July 14, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Talarico unveils border security plan, criticizes Biden policies and Trump's Big Bend wall

Border security has become a critical issue in politics and is seen as a weakness for Democrats, but James Talarico, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, is making it evident he isn’t avoiding the issue. Talarico was critical of former President Joe Biden’s border policies, yet he also condemned President Trump's plan to build a border wall through Big Bend calling it “a monument to corruption.” During a campaign stop Monday in Terrell County, Talarico presented what he described as a “common-sense” border security plan. Talarico’s proposal would hire more Border Patrol agents, expand surveillance technology and add immigration judges to reduce the asylum backlog.

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He also wants Immigration and Customs Enforcement to focus its resources on people who pose serious public-safety threats rather than on families, children and longtime residents without serious criminal records. The Texas state representative blasted the Trump administration’s plan to build a $1.7 billion border wall through the environmentally sensitive Big Bend area. He called the Big Bend border wall “useless,” and said it is the result of “no-bid contracts and backroom deals.” “I think Joe Rogan said it best. They're doing this for a nice contract. We need more Border Patrol agents,” Talarico said. Talarico, however, is not opposed to the construction of border walls but he said the government should “focus our resources on physical barriers where they're actually needed.”

The AI infrastructure boom is coming to Texas. Are counties ready for what comes next?

Texas has spent the last decade winning economic development battles. From semiconductor manufacturing and energy investment to advanced computing and artificial intelligence, companies continue to choose Texas because of its business climate, abundant land, energy resources, and comparatively predictable regulatory environment. Now the state appears poised to become one of the largest destinations for artificial intelligence infrastructure investment in the country. The question is whether local governments are prepared for what comes with it. The proposed Colchis AI campus in Tom Green County offers an early glimpse into what may become one of the defining infrastructure debates of the next decade. The project, being pursued by Cipher Digital, is envisioned as a large-scale AI and data infrastructure campus outside San Angelo.

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The company has attracted additional attention following a transaction involving AI infrastructure provider Fluidstack that resulted in Google acquiring an ownership interest in Cipher Digital, raising the visibility of a project that was already generating local interest. The debate surrounding Colchis, however, is not really about artificial intelligence. It is about infrastructure. And increasingly, it is about water. For years, data centers were viewed as ideal economic development projects. They generated tax revenue, required relatively few public services, created limited traffic impacts, and rarely generated the kind of public controversy associated with refineries, manufacturing facilities, pipelines, or power plants. Artificial intelligence is changing that equation. The facilities being proposed today are dramatically larger than those built even a decade ago. Some campuses are expected to consume hundreds of megawatts of electricity. Others are being designed at scales approaching gigawatts. As projects become larger, communities are beginning to ask different questions. Where will the water come from? How much electricity will be required?

Deadly ICE shootings in Maine and Texas put renewed scrutiny on immigration crackdown

Officials are calling for transparent investigations after a man was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Biddeford, Maine, yesterday – just days after a federal agent fatally shot a Mexican immigrant during a traffic stop in Houston. The man killed in Maine was identified by a neighbor as 26-year-old father Joan Sebastian Guerrero, who was from Colombia. The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition said Guerrero was authorized to work in the US and was issued a social security number. Maine Sen. Angus King said he wasn’t the target of the immigration operation. The Department of Homeland Security said an ICE officer opened fire “fearing for public safety” as the victim “attempted to flee the scene” in a vehicle. The department didn’t provide details on why the officer believed Guerrero was a public safety risk.

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Biddeford resident Daniel Boucher was in a home near where 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero was fatally shot by an ICE officer Monday morning, when he heard a “pop, pop, pop” sound. Thinking he had heard fireworks, Boucher looked out from a third-floor window and saw a small car “turned 90 degrees to the curb” with an SUV behind it. “The small car “started coming down the street again, driving, and I don’t know how, and then the SUV hit him again … And then that’s when he stopped,” Boucher told the Associated Press, adding that an ICE agent then opened the car door and pulled Guerrero out to the ground. “His face was bloody, his head was bloody,” Boucher said. “I clearly heard the victim say: ‘I tried to stop’,” Boucher added. The Department of Homeland Security says federal immigration agents were conducting a “targeted surveillance” operation when the driver of a vehicle was shot and killed in Biddeford, Maine on Monday. But much of what unfolded between the driver, identified by a neighbor as 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, and the federal officer who opened fire remains unclear.

The U.S. is set to reinstate a blockade over the Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. military announced it will begin its blockade of Iranian ships over the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, as Iran vowed to assert its own control over the critical international waterway. CENTCOM said the blockade would begin on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. The U.S. military last worked to block maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18. The announcement came after an intensified exchange of strikes over the weekend, testing a shaky ceasefire and threatening a return to all-out war in the region. On Monday, the U.S. launched another wave of strikes on Iran. The U.S. military said it struck Iranian defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities to "degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping."

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Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Tuesday that it had struck "two non-compliant" supertankers in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement in Iranian state media. Iran also said it launched missiles and drones against U.S. military infrastructure in Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, and U.S. military outposts in Jordan. The United Arab Emirates' defense ministry said two of its tankers were targeted by Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz in Omani waters, killing one person. Bahrain authorities reported that sirens were sounded and urged citizens to head to safe places. Jordanian state media said the country's air defenses intercepted four Iranian missiles early Tuesday as they entered its airspace. The escalation comes as the U.S. and Iran reach a halfway point in the 60-day ceasefire agreed in June, when the two sides signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding to work out the terms of a final deal and open the Strait of Hormuz. During a NATO summit in Turkey last week, President Trump declared the ceasefire "over," but didn't rule out further talks.

State Stories

“Who do I vote for?”: Cornyn voters weigh Paxton, Talarico or sitting out in November

For months, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn battered each other in a nasty and expensive race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in Texas. Now that Paxton has emerged victorious, GOP leaders from Texas to Washington are urging intraparty peace and unity, warning that a divided GOP could lose the seat. But some Cornyn voters aren’t ready to move on — or look past Paxton’s history of scandals. State Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, wasted no time courting those voters after Paxton won the May 26 GOP runoff. The next day, the Austin lawmaker hit the road for a five-city bus tour that he spent attacking the attorney general over allegations of corruption and extramarital affairs, punctuated by his new refrain, “I have a legislative record. Ken Paxton has a criminal record.” Whether that message will prove effective in peeling off right-leaning moderates may help decide the election.

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Now that the dust has settled on the primary, recent polling has found most Republican voters have moved on and plan to vote for Paxton, with a clear shift from earlier surveys conducted in the heat of the bruising primary. Still, Talarico has held on to a chunk of support from moderate Republicans. In interviews with The Texas Tribune in the weeks after the runoff, a handful of primary voters who backed Cornyn described a range of emotions, with varying plans for how they would vote. Some have decided they are supporting Talarico. Others said they would skip the top of the ticket or are still unsure what to do. Others still are embracing Paxton out of party loyalty. Todd Shade, a 62-year-old who moved to the Austin area in 1995 after growing up in South Dakota, said he has been “very happy” with Cornyn. The self-described traditional conservative said he favors letting the free market flourish with minimal business regulations, yet is opposed to some of the socially conservative priorities that have dominated the Texas GOP as insurgents like Paxton rose to lead it. Shade also believes at least some of the accusations against Paxton are true, including the charge from his former deputies that he abused his office to help a friend and campaign donor. Still, Shade said he plans to vote for Talarico.

Flood risk increases for the Austin area this week with up to 6 inches of rain possible in spots

The Austin area is under a flood watch from 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday evening. A wide area of Texas is under the threat of heavy rain, leading Gov. Greg Abbott to activate state emergency response resources, including rescue boats and Black Hawk helicopters, according to the governor’s press office. “The State of Texas will deploy all necessary resources to help local officials respond to potential severe weather and flash flooding across the state,” Abbott said in a press release.

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“I urge all Texans to monitor local forecasts, heed guidance from state and local officials, and always remember: Turn Around, Don’t Drown. Texas will support our communities as these threats develop.” Heavy rains may swell rivers, creeks, and low-water crossings. Streets may also flood, according to an advisory issued by the National Weather Service. The storms may bring rainfall of 2-6 inches, with some isolated areas of the state potentially getting hit with 10 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service website. The areas with the highest possible rain totals are the Rio Grande Plains and the southern Edwards Plateau.

Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer: Texas legislators must manage data center development with thoughtful planning

If you’re like me and you read this newspaper most mornings, you’ve seen a lot of front-page articles about data centers. Each new report leaves me with more questions than answers about what this means for our water supply and electric grid, not to mention our infrastructure and land use. When state lawmakers head to Austin in January for the next legislative session, we have to carefully consider how we are going to balance all these demands to make sure everyday Texans aren’t footing the bill. More than 10 years ago, Texas began offering a tax break to attract new data centers to Texas. At the time, state leaders believed data centers might be the next chapter of the Texas Miracle, bringing jobs, growth and prosperity. Data centers built today, however, aren’t like ones from a decade ago.

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There’s been an exponential increase in the need for processing power with artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and all the massive technological advances that put the AOL days of the internet to shame. That increase requires more and more energy, water and infrastructure. When communities have to compete for their basic resources, that Texas Miracle starts to look like a Texas Mirage. The San Antonio Water System says that in 2024, two data centers in San Antonio consumed hundreds of millions of gallons of water, while the rest of us were asked to conserve. Sometimes when we have a solution that sounds good, we also have unintended consequences. For example, more and more data centers are building their own power plants, but the increase in emissions could lead to devastating health and environmental impacts. Texas already suffers from high rates of chronic respiratory disease, receiving an “F” rating from the American Lung Association.

Richard Linklater urges Houston to preserve Garden Oaks Theater ahead of Wes Anderson visit

Ahead of Wes Anderson's Friday visit to Houston to support the historic Garden Oaks Theater, organizers released an audio interview in which filmmaker Richard Linklater urged the city to value its history instead of its long-standing "out-with-the-old-and-in-with-the-new" mentality. In an interview with PaperCity in June, Linklater was outspoken about his support for preserving the theater after Arthouse Houston, formerly the Friends of the River Oaks Theatre, proposed to buy the venue, built in 1947, from the current owners, Heights Investment Fund, for $7.1 million. "You learn that when the community speaks up, the economic threats are always very real, cause that's just the way the world goes," Linklater told PaperCity reporters in a recently shared audio interview. "But it takes a little more thoughtful, committed passion to go 'Hey, this is our history. This almost 80-year-old theater that had a long life and has a future, if we allow it to have it, is important. That's important to the fabric of our city. When it's all gone, it's not coming back.'"

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The Art Deco Garden Oaks Theater, which was converted into a house of worship in later years, had been under threat of demolition after Grace Church acated the premises last year. Since then, Arthouse Houston has proposed turning the property at 3732 North Shepherd Drive into a new Arts & Film Center. "In the long run, having a cool, old theater in the neighborhood is really better, but you have to make it work out economically," Linklater said. "And at some point, you need a nonprofit model of people, with donations and support. But really, it's just the community support. You need everybody to make it important to the city." Linklater described Houston as a "forward-thinking" city that has always been an "out with the old and in with the new" kind of city post-war. "But Houston's old and established enough now," he said. "It's not the new post-war city that it was. It should be proud of its own heritage is what I'm saying. And to see value in that history in the past." PaperCity and Arthouse Houston shared an audio interview with Anderson last month, in which he shared the same sentiment. The Houston-born director is expected to come home on July 17 to introduce several short films at the Hobby Center's Zilkha Hall as part of a fundraiser sponsored by Arthouse Houston to save the theater. Those who want to attend still have an opportunity, with tickets priced between $345 and $1,000.

Lockheed Martin settles on terms with union workers as military buildup boosts production

A major Fort Worth employer and its union workers are celebrating a new five-year, mutually beneficial contract now in effect. Highly skilled workers at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. feel valued after about 5,000 members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 776 ratified the contract, union representatives said. The contract — which started on June 15 and continues until June 18, 2030 — calls for wage increases between 4% and 6%, increased vacation time and no mandatory overtime schedules. It also includes a $6,000 bonus and retirement benefit improvements. Lockheed Martin, which produces the military’s F-35 fighter jet aircraft at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, is ramping up production to fulfill billions of dollars worth of defense contracts for military aircraft and munitions.

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Company officials negotiated with union representatives for about three months, a process that “was not easy by any means,” said Doyle Huddleston, IAM District 776 president and directing business representative. “There was a lot of stress on both sides,” he said, adding that recent strikes between other aerospace companies and large unions aided their cause. Roxanne Schell, Lockheed Martin’s labor and employee relations director, said it was important to be good partners with the IAM union since it helps position the company to fulfill its government contracts. “It was good. Tough negotiations, as usual,” she said. “Both parties (had) an interest in making improvements to the collective bargaining agreement.” The agreement also covers IAM members at Edwards Air Force Base in California and Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland as well as Lockheed Martin’s firefighters at the Fort Worth base.

World Cup worth millions to Arlington, says mayor — possibly with more to come

In one month, the World Cup generated roughly half as much revenue for Arlington as AT&T Stadium does in a year, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said Monday, declaring that the tournament had a “substantial” economic impact on his city. While it will probably take months to get a full picture of how much money was generated for the entire region, Ross said the projections he’s seen show the games have brought roughly $160 million to Arlington, or nearly half of the $340 million AT&T Stadium brings annually to the city. That includes an estimated $31 million in hotel revenue in June — which topped the previous high of $23.5 million in hotel revenue in November 2024, a month when AT&T Stadium hosted three Cowboys home games and a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, Ross said.

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He was among several local sports and civic leaders who detailed the gains at a news conference in Dallas on the eve of the ninth and final World Cup match at AT&T Stadium. Anecdotal evidence indicates the World Cup has been a boon for Arlington’s hospitality industry, with some restaurateurs and tavern owners saying revenue has exceeded their expectations. Ross, who owns the Arlington steakhouse Mercury Chophouse and Hearsay, a restaurant located inside Choctaw Stadium, agreed that soccer fans have been good for business. While the short-term income has been welcome, Ross is taking a long view of how the World Cup might benefit Arlington economically. He said he’s met with ambassadors, consul generals — even royalty — from nations that competed in Arlington, and Ross said those dignitaries have talked about how they might partner with Arlington in future business ventures. “I’ve gotten letters from all kinds of them saying, ‘Thank you so much for the hospitality, we want to continue this relationship. We invite you to come to our country and let’s see what we can do further together.’ ”

Bastrop County says DOJ grant request is for sheriff's equipment, not ICE detention

Bastrop County commissioners on Monday said they are applying for a federal Department of Justice immigration-related grant to buy sheriff's office safety equipment, not to support ICE or detention centers. The item on the agenda had three categories of funding available from the Justice Department. The first was for money to be used to hire law enforcement and civilian personnel, the second category was for technology and equipment and the third was for ICE detention facilities. "Awards from this program should be used to support significant participation in and support of Homeland Security Task Force activities, and other DOJ efforts to combat gangs, cartels, and other violent crime," the agenda item said.

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Dozens of people in the packed courtroom, which was standing room only, said they were worried that the application for a program called "Bridging Immigration-Related Deficits Experienced Nationwide," or BIDEN, would beef up ICE's presence in the county. "We are using this for safety equipment for our sheriff's office period," said Commissioner Butch Carmack. "It's got nothing to do with detention centers." Nicole Moore, the county's assistant auditor, said at the beginning of the meeting that the county was only seeking money for equipment. Several people then spoke about their opposition to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. "They are unsupervised and most important they are unidentified," said Karen Sterling, who said she was a former police officer. "When I was in uniform I had a name tag, and if anybody asked I had to tell them what my name was, and that's the way it should be."

MP Materials sues competitor over trade secrets in Texas Business Court

A manufacturer with a large and growing presence in Fort Worth is suing a rival company over rare earth magnet technology. Las Vegas-based MP Materials (NYSE: MP), which makes neodymium-iron-boron magnets at a factory in north Fort Worth, is suing Stillwater, Oklahoma-based USA Rare Earth Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR) over trade secrets it says are key to making the magnets. The lawsuit, filed May 22, represents a developing feud between two companies attempting to lead an emerging industry that's long been dominated by another country. Rare earth magnets are used in making everything from electric vehicles to everyday electronics, but China dominates 90% of the industry. Both companies have similar goals. MP Materials' mission statement is to "restore the full rare earth supply chain" in the U.S., according to its website. USA Rare Earth's is to "build the world’s leading rare earth value chain."

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According to a lawsuit filed in the Eighth Division of the Texas Business Courts, located in Fort Worth, MP Materials alleges USA Rare Earth and former MP engineer Kevin Elkins misappropriated trade secrets related to technology that improves the magnet's resistance to demagnetization without reducing its strength, called grain boundary diffusion. The company states in the lawsuit that the technology took years of work and millions of dollars of research to develop. The company is seeking at least $5 million in damages and a preliminary and permanent injunction. "These compositions, and the methods in which they are used, are among the most important and closely guarded technologies used in producing permanent magnets," the company stated. MP Materials alleges USA Rare Earth "is engaged in an unlawful trade secret raiding campaign," hiring employees from other companies to advance the company. MP alleges USA Rare Earth hired several of its employees, including Elkins, who "were valuable primarily because of information they received from MP Materials, not pre-existing expertise." Elkins and USA Rare Earth denied the allegations in a June 22 filing. USA Rare Earth alleges the lawsuit is "nothing more than an attempt by MP to slow USAR's bold vision and significant momentum, as we build out U.S. and Allied rare earth value chains." "We are making significant strides in furthering America's strategic interests and will remain focused on our mission," a statement provided by the company said. "MP should do the same and compete on its own merits rather than assert baseless claims.”

Austin Energy’s planned outages downtown necessary to prevent future unexpected outages

A late-night power outage in downtown Austin Sunday and into the early hours of Monday was a necessary step for Austin Energy to make sure the power stays on, according to the utility. “We planned this critical maintenance work overnight when temperatures and the heat index are lower and have provided customers with advance notice and tips for the outage,” said an Austin Energy spokesperson in an email to KXAN ahead of the outage. This “step” was another in the Repowering Downtown Initiative, which started in 2018. David Tomczyszyn, Austin Energy vice president of electric system engineering & technical services, has been with the utility since 2007. In that time, Austin’s downtown and its skyline have expanded rapidly.

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“It’s just growing leaps and bounds, but not just there, all over the city. And every day, I think we have more and more people moving here. I don’t think we’ve ever seen a slowdown,” he said in a July 9 interview with KXAN. More residents mean more construction and buildings. It’s how a city grows. These also place a greater demand on the city’s electrical infrastructure. According to the spokesperson, that project has already made big strides with upgrades to the city’s Seaholm Substation and distribution network and more transmission lines. Austin Energy also built an electrical substation on Rainey Street, which increased capacity for downtown by 33%. The substation’s design was revealed in 2021, and it was built in 2023. Seaholm, Rainey and Brackenridge are the substations powering downtown. That last one was built in the 1970s and will be replaced as part of the initiative. “Over the next six months, we’re doing some switching to move some of the grids over to the [Rainey] substation. And the reason for it is we’re going to rebuild [Brackenridge],” Tomczyszyn said. “It’s nearing end of life. We want to get ahead of it…we want to offload it, and then we’re going to completely rebuild it.”

Ben Abbott using law firm's TV ads to advance possible run for Dallas mayor

Personal injury lawyer Ben Abbott has spent years building one of Dallas' most recognizable legal brands through catchy TV commercials. Now he's using a new series of ads to reintroduce himself as a community leader ahead of a possible run for mayor. While the latest television spot includes the signature line, "Hello, Ben," after a familiar jingle, most of the ad is devoted to Abbott making the case that he's ready to lead Dallas. Abbott has not officially announced he's running, though he's making the rounds seeking support. He said the advertising campaign is intended to reshape his public image from trial lawyer to city advocate, even describing it as a "media stunt."

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He said he believes Dallas wants a more engaged, hands-on approach focused on solving the city's biggest challenges. "It's technically a law firm ad," Abbott said in an interview. "Obviously, it's posturing to change from Ben the lawyer to Ben the community leader." The commercials are the first phase of a broader media effort that will include radio, newspaper and digital advertising. Abbott is one of several prominent figures weighing a run for mayor in the November 2027 election to replace Mayor Eric Johnson, who will leave office because of term limits. Abbott has been considering a run since at least 2023, when he said he became increasingly disenchanted with Johnson and the city’s direction.

Study: It now takes more than 7 years to save for a home down payment in Texas

Despite remaining one of the nation's more affordable housing markets, a new study found it now takes more than seven years to save for a 20% down payment on a home in Texas. The study, published July 6 by financial technology company SmartAsset, analyzed home values, minimum wage rates, median household income and other factors across all 50 states. Researchers estimated how many years it would take households to save for a 20% down payment if they set aside 10% of their annual income. Over the past decade, the typical Texas home value has risen from about $181,000 to more than $302,000, while the state's median household income has increased from roughly $56,600 to just over $84,000.

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Despite those income gains, the time needed to save for a 20% down payment has grown by nine months since 2016, reaching 7.2 years for households earning the state's median income. For Texans earning the state's minimum wage, the outlook is far more challenging: Saving enough for a 20% down payment would take an estimated 40.1 years. The findings highlight a growing challenge that would-be home buyers face across the nation: as home values continue to rise faster than household incomes, the dream of owning a home is becoming increasingly difficult to reach — and for many minimum-wage earners, increasingly out of reach altogether. Compared with states such as Idaho, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, the time needed to save for a down payment in Texas has remained relatively stable over the past decade. For comparison, it takes just over 11 years to save for a down payment in New York and nearly 15 years in California, according to the study.

Former Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa enters 2027 mayoral race

Michael Hinojosa, the former superintendent of Dallas Independent School District, is launching a run for mayor and planning a formal announcement on Tuesday morning. He filed the paperwork this afternoon to appoint a Campaign Treasurer, naming real estate developer Amanda Lake to the position. “We’re at an inflection point. The city needs proven leadership. The city needs a plan to move forward and get things done,” Hinojosa told WFAA Monday afternoon. Hinojosa is the first candidate to launch a mayoral campaign and immediately becomes the frontrunner in a race that’s full of speculation but hasn’t yet formed. “He has a record here and other places. It’s all school district-related but that’s a big entity with a lot of employees,” said former Dallas Council Member Philip Kingston, “I think the consensus opinion is he did a pretty good job.”

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Twice, Hinojosa served as Dallas ISD superintendent from 2005 to 2011 and then again from 2015 to 2022. He resigned before his last contract ended as he considered challenging incumbent Eric Johnson for mayor in 2023 but decided against it. Johnson is term-limited now and cannot run again. Now, launching his first political campaign, Hinojosa’s first challenge could become fundraising. A Facebook page is online for Hinojosa but his campaign website has not yet been activated. He did reveal plans to spend the next 15 months – starting next Tuesday in District 1 – going to each part of the city, listening to residents and discussing three of his own priorities. Hinojosa grew up in Oak Cliff and attended Sunset High School. He taught in DISD before eventually becoming Superintendent. Despite Dallas being more than 42% Hispanic, the city has never elected a Latino mayor. Election Day is Nov. 2, 2027.

Rodney Ellis says Harris County should earmark funding for local investigation into fatal ICE shooting

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis said Monday he would ask commissioners court to fund the district attorney’s independent investigation into the fatal shooting of a Houston man by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer last week. Ellis did not provide details regarding how much funding he would ask the county government to provide, but said he and his office were exploring options. "It would be a guess at this point,” Ellis said at a news conference Monday. “Wherever it leads us, whatever it costs — within reason — it's important enough for us to do it. I know we have a [budget] shortfall, but you always have to prioritize."

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Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three, was shot last Tuesday morning during what ICE has called a “targeted enforcement operation" in Houston's East End, a predominantly Latino neighborhood. He was traveling to work with three other men in his car. In a statement to Houston Public Media, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not specify whether any of the people in the vehicle were intended targets, saying one of the individuals in the van “resembled the target.” An ICE spokesperson said during the stop, Salgado Araujo was attempting to evade arrest and allegedly rammed his van into an ICE vehicle, causing an ICE agent to fire his weapon in self-defense. Salgado Araujo's family and the attorney representing two of the three other men in the vehicle dispute that claim. The ICE agents involved were not wearing body cameras. Salgado Araujo is one of multiple people in Texas and across the U.S. to be fatally shot by ICE agents or die in ICE custody during the second term of Republican President Donald Trump, whose administration has ramped-up immigration-related arrests and deportations. On Monday, an ICE agent shot and killed a motorist in Maine, according to officials there.

National Stories

South Carolina governor taps Lindsey Graham's sister to serve as interim senator

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has tapped Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, to fill her brother’s Senate seat through the rest of the year. McMaster, a Republican, made the announcement Monday afternoon at a press conference at the South Carolina statehouse in which he reflected on Graham’s life and service. In brief remarks at the event, Graham Nordone said her brother “dedicated his life to this country.” “It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina,” she said. Graham Nordone’s term will end on Jan. 3.

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Graham, 71, died unexpectedly on Saturday, leaving an opening for the seat through the end of his term. His death was the result of aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to preliminary findings from the medical examiner of the District of Columbia and released by Graham’s office. Graham Nordone’s appointment came hours after President Donald Trump recommended her for the job. “I recommended, to Governor Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham’s wonderful sister, Darline, to serve as interim Senator from the Great State of South Carolina. This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday morning. In a post to X later Monday morning, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., also logged his support for Graham Nordone. “Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, would be a fantastic pick to serve out the reminder of the senate term. After speaking with Darline, there is no one better who understands Lindsey’s love for family, our state, and our country,” Scott wrote.

June CPI: Inflation expected to slow but remain high

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to report the consumer price index for last month at 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday. Many economists expect to see a decline in the overall headline number thanks to falling energy prices. But some warn that the issue is nowhere close to over, and price declines may take more time to happen than consumers would like — especially if energy prices surge again. After the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June, oil prices declined from the mid-$90s to around $70 per barrel. However, that decline has started to come undone, at least partially. Both U.S. crude and Brent oil benchmarks are trading much higher than their recent low, with Brent touching $80 per barrel on Monday.

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“With the MOU on life support and tensions escalating in the Middle East,” inflation expectations are facing “renewed pressure,” Société Générale strategists said in a note. Compounding the issue, critical oil storage hubs have been drawn down in a bid to keep a lid on prices, but those storage facilities have reached decades-low levels. They will need to be refilled with hundreds of millions of barrels of oil, which could again cause prices to rise. Gas prices, the most visible sign of inflation to consumers, are tracing a similar trajectory. In recent weeks, prices declined sharply from the highest level of the year. However, in the last week, that decline came to a halt at $3.79 per gallon, and prices have risen 8 cents since, as of Monday. Those rising gas prices come at the same time as slowing wage growth. In June, average hourly earnings increased by 3.5%, far below May’s inflation reading of 4.2%.

Justice Dept. shares Minneapolis shooting evidence with state authorities

After months of withholding the information, the Trump administration has shared evidence with Minnesota authorities related to three shootings by immigration officers in Minneapolis in January, local officials said Monday. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office has begun to download and categorize the terabytes of information gathered by federal investigators that was provided in hard drives. The evidence will help local authorities decide whether to bring charges against the federal officers in the incidents, including the fatal shootings of Renée Good, a writer and mother of three, and Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse, both U.S. citizens. The other case involved Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant who was shot in the leg and survived. All of the shootings occurred during an immigration enforcement blitz in Minneapolis as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

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“It’s been clear that the U.S. attorney’s office and other local federal agencies wanted things to get back to the way they were,” Moriarty said in an interview, referencing greater collaboration, “and they certainly understood there had been a tremendous amount of damage done to how it had been handled.” The Trump administration’s handling of investigations into shootings involving immigration officers in Minneapolis and other cities has outraged state and local officials, who said they have been sidelined. The Department of Homeland Security has justified the actions of its immigration officers, saying they fired their weapons defensively and painting the victims as threatening officers. However, video footage and witness testimony have contradicted the department’s accounts in some cases. The Harris County district attorney in Texas said last week that the federal government has blocked local authorities from its investigation of the fatal shooting of a Mexican man in Houston by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Maine’s attorney general said Monday that his office would seek to investigate the fatal shooting of a Colombian man by an ICE officer in the small city of Biddeford.

Trump’s attorneys, Justice Dept. leaders misused courts in IRS case, judge says

A federal judge on Monday denounced President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS as an improper attempt to “manipulate” the court process and legitimize a controversial deal that afforded him significant tax protections and sought to establish a nearly $1.8 billion fund for alleged victims of politicized prosecutions. In a blistering ruling, U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams suggested that Trump’s attorneys and top Justice Department officials who signed off on that agreement could face professional sanctions. She barred them from citing any provision of their private resolution in future official proceedings. “In sum,” the judge wrote, “the facts before this Court demonstrate that there was never adverseness between the Parties; there was never a case or controversy; and there was never a question as to who would prevail.”

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The extraordinary order from Williams, an appointee of President Barack Obama, came in response to concerns raised by 35 former federal judges, who had petitioned her to reexamine the deal the Justice Department struck with Trump in May to resolve the suit he filed earlier this year over the leak of his personal tax returns by a government contractor. They argued that the suit was improper and the deal to resolve it was negotiated in bad faith as attorneys on both sides of the case ultimately reported to Trump — working for him either in his personal capacity or as government employees at the Justice Department. Department officials have defended the agreement, saying it did not require sign-off by Williams, who was overseeing the case. “There was no collusion,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement Monday responding to the judge’s ruling, “and the partisan judge who speculated otherwise has disregarded decades of precedent.

'Nobody underwrote for that': Private credit faces a key test as higher rates squeeze borrowers

Higher-for-longer interest rates were once heralded as an attractive yield driver for private credit investors, but industry professionals say tighter monetary policy is becoming the sector’s next major stress point. Global central banks are grappling with renewed inflation pressures, following the energy squeeze caused by the Middle East war, which is raising the prospect of further interest rate hikes. That’s a problem for private credit, where debt is typically floating-rate — meaning debt-servicing costs for underlying borrowers in many portfolios are likely to stay higher, while lenders are forced to distinguish between temporary flexibility and deeper credit stress. It comes as the $2 trillion private sector is already contending with ongoing redemption pressures in retail-focused business development companies, fears of an AI-driven ‘SaaSpocalypse’ upending software-heavy portfolios, and individual corporate blow-ups.

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Anant Kumar, managing director, global investment strategist, head of U.S. credit research and portfolio manager at Benefit Street Partners, said the current private credit lending landscape was built on the assumption that the interest rates spike of 2022 and 2023 was a peak that would quickly decline. “Three years later, borrowers are still paying near-peak coupons,” Kumar said. “In fact, the market is now pricing hikes, not cuts. Nobody underwrote for that.” Core annual U.S. inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, jumped to 2.9% year-on-year in May, its highest level since September 2025, and is expected to remain around that level when June’s figure is released Tuesday, according to consensus forecasts. The latest minutes of the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee meeting under new chairman Kevin Warsh showed officials were split over the direction of rates, with the dot-plot grid tilting towards one rate hike this year. Kumar said higher base rates typically help in the short term because yields rise. But if rates stay high for an extended period, more marginal borrowers can be squeezed by interest servicing costs. “If rates go up from here, many levered companies won’t survive in their current capital structures. That doesn’t mean the businesses die. It means restructurings,” he told CNBC via email.

Trump's HHS abandons threat to withhold Medicare and Medicaid funding over trans care

The Trump administration is abandoning its most aggressive attempt to end gender-affirming care for youth nationally, according to an official document obtained by NPR. The document shows that the Department of Health and Human Services will not be finalizing a proposed rule that would have blocked all Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told NPR in a statement: "CMS does not comment on future rulemaking or speculate on potential actions. The Trump Administration rejects ideologically driven surgical interventions on vulnerable children." (Surgery is very rare among transgender people under age 18, and the rule applied to all gender-affirming care, which is mainly therapy and medications for children.)

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The fact that the Trump administration is backing off from this action is "a victory for people who are defending the rights and interests of trans people," says Sam Bagenstos, a professor at Michigan Law who served as general counsel at HHS under the Biden administration. "But I don't think it indicates a more general retreat from the aggressive posture of the Trump administration." Bagenstos notes that this type of leverage — a "conditions of participation" rule for the Medicare and Medicaid program — has historically been used by HHS to compel states and hospitals to meet basic health and safety standards. Things like "making sure that you have stockpiles of certain kinds of equipment, making sure that you have certain kinds of emergency protocols, making sure that you have certain staffing ratios," he explains. The proposed rule was unprecedented, Bagenstos says, because it instead would have prohibited certain kinds of treatments for a certain population. He says it seemed unlawful in a variety of ways. For one, "it violates the Medicare Act, which says that Medicare and Medicaid can't be used to control the practice of medicine within the state — states get to regulate the practice of medicine," Bagenstos says.

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson says he’s not sure McConnell photo with Chao is new

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisc.) on Monday cast doubt on the recency of a photo Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) shared of himself in the hospital alongside his wife. “I’ve just heard from some other sources that was an older photo. So I really don’t know,” Johnson told host Eric Bolling on Real America’s Voice’s “Bolling!” The Wisconsin Republican noted he has not spoken to McConnell, hopes he can recover and will “come back and vote” in line with President Trump’s agenda. Later Monday, Johnson backtracked from his remarks to Bolling. The Wisconsin senator wrote on social platform X, “Beware of clickbait — watch the full clip. Most importantly, I hope @SenMcConnell makes a full recovery and returns to the Senate.”

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On Sunday, McConnell provided an update on his condition after weeks of silence in the wake of his hospitalization on June 14. The 84-year-old senator, who is retiring, said he went to the hospital after a fall left him “briefly unconscious.” “My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion,” McConnell wrote on Facebook. “I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages. But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital.” He added, “While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I’ve also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia.” McConnell also shared a photo of himself in a hospital bed alongside his wife, former Labor and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. In the picture, McConnell is holding a copy of Sunday’s frontpage of the Washington Post’s sports section.

Copyright July 14, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved