether to support Paxton in the fall.

click here for more

“So he sent me a text,” Paxton said. “I never saw a phone call from him, but I texted him back and I said, ‘Thank you. You know, I appreciate your service to Texas and to the country and I’d love to get together and talk.’” Paxton’s campaign declined to elaborate on the concession exchange. If it’s up to him, Paxton said, he and Cornyn will get together, but both parties have to be willing. “I don’t know what John’s going to decide,” Paxton said. “I haven’t heard back from him. I’d be happy to talk to him. I’d love to have his help and support.” He later added: “I would have supported John no matter what, and I said it publicly, and I meant it. I do not want James Talarico, and I would vote for John 10 times before I voted for James Talarico.” Had Cornyn won, Patrick said he’d be “all in, money, marbles and chalk, to help him win.” “I hope he comes around,” said Patrick, who didn’t endorse a candidate in the primary.

Texas jobs growth cools in May — but annual forecast remains surprisingly robust

Job growth in Texas cooled in May, but the state still remains on track for a surprisingly robust year of employment gains, according to the latest model-based forecast from the Dallas Fed. The regional bank’s latest forecast is for a statewide jobs increase of 1.8% for 2026, a figure that would be nearly in line with Texas’s longer-term growth trend and far better than the nearly flat job growth the state experienced last year. “It’s pretty good,” said Luis Torres, a senior business economist with the Dallas Fed. “It’s along the long-run trend of 2%.”

click here for more

It’s also relatively unexpected: While economists have broadly predicted prolonged negative economic impacts caused by the war in Iran, the Trump administration’s restrictive immigration policies and persistent geopolitical uncertainty — and other surveys have shown that half of Texas companies were in fact suffering as a result of the Iran conflict — the U.S. and Texas economies have also proved resilient. In Texas, Torres sais, part of this year’s unexpectedly positive jobs performance stems from the massive AI investment and construction projects underway throughout the state. The state — now in the middle of a decadeslong economic and population boom driven largely by its relative affordability — also remains a magnet for companies and residents, with recent census data showing that D-FW, in particular, continues to rank among the country’s fastest growing metro areas. “We haven’t changed the rules of the game here in Texas, right?” Torres said. “Pro-business, low taxes. All these things are still working in our favor.”

Nursing homes, factory owners and immigrants brace for fallout from Supreme Court ruling

Immigrants began making plans to sell or rent their homes, secure bank accounts and figure out thorny issues like child custody arrangements. Business owners started calculating how many days they can continue to employ workers whose legal status is set to expire. And nursing home leaders warned they would have fewer beds to offer if health aides are forced to leave the country. Panic rippled through communities from Florida to Ohio and beyond in the hours after the Supreme Court cleared the Trump administration Thursday to strip humanitarian protections from Haitians and Syrians — and potentially all 1.3 million immigrants from over a dozen countries who had been previously shielded from deportation. “The residents will be losing caregivers that they really have become attached to,” said Colin O’Leary, executive director at Laurel Ridge Rehabilitation & Skilled Care Center in Boston. Managers at the facility were racing to figure out how much longer staff members from Haiti with temporary protected status could continue taking care of patients. “That’s a lot for our residents to handle.”

click here for more

Attorneys said Haitians and Syrians could lose work permits in little more than a month, but the deadline remained unclear because lower court judges must issue orders to implement the decision. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, told reporters Thursday that Haitians and others with temporary protected status should be detained and deported once they lose the benefit. “If you no longer have status in this country, then you’re supposed to be deported,” Miller said. Some of those immigrants have lived in the United States for decades and said they feared being sent back to conflict-ridden homelands that they barely know and whose languages some do not speak. Temporary protected status, a program created in 1990, grants work permits and deportation reprieves to immigrants for up to 18 months if their nations are engulfed in war, natural disasters or other emergencies. Applicants cannot have serious criminal records and the government can, and has, renewed the protections multiple times. President Donald Trump and his allies have alleged that the temporary protections have lasted long after the emergencies have passed and have allowed undocumented immigrants and visa overstayers to live and work in the United States. But the program also has become a political wedge. When he was a senator representing Florida, home to thousands of Haitians, Venezuelans and others with the protections, Secretary of State Marco Rubio favored the protections.

Texas screwworm cases rise to 20 as officials expand infested zone to 3 counties

The number of confirmed New World screwworm cases in Texas rose to 20 overnight, with the latest detection confirmed in Medina County. State officials have created a new infested zone that includes parts of Medina, Bandera and Uvalde counties. The Texas Animal Health Commission said there are now confirmed cases in nine Texas counties, and officials are urging ranchers to check livestock regularly for any signs of infested wounds. Officials say their best defense continues to be releasing millions of sterile male flies, a strategy that helped eliminate the pest from the United States decades ago.

click here for more

“That was very successful in eradicating screwworm from the United States and all the way down through Central America back in the, the 50s, 60s and into the early 2000s, and I believe it can be a successful technique again,” said Dr. Samantha Holeck, New Mexico state veterinarian. Lawmakers and politicians from across the country are also pushing for more action. Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts said he sent a letter to the USDA. Clayton Tucker, a Democrat running for Texas agriculture commissioner, criticized the response, saying, “Now, bureaucrats and politicians are arguing while the threat continues to spre

State Stories

Austin politicos sell Westlake estate after asking $7M

Austin’s latest luxury sale might well have taken place in a smoke-filled room. Compass agent Ellen Troxclair, who also serves as a member of the Texas House of Representatives, represented politicos David and Elizabeth White in the sale of their home at 600 Logans Lane in Austin. David White, a registered lobbyist, and Elizabeth White co-founded the Austin-based government relations firm Public Blueprint, according to its website. They sold the home to the Piccolo Bambino Trust on May 29, public records show. The property deed discloses neither the price nor the individual organizer of the trust. The 8,370-square-foot home was last listed for $6.5 million dollars, or about $776 per square foot. Built in 2002, the five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home occupies a 2.1-acre lot in Westlake, an affluent neighborhood west of Lake Austin. Features of the property include a pool, an outdoor kitchen and six covered terraces.

click here for more

Troxclair is the founder of the Troxclair Residential Group, a team affiliated with Compass. She represents a portion of the Hill Country in the Texas House, including a western slice of Travis County, but her district’s boundary line stops short of 600 Logans Lane, according to state maps. Based on asking price alone, it’s one of Austin’s priciest sales to date this year, according to a TRD Data analysis of publicly recorded sales. Excluding this home, the top ten sales transacted on the multiple listing service so far in 2026 range from a home at 400 Inwood Road that traded in March after asking $6 million and a home at 203 Buckeye Trail that traded in April after asking $9.5 million. The home went under contract without a price cut in just 33 days, showing rare speed in what used to be one of the country’s slowest-moving luxury markets. The typical Austin luxury home went under contract in 104 days last fall, ranking fourth in the country and first in Texas for the highest median days on market, according to Redfin. The city rebounded this spring; during the three months ending April 30, Austin luxury homes sold in a median of 57 days, a 16-day drop year-over-year in days on market and the second-biggest decrease in the country, Redfin found.

Tesla's small robotaxi fleet could 'dramatically scale,' TxDOT official says

Tesla Inc. officially began operating a robotaxi service in Austin a year ago. Now, leadership at the Texas Department of Transportation thinks its fleet could start to surge. TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams experienced a production version of the Cybercab at the Texas Innovation Invitational and wrote on LinkedIn afterward that the purpose-built robotaxi will “dramatically scale” Tesla’s cab operations over the coming months. “Observing this vehicle firsthand — from its design and butterfly doors to the cargo trunk configuration — provides a tangible example of how quickly our transportation system is evolving,” Williams wrote. “Sitting inside the cabin, the complete absence of traditional driver controls underscores a significant shift in mobility and vehicle design. No steering wheel, no accelerator, no brake. Only a single touch-screen monitor.”

click here for more

The invitational, meant to highlight emerging technologies and potential safety improvements, arrived as Tesla runs operates a robotaxi fleet of just 69 Model Ys across the Lone Star State. It's a fleet size dwarfed by Waymo's 620 vehicles in Texas. As Williams wrote, the Cybercab is expected to eventually be folded into Tesla's robotaxi fleet and could help boost its number of vehicles on the road. For now, sightings of the vehicle without a steering wheel have been limited to the company's Austin factory and conference settings. Still, Tesla has pointed to progress in its robotaxi operations after it began offering unsupervised robotaxi rides in Austin and hasn't reported many crashes to federal regulators in recent months. But Tesla's record on safety reporting has caused Democratic Sens. Edward J. Markey and Richard Blumenthal to question whether the company is accurately reporting crash metrics.

Suzanne Bellsnyder: Closed primaries are a threat to Texas voters

(Suzanne Bellsnyder is editor of the Texas Rural Reporter.) In Texas, many elections are effectively decided long before November. That's why the growing push to close the state's primaries matters far beyond Republican politics. It is a fight over who gets to participate in the elections that actually determine who governs Texas. For years, closing Texas primaries was a long shot. A small but influential faction inside the Republican Party kept pushing for it, while most Texans paid little attention. This month, that changed. Three developments happened in quick succession. Delegates to the Republican Party of Texas convention adopted closing the state's primaries as part of their top election priorities. Gov. Greg Abbott embraced the idea from the convention stage, declaring that "only Republicans will vote in Republican primaries."

click here for more

And Secretary of State Jane Nelson — who said she was bound by her oath to enforce the election laws on the books and would implement closed primaries only if the Legislature enacted them — announced she will step down July 17. Taken together, those events transformed a fringe proposal into a serious possibility. The first question Texans should ask is simple: Who wants this? The answer is not most voters. Polling conducted late last year by Ragnar Research on behalf of Unite America found that majorities of Texans — including Republican primary voters — support keeping Texas' current open primary system, which allows voters to choose which party's primary to participate in each election cycle without formally affiliating with a party. Texans opposed closing the primaries by a wide margin — 54% to 19%. Even among Republican primary voters, opposition outpaced support. Those advocating for closed primaries claim they are protecting the will of Republican voters. As a lifelong Republican, I can tell you they have it backward. The open primary helped build the modern Republican majority in this state — I know, because I was in the trenches of that revolution three decades ago. I chaired the College Republicans and spent years working to elect Republicans up and down the ballot. Our party can and should earn voters' support on its policies and principles. It should not slam the door on them.

What is KUT's relationship with UT Austin? A potential split would be a pricey, drawn-out affair

After the firing of KUT and KUTX General Manager Debbie Hiott by the University of Texas at Austin, supporters of the stations have questions about the organization's relationship with UT — and whether they should continue to operate under the state’s flagship university. In an interview after her firing, Hiott called for such a change. She reiterated that call in an interview this week, saying her termination was a sign that UT was "willing to interfere" in the stations' work. "That level of interference is something that the community should be concerned about," she said. "The community pays for KUT and KUTX and Texas Standard, and the community should be the ones responsible for the stations." NPR stations across the country have taken steps to move out of the university-backed model, but detangling the stations from UT after decades would be a long, financially complicated process.

click here for more

KUT wouldn’t exist without the University of Texas, if that wasn’t made obvious by the station’s call letters. Those letters stretch back more than 100 years, when the physics department decided to start experimenting with newfangled radio wave technology in the 1920s. UT professor Robert Schenkkan created the station in its current form in 1958 under the purview of UT’s School of Communication. In 1971, KUT became one of the first stations in the country to air programming from newly founded NPR. Currently, KUT and its sister music station KUTX are part of UT’s Moody College of Communication, and the stations broadcast from the Moody College building on campus. UT holds the licenses of both KUT and KUTX to broadcast as nonprofit stations through the Federal Communications Commission, while the community provides material support for the station. It’s a commonplace arrangement in the world of public media. KTEP, the NPR station in El Paso, has a similar agreement with the University of Texas at El Paso, as does WOSU, the Columbus, Ohio-based NPR station that’s housed on The Ohio State University campus.

George P. Bush: Texas can set data center rules that work for all. Here’s what to do next

(George P. Bush served as Texas land commissioner from 2015 to 2023.) Texas just sent a clear message to data center developers: If you want to be a part of building the backbone of the future economy, we want your investments, but Texas families won’t be stuck with the bill. Gov. Greg Abbott’s June 10 directive to shield residential ratepayers from the costs of data center expansion and protect our natural resources is not a brake on growth but an opportunity to shape it. We have the tools to strengthen our grid, protect our communities and keep Texas in the driver’s seat on innovation and national security. But it will take smart, targeted policy solutions to use those tools to achieve the central vision of the governor’s directive. Abbott is right to insist that residential customers should not underwrite the cost of massive new data center infrastructure.

click here for more

Requiring large users to fully fund the lines, substations and upgrades needed to serve their facilities is common sense for pro-growth states such as Texas. These standards should operate as a clear baseline: If you want to interconnect with the Texas grid, you pay your fair share and don’t diminish reliability when our grid is stressed. But if state leaders define every development guideline from the top down, we risk repeating the mistakes of high-regulation states that chased headlines instead of investment. Cities and counties typically negotiate zoning, water access and road improvements. They should have room to structure investment opportunities to their communities so long as they respect state-defined minimum standards for power, water, and potential noise limits. From the Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley, local leaders should not be restricted by state rule-making that keeps them from doing what’s best for their community. The reality is that the best companies in this space are already doing most of what Abbott has called for — routinely co-locating data centers with new power generation and battery storage, investing in demand-responsive operations and implementing high water-efficiency standards such as closed-loop systems.

As some praise Texas’ proposed ‘Judeo-Christian’ curriculum, rabbis say it dismisses Judaism

During a Texas State Board of Education hearing on Monday (June 22), supporters of a proposal to require Texas public school students to read Bible stories argued doing so would acknowledge that the nation was founded on Judeo-Christian values. Rabbis and Jewish leaders at the hearing, however, criticized the biblical passages chosen by the education board as heavy on Christianity and dismissive of Judaism. Grounding support of the measures in “Judeo-Christian” values is a “fig leaf at inclusion,” one said. The State Board of Education kicked off a week of meetings Monday by hearing from more than 400 experts, teachers and concerned citizens on two proposals — one that would overhaul the state’s social studies curriculum, and another that would create a required reading list for K-12 public schoolchildren. Both proposals include biblical references, passages and stories. A final vote is expected by Friday.

click here for more

Many of the speakers who praised the proposed reading list said it was important to teach children about Judeo-Christian heritage and values. “Don’t lie about where we came from as Americans,” witness Richard Green said. “It was the Judeo-Christian value system that produced the greatest, most powerful, the wealthiest, most free, the most benevolent nation in the history of the world.” Larry Holland with the conservative grassroots group Citizens for Education Reform endorsed the reading list because it was aligned with “a nation founded on the principles of Judeo-Christian heritage.” However, several rabbis and Jews rejected the use of “Judeo-Christian” to support the list. “One would think that this phrase is meant to evoke friendship between the two faiths, but I do not find that here — or in the language surrounding support for this list,” said Blake Ziegler, a Texas field organizer for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Cameron Samuels, executive director of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, a group that aims to incorporate young people in state policy decisions, objected to using “Judeo-Christian” to characterize Texas values. “Not in my Jewish faith shall you mandate entire chapters of the Bible for over five-and-a-half million students in Texas and proclaim that this speaks for Jewish people,” Samuels said.

Did Spurs great George Gervin get a boost in his bid to trademark ‘Iceman’?

Spurs great George Gervin’s bid to trademark the nickname “Iceman” may have gotten an unexpected boost. A representative for the Hall of Famer said that a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decision refusing Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams’ application to trademark “Iceman” bolsters Gervin’s own case to claim the iconic moniker. “If anything, it strengthens our situation,” said Jerald Barisano, CEO and president of Gervin Global Management, a sports and entertainment management, marketing and media company that Gervin chairs. A trademark office examining attorney concluded Wednesday that Williams’ proposed Iceman mark is identical to an existing federal trademark for Iceman insulated boots owned by Oregon-based LaCrosse Footwear.

click here for more

Because Williams also wants to use the mark on clothing and related merchandise, consumers could mistakenly believe the products come from the same source. A “likelihood of confusion exists” between the two, the examining attorney concluded. Unlike Williams, Gervin has been known as the Iceman for decades, Barisano said. Shirts and posters have been sold for decades bearing Gervin’s nickname, he said. “The company in Oregon has used it for a while,” Barisano added, referring to LaCrosse’s 1988 trademark registration. “They’ve been using it on boots. George is not looking to sell boots.” Gervin, who played from 1973 to 1985, earned his nickname for his cool composure and seemingly effortless jump shots, layups and finger rolls. He filed to trademark his legendary nickname in March — four days after Williams moved to claim it for himself. Williams, the first pick in the NFL draft in 2024, was given the nickname last season for having ice in his veins late in games, the Chicago Sun-Times has reported. Gervin filed applications for both “Iceman” and “Iceman 44” — a homage to his jersey number. The application for Iceman states he first began using the nickname in 1980, though his association with it actually began in the 1970s. Williams wasn’t born until 2001. He wants to register the monikers for sweatshirts, T-shirts, hats, shoes and socks, as well as entertainment services, including personal appearances and basketball camps. The trademark office has yet to issue a decision on the applications. Gervin’s Iceman application was not mentioned in the trademark office’s action on Williams’ application. Williams has three months to respond to the office action or request an extension before his application is abandoned.

Former San Antonio Spurs owner Peter M. Holt, not his son, bought land in Hawaii, public records show

Documents obtained Thursday by the Express-News indicate former San Antonio Spurs chairman and CEO Peter M. Holt, not his son, purchased 100 acres on Hawaii’s Big Island for $8 million. The revelation comes after the New York Post earlier this week reported that current Spurs owner Peter J. Holt made the 100-acre purchase. According to the Express-News’ reporting, an entity called PMHSI LP bought the land in question. Records cited in the article connect the purchasing partnership back to Peter M. Holt, who retired from his position with the NBA team in 2016. The elder Holt’s wife, Julianna, succeeded him in his leadership role at Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E). Peter J. Holt took the reins of the franchise in 2019.

click here for more

JMI joins Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute warning against rollback of tort reforms

The James Madison Institute (JMI) is teaming up with a Texas-based policy organization to make the case that Florida’s economic success is tied in part to legal reforms that supporters say have created a more predictable business climate. JMI and the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute released a joint white paper this week, “The Litigation Lobby: Civil Justice Reform and the Future of the Texas-Florida Economic Advantage,” examining tort reform efforts in both states. The paper argues that policymakers should resist efforts to roll back changes enacted over the past several decades. The report contends that Florida and Texas have emerged as national economic leaders in part because lawmakers pursued civil justice reforms designed to limit excessive litigation costs and provide greater certainty for businesses and insurers.

click here for more

“Florida’s rise as one of the nation’s premier destinations for business and capital was not an accident,” said Robert McClure, President and CEO of The James Madison Institute. “It was built over decades, in part, by deliberate legal reforms that gave businesses and families confidence in a fair, predictable system.” The paper highlights several issues JMI and its Texas counterpart say warrant continued attention, including third-party litigation financing, proposals to expand liability in certain lawsuits, and efforts to revive legal fee structures that reform advocates argue contributed to higher insurance costs. Among its recommendations, the report calls for greater transparency surrounding litigation funding agreements, safeguards against foreign involvement in lawsuit financing, and renewed scrutiny of proposals that could increase damage awards and litigation exposure. The publication arrives as Florida continues to debate the long-term effects of recent tort reform measures enacted by the Legislature. Supporters argue that those changes are helping stabilize the insurance market and improve the state’s business climate, while critics contend they have made it more difficult for consumers to pursue legitimate claims.

TEA probes Judson ISD for alleged failure to report child abuse

After months of infighting on the Judson Independent School District board, the Texas Education Agency has launched a special investigation into alleged board governance failings and whether the district failed to report child abuse to the appropriate authorities. Allegations center largely on transparency, procedural concerns and student safety issues, Richard Segovia, TEA’s director of special investigations, wrote to the district on June 8. The agency is investigating 15 possible violations of state law, according to Segovia’s letter, which the Express-News obtained. TEA spokesperson Jake Kobersky confirmed the investigation but said he could not provide details, because the matter is still pending. Judson ISD spokesperson Lexie Greathouse said the district would not comment on the investigation, because it is ongoing and TEA classified the notification letter as confidential.

click here for more

The investigation escalates a months-long fight over leadership and accountability in Judson ISD. It includes six allegations against Judson ISD trustees and Board President Monica Ryan, including claims the board violated school board rules and conspired to fire the district’s former superintendent, Milton Fields. Other allegations include claims that trustees overstepped their authority, failed to properly evaluate Fields, inappropriately discussed public business behind closed doors and sought academic benefits for a trustee’s child. The state investigation also will review whether Fields properly reported alleged child abuse, disclosed staff misconduct and kept trustees informed about other TEA inquiries into the district. Ryan said the allegations against her and the board have already been addressed internally since they began surfacing in January, but she did not offer specifics. Infighting among trustees has consumed the board since it announced an investigation into Fields in early 2026. The district is now providing documentation to TEA, so the agency can close its investigation, Ryan said.

Texas man gets 30 years in prison for transporting 'anti-government' pamphlets

Last Independence Day, several protesters were arrested following a demonstration that turned violent outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Prairieland Detention Center. On Tuesday, nearly a year later, eight individuals were given their sentence from a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas: a combined 450 years in prison. The defendants, whom federal prosecutors argued were part of an "Antifa Cell" and provided "material support to terrorists," were convicted earlier this year on charges ranging from rioting to attempted murder. "The sentences handed down today make clear that Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice," said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a statement. But critics warn the prosecutions and harsh sentencing could chill First Amendment–protected activity. Perhaps the most chilling is the case of Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, who received 30 years in federal prison for transporting a box of constitutionally protected pamphlets and zines.

click here for more

Sanchez-Estrada was not present the night of July 4, 2025, when a group of protesters arrived at the Prairieland Detention Center outside of Dallas to set off fireworks and signal solidarity with the immigrant detainees held inside. But his wife, Maricela Rueda, was present and subsequently arrested after the demonstration turned violent. Rueda later called Sanchez-Estrada from the Johnston County Jail and told him to do "whatever you need to do" and "move whatever you need to move at the house," according to the criminal complaint. After Rueda's call, officers observed Sanchez-Estrada load and move a box from his home to another residence, containing "numerous Antifa materials, such as insurrection planning, anti-law enforcement, anti-government, and anti-immigration enforcement documents," according to his indictment. But despite these materials falling squarely under the protection of the First Amendment, Sanchez-Estrada was arrested, charged, and convicted of corruptly concealing a document and conspiracy to conceal documents. He has since filed a motion to overturn his conviction. "The punishment must fit the crimes—not the headlines, not the politics, not the fears that have been mongered about this case," Christopher Weinbel, Sanchez-Estrada's defense attorney, told the federal judge during the sentencing hearing, arguing a long sentence would make a mockery of the justice system, reports The Intercept.

Daniel Wong rejects calls to step down as Fort Bend County Judge

Fort Bend interim County Judge Daniel Wong said Thursday he will remain in office despite the county attorney's conclusion that he no longer has the legal authority to serve. Wong rejected calls to step aside and insisted he would remain in the seat while any legal disputes play out in court. "I will continue doing the job I was appointed to do, serving the people of Fort Bend County," Wong said, adding that he would also continue presiding over the commissioner's court. The dispute stems from the June 16 sentencing of former County Judge KP George, who received 180 days in the Fort Bend County Jail, five years of community supervision and a $5,000 fine after being convicted of felony money laundering. George has appealed the conviction.

click here for more

Wong was appointed interim county judge in April by visiting Judge Jeth Jones after George's felony conviction led to a civil removal proceeding. The order suspended George from office while the removal case remained pending and installed Wong as temporary county judge. George later posted the required $50,000 bond, allowing Wong to assume office. Wong, the Republican nominee for county judge, has led Commissioners Court since then. The current dispute centers on what happened after George's June 16 sentencing. The civil removal lawsuit that led to Wong's appointment was dismissed, prompting County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson to conclude Wong's temporary appointment ended with it. Wong and his legal team argue the dismissal did not terminate the appointment and that the Texas Constitution requires him to remain in office until a successor is qualified. Smith-Lawson on Wednesday issued a legal opinion concluding Wong's authority ended when the civil lawsuit that prompted his appointment was dismissed.

A giraffe named Gracie escaped in Texas. No one can seem to find her

A giraffe named Gracie is missing in Texas, and the search for her has become a tall order. Gracie, who is about 3 years old, has been missing for nearly two weeks after escaping her enclosure at Cedar Hollow Ranch in the Texas Hill Country, said Vic Jones, who owns the remote property about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of San Antonio. He said Wednesday that Gracie had wandered into a part of the privately owned preserve that other giraffes previously avoided. Jones said he has sent up helicopters to look for Gracie, a few sightings have trickled in, and a $5,000 reward is on the table. But the giraffe, which stands roughly the height of a tree, hasn’t turned up. “She wound up going up and feeding in an area on the hillside and the rocky ledges that none of the other giraffes had ever gone on before,” Jones said. “And when she came down off of there, she came down on the wrong side of the gate.”

click here for more

The ranch is in rural Real County, where its roughly 2,700 residents were put on alert to be on the lookout for a missing giraffe. Jones said the search area is extremely remote, and the likelihood of Gracie encountering any humans is low. “People are not in danger of her because she’s not around people,” Jones said. ‘She’s out in very, very rough, heavily wooded lands.” The Texas Hill Country has one of the largest concentrations of exotic captive animals in the country. Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson said the mild climate and rugged terrain seems to serve as a good stand-in for most of the animals’ native African environments. He rattled off a list of animals that have gone missing over the years, especially after floods, but said this was his first giraffe. “I’ve had wildebeests, I’ve had water buffalo, I’ve had monkeys, I’ve had zebras, all go missing,” Johnson said. “Sometimes we recover them, and sometimes we don’t.” While the middle of Texas is not a giraffe’s native environment, Jones said Gracie should be able to find plenty of leaves and other vegetation to eat. He said other animals were not likely to bother her. Jones said he initially had helicopters searching an area of about 7,500 acres (3,000 hectares) with no luck. A few days later, there was a report that Gracie was spotted to the south. But by the time they could search the area, Jones said, she was already gone. “We’re always two three days late for where the information is coming from, so that makes it tough,” Jones said.

National Stories

Supreme Court clears the way for Trump to dismantle TPS

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Trump administration has full discretion to end temporary protections for immigrants, putting hundreds of thousands back at risk of deportation. The Thursday ruling is another legal defeat for migrants previously granted deportation reprieve and work authorization through Temporary Protected Status, a program President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security is dismantling. The court previously allowed the Trump administration to end TPS for Venezuelans through its shadow docket, but this decision goes further. It says that the DHS secretary can end TPS for countries without the ability for judicial review. While the April oral arguments focused on TPS for more than 350,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians, the order has repercussions for all immigrants protected under the program. Nearly 1.3 million immigrants had TPS before then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem started ending them for 13 countries.

click here for more

The justices rejected the idea that racial animus played a role in the termination of TPS for Haitians. “None of the cited statements by either the President or the Secretary was overtly racial, and in substance all expressed policy views that could rest on race-neutral justifications,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court’s opinion in Mullin v. Doe and Trump v. Miot, two cases the Supreme Court considered in tandem. “Viewing all the relevant evidence, Miot respondents are unlikely to prove that race was a motivating factor in the decision to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation, and it follows that they are not entitled to interim relief on their equal protection claim,” he continued. The Trump administration’s decision to end TPS for Haitians and Syrians came after years of negative statements from President Donald Trump and other top officials about people from both countries Trump referred to Haiti as a “shithole” country and promoted a false rumor about Haitian immigrants eating dogs. He’s also long said Syrian immigrants are dangerous, tying them to terrorism. The three-decade-old program created by Congress is supposed to protect immigrants from being deported to countries deemed too unsafe because of armed conflict, natural disasters or other humanitarian crises. There is no limit to the amount of times the federal government can renew TPS designations and some have lasted for decades, such as for El Salvador.

Vance dismisses Watergate scandal, says ‘deep state’ went after Nixon

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday expressed sympathy for former president Richard M. Nixon, suggesting that Nixon was wrongly forced out as president in 1974 and comparing his political travails decades ago to those facing President Donald Trump now. “As I joked … backstage, if Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story,” Vance said in remarks at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in California. “The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy.” A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to questions about whether the vice president was being facetious and how he was defining Watergate. The Watergate scandal, which began in 1972 with a botched attempt to bug the Democratic National Committee’s offices at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, mushroomed into a wide-ranging investigation by reporters and lawmakers that revealed Nixon was aware of the break-in and directed secret White House payments in an effort to cover it up.

click here for more

He resigned as president two years after the scandal broke, with Nixon blaming The Washington Post for its central role in exposing his involvement in the break-in and other abuses. The scandal also prompted a series of reforms intended to rein in presidential authority, including more independence for government watchdogs such as inspectors general, which Trump has steadily rolled back. Historians said Thursday that the full scope of the Watergate scandal, ranging from the president’s efforts to apply pressure to his “enemies list” to asking for a census of Jewish Americans serving in government because he believed they were unpatriotic, revealed Nixon’s abuses of presidential power. Vance “should know better as a well-educated lawyer,” said Timothy Naftali, a previous director of the Nixon library, referring to Vance’s law degree from Yale University. Naftali, a Columbia University presidential historian, referenced tapes that contained thousands of hours of Nixon’s Oval Office conversations.

Supreme Court ruling blocks thousands of lawsuits against the maker of Roundup weedkiller

The Supreme Court sided with the maker of Roundup weedkiller Thursday in a ruling expected to block thousands of lawsuits alleging it failed to warn people the product could cause cancer. The case came before the justices after a tidal wave of litigation that included some multibillion-dollar verdicts against Bayer, a German agrochemical manufacturer that acquired Roundup’s original producer, Monsanto, in 2018. The decision is a victory for President Donald Trump’s administration, which argued in support of Bayer. But it provoked outrage from allies in the “ Make America Healthy Again” movement who want to rein in pesticide use. The high court, in a 7-2 ruling, held that Roundup cannot be sued in state courts for failure to warn because federal regulators have found a cancer link unlikely and do not require a warning label.

click here for more

Federal law also bars states from imposing additional or different labeling requirements, the opinion from Justice Brett Kavanaugh states. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Neil Gorsuch, dissented, saying that Monsanto could have added a warning without violating federal law. Though focused on Roundup, the ruling could affect similar health claims against other pesticide products. “This decision is good for American farmers who help feed the world,“ Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said. ”It provides the regulatory clarity necessary for innovators like us to develop the agricultural tools that guarantee an affordable food supply.” Though Bayer said the ruling should result in the dismissal of failure-to-warn lawsuits, the company said it plans to proceed with a proposed $7.25 billion class-action settlement intended to resolve many of the remaining claims. The ruling was denounced by environmental groups and lawyers representing people who believe they were harmed by Roundup.

Intel’s chip business shows signs of life after years of struggle

At a tech conference in San Francisco this week, admirers surrounded Lip-Bu Tan, the chief executive of Intel, waiting to take selfies with a man few of them had heard of before last year. The spectacle made Matthew Sysak, a senior executive at the tech company Lumentum, shake his head. Watching from a few feet away, he compared the attention on Mr. Tan to the industry’s rock star treatment of Jensen Huang, the chief executive of the chip maker Nvidia, now the world’s most valuable company. “It’s a traveling circus,” he said in disbelief. Not long ago, Intel, which was once one of the most powerful tech companies in the world, was described as Silicon Valley’s fallen icon. Sales were plummeting, costs soaring and debts mounting. The U.S. government intervened last summer and took a 10 percent stake in the company. Now, Intel is showing signs of a turnaround. Its value has more than tripled to $650 billion, its business has started to rebound behind the artificial intelligence boom, and it has added big customers like Nvidia and Apple.

click here for more

The stakes are high for the company and Mr. Tan, who took over in March last year. Intel is a cornerstone of the U.S. government’s push to rebuild the nation’s semiconductor manufacturing and wean Silicon Valley off its dependence on Taiwan. If Intel is unable to turn itself around now — when nearly the entire chip industry is cashing in on A.I. — a fix may not be possible, said Chris Miller, the author of “Chip War,” a book that recounts the rise of the semiconductor industry. “As the only American manufacturer of cutting-edge chips — and the only firm with its high-end research in the U.S. — Intel’s fate will shape the future of America’s chip industry and determine the extent to which the country relies on Taiwan,” Mr. Miller said. Less than a year ago, President Trump demanded that Mr. Tan step down as Intel’s chief executive because of concerns that the company he previously led had illegally sold chip technology to China. Days later, the two met and negotiated a deal for the government to take the 10 percent stake for $8.9 billion. The money was the remainder of a federal grant that Intel had been promised through the CHIPS and Science Act, a bipartisan law aimed at making the United States less reliant on Asia for semiconductors. The investment was a shot in the arm, said Sanjay Natarajan, a senior executive with Intel’s manufacturing business until last year. It helped lift the company’s market value and signaled that the U.S. government had a vested interest in rebuilding Intel’s business.

Supreme Court strikes down blue state's 'vampire rule' in major win for gun rights

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Hawaii on Thursday, handing concealed-carry permit holders a major victory in a 6-3 decision. The Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff in Wolford v. Lopez, who contested Hawaii's state law requiring a property owner's explicit permission to allow lawful gun owners to bring firearms into public businesses. "Hawaii's law at issue here violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms," Justice Samuel Alito wrote. "This regime hobbles what the Second Amendment protects: the right of Americans to carry arms for self-defense as they go about their daily lives."

click here for more

The ruling reverses a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which had upheld Hawaii's restrictions after the state enacted them in response to the Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen decision. After Bruen struck down New York's "proper cause" licensing requirement and held that Americans have a constitutional right to carry handguns outside the home for self-defense, Hawaii overhauled its firearms laws. Among the new provisions was a requirement that concealed-carry permit holders could not bring firearms onto another person's private property, including businesses open to the public, unless the owner provided express authorization through signage or verbal or written permission. In Second Amendment advocacy circles, the law became known as the "vampire rule." Alito wrote that the law could subject lawful concealed-carry permit holders to criminal liability while going about routine daily activities, such as stopping at a gas station, pharmacy or grocery store. He illustrated the concern through a hypothetical based on Jaime Caetano, a woman who sought to carry a weapon after threats from an abusive former partner, imagining her running ordinary errands while lawfully carrying a firearm for self-defense. "Unless each of these establishments has posted a sign saying 'Guns Welcome' or something to that effect, each visit could expose her to criminal liability," Alito wrote.

Venezuela earthquakes death toll rises at least 235 and 4,300 injured health minister says

Over 200 people were killed and more than 4,000 were injured as a pair of powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening, officials said. The two quakes -- a 7.2 magnitude one followed just seconds later by a 7.5 -- struck the coast of Venezuela, knocking down buildings in Caracas, the capital, and sending residents racing into the street. Responders are undertaking "intensive rescue operations" Thursday, searching for people thought to be under the rubble, acting President Delcy Rodriguez said.

click here for more

Data center controversy unseats powerful Utah lawmaker

A massive data center project in Box Elder County, Utah, helped bring down the state’s Senate president, who lost his GOP primary on Tuesday after his support for the controversial development fueled voter backlash. Stuart Adams, one of Utah’s most powerful politicians and the longest-serving president of the state Senate in its history, lost to challenger Stephanie Hollist, a former university lawyer and vocal opponent of the data center. Hollist accused Adams, as well as the state’s broader political establishment, of ignoring public concerns about a Stratos data center project that critics feared could cause serious environmental harms. Adams won his previous reelections in the reliably red state with ease. But his position as head of the Utah Military Installation Development Authority, which approved initial plans for the development earlier this year, made him a focal point of growing voter dissent over the project.

click here for more

Box Elder County Commissioners Boyd Bingham and Lee Perry, who voted in favor of allowing the plans to continue, also lost their primary elections. “Do I think that the data center vote cost me the election? Yes I do,” Perry told The Salt Lake Tribune after conceding on Wednesday. “Would I do anything different? … I wouldn’t vote differently, but I would push back against the state and make them come out publicly and tell everybody why they’re forcing it down our throat.” The proposed Stratos project, which is backed by investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, is expected to be one of the world’s largest artificial intelligence data centers, spanning multiple sites across the Beehive State. But residents worried the project could strain fragile water supplies near the Great Salt Lake and consume strenuous amounts of electricity. Developers have argued the campus would create jobs and generate millions in tax revenue. As opposition mounted, Adams sought to distance himself from the project in the closing weeks of his campaign, calling for significant reductions to its proposed size of 40,000 acres. But it was too late for the lawmaker, who became the first sitting Utah Senate president to lose a primary election in modern Utah history.

Inside the C.D.C.’s mad scramble to meet Kennedy’s demands

Less than 24 hours after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the nation’s health secretary, his press secretary delivered an order from him to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Take down your advertising campaign promoting flu vaccines. It was Feb. 14, 2025. Flu season was in full swing and it was a bad one. That same day, the C.D.C. reported that influenza-related ailments had killed 68 children — 11 that week alone — and 16,000 people overall. There had been 29 million reported cases and 370,000 hospitalizations. Nicole Coffin, the veteran communications expert who took the press secretary’s call, dashed off an email to her supervisor, Kevin Griffis. “Andrew Nixon/HHS gave me a call and asked that we pull out of circulation all campaign ad buys related to flu or anything encouraging shots or vaccinations,” she wrote, referring to the Health and Human Services Department, which Mr. Kennedy leads. “He said this request came directly from the Secretary.”

click here for more

Alarmed, Mr. Griffis wrote to his boss, Susan Monarez, the acting C.D.C. director, warning that halting the campaign in the middle of an outbreak “presents significant reputational risk to the agency” and could raise “legal issues.” The exchanges over the flu vaccine campaign are in a cache of internal C.D.C. emails obtained last week by The New York Times, and published online this week. The messages provide a detailed look at a period of transition in which the leaders of the nation’s public health agency frequently found themselves buffeted and dismayed by the agenda imposed by Mr. Kennedy and the new Trump administration. The emails begin in January, before Mr. Kennedy was confirmed, and end in mid-August, about a week before the White House fired Dr. Monarez as C.D.C. director at the secretary’s request, just 29 days after her Senate confirmation. While Mr. Kennedy’s fraught relationship with the health agency is well known, the messages, coupled with interviews, shed light on how C.D.C. employees scrambled to meet his demands — often on matters regarding vaccines and autism — as the administration gutted the agency’s ranks. When Mr. Kennedy was considering remaking the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, the panel of outside experts that advises the C.D.C. on vaccine policy, agency employees were dispatched to a nearby National Archives facility to dig up 60 years’ worth of historical information on the committee, including its original charter from 1964 and policies on how it handled conflicts of interest.

Copyright June 27, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved