April 12, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Trump threatens Strait of Hormuz blockade after US-Iran ceasefire talks end without agreement

President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. Navy would “immediately” begin a blockade to stop ships from entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S.-Iran peace talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement. Trump sought to exert strategic control over the waterway responsible for the transportation of 20% of global oil supplies before the war, hoping to take away Iran’s key source of economic leverage in the fighting. The president added that he has “instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.”

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Trump also said the U.S. was ready to “finish up” Iran at the “appropriate moment,” stressing that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions were at the core of the failure to end the war. Face-to-face talks ended earlier Sunday after 21 hours, leaving a fragile two-week ceasefire in doubt. U.S. officials said the negotiations collapsed over what they described as Iran’s refusal to commit to abandoning a path to a nuclear weapon, while Iranian officials blamed the U.S. for the breakdown of the talks without specifying the sticking points. Neither side indicated what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire expires on April 22. Pakistani mediators urged all parties to maintain it. Both said their positions were clear and put the onus on the other side, underscoring how little the gap had narrowed throughout the talks. “We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vice President JD Vance said after the talks.

Texas House committee slaps Democrats with nearly $422K in penalties for 2025 quorum break

A committee of the Texas House of Representatives voted late Friday afternoon to impose financial penalties totaling nearly $422,000 on Democratic House members who broke quorum last August to try to prevent the Republican-led Legislature from passing a controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting plan. The GOP-led Committee on House Administration imposed $303,000 in fines on the 50-plus Democratic members for being absent without leave during the first and second special sessions of the 89th Legislature. The committee assessed an additional $118,889.81 penalty to reimburse the Texas Department of Public Safety for expenses incurred in trying to compel those members to return to the chamber. Under House rules, the members being penalized may not use political fundraising in order to pay the fines or reimbursement expenses — in this case more than $8,000 per member.

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The committee voted 6-5 along party lines, under a motion by state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, the committee chair, after taking testimony in executive session for more than six hours. Geren made no statement other than to read out the terms of the motion. Several Democrats on the committee gave closing statements before the final vote. State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, pointed to Republican rhetoric against Democrats during the quorum break — including threats by Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to force the expulsion from office of Democrats who had fled the state. "Americans just like us from both sides of the aisle have been murdered over politics in the past year,” Moody said. “We can’t play any part in bringing that to Texas. If we do, one day, we’ll be sitting in a room like this, talking about the death of someone we worked with, someone we looked in the eye and broke bread with, and yes, sometimes disagreed with. When that happens, no amount of political points will have been worth it."

‘It’s solid gold’: Some Texas Republicans ramp up criticisms of Muslims to energize primary voters

Running in a contentious race to keep his seat, Sen. John Cornyn put out an ad vowing to fight “radical Islam.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Cornyn’s opponent in the May 26 runoff, accused his rival of helping “radical Islamic Afghans invade Texas.” Rep. Chip Roy, running to replace Paxton as attorney general in a runoff next month, has alleged without evidence that parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, home to thousands of Muslims, have become what some Texas women believe to be “no-go zones” in which they are “increasingly feeling uncomfortable, as if they are somehow immersed in the Middle East.” Certain Republicans in Texas have made anti-Islamic rhetoric part of their primary campaigns, arguing that Muslims have made the state less safe.

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That’s a notable message in the nation’s largest conservative state and one that’s echoed by a handful of Republicans nationally, including members of Congress. Border issues have long animated conservatives – particularly in Texas, which has the longest section of US-Mexico border of any state – and were seen as critical to President Donald Trump’s 2024 victory. Vinny Minchillo, a Republican strategist based in Plano, Texas, said that with illegal immigration hitting lows during Trump’s presidency, it made sense for GOP candidates to drive at another immigration-related concern and that opposition to Sharia law, or Islamic religious law, in particular was a winner in primaries. “It is playing as well as anything I have ever seen with Texas Republican voters,” said Minchillo, who worked on the media team for Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign and Mitt Romney’s 2012 bid.“It’s solid gold.” Muslim leaders living in Texas argue that the ramp-up of rhetoric endangers their communities and spreads misconceptions about Sharia law and about Islam in general.

Hungarian election tests Trump’s global reach as Orban fights for survival

In an election that has President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin rooting for the same outcome, Hungarians on Sunday will decide the fate of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the self-proclaimed champion of illiberal Christian democracy who is a darling of MAGA-aligned American conservatives, an ally of the Kremlin and a proud antagonist of European Union leaders in Brussels. Orban, 62, who has governed Hungary with increasing authoritarianism since 2010, and his Fidesz party are facing a stiff challenge from Peter Magyar, 45, a center-right, socially conservative member of the European Parliament, and his party Tisza — in what is arguably the country’s most consequential vote since the end of the communist era. Vice President JD Vance visited Hungary last week to campaign for Orban. On a sunny Sunday morning, the turnout in the first hours of voting reached record levels, with more than 16 percent Hungarians having cast their ballots, up from 10 percent in the previous election.

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This year’s race is viewed as one of the dirtiest in Hungarian history. Budapest is plastered with posters depicting Magyar as a two-faced puppet of Brussels and Kyiv, while damaging material about the Orban government’s ties to Russia has filled the independent press in recent weeks, culminating in a leak of recorded conversations between Orban and Putin. Orban’s xenophobic nationalism made him a leading critic of immigration in Europe and other leaders followed, making the E.U. far less welcoming of migrants and refugees. He has also been a vocal critic of military and economic aid to Ukraine and often sought to block E.U. sanctions against Russia and thwart efforts to cut reliance on Russian gas and oil. In the election, Orban has tried to stoke fears that Magyar would pull Hungary into Russia’s war in support of Ukraine. Magyar has run on a platform largely focused on domestic issues, accusing Orban of mismanaging Hungary’s weak economy and railing against corruption and cronyism, and lambasting a government procurement system that he says has enriched Orban’s family members and political allies.

Texas counties receive subpoenas for voters’ records from Department of Homeland Security

At least three Texas counties this week either received or were told they would soon receive administrative subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The department is seeking detailed records about some individual voters, including their registration applications and voter history, though counties don’t yet know which ones. The subpoenas appear to be linked to a series of efforts by the Trump administration to verify the citizenship of registered voters. In December, Texas turned over the state’s voter roll to the Justice Department. The transfer included voters’ identifiable information such as dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and partial social security numbers. It did not include, however, voters’ registration applications or signatures — the state does not have access to that information, which is kept by county voter registrars.

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Lubbock County’s elections administrator, Roxzine Stinson, said she met with a Homeland Security representative who informed her she would soon receive a subpoena seeking additional information for at least 10 voters, and potentially up to 30. Stinson said she’ll seek guidance from the county’s legal department on how to respond. The Homeland Security representative told Stinson “all 254 counties will be contacted,” she said. Election officials in Brazos County received a subpoena by email this week, Trudy Hancock, the county’s elections administrator, confirmed to Votebeat. Hancock said the subpoena specifically requests voter registration records, including voter registration applications, signatures, and voter history, but doesn’t list the names of individual voters. She said she’s asking for legal advice on how to respond “because the request is open-ended.” Suzie Harvey, the election administrator in Montgomery County confirmed she has also received a subpoena that was delivered in person, but similarly to Hancock, it isn’t specific about which voters’ records it’s seeking. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoenas Friday. The Texas Secretary of State’s Office declined to comment on whether it has received a subpoena from DHS but Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson, said the office is aware that some counties are receiving them.

State Stories

Judge blocks new state rules that ban sale of smokable hemp

Smokable hemp products can be sold in Texas again — at least for now. A Travis County judge granted a temporary restraining order on Friday that blocks enforcement of some of the state's sweeping hemp regulations that took effect March 31. The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) rules changed how THC levels are calculated in a way that effectively prohibited the sale of smokable hemp products like flower and concentrate. Those products accounted for the vast majority of the hemp products sold in Texas, according to the industry and economists who study the hemp market. The DSHS regulations also introduced sharply higher annual fees for hemp retailers of $5,000 per location, which had increased from $150. Manufacturers saw their annual fees rise from $250 to $10,000 per facility.

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A group of businesses and industry groups including the Texas Hemp Business Council filed a lawsuit Tuesday, claiming DSHS exceeded its authority and adopted rules that would force hundreds of businesses to close. Travis County Judge Maya Guerra Gamble blocked the new rules that prohibit the sale of smokable hemp. She declined to block implementation of the higher fees. More than 13,000 stores are registered to sell hemp products in Texas, according to data posted on the DSHS website. Almost 800 companies are licensed to manufacture hemp products. During a virtual hearing Friday afternoon, attorneys for the plaintiffs argued the rules were already forcing some businesses to close. "This is actually irreparable harm that is already occurring and is exponentially multiplying like a wave rolling into a beach that gets bigger," attorney Jason Snell said.

Memorial Hermann reaches deal with BCBSTX to return to in-network

The Memorial Hermann Health System's facilities and physicians are once again in-network for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, according to statements from the two parties. This comes after a stalled-out contract dispute dropped the system from BCBSTX's network at the start of April. "We are pleased that Memorial Hermann Health System and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) have reached a new agreement that enables BCBSTX Commercial and Blue Advantage Marketplace members to have in-network access once again to Memorial Hermann facilities and trusted providers for their care," Memorial Hermann said in a statement.

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Prior to reaching an agreement, both sides said they had worked for months to reach a deal, but couldn't settle on terms. Read Memorial Hermann's full statement, released on April 11, below: "We are pleased that Memorial Hermann Health System and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) have reached a new agreement that enables BCBSTX Commercial and Blue Advantage Marketplace members to have in-network access once again to Memorial Hermann facilities and trusted providers for their care. Throughout these negotiations, our priority has been to secure a fair agreement that supports the long-term sustainability of the high-quality care we provide and recognizes the value of our physician network. As always, we stand ready to serve and encourage patients to reach out to their trusted providers to schedule needed care. We remain committed to the Greater Houston community and our mission to improve health through high-quality, accessible and personalized care." Read BCBCTX's full statement, released on April 11, below: "Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas?and Memorial Hermann Health System have come to a mutual agreement?that?protects?our members’ access to quality?care at cost-effective prices.? "All BCBSTX members will continue to have access to Memorial Hermann Health System facilities?and hospitals at in-network rates.

Judge balks at $68M Colony Ridge deal. Did officials do enough to aid residents?

A federal district judge declined to sign off Friday on a settlement between Colony Ridge and the state and federal governments after raising concerns about the lack of relief for customers who were allegedly harmed by the developers. Judge Alfred Bennett repeatedly asked why the $68 million settlement doesn’t include financial compensation for landowners forced into foreclosure after purchasing property in the sprawling community in Liberty County outside Houston. Bennett pointed out that the settlement includes $20 million for law enforcement and immigration enforcement — yet the government’s original lawsuit never mentioned residents’ request for more police activity.

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“How did we get from 45 pages of financial transactions that rise to the level of reverse redlining to, ‘Let's spend $20 million to increase immigration enforcement,’” Bennett said, referring to the federal government’s original complaint that contained allegations of predatory lending practices. “How did we get here?” Colony Ridge, the Trump administration and the state of Texas previously agreed to a proposed $68 million settlement in February following a lawsuit initiated by former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice. The 2023 lawsuit alleged Colony Ridge used unscrupulous and illegal tactics to target Hispanic customers with high-interest loans and misled buyers about infrastructure, including water, sewer and electrical connections. Critics of the settlement say government officials are prioritizing immigration enforcement and politics over restitution. GOP lawmakers have falsely claimed that Colony Ridge is a hotbed of cartel activity, and immigration agents conducted a raid in the community last year after Trump was elected to office.

Artemis II astronauts reflect on journey to the moon and back during Houston homecoming

The four astronauts of Artemis II mission are back on Earth after a successful journey around the Moon, returning to Houston on Saturday to a warm welcome and emotional reflections. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen landed at Ellington Field, where they spoke publicly for the first time since splashdown. They were greeted with a standing ovation, smiling and embracing the moment after completing a mission that took them farther into space than any humans before. “Twenty-four hours ago, the Earth was that big out the window,” Wiseman said, gesturing to emphasize the distance. “And here we are back at Ellington, at home.”

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The crew balanced humor with heartfelt emotion. Hansen joked about finally being separated from his commander after the long journey, drawing laughter from the crowd. But the tone shifted as Wiseman reflected on the personal sacrifices behind the mission, particularly time spent away from loved ones. “Before you launch, it feels like the greatest dream on Earth,” he said. “And when you’re out there, you just want to get back to your family and friends. It’s a special thing to be human, and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.” The mission marks a major milestone for NASA, as the crew completed a lunar flyby that officials say will help pave the way for future missions to land astronauts on the Moon. “We are fortunate to be in this agency, at this time, together,” Glover said. Outside the gates, crowds gathered to welcome the astronauts home, underscoring the mission’s impact beyond science and exploration. Koch emphasized the sense of unity the journey inspired. “There is one thing I know,” she said. “Planet Earth — you are a crew.” Hansen closed with a message about shared purpose, telling the audience the astronauts’ journey reflects something larger. “When you look up here, you are not looking at us,” he said. “We are a mirror reflecting you.” The Artemis II crew’s return signals a renewed step toward humanity’s next chapter in lunar exploration — and a reminder of the people behind the mission.

How Texas college students are helping thousands of undocumented classmates

Obed Valencia wasted no time in his first two years of college. He joined several clubs, made friends, got an internship — he even won a “Most Involved” student award in his first year at Texas A&M San Antonio, he said. “I made the most of it just because I wasn’t sure when would be the last day I would get to experience,” Valencia told The Barbed Wire. That uncertainty stemmed from being a “dreamer,” a term used to describe immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as a child, including those who received protections under the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — or DACA. Valencia moved to the U.S. from Mexico when he was just 4 years old, he told The Barbed Wire. Alongside his friend and fellow student María Andrade, Valencia founded the Dreamer Student Organization on the San Antonio campus in the fall of 2023, which provided support and a safe space to other immigrant students like them.

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“We wanted to build a community for students who were undocumented immigrants, or if they were just allies, wanting to help,” Andrade said. With Valencia as president, the Dreamer Student Organization focused on building community, social events, and education on issues facing immigrants in its first year. But things changed in 2025. Since President Trump took office in his second term, the largest immigration crackdown in U.S. history has disappeared parents, killed dozens of people — including American citizens – and spread fear across communities in Texas. In Austin, a mother called police only to find herself and her 5-year-old child, a U.S. citizen, deported to Honduras. A Palestinian woman who protested at Columbia University was held in a Texas ICE detention center for a year, despite being granted bond multiple times. A two-month old baby was deported, along with his family, after being hospitalized for bronchitis in a Texas detention center just hours earlier. Immigrants have also faced financial barriers as the crackdown has swept across the country, where Texas has the most undocumented higher ed students in the country — second only to California. As of June 2025, Inside Higher Edreported there were 57,000 undocumented students enrolled in Texas colleges and universities.

Dallas Mavs withdraw claim over Stars’ partnership before trial

The Dallas Mavericks have abandoned their most significant claim to be contested at trial next month in a fight with the Dallas Stars over their shared partnership in the American Airlines Center sports arena. The NBA team Thursday nonsuited a tortious interference claim that remained undecided after a Texas Business Court judge ruled in their favor in seven other issues this month. By abandoning the claim, the Mavs’ lawyer, Chip Babcock of Jackson Walker LLP, said there’s no need to proceed to trial as planned on May 11. A dispute over attorneys’ fees was also to be decided at the trial. “The team just wants to move forward and not have this be more of a distraction than it already has been,” Babcock said Friday. The Stars’ lawyer, Joshua Sandler of Winstead PC, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the impact of the Mavs’ nonsuit on the upcoming trial. On April 2, Judge Bill Whitehill ruled the Mavs can redeem the interest of the Stars for a cash tender of $110 because the hockey team maintained its office outside the city in violation of a 1999 lease agreement. The Stars are represented by Winstead PC.

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Lithium discovery bringing landmen back to Texas’ Smackover Formation

Inside his office just off Mount Vernon’s town square, attorney B.F. Hicks lays a map out on his desk. At speed, he points at different tracts, reciting who lives there, what size their property is and which companies he’s heard have sent landmen to knock on their door to negotiate lithium leases. What happens in Northeast Texas could shape the nation’s energy future. The region has emerged as a key player in the domestic race for lithium — the mineral essential to the batteries in electric vehicles, cellphones, and renewable energy storage — as the U.S. scrambles to secure its own supply. For a few years now, the infiltration of companies into this rural region of Texas searching for lithium — a critical ingredient for storing solar energy and powering electric vehicle batteries —has become a topic of conversation over dinner at the local chophouse or in catching up at the historical society meeting.

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Sometimes, it’s behind closed doors as friends, family and neighbors gossip about who’s getting the best offers for their mineral rights. Being an energy frontier for other parts of Texas isn’t new to residents in Franklin and surrounding counties, as some of their backyards have started to fill with solar panel farms and battery energy storage systems, all fuel powering the “green economy.” But now, they’re learning that deep beneath their feet is salty water that could become a key resource in the United States’ global fight for full energy independence. The Smackover Formation, which sweeps broadly from East Texas to Florida and once gushed with oil, now is being hailed as containing some of the purest lithium brine in the world. Hicks, one of the most vocal local leaders opposing industrial-scale solar projects, actually welcomes the potential that lithium can bring to the community. The historian and longtime attorney has signed a lithium lease for a portion of his pristine Daphne Prairie; he’s now helping others do the same. He’s hoping to get the best deal for his clients — and perhaps most important, make sure the surface land is as protected and preserved as possible.

Mayor’s attorney urges halt to Corpus Christi removal hearing process

A legal letter submitted on behalf of Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo is urging the City Council to reconsider moving forward with removal hearing procedures under the city charter. The letter, dated April 8, was sent by attorney John Flood to members of the City Council and references Article II, Section 11 of the city charter, which outlines the process for removal or suspension actions. Flood said prior investigations conducted with outside legal counsel and investigators found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing related to earlier allegations raised in a Petition for Removal filed in August 2025. The letter also addresses additional claims filed in March 2026, described as “Articles of Impeachment,” stating those allegations are based on speculation and can be rebutted by existing facts, according to the mayor’s legal team.

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Flood is now urging the council to pause the process, warning that moving forward could expose the city to unnecessary litigation and may not meet legal requirements under state law and U.S. constitutional standards. “Over the last couple of months, the city council has taken some steps that really threaten some of the constitutional rights that she holds, that we all hold,” Flood said. Flood also questioned the reasoning behind the council’s decision to advance the petition. “Multiple law enforcement agencies, the FBI, the Texas Rangers, Police Department, District Attorney's office have all concluded that there was no wrongdoing by anyone, much less the mayor,” Flood said. “And so you have to ask yourself, well, then why is this happening? And so it's happening for political reasons, which is an unconstitutional reason.” The letter further states that continuing the proceedings could divert attention from other city priorities, including water planning and municipal operations.

ACLU and anti-censorship group target UNT over art exhibit removal with mobile billboard

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the National Coalition Against Censorship sent a mobile billboard to the University of North Texas campus Tuesday. The billboard on a truck shows a simple message: “UNT admin censored Marka27’s art.” The billboard is a partnership between the two nonprofits and former Dallas resident turned Brooklyn-based street artist Victor Quiñonez, better known by his street art signature Marka27. Both sides of the billboard include a QR code, which leads to a post penned by Quiñonez on the ACLU Texas website. The mobile billboard is the latest move on the part of Quiñonez and the two advocacy groups in an ongoing critique of the university’s decision to remove Quiñonez’s exhibit “Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá” (“Neither From Here, Nor From There”).

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The exhibit might sting a little with its references to incarceration and deportation, but Quiñonez said its bright colors, glowing LED lights and humor are tributes, not condemnations, of America. “I’d decided on the name ‘Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá’ for my exhibition to honor my heritage,” Quiñonez says in his blog. “As immigrants, as Latinos, we are not from here, and we are not from there, because we are from both. “To me, this is a form of empowerment,” he writes. “We can speak authentically to finding a home in the United States as well as maintaining our connections to where we were born or where our ancestors are from. I believe it’s completely possible to love two homelands at the same time.” UNT administrators hadn’t replied to a Denton Record-Chronicle request for an interview or a statement by Tuesday evening.

'Taylor, Texas is now in the space business': Melagen Labs picks Austin-area city after multi-state search

A New York-based aerospace and defense company has picked Taylor for what is said to be the region's first commercial radiation testing and qualification center. It's another example of Central Texas growing into a hub for the space industry. Melagen Labs on April 8 was approved by the Taylor Economic Development Corp. board for a somewhat unique $4.5 million economic development performance agreement that will help the company cover startup costs here — but there's a plan to pay the money back. It's all with a goal of addressing a shortage of commercial-grade gamma irradiation facilities throughout the country – especially in Texas. The new facility is slated to create a minimum of 16 jobs, according to the deal, but businesses that strike such agreements often handily surpass headcount requirements.

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Officials declined to say where the facility will be located because a lease has not yet been finalized. But sources said the facility will be housed at a 51,000-square-foot office-warehouse building at 1901 Industrial Drive that was developed by Houston-based SGRE Capital. Construction on the tenant finish out is expected to begin this year, and the facility is expected to be operational next year, according to an April 10 announcement. It will service aerospace, defense and advanced electronics industries. Melagen is already opening its waitlist to commercial, defense and government customers. "This facility is about more than testing. It's about building the infrastructure layer that enables the next generation of American space and defense programs," Melagen Labs founder and CEO Muhammad Hunain said in a statement. "Taylor, Texas, gave us the partnership and the platform to move fast. We're building one of the most important pieces of national technology infrastructure to come online in years, which will enable commercial and defense partners to accelerate their development for lunar infrastructure, and this is just the beginning of the network we're building."

Matthew Chesnut: How Teach for America helped set up James Talarico’s political rise

(Matthew Chesnut is a high school social studies teacher and journalism adviser from San Antonio and a Teach for America alum. He holds degrees in political science from Texas State University and UT-San Antonio.) Fifteen years ago, in May 2011, dozens of newly inducted Teach for America (TFA) corps members gathered at Trinity University in San Antonio to prepare for a five-week summer training institute, which would be hosted at Rice University in Houston. It was the first time I had ever been selected for anything exclusive—TFA’s acceptance rate was around 15 percent at the time—and I had all the attendant feelings of imposter syndrome. You can briefly see this much thinner, less-hot version of me teaching summer school at Madison High School in Houston in this promotional video that TFA San Antonio still has on their YouTube page. By my account, everyone here dressed well, maintained straight posture, and had impeccable hair. It appeared more like a casting call than teachers’ professional development. I was one of a few born, raised, and educated San Antonians present in a group that represented every corner of the country, many recently credentialed from the nation’s most prestigious institutions. In meeting my new colleagues, I felt compelled to be my city’s ambassador, but as a functional shut-in during leisure hours I was an imperfect one at best.

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One of those new colleagues I met that week was a University of Texas grad who, like me, studied government and would be teaching on San Antonio’s West Side. His name was James Talarico. My impression of him from the TFA training sessions was that he was serious but not humorless, carrying himself with a firm, gentle confidence uncommon for a 22-year-old. For the next two years of our corps member commitment, these TFA professional development sessions would be the extent of our acquaintanceship as he and most others would eventually leave San Antonio for greener pastures. It came as little surprise to me that, five years after the conclusion of our time in TFA, we’d see one of our own reach the Texas Legislature. TFA’s recruitment, with its many rounds of interviews and an ostensible audition, promises to field an annual crop of future leaders in education. For most participants, their plans involve this short stint in the classroom before heading off to work in law, campus administration, policymaking, business, or the sprawling tentacles of the nonprofit industrial complex. TFA is less a teacher preparation program than it is a finishing school for future decision-makers in the multilayered technocracy of education policy, one dominated by elites who have historically boosted charter-school expansion. I am a rarity in that I still teach in the city and campus where I did my TFA stint. TFA’s mission is to ensure that its members are among that elite. That includes those in the upper echelons of elected office.

PGA looks to have tamed its biggest international threat

No, cherished readers, your eyes do not deceive. We here at The Dallas Morning News are devoting yet another cover story to golf — but for very good reasons. Aside from the fact that the Masters tournament takes place today, it may have escaped the notice of North Texans that next year, Frisco will play host to the Professional Golf Association’s Championship. The unstoppable force of professional golf is running headfirst into the unmovable object that is the Dallas-Fort Worth region, which is attracting a growing number of large companies. Just a couple of weeks ago, Eric Prisbell took us inside Arcis’ freshly renovated Cowboys Golf Club, the tip of recreational golf’s multibillion-dollar spear, which is embedding itself in the D-FW economy in multiple ways.

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And on Masters Sunday, Prisbell’s deftly-written cover story explores how the PGA is prepping for 2027’s confab — the first men’s major in the region in over 60 years. It’s a given that when it comes to pro sports, economic impact studies should always be taken with a grain of salt. But the PGA’s 660-acre Frisco property is expected to draw 200,000 visitors that are poised to infuse the region with $100 million of activity — demonstrating what Arcis Golf CEO Blake Walker boasts is how “Dallas is to golf as New York is to finance.” Meanwhile, Frisco is part of the booming Collin County story that's seen businesses and individuals flock to the D-FW suburbs. And like recreational golf, the PGA is leaning into the idea that it’s not just stuffy old businessmen hitting the links. As Prisbell explains, the organization’s local district is a combination of golf, dining and retail. The resulting alchemy will produce “direct tax revenues that will benefit not just Frisco, but the state of Texas that come from our hospitality sales and ticket sales and merchandise sales on site — all those are significant in the millions of dollars each,” according to Jason Mengel, the event’s director.

Austin warming back up to incentives as economy cools

Incentives such as tax breaks or cash for jobs for expanding companies could play a bigger role in Austin's future as city hall faces budget shortfalls and sobering statistics that show a slowdown. Dangling such carrots in front of Corporate America is a reversal of attitude. In recent years, as Austin boomed despite anything city hall did or didn't do, city leaders believed they didn't need to offer incentives for big companies to grow here. Adjoining counties — especially Williamson County to the north, which has done major incentives deals with Apple, Samsung and others recently — have had a heyday raking in the business investments since. But things have slowed in Austin due to factors such as relatively higher costs and a lack of easily developable land. In 2023, for instance, the Census indicated that more people moved out of Austin than moved in — albeit babies born have kept the city's population total inching forward.

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So lately, city leaders have been harkening back to strategies that partly fueled the stout growth of the early 2000s — and that puts incentives for big businesses back into Austin's secret sauce. City leaders have approved three deals in recent months with major corporations. Mayor Kirk Watson recently pointed out to real estate leaders that the city was giving a relative cold shoulder to incentive deals in many recent years. That changed in December when Austin struck a deal with Southwest Airlines to help it bring a crew base to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The deal will award $2,750 to Southwest for every job added in the city over a five-year period, which could result in an estimated maximum incentive payment of $5.5 million. About 2,000 crew members are expected to work and live in Austin by mid-2027. "If we want to be able to fund all the things that this city needs ... we're going to have to grow our economy," Watson said during a luncheon hosted by the Real Estate Council of Austin on March 6. "My theory of watching this over a long time is it used to be OK and a luxury to say we don't need that economic economic development growth. We don't need that growth because it was happening. ... That tax base was growing even as you stood in a political podium and said, 'We don't need that.'" He noted that other cities in Central Texas have been more active in recent years in incentives and striking economic development deals. "I also worry about when the jobs are going someplace else, people are going to go to those jobs," Watson said. "They're not going to just live in downtown Austin and drive to Round Rock."

Dionna Deardorff and Zach Leonard: Families questioning Fort Worth ISD takeover want change, accountability

(Dionna Deardorff is communications director of Families Organized Resisting Takeover, or FORT, a Fort Worth ISD parent advocacy organization. Zach Leonard is president.) Our group, Families Organized Resisting Takeover, or FORT, mobilized when the Texas Education Agency announced its intervention in Fort Worth ISD. Our name is direct, but our mission is not simply resistance. We are parents, educators and community members who believe that real improvement in our schools cannot happen without us. Research from the Harvard Graduate School of Education shows that schools with strong family engagement produce stronger student outcomes. We have stepped up because we are invested. We started FORT to advocate for our children, not to fight others who are also trying to improve student outcomes. Now that the TEA has taken over our district, we are squarely outside of the democratic process. The newly appointed Board of Managers and Superintendent Peter B. Licata do not represent us; they were chosen by and serve at the discretion of the TEA. Voters cannot remove managers if they take extreme actions that run counter to our community’s interests.

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The TEA, however, could remove managers who do not vote in accordance with the agency’s directives, as happened in Houston, where four managers who voted against the hand-picked superintendent on some matters were replaced. Therefore, we must demand transparency and accountability from the appointed leadership. FWISD has underperformed academically for decades. We know that, and we want change. Our community has a clear vision for what great schools look like, and it is broader than a test score. We want schools that care about fine arts, libraries, recess and the social and emotional well-being of our children. We want kids who are prepared for life, not just for a standardized test. Literacy is at the center of it all. We cannot ignore that far too many FWISD students are not reading at grade level and that dyslexia often goes unidentified and unsupported. We need leadership that understands the science of reading, invests in real dyslexia intervention and treats literacy as the foundation of quality education. A child who cannot read proficiently by third grade faces a steeper climb in the rest of education and life. We cannot accept that as inevitable.

National Stories

Gas prices turn the gig worker economy upside down

Jonathan Meyers sat in his Prius on a Wednesday morning and had about three seconds to make a decision on every Lyft and Uber fare that flashed across his phone before another driver snapped it up. He could make $7.02 for a 1.2-mile trip. But the drive to pick up his fare would take around seven minutes. There was also a drive across town for $23.15. The money was better, but he would be on the road for an hour. And there was a 13.2-mile, 53-minute ride to LAX for $35.59. He took it. These days, Meyers’s daily calculus on whether to take a fare includes the rising cost of gasoline—which in Los Angeles can run upward of $6 a gallon.

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Gig drivers, food-delivery workers and independent drivers are being hit especially hard at the pump and making split-second calculations and adjustments to their lives and livelihoods. “It changes the way I’ve been selecting rides,” said Meyers, a 61-year-old writer who earns between $1,000 and $1,500 driving up to 60 hours a week for Uber and Lyft. He has stopped taking rides that require him to drive “superlong distances.” He has taken on extra hours driving to make up for what he estimates is a 25% drop in earnings from rides he now turns down, trading off longer drives for shorter ones to save gas. “It’s about conserving gas and also trying to make sure I end up in a neighborhood where I can gas up for a sane price,” he said. Some drivers are turning down longer fares that aren’t worth the gas cost. Others are driving longer hours or sticking to areas where gas prices are cheaper. A few said they are thinking about changing occupations altogether. Joe Davis, an 81-year-old former Uber driver, now runs his own car service in Santa Fe, N.M. He charges $80 to take people to or from the Albuquerque airport, between 60 and 80 miles away, depending on where he is.

Data centers are spreading around the country. Now, data-center bans are, too

Maine lawmaker Melanie Sachs, a Democrat, thought her state was one of the few places in the nation where data centers weren’t interested in setting up shop. The northeastern-most state in the US — known for its rocky coastline, lobsters and L.L. Bean boots — isn’t exactly Silicon Valley. So when she sponsored a bill earlier this year that would put a temporary ban on new, large data centers, she figured it wouldn’t make a splash. It was only then that they learned about two data centers projects already proposed in different Maine communities. “Once I put the bill in, they started coming out of the woodwork,” Sachs said. “The communities didn’t know anything about it at all. In rural communities, whether it’s Maine or somewhere else, local permitting for these projects is nonexistent.”

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In the coming weeks, Maine could be the first state in the nation to pass a temporary moratorium on new data centers — giving it time to study how much electricity and water they use, and how they might impact jobs and the local economy. Similar temporary bans are being proposed in deeply red and blue states alike, including New York, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Vermont. And there are dozens of local bans at the county and municipal level, often in response to a new data center coming into a community. Proponents say these bills are a response to an industry that has been strikingly fast-moving and secretive, providing little opportunity for substantive public input. “It’s really a nonpartisan issue, and I think a lot of it just goes back to how rapidly things have been changing in recent years,” said South Carolina Rep. Steven Long, a Republican who cosponsored a moratorium proposal in his state. “The public policy hasn’t been able to keep up with it.” As big tech companies and the Trump administration pursue an aggressive bid to make the US a leader in artificial intelligence, massive ‘hyperscale’ data centers needed to operate those technologies have proliferated. There are over 4,000 data centers around the US, according to the Data Center Map. Virginia has the largest data center cluster in the world, and there’s a proliferation in Texas and California as well. As data centers expand their footprint, a groundswell of local opposition is following. The Data Center Coalition, a trade group representing big tech companies and data center developers, said in a statement that the industry “provides significant benefits to states and local communities” in the form of local jobs, investment and tax revenue.

Calls mount for California governor candidate Eric Swalwell to quit after multiple women accuse him of sexual assault – as it happened

Congressman Jimmy Gomez, a Los Angeles Democrat who was the chair of Eric Swalwell’s campaign for the governship of California, resigned from that role on Friday and called on Swalwell to drop out. “Today I learned shocking information about Eric Swalwell containing the ugliest and most serious accusations imaginable,” Gomez said in a statement responding to the San Francisco Chronicle report that a former staffer had accused Swalwell of sexual assault. “My involvement in any campaign begins and ends with trust. I cannot in good conscience remain in any role with this campaign, and I am stepping down from it effective immediately,” Gomez wrote. “The congressman should leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay.”

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Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democratic former mayor of Los Angeles who has failed to gain traction in the race for the governor’s office, went further in his statement, calling for Swalwell to also resign from Congress. “Today’s reporting on the horrific allegations that Eric Swalwell abused his position and repeatedly sexually assaulted a staffer is shocking and reprehensible,” Villaraigosa said. “Further, Eric Swalwell’s attempt to silence victims to save his campaign for Governor – a campaign he was unfit to enter given these allegations – is a shameful disgrace to our democracy.” “Now that victims are finally being heard, it has become abundantly clear that Eric Swalwell must withdraw from the governor’s race and immediately resign from Congress,” the former mayor added. “In California, we believe women and no one is above the law.”

Philadelphians aren't taking kindly to sharing sidewalks with delivery robots

Philadelphia residents have been sharing sidewalks with robot delivery drivers for about a month, and they're not thrilled with the change. Uber Eats held a demo March 10 showing off Avride autonomous delivery robots, which officially launched in the city of brotherly love that same week. The robots were described as "the future of delivery," but the humans around them quickly began resenting the automated couriers. In late March, an Uber Eats delivery robot in Philadelphia's Center City neighborhood was kicked multiple times. The second time the autonomous delivery bot was kicked it toppled over, according to WPVI-TV, which noted that the people who attacked the robot put it on its wheels.

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The kicking incident occurred just after another viral incident in which someone sat on one of the robots. "When delivery robots are introduced in a new area, it’s quite common to see heightened curiosity from people around them. Some may try to ‘test’ how the robot reacts — for example, by stepping in front of it or attempting to interact with it directly," Avride, the company that makes the robots, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "This is a known and expected phase as people get used to the technology. These few cases of vandalism in Philadelphia did not affect our service area expansion plans. "The robots are designed to respond conservatively. In most cases, they will simply stop and wait if someone approaches or interferes, resuming their route only once the interaction has ended. In practice, these moments are usually brief — people tend to satisfy their curiosity within a minute or so and then move on. At the same time, we do not condone intentional damage or unsafe behavior toward the robots."

Cuba's president says 'we would die' to defend against U.S. invasion

President Miguel Díaz-Canel stood by Cuba’s leadership and didn’t concede a need for any changes to its government amid President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign against the communist country. In a wide-ranging interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in Havana on Thursday, Díaz-Canel said there’s no “justification for the United States to launch a military aggression against Cuba.” “An invasion to Cuba would have costs. ... It would affect the security of Cuba, the United States and of the region,” he saidthrough a translator in his first American broadcast interview. “If that happens, there will be fighting, and there will be a struggle, and we will defend ourselves, and if we need to die, we’ll die, because as our national anthem says, ‘Dying for the homeland is to live,’” the Cuban president said.

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“Before making that decision, which is so irrational, there is a logic, that is, the logic of dialogue, to engage in discussions, to debate and try to reach agreements that would move us away from confrontation,” Díaz-Canel said. Welker asked Díaz-Canel whether he was willing to commit to responding to “key demands” from the U.S., including releasing political prisoners, scheduling multiparty elections and recognizing unions and a free press. “Nobody has made those demands to us, and we have established that in respect to our political system or constitutional order, these are issues that are not under negotiations with the United States,” Díaz-Canel answered, adding that those issues are “extensively manipulated.” Welker then pressed Díaz-Canel on the issue of political prisoners, asking whether Cuba would commit to their release and specifically naming Cuban rapper Maykel Osorbo, a Latin Grammy winner who has been in prison since 2021 for writing a protest song after thousands of Cubans took to the streets to protest conditions and shortages during the Covid pandemic.

Trump is still trying to DOGE the NIH. Republicans are tired.

White House budget director Russ Vought isn’t done trying to cut the National Institutes of Health’s funding, but Congress isn’t taking him seriously anymore. Vought released a proposal last week to slash the 2027 budget for the world’s largest funder of health research by 10 percent, down from 40 percent last year. It’s unlikely Congress or the agency’s head will listen to him. Lawmakers rejected Vought’s first big cut in the spending bill they passed in February and already promised to reject the smaller one this year. While Vought has succeeded in trimming spending at some other agencies, the NIH has proven a hard target because lawmakers have a symbiotic relationship with the agency.

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Most of the money they dole out is returned to their states for disease research, clinical trials and other medical advances — plus photo-ops with researchers boasting about their breakthroughs are a win with voters. The health research agency’s director, Jay Bhattacharya, is expected to defend the budget to Congress, but it’s unclear whether he stands behind cuts to his agency any more than Congress does. While other agencies, like the State Department, defied Congress and implemented Vought’s cost-cutting vision by not spending their budgets last year, Bhattacharya spent every dollar Congress gave him. Vought, considered one of the most powerful budget directors in recent history, held the same position during Trump’s first term. He’s used his second go-around to aggressively wield his budget tools to act as a chokepoint on government spending. But the NIH is likely to illustrate the limits on his power. Bhattacharya’s vision for the agency “doesn’t align” with the budget put forward by Vought, said Sudip Parikh, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest professional society for scientists.

Trump was watching a U.F.C. fight in Miami while Iran talks collapsed

On Saturday evening, as Vice President JD Vance took a podium in Pakistan and said no deal had been reached to end the war in Iran, President Trump was in Miami watching a mixed martial arts fight. Mr. Trump spent several hours orbited by Secretary of State Marco Rubio; a few of his children; some Ultimate Fighting Championship officials; Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador to India; the recording artist Vanilla Ice; Dan Bongino, the former deputy director of the F.B.I.; and the manosphere shepherd Joe Rogan. He was surrounded by people, but Mr. Trump was somehow an isolated figure. People mostly circulated around him, checking in with updates and then leaving again. For the most part, Mr. Trump sat and impassively watched blood and saliva sprayed out from the fighters beating each other silly in front of him.

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It was unclear whether the president knew that negotiations had failed by the time he entered the arena for the U.F.C. event to a Kid Rock song and thunderous applause. He wasn’t tapping away on his phone — he left that to Mr. Rubio, who at one point leaned over to show the president his screen — and he didn’t betray disappointment or anger. He offered tight smiles for the cameras instead, and a thumbs-up for the winners. In fact, on his way to Florida, Mr. Trump had told reporters that it did not matter to him if a deal with Iran was reached or not: “We win, regardless,” he said. “We’ve defeated them militarily.” Which sounded a lot like everything he had said before negotiations began. The political reality facing Mr. Trump is grim, just as the economic reality facing Americans appears to be getting worse. Inflation is rising. Gas prices are eating into American paychecks, a direct result of a war Mr. Trump ordered. The president has responded to the pressure by attacking his critics and threatening his adversaries.

The Trump ally cracking down on immigration in Washington — and bringing in foreign workers back home

On Capitol Hill, Rep. Andy Harris is one of the most uncompromising advocates of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. On the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, the Maryland Republican is seen as a hero for securing foreign labor to power his state’s commercial seafood industry. The 69-year-old lawmaker, who chairs the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and the subcommittee that funds the Department of Agriculture, has leveraged his influence as one of Washington’s most prominent hard-liners to lobby the White House in favor of a robust influx of temporary foreign workers. That meant convincing the Trump administration earlier this year to max out the number of guest workers allowed for the season, helping businesses throughout the country — including seafood producers in his district, who bring in workers from Mexico to hand-pick meat from the region’s blue crabs.

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“I’ve been in long enough to know how to get things done, and we got it done,” Harris told Jack Brooks, owner of the J.M. Clayton crab company, on a recent afternoon outside his facility along the Choptank River. It’s not just a parochial priority for Harris, who has grander ambitions to increase the number of seasonal workers who flow in and out of the country. He’s driving a debate within the Republican party about whether the president’s “America First” agenda means aggressively stemming the number of foreigners who enter the United States — both legally and illegally — or helping the U.S. economy with regulated foreign labor. Harris told Brooks he plans to build on his success by working to guarantee longtime H-2B employers get the positions they seek regardless of their luck in a yearly lottery. “We appreciate you out there battling on our behalf, for sure,” Brooks said to Harris. “I know you’re just one guy.”

Copyright April 12, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved