May 31, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Texas Democratic chair calls for party to abandon GOP House Speaker Dustin Burrows

Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder is calling on members of his party in the state House to drop their support of Republican Speaker Dustin Burrows, who won the gavel with mostly Democratic support last legislative session over an insurgent candidate favored by the hard-right. In a nod to the wave of conservative policies Burrows subsequently green-lit, Scudder authored a resolution “condemning the Shameful Leadership of Speaker Dustin Burrows and Declaring No Future Democratic Support for His Speakership.” The measure was submitted in March to the Dallas County Democratic Party, Scudder’s home base, and is set to be considered by the broader state party at its convention next month. Burrows’ leadership, the proposal reads, “caused profound harm to millions of Texans across this vast state” and “stands in direct opposition to the Democratic values that define our party across Texas.”

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“The Democratic members whose votes gave him the gavel must now acknowledge the consequences of that decision and must be held to account,” the resolution continues. “No Democratic vote should be cast for Dustin Burrows for Speaker of the Texas House in the next speaker election.” Burrows won the speakership last year after a bitter power struggle within the Texas GOP, whose hardline faction had sought to shift the chamber further to the right and elevate a rival speaker candidate who vowed to strip all power from the House’s minority party. Most Democrats went for Burrows, who promised to protect the chamber’s independence and the minority party’s voice. He then presided over perhaps the most conservative legislative session in modern Texas history, overseeing the passage of long-sought GOP priorities that had previously died in the House, including a school voucher program championed by Gov. Greg Abbott and a “bathroom bill” aimed at transgender people initially pushed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. In the resolution, Scudder faults Burrows for having “betrayed the very coalition that elevated him to power, weakened the independence of the Texas House and surrendered the authority of the speakership to the political agenda of” Abbott and Patrick. He also said Burrows “quickly discarded the bipartisan governing traditions that helped place him in power” when the GOP majority voted to ban Democrats from chairing committees.

Why the internet won't stop talking about James Talarico's girlfriend

Less than a week after the May runoff election, the Texas GOP and much of the internet are still slinging mud, and now James Talarico's girlfriend has become the latest target—much to the chagrin of the internet, and perhaps his girlfriend as well. After conservative commentators and media outlets spent days speculating about Talarico's relationship status, attention shifted to his girlfriend, Brianna Menard, who was recently identified in a New York Post story that placed unusual emphasis on the fact that she's vegan. To some talking heads, that apparently became a political talking point. The internet, however, has largely responded in typical fashion: by pointing out she appears to be a relatively normal person and joking that critics are grasping at straws.

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Others have drawn comparisons between Talarico's seemingly normal relationship and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's headline-making personal life, which would put most soap operas to shame. Last week, conservative commentator Tomi Lahren posted an Instagram reel saying, "James Talarico claims he has a girlfriend. You wouldn't know her though, she goes to a different school ??" Meanwhile, one Facebook user in a Talarico supporters group posted: "Ken Paxton divorce trial begins June 24 at Collin County Courthouse in McKinney. Anyway, here's a pic of James Talarico and his girlfriend." Most online reactions have focused less on politics and more on the fact that people seem to be talking about her at all. "So relieved that James Talarico has an attractive girlfriend, otherwise he clearly would not have been qualified to be a senator from Texas," one X user joked. The internet arguably hasn't talked this much about a couple since Megan Thee Stallion and Klay Thompson, and we all know how that turned out. For the record, Talarico has also pushed back on claims that he's vegan. "Ken Paxton is throwing everything he has at us," Talarico wrote in a recent post on X. "I'm an 8th generation Texan — I've been eating BBQ since before Ken Paxton's first indictment."

How James Talarico is working to win over Black voters who strongly backed Jasmine Crockett

At James Talarico’s first rally after Ken Paxton became his opponent in their US Senate race, one of Texas’ most prominent Black leaders, Rodney Ellis, acknowledged he had supported Talarico’s opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, in their hard-fought Democratic primary. “That was then, this is now,” Ellis said on Wednesday. “There’s too much at stake to be petty.” It was a notable vote of confidence from Ellis, a Harris County commissioner and former state senator from Houston. Yet it also showed how Talarico is still building inroads with Black voters nearly three months after they overwhelmingly favored Crockett, a bloc that the state representative desperately needs if he wants to have any chance at a historic breakthrough for his party in Texas.

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After losing to Talarico, Crockett called on Democrats to unite behind all their nominees. But she has not campaigned with Talarico yet, and her team made clear in a new statement to CNN that she believes Texas Democrats have considerable progress to make if they want to end Republican rule. The statement, from Crockett spokesperson Karrol Rimal, said it would be “foolish to underestimate” Paxton and that there is “still a long road ahead to November.” “Tough decisions will need to be made about where Democrats are prioritizing their spending – do they invest in a Texas longshot or double down in states where they’ve won statewide such as Alaska and Georgia?” the statement said. “Texas Democrats have nominated a slate of candidates where the top three spots are filled with lawmakers from Austin. They’ll have to do a lot of work outside of Central Texas and to resonate with constituencies across our state which is one of the largest and most diverse in the world.” The statement added that Crockett still believes turning Texas blue “lies in energizing the Democratic base,” including voters of color. Democrats “can chase disaffected Republicans all day but there simply is not enough of them to change the outcome,” the statement said.

‘Why are we talking about this?’: Democrats are furious that the Bidens won’t go away

Democrats want to move on from 2024. The Bidens won’t let them. Former first lady Jill Biden put a glaring spotlight back on the debate that ended her husband’s political career while promoting her new memoir. Former President Joe Biden is drawing attention again to his audio interviews with Special Counsel Robert Hur as he sues the Justice Department to prevent their release. And his scandal-ridden son Hunter Biden, whose past Republicans repeatedly weaponized on the campaign trail, is making headlines again — this time for appearing on a podcast with flame-throwing conspiracy theorist Candace Owens. Jill Biden’s stunning admission this week that she thought her embattled husband was having a stroke on the debate stage in June 2024 stood in stark contrast to her positive spin and staunch defense in the moment. And it ripped open barely healed wounds from Democrats’ disastrous effort to hold the White House, setting off a fresh round of backward-looking fingerpointing less than a week after the party’s botched autopsy of the 2024 presidential election.

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Leading Democrats say it’s an unnecessary distraction as they push to keep their party focused on a critical midterm — and what voters truly care about. “We don’t need to be distracted by what the DNC says about the autopsy. I don’t need to be distracted about anyone’s book,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, told reporters on the sidelines of a Democratic National Committee meeting in Washington on Thursday. “What I need to do is to focus on making a difference in the lives of people. And that’s what I think they’re getting really frustrated about, is all this nonsense. I don’t think the average Democratic voter, honestly, particularly in New Mexico, gives a damn about that book or the debate anymore.” Lujan Grisham, who sat on the national advisory board for the 2024 Biden-Harris campaign, stressed that she didn’t mean “any disrespect” to Jill Biden and later said she is a “big Joe Biden fan.” Still, Jill Biden’s confession that she was “frightened” by her husband’s debate performance landed with a thud among former Biden White House and campaign staffers who were told in the moment to treat the then-president’s halting and haphazard debate performance as little more than a blip.

Republicans are gutting southern Dem districts. Dems might front-load the South in its 2028 primaries to respond.

Democrats are weighing whether they can use their 2028 primary calendar to try to rebuild their party’s strength in the South amid aggressive GOP gerrymanders. As Democratic National Committee members meet in D.C. this week to discuss which states will lead the next presidential nominating contest, the GOP push to dismantle majority-Black districts and dilute Democrats’ power across the South is ratcheting up the selection stakes. Some members are now advocating for two southern states to make the cut as the Callais ruling adds fresh urgency to Democrats’ long-running debate over how to amplify the voices of Black voters who have long been the party’s backbone. “As we consider how we draw the map for 2028, we need to also take into consideration the impact of the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act,” Donna Brazile, a longtime Democratic strategist who sits on the Rules and Bylaws Committee that runs the state selection process, said in an interview.

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“I’m also of the view that if we can have maybe two southern states, maybe this is time to rebuild the Democratic Party across the South,” she added. “The fact that we only could play in one or two southern states last presidential cycle — that is just not acceptable.” Brazile, a Louisiana native who twice served as acting DNC chair, is also pushing each of the 12 states jockeying for positions in the early window on what steps they’re taking to protect voting rights and access. At least one southern state is guaranteed a spot in the early lineup given the RBC’s regional approach to the 2028 calendar. But there are four regions and up to five slots, leaving one spot as a true wild card. Multiple RBC members on Wednesday expressed an openness to having two states from the South in the early window, as a way to both bolster the party’s standing with Black voters and better align with the nation’s population shifts. “It would be really important to send a message that the South is a real battleground,” said Susan Swecker, a RBC member and former Virginia Democratic Party chair. Prioritizing two states from the South, she said, would send a “strong message to [President] Donald Trump and his cronies that we’re not going to take it anymore.”

State Stories

Texas data center developer sues Hill County over moratorium

A Texas data center developer is suing Hill County and local elected officials who recently voted to pass a yearlong moratorium on data center and power plant construction in unincorporated areas. In the more than 60-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court, RCM Hill LLC argued the moratorium is illegal and unconstitutional and that the county commissioners knew so before enacting it.

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The developer asked a judge to declare the moratorium void and block its enforcement, alleging liabilities and damages could total at least $100 million. RCM Hill spent nearly a year-and-a-half and $1 million to acquire contractual rights to buy more than 800 acres in Hill County at a price tag surpassing $80 million with the intention of developing a 1,235 megawatt data center, according to the lawsuit. The company said the moratorium is “causing and will continue to cause immediate and irreparable harm” by either delaying or “sinking” its development known as Project Aquila. The defendants include Hill County, County Judge Shane Brassell, and County Commissioners Jim Holcomb and Larry Crumpton as defendants. Brassell, Holcomb and Crumpton voted in favor of the moratorium in a 3-2 vote on May 12, despite raising questions before the vote about whether county governments have the legal authority to temporarily suspend projects. This was the first county-level moratorium of its kind in Texas and drew national attention.

1.9 million Texans voted in Tuesday's runoff elections, shattering state records

More Texans voted in the Tuesday runoff elections than in any previous runoff election in state history. The red-hot GOP Senate primary, combined with a slate of statewide Democratic races, lured 1.9 million voters to the polls for what are typically tragically low-turnout affairs. The number shattered the previous voter turnout record in 2022 when both parties had competitive statewide runoff battles. Just over 1.4 million Texans voted in that race. The Republican primary runoff on Tuesday was the main driver of the record turnout. Almost 1.4 million people voted in the Republican battle between Sen. John Cornyn and Ken Paxton. That surpassed the previous record of 1.1 million in 2012, the battle that launched U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's career in politics. Cruz knocked off then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to secure his first GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.

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For Democrats, who had statewide battles for attorney general and lieutenant governor on Tuesday, over 550,000 people voted, well short of their previous record set in 2020 when Democrat MJ Hegar defeated State Sen. Royce West for the U.S. Senate nomination. Nearly 1 million voters cast ballots in that race. Still, despite the record-breaking numbers, the turnout was just 10% of the state’s 18.7 million voters. That is vastly lower than the 24% turnout in the March primaries and the 61% of voters who cast ballots in the November 2024 presidential election. All voters are eligible to vote in the primary runoffs, but still, few do. Texas doesn’t register voters by party, allowing anyone to vote in the primaries and runoffs regardless of past voter history. The only prohibition is that voters who cast a ballot in one primary in March couldn’t switch in May to the other party's primary runoff. The time of the late-May election is likely one of the big culprits behind low turnout in runoffs. Before 2012, Texas runoff elections were held in April, the month after the initial primary elections. But the state pushed them to late May so there was enough time to send and receive overseas and military ballots.

Lina Hidalgo spars with commissioners over Flock surveillance contract

A contract renewal for Harris County’s network of license plate-reader cameras drew criticism from residents and sparked a dust-up between County Judge Lina Hidalgo and her colleagues on Commissioners Court Thursday. Commissioners voted to renew a roughly $860,000 annual contract with Flock Safety Group during a brief but contentious meeting. Dozens of residents criticized the item, with some labeling the technology “fascist.” Hidalgo, who abstained from the vote, sparred with commissioners over what she viewed as a failure to adequately discuss residents’ concerns.

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Thursday's meeting was a procedural gathering, intended for commissioners to approve mundane items without discussion. When residents objected to the Flock item, Hidalgo tried to allow discussion on the contract, a motion that initially was voted down. "I represent all the voters in Harris County, unlike my colleagues, and I oppose a lack of discussion," Hidalgo said. The commissioners are elected in precincts, whereas the judge is elected countywide. Among residents’ criticisms were concerns about mass surveillance and the security of the data the cameras gather, as well as the perceived risk that the information could be used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. “When corporations and the government come together to surveil neighbors and communities, especially low-income Black and brown communities, it is abhorrent, it is vulgar and it is inherently fascist,” resident Sara Rehman told the commissioners. Law enforcement agencies nationwide can grant each other access to their system of Flock cameras that they can then use to search for license plates that might be connected to a crime. But Maj. Anthony McConnell of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office pushed back on residents' concerns, saying ICE doesn't have a contract with Flock and that the sheriff's office must approve outside agencies' requests to access local cameras.

San Antonio Spurs knock off the defending champs, will play the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals

The San Antonio Spurs went into Oklahoma City and knocked off the defending champs on their home court in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday. They’ll play the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, which begin on Wednesday, a rematch of the 1999 Finals – the last time the Knicks had a chance to win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. The Spurs outlasted the reigning champions, Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 in a tense deciding game. “Back in October, we knew we had a chance to be pretty good,” said head coach Mitch Johnson after the game to the NBC broadcast. He praised his team for “giving themselves to each other, to the program, and everything that we’ve done. Oklahoma City’s a helluva organization, and what a series.”

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He alluded to the youth of his team, in their first playoff run since 2019, when he said it wasn’t experience that got them to the Finals. “There’s been a lot being talked about, just words like competitiveness, resolve, togetherness, execution. … I don’t give a damn about the word experience,” he said. Led by Victor Wembanyama, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, the Spurs clinched a spot in the Finals for the first time since 2014. It was the kind of dramatic Game 7 that a classic series deserved – one that saw both teams eke out close wins and run away with blowouts as the Spurs and Thunder established their matchup as the premier rivalry in the NBA right now. The physical, rollicking deciding game in OKC on Saturday showed that it might be the rivalry to watch in the league for years to come. The Spurs came out of the gates hot, quickly taking a 14-point lead, leaving the raucous Continental Coliseum crowd stunned.

Texas Supreme Court orders Dallas judge to stop requiring masks in her courtroom

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ordered a Dallas County judge to stop requiring people to wear face masks in her courtroom despite the judge’s rare autoimmune disorder that she says puts her at high risk of infection. In an advisory order issued Friday afternoon, justices wrote that state and federal law does not allow Dallas County Court at Law No. 1 Judge D'Metria Benson to impose a mask mandate in her courtroom. The court said the policy is “an unfair and unduly burdensome imposition” on people in her court, which violates a state rule on judicial administration. That's despite Benson saying she put the policy in place because she’s immunocompromised, and her doctor advised the mask mandate.

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"The Court has carefully considered Judge Benson’s responses and expresses its sympathy for her health challenges," justices wrote. "Nevertheless, the facial visibility of courtroom participants is an essential feature of a properly functioning justice system." The order was prompted by Dallas attorney Scott Frenkel submitting a complaint May 4 to Judge Ray Wheless, who oversees administrative issues in a judicial region that includes Dallas County. The complaint — first obtained and reported by the Texas Lawbook — alleged Benson has a standing order requiring people entering her courtroom to wear masks and "divulge intimate information about their health." Benson put her policy in place March 2, 2023, just after the Texas Supreme Court ended its emergency order allowing judges to impose mask mandates, the Texas Lawbook reported. Frenkel was allegedly not allowed inside Benson’s court to represent clients in two different cases — including in a trial — because he declined to wear a mask. Wheless told the Texas Supreme Court he had cautioned Benson against such a policy. According to the letter, Benson herself wasn’t wearing a mask, the Texas Lawbook reported. Frenkel's attorney Brian Hail told KERA News Benson has been seen at large gatherings outside the courtroom without a mask.

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones gifted premium tickets to Spurs-Thunder Game 6

As the San Antonio Spurs forced a Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night, photos obtained by KSAT Investigates show Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones sitting just rows away from the action. Viewers could catch glimpses of Jones sitting in the lower level behind Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson. KSAT rewatched the broadcast and saw that the seats were empty during the first half of the game. “The tickets were gifted to her in accordance with the City’s ethics and gift rules,” Jones’ acting chief of staff, Andrew Fuentes, told KSAT Investigates Friday. Tickets to get inside the Frost Bank Center for Thursday night’s game started at approximately $220, according to ticketdata.com. Tickets for the lower-level came with a price tag of at least $1,130.

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KSAT Investigates asked Fuentes who gifted the Spurs tickets to Jones and who attended the Thursday night game with her. KSAT also asked if Jones had been given tickets or attended any other Spurs games during the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Fuentes has yet to answer those questions. KSAT has called, emailed and texted him to follow up. This story will be updated when Fuentes sends a response. The city’s ethics and gift rules state that a city official or employee should not accept any gifts that “reasonably tends to influence or reward official conduct.” The rules also state that a city official or employee may not accept any gifts from anyone doing business or hoping to do business with the city, lobbyists, public relations firms or anyone seeking zoning changes or other development approvals from the city. Last year, KSAT Investigates found that the city spent $20,000 on VIP tickets for council members and their guests to attend the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four at the Alamodome. KSAT also uncovered other perks given to city leaders, including tickets to several A-list concerts and sporting events.

Pete Gallego: Cornyn's loss is a cautionary tale

In his inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy warned against trading one form of tyranny for another. “Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.” On Tuesday night, the establishment wing of the Republican Party found out once more what that feels like. John Cornyn, the 23-year incumbent U.S. senator from Texas, lost his Republican primary runoff to state Attorney General Ken Paxton — a man impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas House on bribery and corruption charges just three years ago. The margin was not close. The message was not subtle. Formed from the Tea Party — fed and groomed for years by the party’s leaders — the tiger of Trumpism turned on another of its loyal keepers.

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It is worth remembering what things looked like before any of this began. Under President George W. Bush — first as governor, then as president — Texas Republicans understood something important: you govern by building coalitions, not by stoking grievances. When I was in the Texas House in the 1990s, Democrats and Republicans argued hard all day, sometimes bitterly, but they knew that governing required the other side. Bush drew bipartisan support. That wasn’t weakness; it was the source of his strength. With the rise of the Tea Party, politicians like Bush were considered too willing to govern across the aisle and to acknowledge that the other side even existed. What the Tea Party wanted was a different kind of Republican — one who fought, inflamed, and never compromised. Republican politicians obliged. They fueled the movement and rode the wave, telling themselves they were at the head of the Tea Party and could control its direction. They were wrong. At some point, the Tea Party movement became the Trump Party. The transformation did not happen by accident. The Tea Party’s energy was real — rooted in frustration with government spending and a sense that Washington had stopped listening. But GOP politicians provided the amplification. They embraced the rhetoric and calculated that a more energized base meant bigger margins. What they did not calculate was that movements have their own momentum. The question stopped being “are you conservative enough?” and became “are you loyal enough?” Those are very different tests, and the second one has no floor. Donald Trump did not create this dynamic. He inherited it, recognized it and mastered it. The GOP establishment had already spent a decade building the engine. He simply got behind the wheel and stepped on the gas.

ICE agent accused of shooting man and filing false report arrested in Texas

A federal immigration agent accused of shooting a man during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis — then falsely claiming he was attacked by men armed with a shovel and broom — was arrested in Texas on Friday. Christian Castro is accused of firing his service weapon into a Minneapolis home on January 14, striking a man in the leg. Prosecutors say Castro later lied to investigators, claiming he opened fire after being attacked by several men. Castro was charged with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of filing a false police report last week. He was taken into custody in North Texas on Friday.

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According to court records, Castro was attempting to arrest Alfredo Aljorna after a vehicle pursuit ended outside of Aljorna’s Minneapolis home. Aljorna’s roommate, Julio Sosa-Celis, was standing outside the home holding a snow shovel when the chase came to an end. After a brief struggle, the two men ran inside the house, where four adults and two children were present, according to court records. Prosecutors allege Castro then raised his gun and fired a shot through the front door. “Mr. Castro fired his service weapon at the front door of the home knowing there were people who had just run inside that presented absolutely no threat to him or anyone else,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty last week. The bullet struck Sosa-Celis in the leg, according to court records. Castro later told investigators he was attacked by three men wielding a shovel and a broom for several minutes, according to court records. Federal prosecutors subsequently charged Aljorna and Sosa-Celis with assaulting a law enforcement officer based on that account. But prosecutors say surveillance footage contradicts this claim. According to court records, the video shows Sosa-Celis dropping his shovel before Castro reached the home and that it remained on the ground throughout the incident. Federal prosecutors later dropped the charges against both men about a month later. The shooting was one of several controversial encounters involving federal immigration agents during the administration’s enforcement surge in Minneapolis. Earlier that month, ICE agents fatally shot two people in separate incidents, triggering widespread protests and calls for investigations into the agency’s use of force.

Study: Kindergarten-ready students do better in school, but Bexar County is behind

Children who are kindergarten-ready will probably be proficient in math and literacy by the time they take the STAAR in third grade. This is according to a new study, with a special focus on Bexar County, that shows the direct correlation between kindergarten readiness and third-grade success. “Every dollar invested before kindergarten entry produces greater academic gains than the same dollar spent on reading intervention after kindergarten,” the report states. “This is not merely a correlation.” Early Matters San Antonio and UP Partnership, two local groups who advocate for more investment in education, commissioned the study and released the report on Thursday, along with the call on state, city and school district officials to invest more in early education.

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The study followed 66,800 students across randomly selected Texas schools, comparing their kindergarten readiness scores with their math and reading STAAR scores in third grade. Upon entering kindergarten, Texas requires students to take early learning assessments that track literacy and numeracy — that’s how “readiness” is measured. Boosting readiness isn’t just about enrolling kids in preschool. Early childhood experts want to expand the number of early learning programs for infants to 3-year-olds. This would get more children kindergarten-ready, which then sets them up for success in third grade, advocates say. Third grade is a big deal for educators because it’s one of the more consistent indicators on how students will perform for the rest of their academic journeys. Kindergarten-ready students outperformed similar students by 22 points in reading and 21 points in math. They also showed smaller, but significant, gains in attendance. In practice, this means only about 4 out of 10 students without kindergarten readiness would be proficient in math and reading in third grade, compared to more than 6 out of 10 students who were kinder-ready.

South Texas farmers face new concerns after heavy rains follow prolonged drought

For 72-year-old San Patricio County farmer Charles Ring, watching the weather comes with the territory. "The only reason I would stop what I'm doing is so I wouldn't have to get up in the morning and look at the weather," Ring said. Ring's family has farmed in San Patricio County since the mid-1800s, giving him decades of firsthand experience with South Texas' unpredictable climate. But even he was surprised by the dramatic shift from severe drought conditions to recent heavy rainfall. "Been dry forever, and then all of a sudden it comes up to 17 inches of rainfall," Ring said. "The water ran through the barn. That's only happened three other times I can remember." The rapid change has created a new challenge for local farmers who spent months struggling to establish crops in dry conditions.

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"We fought trying to put seed in dry ground trying to reach moisture to get a crop up," Ring said. "Then trying to get the water off before the crop dies." According to Alicia Jimenez with Texas A&M University-Kingsville, drought conditions followed by intense rainfall can create significant problems for agricultural producers. "One, we had drought. Then we had water that rained fast and removed all of the nutrients," Jimenez said. "Eventually, because we had about four to five days of rain, we had that soil oversaturated with water and we don't have those nutrients anymore." Both Ring and Jimenez said the timing of rainfall is critical for crop production. "I can have a huge cotton crop, corn crop, sorghum crop and lose it all in a rain like this," Ring said. "Thank goodness it came now instead of during harvest, and that's still a possibility." While the recent rainfall may provide some relief from drought conditions, Ring said farmers remain at the mercy of the weather as the growing season continues. For South Texas producers, the challenge has shifted from finding enough moisture to making sure crops can survive too much of it.

Republican election judge assaulted Democratic judge, Tarrant County Dems say

A Tarrant County Democratic election judge says she was assaulted by a Republican election judge while working at her polling place for the primary runoff election Tuesday morning. When the Democratic election judge, who has run her polling location for 15 years, arrived at the polls Tuesday morning, she found that a Republican election judge had removed the official seal from and opened the Democratic voting equipment, according to a news release from the Tarrant County Democratic Party. The seal on the voting equipment is used to show it has not been tampered with after leaving the elections office. Because the Tarrant County Republican Party votes to hold separate primaries, Democratic and Republican election workers have different sets of election equipment.

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According to the news release, when the Democratic election judge confronted the Republican judge to inform him he was wrong in his actions, he forcefully poked her in the neck and shoved her. The Tarrant County Republican Party declined to comment on the situation. The release from the Democratic Party did not identify the election judges, the polling location, or the municipality it is in. Following the incident, the Tarrant County Democratic Party sent advocates to check on the Democratic judge, the release said. The advocate called the police, who took statements from all parties involved, but no charges have been filed. “A day which was otherwise calm and marked by bi-partisan efforts to run a smooth primary runoff election was marred by an act of violence and unacceptable election equipment tampering,” said Allison Campolo, Tarrant County Democratic Party chair, in the news release. The release from the Democratic Party said the party does not believe the Republican election judge’s actions represent all the Republican election judges in Tarrant County and called on voters, poll workers and elected officials to “promote an environment of peace and fairness.” “We are fortunate enough to have a dedicated Tarrant County Elections Office that holds election workers to the highest standards, as well as a tri-partisan ballot board that carefully and digitally counts mail-in and provisional ballots,” Campolo said.

Texas parents want more childcare flexibility, time with kids, survey says

Parents want more time with their children, and most are also unsatisfied with their current work and childcare schedule, according to a new national survey that includes insights from Texas parents. The National Parent Survey released this week shows a 2026 snapshot of what parents’ work, parental leave and childcare arrangements look like, and what their ideal scenarios would be. The survey included responses from almost 5,500 parents from every U.S. state with children under 6 years old. Money is the main barrier that’s preventing this quality time with children; more than half of the respondents earn under 200% of the federal poverty level, or just under $55,000 for a family of three. The survey was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago on behalf of New America’s New Practice Lab. New America is a left-leaning policy think tank based in D.C.

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“Too many parents are forced to choose between showing up for their kids and making enough to provide for them. There is a gap between what families actually say they need and the public policies we are offering to support them in raising their kids,” said Tara Dawson McGuinness, executive director of New America’s New Practice Lab. Some of the findings of the survey include: 72% of parents surveyed want more quality time with their children, such as traveling, playing and enjoying the outdoors; 52% of parents said lack of affordability to do such activities and working longer hours to support their household both get in the way of quality time; 59% of parents took six weeks or fewer of paid or unpaid parental leave after the birth of their youngest child; 55% said they wanted more parental leave time; 54% of parents said money is the top obstacle that’s preventing them from accessing their ideal childcare arrangement. “Higher wages are the single most-requested change that parents say would improve their ability to have their ideal work situation, making it easier to manage their time, care for their families and do more of what matters to them,” according to the survey. Texas experts said the survey emphasizes the importance of asking parents what they need and then using those insights to create solutions, especially for childcare. “The survey makes clear that childcare is a real challenge for families. Parents need options. We’re glad the (Texas) Legislature has taken steps in the right direction, including the childcare funding they approved last year. But there’s clearly more work to do. We’re hopeful that more policymakers are realizing that affordable childcare should be a priority,” said Stephanie Rubin, CEO of policy nonprofit Texans Care for Children.

‘Tonight we pray for Oak Cliff’ — Neighbors gather at vigil for victims of apartment explosion

Hundreds of neighbors gathered, with their fists held high to honor the victims of a gas explosion at an Oak Cliff apartment earlier this week, including longtime activist Sylvia Collins. Collins is one of the three people killed in the explosion, outgoing Democratic U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson confirmed online. The names of the two others have not been shared publicly. Collins served as a Democratic Party chair and was a champion of many causes in the community. A post on the Dallas County Democratic Party's Facebook page Thursday ndescribed her as "a tireless advocate for our community."

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“Sylvia is one who we knocked on doors with, we walked the pavement with, and she's one that was there to serve our people. In whichever progressive campaign that you put in front of her, she lit up the room and she held her fist high, fighting for justice,” said Ramiro Luna, co-founder of Somos Tejas. “That was always the image that I'm always gonna take with me whenever I think of Sylvia. She reached for the sky, and today she's in the sky. She's in the heavens, and I know she's still organizing looking down with us.” Several leaders at the vigil outside W.H. Adamson High School shared their condolences with all of the victims, deceased and displaced. They also encouraged others to show up and help their neighbors, just as Collins would have. State Rep.Cassandra Garcia Hernandez fought back tears while giving a tribute to Collins. “We can't just let a week pass by and think that just showing up here today was us doing our duty,” Garcia Hernandez said of her mentor and friend. “We have to continue to keep showing up for each other. "

National Stories

Is JD Vance the 2028 front runner? Trump has questions.

In recent conversations with aides and allies, President Trump often interjects with a question about his vice president: Does JD Vance have what it takes to go all the way? He usually answers his own question: He’s not so sure. It is not that Mr. Trump is abandoning Mr. Vance. He involves him in major decisions, has given him high-profile opportunities to position himself for 2028 and trusts the 41-year-old vice president to wage partisan warfare on his behalf. In a cabinet meeting this week, Mr. Trump compared Mr. Vance to Eliot Ness, the mob-busting federal agent, for working to ferret out fraud in mostly Democratic controlled states. Mr. Trump has long conducted running focus groups on his closest aides, and appears to enjoy needling them and keeping them off balance as a way of asserting his dominance. Several people in the president’s inner circle have been subject to his quasi-public questioning of their performance and their future.

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But when it comes to Mr. Vance, the stakes are higher. As the default front-runner for the Republican nomination and would-be inheritor of the president’s political movement, Mr. Vance’s fortunes ride to a substantial degree on the enthusiasm of the support he gets from Mr. Trump. And Mr. Trump’s regular polling of people on whether they prefer Mr. Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio has become one of the most closely watched early indicators of how power in the Republican Party might pass to the next generation. When he conducts those polls in private, Mr. Trump often compares Mr. Vance’s performance to his own achievements. He has told several allies that Mr. Vance has never won a tough race without his help. (Mr. Trump’s endorsement got Mr. Vance over the finish line in a tight race for an Ohio Senate seat.) He has brought up the number of vacations Mr. Vance has taken as vice president. (Mr. Trump does not generally take them.) He has repeatedly mentioned the vice president’s initial opposition to starting a war with Iran and has done so in front of Mr. Vance. (“I’m more of a peace person than you are — but I had to do it,” he has said to him.) The president has also questioned his decision to send a Vance-led delegation to a negotiation session in Pakistan that failed to end the war. Mr. Trump, always keenly attuned to the optics of the presidency, has zeroed in on moments when Mr. Vance might not look the part. He has repeatedly brought up a moment from last spring, when Mr. Vance fumbled Ohio State’s national football championship trophy on the White House South Lawn. (Mr. Trump has said he is happy it wasn’t him.)

Factions inside the Trump administration wrestle over how to handle AI

President Donald Trump’s sudden decision to scrap an AI executive order on May 21 has exposed a rift within the White House on how to regulate the emerging technology. There are three main camps in the West Wing, per two senior White House officials, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal dynamics. The first, which includes former AI czar David Sacks, favors less regulation to help the industry compete against China. It was Sacks who called the president last week and derailed the EO at the last minute due to industry concerns that the order could be too onerous for the relatively nascent industry. On the go-slow side: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his undersecretary Emil Michael, a former Silicon Valley executive. They are pushing for greater barriers to Mythos-type models, according to the senior White House officials, over concerns that the technology could be used by rivals such as China. Hegseth and Michael are among the “AI hawks who are afraid of it, who think that it could be exploited for nefarious purposes, who want to make sure that we do everything we can to make sure it [doesn’t] go to China,” the first senior White House official said.

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Then, according to the White House officials, there’s the middle ground camp involving chief of staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who have pushed for a regulatory framework in which AI companies voluntarily provide the U.S. government first glance at its new models. These disparate camps underscore the degree to which Trump administration policy is being shaped in real time, trying to respond to a rapidly-developing technology. Despite the chaos of Trump’s last-minute decision, the order doesn’t appear dead – at least not yet. Now administration officials have another chance to make the case that their viewpoint should win the day. The executive order that Trump almost signed called for a voluntary oversight system for AI companies to consult with the U.S. government on their latest models. It offered a framework for the federal government to preview the products before they are released to the public without the burden of a mandate. “It wasn’t government telling these companies what they could and couldn’t do, but it requested that the U.S. government get a first look at any new models, just to be sure that they couldn’t be exploited by bad actors,” the first senior White House official said.

Pentagon chief says U.S. ready to restart strikes on Iran if no deal

The U.S. is ready to restart attacks on Iran if a deal cannot be reached, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ?said on Saturday, as negotiators from Washington and Tehran worked ?to bridge major differences blocking an agreement. "Our ability to recommence if necessary...we are more than capable," Hegseth said in Singapore. "Our stockpiles are more than ?suited for that, both there and around the globe, ?so we're in a very good place," he added. Hegseth, ?speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier forum for defence leaders, ?militaries and diplomats, said the U.S. has not turned its back ?on the Asia-Pacific region despite being engaged in conflict with Iran.

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"We can do two things at one time. We're super-charging our defence industrial base so ?that we're building 2X, 3X, 4X the munitions very soon ?to ensure that all of our (operations) plans are properly funded throughout the world," ?he ?said. The Pentagon chief said President Donald Trump was "patient" and wants to make a "great deal" that ensures Iran does not get a nuclear weapon. On Friday, Trump said he would meet in a secure ?White House room ?to make a "final ?determination" on a proposal to end the Iran war, which would extend an early-April truce for ?another 60 days, giving negotiators time to forge ?a ?permanent end to the conflict. The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in ?Iran and ?Lebanon, and caused global economic pain ?by pushing up energy prices due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of ?Hormuz.

Trump suggests canceling music performances at the ‘Great American State Fair’ after several artists back out

President Donald Trump on Saturday suggested canceling planned performances by musicians for the Great American State Fair later this summer in Washington, after several artists pulled out of the event. “We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social Saturday afternoon. “Cancel it,” Trump said, before launching into a separate criticism of a federal judge who on Friday temporarily blocked his planned closure of the Kennedy Center. Trump is slated to speak at the opening ceremony for the fair in June as part of the United States’ 250th-birthday celebrations. Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the Trump-backed Freedom 250 group behind the event, said Saturday that the president would “personally kick off this historic celebration” on June 24.

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Trump had posted on Truth Social earlier Saturday that he would look into hosting an “America is Back” rally at the “same time, same location” after multiple recording artists pulled out of a series of concerts meant to take place during the fair, scheduled for June 24 to July 10 on Washington’s National Mall. “I understand Artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance ... so I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists,’ and give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!” Trump wrote in his post. A person familiar with planning for the event said Trump was always expected to headline a July Fourth event at the fair, and now he’ll do the opening ceremony too. Freedom 250, a public-private partnership backed by the Trump administration that is organizing events to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, last week announced a slate of artists that would perform on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays during this summer’s Great American State Fair.

A new ‘Wounded Bear Caucus’ in the Senate means more trouble for Trump

The congressional recess is typically a cooling-off period that helps ease tensions between the White House and Capitol Hill. But this time, Senate Republicans are staying just as hot. GOP aides characterized the mood as one of raw fury at President Trump over how he has treated senators, after he kneecapped Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s re-election bid while reaching a controversial deal to benefit himself and supporters. They see Trump’s behaviors as potentially paralyzing most action in the Republican-led Congress for the rest of the year and bruising the party’s efforts to hang on to the Senate in the midterm elections. “The president does not understand functionally that you cannot get things done unless you have some sense of unity with the people who you must work with,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) in an interview. Cassidy lost his primary after Trump endorsed an opponent.

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Senate Republicans have continued to make clear to the White House that they won’t act on a $70 billion, multiyear immigration-enforcement package until the Trump administration changes or cancels a $1.8 billion fund created to compensate people claiming that the federal government weaponized the legal system against them. If Democrats remain united, Trump can afford to lose only three GOP votes on any partisan measure—and more than half of the conference has expressed opposition to the fund, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump’s top aides have discussed whether he should kill the fund in exchange for getting the immigration-enforcement funding passed, according to people familiar with the matter. A federal judge on Friday directed the administration to pause efforts on the fund while she weighs a legal challenge to it. Even if the standoff over the fund is resolved, Trump also faces an expanded group of intraparty foes with little to lose in crossing him on contentious policies such as the war in Iran or pet projects including his White House ballroom. Within the business community and among some Senate Republican aides, the expectation is that all legislation outside of the most basic functions such as funding the government this fall and setting defense policy is on hold, caught up in the new dynamic between the Senate and the White House. The tension could stall work on measures that include housing legislation and permitting reform.

Graham Platner’s wife flagged sexually explicit texts to his Senate campaign

Days after Graham Platner announced his Maine Senate bid, his wife informed the campaign about a potential political problem she had previously discovered on the oyster farmer’s phone: sexually explicit texts with several women, according to people familiar with the matter. Amy Gertner, who married Platner in 2023, told the campaign about messages she had found early in their marriage in the spring of 2025. In late August, as some aides were conducting opposition research on their own candidate, Gertner disclosed the texts to a campaign aide to make sure they didn’t pose a risk to her husband’s nascent campaign, those people said. The campaign had been preparing for a major rally over Labor Day weekend last year with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was set to officially endorse Platner at the event. Aides ultimately decided the texts were a private matter that was being handled by the couple in marriage counseling, a campaign official said. The rally proceeded as planned, with thousands in attendance.

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In a statement provided by Platner’s campaign, Gertner said she believed she was confiding in an aide she considered a friend. “We did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to counseling. We were honest with each other in ways that weren’t easy,” she said. “And we came through it, not in spite of how much we’ve been through, but because of how much we love each other and the life we’ve built. Our marriage today is stronger than ever before.” “I know who Graham is. I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and the worst days of my life. That hasn’t changed, and it won’t.” The previously unreported deliberations last year over sexually explicit texts discovered on Platner’s phone come as the veteran has exploded onto the national political scene, kindling Democratic hopes that they can unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins and gain control of the Senate. Platner has recently faced disclosures about controversial posts from his now deleted Reddit account. They have included comments from his account playing down sexual assault and crude posts about sex workers and masturbation. Platner has already admitted to having covered up a Nazi-linked tattoo.

Karen Bass appears to liken Spencer Pratt to Trump amid tightening LA mayoral race

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and her challengers spent the final weekend before Election Day crisscrossing the city as a surprisingly competitive mayoral race heads toward a likely runoff. Bass, who is seeking a second term, is up against former reality star Spencer Pratt and city council member Nithya Raman in Tuesday’s primary election. Recent polling has shown a competitive race as no candidate is expected to receive more than 50% of the vote. The top two finishers would then advance to a November runoff. On Saturday, Bass — who is backed by high-profile Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom — stopped at Yosemite Recreation Center in Eagle Rock.

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She was seen serving tacos while wearing an apron bearing the slogan "Common Sense and Carne Asada." During an Instagram livestream Saturday, Bass also took aim at Pratt. "You have a failed reality TV star who wants to be famous," she said while speaking with two actresses before appearing to reference President Donald Trump. "We know what it means if you put somebody who is a reality TV star in a seat of power." Pratt spent part of Saturday criticizing Raman on X, including attacking her recent campaign advertisements. In a video posted to Instagram, Raman pointed to a recent poll and urged supporters to vote. "After millions of dollars of spending against us, we are still here and we are still competitive," she said.

Copyright May 31, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved