January 30, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Trump picks Kevin M. Warsh, a former Fed official, as the central bank’s chair.

President Trump has selected Kevin M. Warsh to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, giving the former central bank governor a pivotal role in steering an institution that has faced a barrage of attacks from the administration over its reluctance to more aggressively lower interest rates. In a post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump praised Mr. Warsh, saying “he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best. On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting’ and will never let you down.” Friday’s announcement capped a drawn-out search process to replace Jerome H. Powell, whose term as chair of the central bank ends in May.

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Mr. Warsh, who served as a Fed governor between 2006 and 2011, edged out other contenders including Kevin A. Hassett, one of the president’s top economic advisers, and Christopher J. Waller, a current governor. Rick Rieder, a top executive at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, was also a finalist. Mr. Warsh, a conservative economist who was a front-runner to be Fed chair during Mr. Trump’s first term, will need to be confirmed by the Senate. The selection comes at a critical moment for the Fed, whose officials are facing relentless pressure from the Trump administration to provide relief to borrowers while grappling with a weakening labor market and persistent inflation. That dynamic has put the Fed’s primary goals of stable prices and low unemployment in tension with one another, stoking internal divisions about what to do about rates. Mr. Trump’s top criteria for Fed chair was someone who supported significantly lower borrowing costs, which has been the biggest source of tension between Mr. Trump and Mr. Powell, who is now the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department stemming from his handling of renovations at the central bank’s headquarters in Washington.

How Gov. Abbott's H-1B visa freeze could impact the Texas Medical Center

Governor Greg Abbott has ordered a freeze on some H-1B visas as Texas launches an investigation into alleged visa abuse. One of the biggest impacts locally could be in Houston's Texas Medical Center, which heavily relies on international doctors and researchers. For many international workers, the H-1B approval is just one step in a long process. Some have already signed contracts, some are finishing training, and others are preparing to move to Houston this year. Now, with the freeze in place for state agencies and public universities, some of those start dates could be delayed.

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The H-1B program is for highly-specialized workers, common in healthcare and research, and it requires employer sponsorship. Even after receiving federal approval, workers still have to clear final paperwork and employer start-date requirements before they can begin to work in the U.S. Government data shows that last year, MD Anderson, Baylor College of Medicine, UT Health Houston, and the University of Houston received dozens of new H-1B approvals. These represent doctors, medical residents, and researchers who were expected to fill positions this year. This mostly impacts medical residents, specialty physicians, and research staff, roles that are already difficult to fill at teaching hospitals, like Ben Taub. For hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, that could mean some positions will take longer to fill and put more strain on existing staff. Questions remain whether Texas can pause participation that's created and regulated by the federal government. Legally, states can control their own agencies and hiring decisions, but immigration and visa eligibility are federal matters. That's why some university systems and hospital networks are expected to closely review this order before making long-term changes. In a two-page letter, the directive says that institutions can't file for new H-1B visa petitions without permission from the Texas Workforce Commission. Abbott also asked for agencies and higher education institutions to submit detailed reports of the petitions being filed. It's set to be in place until the next Legislative session in May 2027.

Senate aims to vote on funding deal before shutdown deadline

The Senate will aim to vote on Friday on an agreement to fund most of the federal government and buy more time to debate new accountability measures for immigration agents, as a midnight deadline looms for a partial shutdown. Senate Democrats said Thursday that Republicans had agreed to their demand to break off funding for the Department of Homeland Security from a larger spending bill after federal immigration authorities killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The agreement would fund DHS at existing levels for two more weeks to give the two parties time to try to hash out a deal to impose new restrictions on immigration enforcement that Democrats are seeking. President Donald Trump said in a social media post that Republicans and Democrats had “come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security.”

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“Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote,” he added. But the Senate did not begin voting on the agreement on Thursday night. At least one senator, Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), put a hold on the process. Graham has said he wants to protect a measure that allows senators — but not House members — to sue over having their phone records obtained without their knowledge. The current appropriations package would reverse that measure, which was drafted in response to an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Unanimous consent is necessary in the Senate for the chamber to bypass its rules and vote quickly, allowing any one senator to hold up the process. “If you were abused, you think you were abused, your phone were illegally seized, you should have your day in court,” Graham told reporters Thursday. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) blamed Republicans for the impasse as he left the Capitol Thursday night. “Republicans need to get their act together,” Schumer told reporters.

In some states, a push to end all property taxes for homeowners

It is a goal spreading among anti-tax crusaders — eliminate all property taxes on homeowners. Rising property values have inflated tax bills in many states, but ending all homeowner taxes would cost billions or even tens of billions in most states. It is unclear if lawmakers can pull it off without harming schools and local governments that rely on the taxes to provide services. Officials in North Dakota say they are on their way, using state oil money. Wednesday, Republicans in the Georgia House unveiled a complex effort to phase out homeowner property taxes by 2032. In Florida, GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis says that is his goal, with lawmakers currently considering phasing out nonschool property taxes on homeowners over 10 years. And in Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott says he wants to eliminate property taxes for schools.

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Republicans are echoing those who say taxes, especially when the taxman can seize a house for nonpayment, mean no one truly owns property. “No one should ever face the loss of their home because they can’t pay rent to the government,” Georgia Republican House Speaker Jon Burns of Newington said Wednesday. These audacious election-year efforts could be joined by ballot initiatives in Oklahoma and Ohio to eliminate all property taxes. Such initiatives were defeated in North Dakota in 2024 and failed to make the ballot in Nebraska that year, although organizers there are trying again. Another initiative in Michigan may also fail to make the ballot. “We’re very much in this property tax revolt era, which is not unique, it’s not new. We’ve seen these revolts in the past,” said Manish Bhatt, vice president of state tax policy at the Tax Foundation, a Washington D.C., group that is generally skeptical of new taxes. Previous backlashes led to laws like California’s Proposition 13, a 1978 initiative that limited property tax rates and how much local governments could increase property valuations for tax purposes.

State Stories

Reps. Castro and Crockett describe conditions at ICE Dilley detention center

U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio and Jasmine Crockett of Dallas said conditions they observed Wednesday inside the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley amount to “inhumanity,” as the two Democrats urged Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and other children being held after recent immigration detainments in Minnesota. Speaking at an afternoon news conference on the steps of San Antonio City Hall, Castro said he and Crockett toured the facility earlier in the day and met for about 30 minutes with Liam and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias.

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Castro described the boy as “lethargic,” saying Liam’s father told them the child “has been very depressed,” “hasn’t been eating well,” and has been “asking about his family … and saying that he "wants to go be back in school with his classmates.” Crockett echoed that account, telling reporters that Liam has “gotten depressed … to the extent that he’s stopped eating,” and that his father has been washing the child’s only set of clothes daily and hanging them to dry overnight. She added that Liam’s mother is “currently four months pregnant” and not detained with them. Crockett described in vivid detail what Liam had experienced. “Imagine being a free-willed, loving kiddo. And all of a sudden, one day, you're thrown on a plane. You're sent 1,500 miles away from home. And you don't understand what's going on. All you know is that your friends are gone. You don't have your mom,” she said. “This is the story of Liam. The sad reality of what we found when we went to Dilley was that Liam was not the only one,” Crockett said.

ICE raids are sparking labor shortages in South Texas, business leaders say

Last month, a concrete company on the Texas-Mexico border filed for bankruptcy, claiming its business had been disrupted by federal immigration raids on South Texas construction sites that were “resulting in acute labor shortages.” The filing by 57 Concrete, which is based in Mission and reports a fleet of more than 220 vehicles and almost 100 employees, comes amid a nationwide crackdown by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that has drawn warnings of economic repercussions for Texas and other border states. The fear among Texas business leader is the raids will leave the state, which has the second highest percentage of migrant workers in the country, without enough labor to build houses, serve meals and pick crops at harvest time.

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In the Rio Grande Valley, where undocumented workers have gone back and forth across the border for generations, construction projects began grinding to a halt last summer as ICE raids ramped up, said Paul Rodriguez, the owner of a large real estate firm there and a former top executive at Lone Star National Bank. “I’m talking to individual bankers and they were saying, ‘We have builders having to extend their loans because they can’t complete their projects,’” he said. “I had one individual say ICE showed up at one of their construction sites and took 18 of his guys.” The situation has begun to draw the attention of politicians of both parties in Washington, with U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Monica De La Cruz, R-McAllen, both holding meetings with the construction sector in recent weeks.

Gov Abbott issues disaster declaration to prevent screwworm fly infestation from spreading into Texas

exas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide disaster declaration on Thursday to prevent the potential spread of the New World screwworm fly into the Lone Star State, as he seeks to better protect livestock and wildlife. The governor's declaration allows the Texas New World Screwworm Response Team to use all state government prevention and response resources to prevent the spread of the parasite into Texas. The New World screwworm fly is spreading north from Mexico toward the border it shares with the U.S.

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"Although the New World screwworm fly is not yet present in Texas or the U.S., its northward spread from Mexico toward the U.S. southern border poses a serious threat to Texas' livestock industry and wildlife," Abbott said in a statement. "State law authorizes me to act to prevent a threat of infestation that could cause severe damage to Texas property, and I will not wait for such harm to reach our livestock and wildlife," he continued. With his statewide disaster declaration, the governor said the Texas New World Screwworm Response Team "can fully utilize all state government prevention and response resources to prevent the re-emergence of this destructive parasite." Texas officials are prepared to fully eradicate the pest if need be, the governor said. Abbott has taken preemptive action against the New World screwworm threat by directing the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Animal Health Commission to establish a joint Texas New World Screwworm Response Team. The governor also highlighted a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create a new $750 million domestic sterile New World Screwworm production facility near Edinburg, Texas.

Austin-Bergstrom expands direct flights to include Cayman Islands

Austin travelers will soon have access to nonstop flights to the Cayman Islands. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is partnering with Cayman Airways to offer a seasonal summer service. What you need to know Flights will depart weekly on Sundays, May 24 through Aug. 9. Austin to Grand Cayman: departs at 12:45 p.m. and arrives in Grand Cayman at 3:45 p.m. Grand Cayman to Austin: departs at 8:15 a.m. and arrives in Austin at 11:45 a.m.

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Cayman Airways flights will contain 160 seats and an exclusive business-class cabin. The company will provide a variety of free offerings, including in-flight entertainment, standard seat selection, charging ports, a complimentary meal and Seven Fathoms Rum punch for passengers 18 and older. Additionally, the ticket includes a carry-on and one personal item for no additional charge. “By launching nonstop service to the Grand Cayman Islands, we are answering the call from our passengers for more diverse international travel options and easier access to top leisure destinations,” ABIA CEO Ghizlane Badawi said in a news release.

San Antonio Express-News Editorial: In Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, Goodwin has vision, experience

It can be argued lieutenant governor is the most powerful office in Texas. The lieutenant governor sets the legislative agenda by running the Texas Senate, and since 2014 Dan Patrick has flexed the power of this office in extraordinary ways. We expect Patrick to cruise to victory in the Republican Party primary. His influence, fundraising and connection to GOP primary voters are unmatched. The question for Democratic voters is which candidate can pose the strongest challenge to Patrick? Our recommendation goes to state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, who has sharp policy ideas, a compelling vision for Texas and the legislative connections to be an effective lieutenant governor.

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Goodwin is running against Marcos Vélez, an organizer and labor contract negotiator for the United Steelworkers union, and Courtney Head, a contracts and privacy manager, for the Democratic nomination. We were impressed with Vélez, whose chief focus would be raising wages for Texans and improving living conditions. He spoke eloquently about why the Democratic Party has struggled to gain traction with many Texas voters, and we can see why his candidacy is garnering so much attention. We were equally impressed with Goodwin, a real estate broker out of Austin, and we put a premium on her legislative experience and broader policy vision. She was forceful about ending private school vouchers, improving women’s health, restoring abortion rights and ensuring precious water resources serve people, as opposed to, say, data centers. We appreciate her call to expand Medicaid, support of the cannabis industry with commonsense regulations, and push to let voters decide whether Texas should legalize gambling. Her campaign website is flush with policy positions and priorities — most such candidate sites are vapid and vague — and this was reflected in our candidate meeting. For those voters who are tired of state leadership that has failed to invest in people — be it in flood mitigation, public education, access to health care, broadband infrastructure, the list goes on — Goodwin offers a compelling vision for what Texas could be under new leadership.

Dallas-Fort Worth's FIFA base camps remain open as top-ranked nations seemingly look elsewhere

With just over four months until the World Cup kicks off, North Texas' base camps have yet to be publicly declared as any nation's home away from home during the tournament. We learned which nations will play their matches at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, being rebranded "Dallas Stadium" for the World Cup, back in December. Both Argentina and Japan will play two matches apiece in North Texas. Netherlands, England, Jordan and Austria all play one match. Yet, to date, none of them have picked DFW as their base camp, and some have already planted their flags elsewhere in the U.S., according to reports. Japan plans to stay in Nashville, according to our partners at the Dallas Business Journal.

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Argentina, England and Netherlands are all eying Kansas City for their base camps, according to ABC affiliate KMBC. FIFA has yet to make an official announcement for base camp designations, but it is expected within the next few weeks, sources have told WFAA. DFW has four team base camps paired with hotels live on its website: Toyota Stadium and the Westin Stonebriar Golf Resort & Spa in Frisco; Texas Christian University and the Sheraton Fort Worth Downtown Hotel in Fort Worth; the University of North Texas and Embassy Suites by Hilton Denton Convention Center in Denton; and the new Mansfield Stadium with the Hilton Garden Inn Dallas/Arlington South. The Cotton Bowl and SMU are venue specific training sites where teams will be required to train at in the lead up the week of their matches at AT&T Stadium, FIFA Dallas officials told. A report from the Miami Herald says teams are free to secure their own training sites and lodging facilities. There have not been any national teams to announce their selection for a DFW-based site, but sources told WFAA there have been numerous national team visits to these North Texas venues. A handful of the top-ranked nations in the world have already publicly announced their base camp selections: Germany in North Carolina, France in Boston, Uruguay in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, Norway in North Carolina, and Croatia in Virginia. With FIFA's base camp designation seemingly around the corner, the interest in the World Cup continues to build. FIFA announced it received 500 million ticket requests in the latest ticket draw. Fans will be notified of the outcome of their ticket applications by email no earlier than Feb. 5. Less than 1% of the applications submitted will be accepted, WFAA analysis showed. The FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11, where host nation Mexico takes on South Africa. The first match in DFW will be the Netherlands vs. Japan on June 14.

El Paso Bishop Seitz: Immigration crackdown shows 'total disregard' for human rights

In this city that sits along the U.S. southern border with Mexico, immigrant families are being torn apart by the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign, said El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz. "People are suffering, and the effects of that suffering will have an impact on our country too, for many years to come," Seitz told the National Catholic Reporter during a Jan. 21 interview at his office in El Paso. Seitz, 72, addressed the federal government's ongoing immigration crackdown, which in recent weeks has prompted widespread protests across the country, especially in Minneapolis, where federal immigration agents have shot and killed two people in the last three weeks.

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"I'm horrified by what I see" in Minneapolis, said Seitz, who was appointed bishop of El Paso in 2013 and has been an outspoken advocate for immigrants and a vocal proponent of the Catholic Church's teachings on migration. During his interview, Seitz commented on the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies and their effects on the border community in El Paso. He described his local church's efforts to accompany migrants during difficult times, shared his thoughts on the recent immigration statement from the U.S. bishops' conference and offered a solution for overcoming "a fear of the person we don't know." "I didn't think that the government would even be allowed to go as far as it's gone with all of this. I really thought that the limits on governmental power would prevent this kind of response. And it's very, very concerning. Sometimes it's hard for me to recognize my country," he said. It's hard for him to pick one thing that bothered him about this crackdown. "But, in a general sense, it's the total disregard for fundamental human rights. You know, when we talk about human rights, we're not just talking about the position of some activist. We're talking about something that's very fundamental to the teaching of the church, to the belief of not only the Catholic Church, but Christianity in general, and to people of faith even well beyond Christianity, and that is that human beings have a particular dignity because they are created by God," he said.

Bible verses could soon be required reading in Texas public school classrooms

A major effort to bring religious texts back into Texas classrooms has hit a pause, but it is far from over. State education leaders delayed a final vote on a controversial proposal to add Bible passages and other religious readings to English classes from kindergarten through 12th grade. According to reporting from the Houston Chronicle, the proposed law would dramatically reshape reading lists for many students. The plan calls for dozens of new books in some grade levels and would require ten passages drawn directly from various versions of the Bible to be included in the English curriculum for all K-12 grades. Supporters frame the move as a way to expose students to foundational religious and cultural texts, while critics have raised concerns about church-state separation and the potential for religious favoritism.

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The Chronicle also reports that parents would likely have the option to opt their children out of reading the religious texts. That could give families some flexibility if they object to the material on faith or personal grounds. However, there is a significant catch: even if students skip those readings in class, the religious passages are expected to be folded into the state’s standardized tests if the plan goes through. That means the material could still influence what appears on high-stakes exams that affect students, teachers and campuses. The timeline for any changes remains several years away. If approved, the mandatory readings would not appear in classrooms immediately. Under the current proposal, the new requirements would take effect in the 2030–31 school year, giving districts time to adjust lesson plans, order materials and train teachers. For now, the delay pushes the final decision into the spring, ensuring the debate over faith, literature and public education in Texas will continue.

Cruezot, Garza join newly formed national coalition of DAs and prosecutors pushing back against federal overreach

Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot is a member of a national coalition of locally-elected top prosecutors who announced today (Wednesday, Jan. 28) the formation of the Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach, “an effort to hold federal officials accountable when they exceed their lawful authority, especially in states around the country where federal agents are being surged,” according to a press release announcing the project. “The coalition launches amid growing concerns about warrantless entries, unlawful detentions and coercive enforcement tactics by federal agents, and it’s intended to ensure that constitutional limits on federal power are actively enforced through lawful institutions,” the press release explained.

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Founding participants include district attorneys from places such as Mary Moriarty from Minneapolis, Larry Krasner from Philadelphia; Jose Garza from Austin; Steve Descano from Fairfax, Va.; Parisa Dehghani-Tafti from Falls Church and Arlington, Va.; Stephanie Morales from Portsmouth, Va.; Ramin Fatehi from Norfolk, Va., and Laura Conover froma Pima County, Ariz. The coalition will share strategies and best practices among prosecutors, provide regular public updates on efforts to rein in unlawful federal conduct and educate the public on what paths are legally available, and coordinate on accountability efforts across jurisdictions, the press release explained. Project participants emphasized that accountability is critical to keeping trust in the legal system, with Creuzot commenting, “Violent crime in this community and others — regardless of who commits it — must be addressed. When a person’s death appears to have been caused unjustifiably, it demands a thorough investigation and, when warranted, prosecution.”

It's more costly than ever to live in Dallas. Can faith-based solutions help make housing more affordable?

What can Dallas learn from Charlotte, a city two-thirds its size, a thousand miles east? The Lab Report’s last twostories examined how churches in North Carolina’s largest municipality are adding rooftops to chip away at its housing shortage. Dallas churches have for years, in fits and starts, talked about developing land they own but don’t need; those in Charlotte are already turning dirt every year. They are putting up apartments and condominiums and single-family homes that are affordable to everyone from restaurant workers to schoolteachers and first responders. Since 2019, the faith-based initiative there has delivered at least 1,500 new units of housing and attracted interest from over 100 places of worship. (And counting.) It’s also helped these congregations find a future beyond the collection plate, literally saving some churches from running out of money as their memberships decline.

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It is important that Dallas recognize its challenges—in this case, housing—are not unique. Solving the affordability issue, which includes ensuring that even the poorest Dallasites have dignified access to a quality home, will require many strategies that swim hard against the current. And a good way to identify new paths is by finding them in similar markets where they’ve led to results, like how Charlotte’s faith community mobilized into becoming small-scale housing developers. “Whether you’re a Christian or a Muslim or whoever, it’s a moral imperative that you care about the community and your people in it,” says Linda McMahon, CEO of the Dallas Economic Development Corporation, whose former job leading The Real Estate Council involved advising partners on housing.“The churches, they have the ability to do this. But they don’t really have the support system or the tools to do it.” Locally, housing affordability grows more dire each year. Dallas is rapidly losing stock that is affordable to people considered low-income, who, using the federal government’s definition, make up about 60 percent of our renters. “Affordable” generally means that someone isn’t spending more than one-third of their income on housing. “We’re losing affordable housing faster than we can produce it,” says James Armstrong, the deputy director of Housing and Homelessness for the city of Dallas.

Bexar County Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez arrested in rare criminal case over alleged courtroom misconduct, vows to fight charges

Bexar County Court at Law Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez has been arrested and booked on charges of official oppression and unlawful restraint stemming from an incident in her courtroom. Speedlin Gonzalez turned herself in Thursday and was booked into the Bexar County Jail. She later posted a $40,000 bond and was released. Through her attorney, she has denied wrongdoing and said she intends to vigorously defend herself. The indictment stems from a December 2024 hearing in which prosecutors say Speedlin Gonzalez ordered defense attorney Elizabeth Russell to be handcuffed and seated in the jury box during a dispute over courtroom procedure.

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According to court records, the conflict began after Russell challenged the judge’s handling of the hearing and refused to comply with her instructions. Prosecutors argue Speedlin Gonzalez exceeded her authority by ordering the attorney restrained. Russell later filed a complaint related to the incident, prompting the investigation. Unlawful restraint by a judicial officer is a second-degree felony, which can carry prison time and a fine. Official oppression is a misdemeanor. Special Prosecutor Brian Cromeens was appointed to handle the case after the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office recused itself, citing a conflict of interest. Speedlin Gonzalez has served on the bench since 2019, when she became the first openly LGBTQ judge elected in Bexar County. She oversees the county’s Reflejo Court for first-time domestic violence offenders.

TEA approves 22 of 24 AISD turnaround plans

The Austin Independent School District released new information about turnaround plans it submitted a few months ago. In November, the district had to submit turnaround plans to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for schools that received multiple unacceptable accountability ratings. The plans are designed to prevent the state from taking over and managing the district.

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On Thursday, AISD Superintendent Matias Segura addressed the plans in the board meeting, saying that TEA has approved 22 of 24 plans without requiring adjustments. The two schools that were not approved were Widén and Winn elementary schools; they were not rejected, but TEA requested additional details from the schools. The TEA is looking for Austin ISD to provide more details around the plan to support reassigned students and how the district will fund extra supports. The district listed a number of ways it’s offering support, which include: Strengthening classroom instruction, teacher development, active leadership and expanded student support. For both Widén and Winn, AISD will resubmit the revised plans by March 24.

Parent company of Texas-based Twin Peaks files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Twin Hospitality Group, the parent company of the Twin Peaks restaurant chain, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The filing came on Monday, almost exactly one year after the company went public in a spinoff from the restaurant group Fat Brands, which acquired Twin Peaks in 2021. Twin Hospitality is still a subsidiary of Fat Brands, which owns chains including Fazoli's and Marble Slab Creamery and also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday. Court filings shed light on how Twin Peaks got over its skis.

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John DiDonato of Huron Consulting Services, which is serving as financial advisor to Fat Brands and Twin Hospitality for the Chapter 11 process, said in a motion that Fat Brands' acquisitions had left the companies with "increasingly unsustainable" debt obligations. The companies then struggled to raise money in the markets, he continued, "due to the unfavorable market for restaurant stocks generally and Fat Brands and Twin Hospitality’s stocks specifically." The situation was further complicated, DiDonato added, by legal issues, inflation and "industry headwinds." Similar issues have also taken a toll on one of Twin Peaks' closest competitors. The restaurant chain Hooters, which is also known for its distinctive uniforms as well as its chicken wings, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2025 and soon thereafter closed 30 locations. The company emerged from Chapter 11 status after it was reacquired by its original owners, who promised "a renewed commitment to family" as part of the brand's "re-Hooterization."

National Stories

Trump, two sons, Trump Org sue IRS, Treasury for $10 billion over tax records leak

President Donald Trump, his two eldest sons, and his family business sued the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department over alleged leaks of their confidential tax information, court records showed Thursday. The plaintiffs seek at least $10 billion in damages, according to the lawsuit in Miami federal court. The civil complaint alleges that the IRS and Treasury failed in their obligation to prevent the leak of those tax records by former IRS employee Charles “Chaz” Littlejohn in 2019 and 2020. In addition to Trump, the plaintiffs are his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization, which the sons run. A spokesman for Trump’s legal team told CNBC in a statement, “The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica and other left-wing news outlets, which was then illegally released to millions of people.”

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“President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable,” the spokesman said. The suit was filed three days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he had cancelled all of his department’s contracts with the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton in connection with the company’s contractor, Littlejohn, stealing and leaking confidential tax returns. Littlejohn, 40, is serving a five-year prison sentence after having pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of disclosure of tax return information. He admitted to leaking Trump’s tax records to The New York Times, and also admitted to leaking records about wealthy individuals to the news outlet ProPublica. The news lawsuit says that Littlejohn, in a 2024 deposition, admitted disclosing “Trump information [that] included all businesses that he had owned” to the investigative news outlet ProPublica. The suit asserts that ProPublica’s subsequent reporting on Trump’s tax documents falsely claimed that the records contained “versions of fraud.” While that quote does appear in ProPublica’s October 2019 report, it comes from Nancy Wallace, a finance and real estate professor at the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

'Melania' documentary, helmed by controversial filmmaker, arrives amid national turmoil

When Melania Trump showed up on movie screens in 2001, it was a joke. The former fashion model and her spouse, Donald Trump, then only a real estate mogul, played themselves in the Ben Stiller comedy "Zoolander," about a dimwitted male supermodel. She silently looked on as her husband gushed at an awards show red carpet: "Without Derek Zoolander, male modeling would not be where it is today." The cameo offers a glimpse of the couple, who in 2017 would enter the White House as president and first lady. As they move past the first anniversary of their second stint in Washington, D.C., Melania has largely stayed away from the spotlight.

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But this week the first lady is preparing for her close-up. She is center stage as star and executive producer in the documentary "Melania" hitting theaters Friday. Positioned as a companion to her best-selling memoir, "Melania" has been shadowed by controversy since its announcement several months ago. The project marks a comeback attempt by Hollywood filmmaker Brett Ratner, the director of the documentary, who was exiled from Hollywood in 2017 following charges of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including actor Olivia Munn. He continues to deny the accusations. Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million to license the project, and sources said it is spending around $35 million for marketing and promotion. Melania is skipping the traditional TV talk show circuit, opting for an appearance on Fox News, which featured an exclusive interview with her on Tuesday — her first since returning to the White House. The following day, she rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Tulsi Gabbard’s appearance at Fulton County FBI raid raises questions

At a televised Cabinet meeting last August, President Donald Trump turned to his top intelligence official, noting that she had evidence of “how corrupt the 2020 election was,” and asked when she’d produce it. “I will be the first to brief you once we have that information collected,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard replied. Gabbard, who coordinates the nation’s 18 spy agencies, has put “election integrity” and holding former government officials accountable for alleged election interference among her priorities. Trump has long maintained that the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was rigged. U.S. nationalsecurity officials at the time said they found no evidence of widespread fraud and numerous courts rejected claims of election irregularities as unfounded.

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Though her office traditionally focuses on foreign intelligence and adversaries, Gabbard’s unexplained appearance at a warehouse in Fulton County, Georgia, on Wednesday while the FBI was executing a search warrant revealed the extent to which her office has been involved in a domestic criminal investigation. Photographs confirming her presence stunned lawmakers, who on Thursday called for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to urgently brief them on the matter. “My constituents in Georgia, and I think much of the American public, are quite reasonably alarmed in asking questions after the director of national intelligence was spotted bizarrely and personally lurking in an FBI evidence truck in Fulton County, Georgia, yesterday,” Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia) said Thursday at an intelligence committee hearing for Trump’s nominee to head the National Security Agency, Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd. Ossoff questioned whether ODNI “is straying far outside of its lane.’’ “Director Gabbard recognizes that election security is essential for the integrity of our republic and our nation’s security. As DNI, she has a vital role in identifying vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure and protecting against exploitation. … President Trump’s directive to secure our elections was clear, and DNI Gabbard has and will continue to take actions within her authorities, alongside our interagency partners, to support ensuring the integrity of our elections,” said ODNI press secretary Olivia Coleman.

Trump threatens to ground Canadian aircraft and apply tariffs to imports

President Trump threatened to decertify Canadian aircraft and apply tariffs on imports in retaliation for what he described as the country’s refusal to certify U.S.-made Gulfstream jets. In a Thursday Truth Social post, Trump targeted to ground Bombardier Global jets as well as “all Aircraft made in Canada.” He wrote that Canada needed to approve Gulfstream’s G500, G600, G700 and G800 models. Without the approval, he said the U.S. could apply a 50% tariff on imports of Canadian aircraft. A spokesperson for the White House didn’t respond to a request for comment. A Canadian government representative didn’t respond to a request for comment.

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The Federal Aviation Administration is responsible for certifying civil aircraft in the U.S., including planes used for commercial flights. An FAA spokesperson referred questions to the White House. Bombardier, based near Montreal, is considered a crown jewel of Canada’s aerospace industry. The company has benefited from decades of government financial support, given Bombardier’s operations and the political heft that the province of Quebec plays in Canadian politics. The company designs, builds and sells two families of business jets, under the Challenger and Global brands. Bombardier said late Thursday it is in contact with the Canadian government, and is seeking a quick resolution “to avoid a significant impact to air traffic and the flying public.” General Dynamics, which owns Gulfstream, declined to comment.

Florida now accepting public comment on H-1B visa hiring ban

Florida took another step Thursday toward banning all its public universities from hiring foreign workers on H-1B visas. The state university system’s Board of Governors will now take public comments for two weeks on a proposed prohibition on hiring any new employees on H-1Bs through Jan. 5 of next year. The vote from a committee to further the proposal was a voice vote, with no nays heard from any committee member. The proposal will come back to the full board for a vote after the public comment period ends. If enacted, Florida would become the second state to ban the use of H-1B visas at public universities. Texas governor Greg Abbott announced a one-year freeze earlier this week—a move that prompted pushback from faculty.

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The state bans come after President Trump placed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications in September (international workers who are already legal residents aren’t required to pay the fee). The next month, Florida governor Ron DeSantis ordered the state’s universities to “pull the plug on the use of these H-1B visas.” Fourteen of the Board of Governors’ 17 members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. DeSantis complained about professors coming from China, “supposed Palestine” and elsewhere. He added that “we need to make sure our citizens here in Florida are first in line for job opportunities.” Universities use the program to hire faculty, doctors and researchers and argue it’s required to meet needs in health care, engineering and other specialized occupations. Some conservatives contend that the program is being abused.

Copyright January 30, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved