June 22, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Jasmine Crockett refuses to endorse Talarico in Texas Senate race

There is a tradition in Texas of people named Crockett making famous last stands. For Davey Crockett, it was at the Alamo, but the hill that Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, seems inclined to die on is stopping James Talarico, who beat her in the primary, from winning his Senate race. The famously sassy Crockett told The Dallas Morning News this week she has "no idea" when asked if she would support Talarico in November, saying she is focused on the down-ballot races. Crockett also declined an invitation to speak on Talarico’s behalf at the upcoming Texas Democratic Party Convention. In fact, she is just skipping the whole thing. On one hand, this refusal to play ball could just be the ire of a woman scorned, but even if that is so, there are a few reasons for Democrats to be worried about Crockett taking her endorsement and going home.

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The first reason Crockett's refusal to endorse Talarico would hurt is that it takes away an important political weapon, specifically, the fact that long-serving GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who lost his party's primary, is also refusing to endorse the man who beat him, Ken Paxton. Talarico would love to slap on a smug smile and tell Texas voters, "Even John Cornyn, who is as Republican as it gets, won’t back my extreme opponent," or whatever. But if his own primary opponent, a sitting member of Congress, is snubbing him too, it just evens out. The deeper problem for the party that Crockett’s recalcitrance reveals is a growing worry among Black Democrats that their power in the party is being marginalized and diminished. In our deep blue cities, the Democratic Socialists of America are actively replacing old Black power within the party with immigrant candidates. The voters most aggressively fueling this shift are well-off, well-educated White people who always rank most progressive-leaning in polls.

Microsoft and Chevron sign 20-year power deal For Texas data center

Chevron Corp. signed a 20-year deal with Microsoft Corp. to provide natural-gas fired power for a proposed West Texas data center, which could be one of the biggest in the US. Project Kilby, as the power plant is named, is expected to provide first power by 2028 and will ramp up to 2.67 gigawatts over time, Houston-based Chevron said. The oil giant, which is collaborating on the development with investment fund Engine No. 1, plans to make a final investment decision later this year. Bloomberg News previously reported the companies were in exclusive talks over a long-term power deal.

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Microsoft is doubling down on building data centers as it competes with Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. to expand in artificial intelligence. The longtime backer of ChatGPT maker OpenAI plans to double its data-center footprint over the next two years. The partnership with Chevron, one of the country’s biggest gas producers, is expected to supply the large-quantities of reliable power needed for AI’s energy-hungry models. Overall, the US is expected to double its data center capacity to 77 gigawatts by 2030, according to BloombergNEF. That is expected to put severe pressure on the power grid and is already raising costs for consumers, prompting political backlash around the US. Chevron’s plant will feed cheap gas from the Permian Basin, America’s biggest oil field, to several large GE Vernova Inc. turbines that will power a data-center campus that Microsoft plans to build on that site near the city of Pecos, Texas. The project will generate its own power, meaning it will not draw from the grid or involve a local utility, Jeff Gustavson, Chevron’s president of New Energies, said in an interview. “Consumers are concerned about and are already feeling the effect of power-demand growth,” he said. “We specifically designed this, in this part of the country, to avoid any of that.”

Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Fed, dies at age 100

Alan Greenspan, who presided over the Federal Reserve for 19 years under four presidents and mastered the art of obfuscation known as Fedspeak, has died. He was 100. The influential economist died Monday from complications of Parkinson’s Disease, said his wife of 29 years, Andrea Mitchell, the chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News. Greenspan was appointed Fed chairman in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and held the position — through busts and booms — until retiring in 2006. His tenure was the second longest, four months short of that of William McChesney Martin, who presided over the central bank from 1951 to 1970.

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In an apparent bid to avoid rocking the markets or not showing the Fed’s hand until it was time, Greenspan would cloak his utterances in language that left the sharpest minds — including those of contentious members of Congress — scratching their heads. “His long, convoluted sentences seem to take away at the end what they have given at the beginning as they flow to new levels of incomprehensibility,” The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward said in his 200 biography “Maestro: Greenspan’s Fed and the American Boom.” But it was his unusual frankness in one televised speech, on Dec. 5, 1996, that set off a bit of market madness. Discussing the challenges of setting monetary policy, he said: “How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values, which then become subject to unexpected and prolonged contractions as they have in Japan over the past decade? ... We should not underestimate or become complacent about the complexity of the interactions of asset markets and the economy.”

GOP group confirms primary meddling

A Republican group seeded pop-up super PACs with $4.4 million last month to meddle in Democratic primaries. A new trove of FEC data reveals the fullest picture yet of the GOP’s efforts to choose its preferred Democratic opponent in key battleground seats.

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Conservative Americans PAC funded Lead Left PAC and Real Change PAC, groups that played in Democratic primaries in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas, Maine and New Jersey. It also funded California Blue PAC, which meddled in a red-leaning seat in the Golden State. “Republicans are leveling the playing field after over a decade of Democrats meddling in our primaries,” Samantha Bullock, a spokesperson for the PAC, told us. “And with the Democrat Party in the midst of a civil war, Republicans would be stupid not to take advantage while pushing their candidates farther left.” The American Prosperity Alliance, a GOP-aligned nonprofit, funds Conservative Americans PAC. Democrats have been highly suspicious of Real Change PAC and Lead Left PAC, which initially took great effort to hide their leadership and partisan affiliations. But a few clues were pointing to Republican meddling. The group is now confirming the role it played. This effort has had some success. Conservative Americans PAC got its preferred candidates in Nebraska and Maine. But it’s not clear how decisive their spending was.

State Stories

Travis County lawsuit could change Texas child welfare investigations

A Travis County judge is weighing a case that could force Texas to change how it labels parents accused of child neglect, potentially reshaping child abuse investigations statewide. The debate came from a lawsuit filed by Temecia and Rodney Jackson, parents from Dallas County, who had their third child, M.J., taken from them for nearly a month just days after she was born in 2023 following a home birth with a Texas-certified midwife. At the center of the case is a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services designation known as “unable to determine,” which allows the agency to conclude it cannot determine whether abuse or neglect occurred. Unlike more serious findings, the designation cannot be appealed, a policy that Jacksons argue is unconstitutional.

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“Mrs. Jackson's decision to use a midwife for a home birth is one that should have been a beautiful experience that the agency essentially robbed her of,” said ACLU staff attorney Charelle Lett, who represents the Jacksons. “The distrust in this Black family to choose proper health care for their child is really disheartening, and the distrust in midwives who are trained and licensed by the state of Texas to do a job has also been disheartening.” The Jacksons, who opted for a home birth with a state-certified midwife, went to their pediatrician's office in the days after M.J.'s birth for a routine appointment. Dr. Anand Bhatt, the Jacksons' pediatrician of 12 years, called Temecia Jackson to tell her M.J.'s test results showed potential jaundice warning signs and to advise her to take M.J. to a hospital for monitoring. Temecia Jackson told Bhatt that she'd consult with her midwife and husband, and after doing so, she decided to pursue an alternate treatment plan at home. Temecia Jackson then laid down for a nap, according to court filings. As she slept, Bhatt called Temecia Jackson, whose phone was on silent. After she did not immediately respond to repeated calls from the doctor, he called the police to perform a welfare check the same night. Bhatt did not call Rodney Jackson. Police arrived, and after they left, the Jacksons called Bhatt to let him know they'd be following the advice of their midwife.

Letitia Plummer says anti-Islam messaging from GOP is a distraction

Democrat Letitia Plummer is ready for the fight. At a time Republicans are ramping up anti-Islamic messaging, Plummer, a Democrat who could become the first Muslim woman to lead Harris County, said she’s not going to let the GOP use another culture war to divert focus from the real mission of tackling affordability and public safety. “It’s another distraction that I think Republicans are doing to divide us,” Plummer said in an exclusive interview on this week’s Texas Take Podcast.

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At the Republican Party of Texas Convention last week in Houston, delegates held discussions about how to fight the “Islamification of Texas” and passed a legislative priority package that included “stopping Sharia law” in Texas. Sharia law is the religious, legal and moral code of Islam. But what it is and how it is defined varies. While in majority Muslim nations it can be part of the legal system, in places like the United States, Sharia is more commonly a set of moral and religious principles that guide people in prayer and diet. For the state's GOP delegates and Gov. Greg Abbott, the concept is a threat. “This next session, we need to leave no doubt by totally banning Sharia law,” Abbott said in a speech to the delegates. Plummer is concerned about where the rhetoric is heading. But said if she wins in November, she’ll try to find common ground where she can with GOP leaders for the sake of Harris County residents and the issues they are battling day to day. “When people are having culture wars, we’re bringing hope,” she said. “And when people are driving fear, we are driving with hope and ambition.” Plummer, a former Houston city council member, stunned many by defeating fellow Democrat and former Houston mayor Annise Parker in a primary runoff battle last month. She faces Republican Orlando Sanchez, former county treasurer, in November to see who will replace Lina Hidalgo as county judge. After two terms in office, Hidalgo is not seeking reelection. Plummer said she wants to be a new voice for Harris County and promises to mend fences with the city of Houston and Mayor John Whitmire. "I will be a different type of leader," she said. "I understand how to negotiate. I can find similarities and focus on those and work through our differences."

Driver told deputies Tesla was on Autopilot during crash through Katy-area home, killing woman: HCSO

A 76-year-old woman was killed after a Tesla crashed through a home in the Katy area on Friday evening, authorities say. According to the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office, the Tesla crashed into a home in the 21300 block of Rose Hollow Lane near Park Brush Lane at 8:30 p.m. The driver told investigators that he had the Tesla on Autopilot, according to the constable's office. "We're still evaluating what caused that car to fail to control its speed just before this crash," said Sgt. A. Turman. "We've asked people who are familiar with Teslas, as well as the driver involved in the car, to see what role the driver's control over the car played in this crash."

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Officials said the driver of the Tesla was taken to the hospital by ambulance, and the older woman, who was inside the house, was taken by helicopter to Memorial Hermann. According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, the woman was later pronounced dead. Neighbor Bryan Diaz said he and his family were outside celebrating a birthday party when the crash happened. "The kids were scared and my mom and my uncles," Diaz said. "It's insane what just happened, especially right in front of us." Diaz told Eyewitness News the Tesla appeared to be driving fast on the road before the vehicle failed to stop and struck the home. HCSO stated the driver failed to drive in a single lane, left the roadway, and struck the house at a high rate of speed. Video obtained by Eyewitness News showed the car speeding along the street moments before the crash. "Just flew straight into their home and just happened so quick," Diaz said. Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing.

“Mass euthanasias”: Screwworm could have deeper implications for Texas’ already-crowded animal shelters

After the New World screwworm was found in a dog in Texas, pet owners across the state worried how it might affect their animal companions. But the state’s uncontrollable stray animal population has the potential to make the spread of screwworm worse. And in some cases, animals in shelters could die as a result of this outbreak, without ever being touched by the screwworm. “They will do mass, mass, mass euthanasias if they aren’t allowed to move the animals out of the quarantine zones,” said Rebecca Giamona, assistant medical care director for Austin Pets Alive. “There could be thousands of animals dying in shelters because they don’t have the space to continue to cover those animals.”

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For years, animal advocates across Texas have been raising awareness about the overcrowding in animal shelters all over the Lone Star state. According to Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare nonprofit, an estimated 568,325 cats and dogs entered Texas shelters. Then the New World screwworm burrowed its way to the U.S. The parasitic fly lays eggs in open wounds, which then turn into larvae that feast on the living flesh of warm-blooded animals. And it isn’t limited to cattle, livestock and wildlife — anything with a wound is at risk of attracting the fly. This includes cats, dogs and humans. Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide disaster proclamation for all of Texas’ 254 counties in response to screwworm cases in the state. The parasitic fly has mostly infested livestock so far, but it was also caught in a dog. After a screwworm infested zone was established, the Texas Animal Health Commission put quarantine orders in parts of 13 counties: Coke, Edwards, Gillespie, Kerr, Kimble, La Salle, Schleicher, Sutton, Tom Green, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb and Zavala.

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones supports canceling Ye’s July 4 concert at Alamodome

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones expressed her concerned opinions through social media on Saturday about the Alamodome hosting a Ye concert next month. The Grammy Award winning rapper, Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — has been involved in multiple controversial moments throughout his two decade career. The mayor made it clear she dislikes the idea of a city-funded stadium being used for his concert. “I support canceling the Ye concert,” Jones said on X. Jones also does not like San Antonio hosting Ye on the United States’ birthday, the Fourth of July. “Military City USA should not host someone with a record of hate speech and antisemitic comments in a city-funded facility like our Alamodome—not ever, and certainly not on July 4th, our Nation’s 250th birthday,” Jones continued on X. “Standing up to antisemitism is exactly what it takes to achieve a more perfect Union.” Ye was recently barred from entering the United Kingdom where he was scheduled to headline the Wireless Festival in July, after a backlash over Ye’s history of antisemitic remarks, the Associated Press reported in April. KSAT has reached out to the Alamodome for a comment.

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Dallas City Council skipped budget talks as some members left for FIFA

City officials were supposed to talk about a $51 million shortfall in next year’s annual budget and how they were going to overcome it. Instead, they got a ride to the World Cup. Some council members went to Wednesday’s soccer match between Croatia and England, which started half an hour after the council voted 9-5 to authorize evaluation of relocation sites for City Hall and emergency operations, the Dallas Observer first reported. But what was not known was that council offices received an email with transit information exactly five minutes after the vote: “Please let your CMs know that if they wish to utilize provided transportation to today’s FIFA game at 3pm, there are two SUVs located on L1 Green,” read an email sent by a senior administrator in the mayor and city council office.

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A city spokesperson said in a statement that city leaders often attended events in their official capacity to represent the city, "which is necessary to support diplomatic relations, economic development, opportunities, and key hospitality efforts." The spokesperson declined to offer specifics about the transportation provided by the city citing security reasons. The public meeting didn’t continue after that because not enough council members — nine — were present in person or online to conduct business. Council meetings and smaller committee meetings have been mired in lost time, cancellations and infighting. Elected officials go over a bulk of the city’s business during this time and when council members don’t show up or leave midway, pressure grows on how fast and efficiently the city can address resident needs. Council members Maxie Johnson, Kathy Stewart, Bill Roth, Cara Mendelsohn, Gay Donnell Willis and Paul Ridley were present in council. Council members Chad West and Laura Cadena tuned in virtually. Zarin Gracey told The Dallas Morning News he was at the game. Council members Jesse Moreno, Jaime Resendez, Adam Bazaldua, Lorie Blair and Mayor Eric Johnson did not respond to The News’ inquiry. Some blame the dynamics on the council. District 9 council member Paula Blackmon said she left the meeting when she saw others leave for the game because she was “emotionally whipped.” “I look at the council and it’s just a sad place to be,” she said about the barbs traded among the council. “I’m guilty of it too and I’m trying to be careful. But I’m going to court, suing my own city. It’s not fun.”

State Board of Education to vote on new curriculum emphasizing Texas, Christian themes

The Texas State Board of Education is voting this week on new curriculum that includes references to Christian texts and emphasizes Texas history. At its meeting in Austin, the 15-member board is expected to give final approval to changes to history, social studies and reading lists that every public school student in Texas child is taught. Advocates for the changes say they put Texas and Christianity in their proper perspective of their impact on U.S. history, as well as advocate for freedom and capitalism. Critics say the curriculum favors Christianity over other religions and includes inaccuracies.

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“There's a concerted effort to teach history from a perspective that highlights Christian contributions and ignores others,” said Southern Methodist University religious studies professor Mark Chancey. “So Christian contributions to American society are emphasized but not those of other groups, other peoples.” The proposed curriculum would teach third-graders about Moses’ “contributions as a law-giver through the Ten Commandments,” and “how Christian beliefs … helped shape American ideas about equality, rights, and treating people with dignity.” The state board adopted the new social studies framework last year and worked on rewriting the standards earlier this year. A board-appointed academic adviser told SBOE the changes would “create an American and Texas identity.” Rocia Fierro-Perez, political director of the left-leaning Texas Freedom Network, said the same tenets are found in other religions. “To attribute these values exclusively to Christianity misrepresents the world and ignores the contributions of other beliefs that help shape American culture,” she said. The new curriculum would go into effect in 2030. Members of her organization plan to testify before the board this week before it takes the final vote. “Texans need to know what’s going on,” she said. “We would love to have a reasonable conversation with members, but that seems further and further away.”

The troubling disappearance of ‘El Gallito’

Ernesto Gonzales liked to hold court in the morning from a corner booth of El Rancho in Harlingen, a busy local eatery festooned with multicolored papel picado party banners—one of several spots he frequented after rising at dawn and reading the Bible. Between slurps of coffee—he drank it like water—and bites of breakfast taco, he would pause to finger his brushy, ample mustache and call out greetings. No one could predict from his deadpan expression whether the 62-year-old attorney might glance up to deliver a skewering remark, a sly joke, or, more rarely, a compliment. After decades of trail riding, running a solo law practice, and serving as mayor of the nearby town of Primera, Gonzales seemingly knew secrets about everyone, gleaned from his encyclopedic knowledge of the Rio Grande Valley and his voluminous divorce and criminal case files. He lived perpetually surrounded by friends—and by enemies. His flamboyant style verged on cantankerous.

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As a young attorney, a judge noticed the flourishes of aggressive energy he deployed in court, earning him the moniker “El Gallito,” the Little Rooster. But in late middle age, the Rooster had strayed from his flock. He spoke infrequently to his only son, and never to his former wives, though he’d quietly made sure they’d benefit in the event of his death. In June 2017, he began to fight with two of his seven siblings over their mother’s treatment and medications. He soon filed related formal complaints against the home healthcare business run by his sister, a nurse, accusing her of patient abuse, neglect, and Medicaid fraud. (She denied all allegations.) A Primera patrolman was summoned to the family home on June 21 over an argument Gonzales began over whether his mother, Francisca, bedridden after suffering small strokes, needed emergency treatment. Over his loud objections, the ambulance was sent away. Gonzales later alleged his mother had been “unduly influenced by my siblings to say she did not want to go to the hospital though I have the power of attorney.” He blamed siblings, nieces, and their husbands when she died days later, executing a posthumous maneuver to exclude some from the list of pallbearers.

2 new screwworm cases detected in Edwards County over last 24 hours, USDA says

Three new cases of New World Screwworm were detected within 24 hours, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Sunday, bringing the total detections domestically up to 15. Two of the new cases were detected in Edwards County calves, the USDA said in a post on its Screwworm Rapid Response page, which were found in animals already inside the currently affected area. The USDA said the new Edwards County cases were anticipated, even with sterile fly dispersals underway, because it does not kill existing larvae but instead prevents future generations.

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“Because a fly’s life cycle is an average of 21 days, it takes multiple reproductive cycles for populations to die off following sterile fly releases,” the USDA said. “As such, we may continue to see cases occur in already affected zones — a sign that our surveillance is working." Another case was detected in a lamb Saturday in Crockett County, Texas, which is west of the previously affected areas. The USDA said it plans to start sterile fly dispersal flights over Crockett County to combat cases in the newly infested zone. The Texas Animal Health Commission has a map of infested and adjacent surveillence zones on its website.

Montgomery County on pace to see increase in murders for 2026

Montgomery County is on pace for a slight increase in murders in 2026, but law enforcement officials say that doesn’t indicate a growing threat to public safety. Since the beginning of the year, the county has recorded nine murders, including the recent shooting death of James Blount, 81, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. “Based on the number of cases we have seen so far this year, we are currently on pace for approximately 21 murders in 2026,” District Attorney Mike Holley said. Homicides are when one person causes the death of another. Murder is a type of homicide that is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice.

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The county recorded 17 murders in 2024 and 17 murders in 2025, according to the DA's office. Holley said one factor in the increase is population growth. Montgomery County has grown from around 620,000 people in 2020 to more than 800,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. “Given the continued growth and changing demographics of our county, such a figure would not be unexpected,” Holley said. Holley said murders committed by a stranger are rare. Of the 43 murders that have occurred in Montgomery County since Jan. 1, 2024, only two involved a suspect who was a stranger to the victim. In many counties, including Montgomery County, murders are commonly the result of family violence. Texas saw 240,925 family violence offenses in 2025, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Of those, 454 were murders. “Many murders involve family violence, often accompanied by the use of drugs or alcohol,” Holley said. “This is one reason why law enforcement and prosecutors in Montgomery County devote substantial resources to addressing family violence.”

In post-DEI era, Trump admin turns to San Antonio for more veteran-owned businesses

As President Donald Trump’s administration forces an end to race- and gender-conscious contracting preferences, governments at every level are ramping up their goals to award more contracts to veteran-owned businesses instead. There’s just one problem, however: finding enough veteran contractors who have the certifications to complete the work. Top officials from Trump’s Small Business Administration are now scrambling to fill the gaps as the federal government ramps up its own goals for small veteran-owned businesses — and could soon go even higher.

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Beneath an arch of red, white and blue balloons on a sticky Friday morning, Trump’s SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler visited San Antonio to personally christen a new Veterans Business Outreach Center [VBOC] that her office is standing up at St. Philip’s College. The agency has long operated centers across the country that help mentor veterans as they start and grow their businesses, including one in the Rio Grande Valley and one in Arlington. But the San Antonio location is the first of its kind in response to rapid policy changes happening in federal government contracting. The city has one of the nation’s largest concentrations of veterans — as well as roughly 80,000 active-duty service members who could open businesses as they transition into civilian careers. SBA’s new center is designed to help them build and grow businesses that could compete for federal contracts under the same roof where the Texas Veterans Commission already has staff doing similar work for state contractors.

National Stories

Staggering amounts of fentanyl hit streets as the DEA watched and took no action, records show

Even as it battled the deadliest drug epidemic in American history, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration permitted hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to hit the streets of New Mexico between 2023 and 2025, according to three current and former DEA agents and government records reviewed by The Associated Press. DEA agents repeatedly monitored shipments of fentanyl pills — but did not seize them — as federal prosecutors sought to bring bigger criminal cases against traffickers of a synthetic opioid that the White House last year designated a “ weapon of mass destruction.” Agents and experts, however, said the tactic amounted to a gamble with public safety that potentially imperiled communities in and around Albuquerque and may have violated U.S. Justice Department rules intended to safeguard the public.

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“We poisoned our community to make cases,” DEA Special Agent David Howell told AP in a series of interviews in New Mexico. “Through our own willful blindness, we get to say, ‘We don’t really know what happened to the drugs.’ But we 100% got people killed.” The DEA has long contended it would not be plausible to seize every shipment of every drug. But the strategy of allowing staggering amounts of counterfeit painkillers to hit the streets shocked several veteran agents who spoke with AP. Ridding the streets of illicit fentanyl, manufactured mostly in Mexican labs, became DEA’s top priority over the past decade as overdose deaths surged. At the same time, its lethality — a few milligrams can kill the average adult — upended time-tested tactics that had been used to combat drugs like cocaine and heroin.

Keir Starmer says he will resign as prime minister; Andy Burnham expected to be next U.K. leader

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that he will resign, paving the way for the country’s seventh leader in a decade after facing an uprising within his center-left Labour Party. The announcement clears the path to power for Starmer’s likely successor, Andy Burnham, the popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester who secured a return to Parliament last week. Burnham confirmed Monday, shortly after Starmer said he would stand aside, that he would seek to replace the departing leader. He is now the runaway favorite. Starmer said he had spoken to King Charles III to inform the monarch of his decision to stand down, but that he would remain in the job as caretaker until a new leader is chosen.

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“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Starmer said, as he spoke in front of supporters outside No. 10 Downing Street on a sweltering summer morning. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace,” he said. Starmer’s voice choked as he talked about the support of his wife, Victoria, and his two children — a rare public display of emotion for the prime minister. “Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first,” Starmer said. “That is why I will resign.” Starmer said that nominations to replace him as leader of the Labour Party, and thus prime minister, will open on July 9 and close when Parliament breaks up for its summer recess on July 16. If no challenger emerges to Burnham he could be in office shortly after that. If there is a contest, Starmer said a new leader will be chosen by September 1. Starmer’s “decision marks the beginning of a transition and it is important that this process is conducted in an orderly and responsible way,” Burnham said in a statement. “I will put myself forward as part of this process.” One of the few people who had been expected to challenge Burnham, former health secretary Wes Streeting, said Monday that he would in fact back his leadership bid.

Why Trump has been attacking the Supreme Court, with 3 key rulings ahead

When Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch hosted a gathering of his former clerks last year, a prominent attorney and Donald Trump ally who had played a key role in Gorsuch’s rise was notably absent. Gorsuch had nicknamed his friend Mike Davis “the general” for helping him secure his first federal judgeship, leading a campaign to get Gorsuch confirmed to the Supreme Court and then serving as one of his inaugural clerks. But the relationship soured last year as the Supreme Court began to rule on some of Trump’s policies, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.

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One recounted how Gorsuch became upset when Davis lashed out at Justice Amy Coney Barrett, calling her a “rattled law professor” for siding with the court’s liberals in a pair of rulings against Trump. The other said Davis was angered by Gorsuch’s vote to block Trump’s use of a wartime authority to deport Venezuelans. The people differed on whether Gorsuch had asked Davis not to come to his clerks’ gathering or he chose not to. Either way, the rift highlighted the growing conflict between Trump, his MAGA allies and the justices, which has burst more fully into public view in recent months. That turbulence makes for a tense backdrop in the waning days of the Supreme Court’s 2025-26 term, as the justices prepare to rule on three signature Trump initiatives: limiting birthright citizenship, firing the heads of independent agencies and reshaping the Federal Reserve. Many legal experts believe that the justices have signaled they will rule against Trump on two out of the three, blocking his bid to deny citizenship to those who were born to parents here illegally or lacking permanent residency, as well as his effort to remove a governor of the Fed board.

Apple to work with Intel on US chip design and production, Trump says

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Apple has agreed to work with Intel on designing and producing chips in the U.S. "When I won my Second Term, it was clear America needed its Semiconductor Industry to come back to the U.S.A. We design everything, but we need to BUILD it here, NOW! So I decided to help Intel because we need to design and build our Chips right here in America," Trump wrote on Truth Social. The partnership could help Apple diversify its manufacturing base as it looks for additional chip capacity. The tech giant relies heavily ?on the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which has advanced production ?lines in ?high demand from AI chipmakers such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

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Intel shares rose in premarket trading following the announcement from the president. "The Technology the World relies on was invented in America. We all remember 'Intel Inside.' Stupid Presidents took our Economy for granted, and let Taiwan and others steal our Semiconductor Factories," Trump said. Intel reportedly reached a preliminary agreement to make some chips for Apple after more than a year of talks. Apple and Intel have not publicly detailed which chips or products would be involved. An Apple contract would give Intel steady demand from a top consumer electronics company after its reputation and manufacturing business fell behind TSMC in recent years. Earlier this week, Intel announced that a new generation of its manufacturing technology, 18A-P, had entered initial production, as the chipmaker works to meet demand for advanced processors. The Trump administration took a roughly 10% stake in Intel last year and announced plans to invest billions of dollars in the chipmaker to build or expand factories in the U.S. Trump previously said he "should have asked for more" of a stake in Intel after the value of the federal government's Intel position rose sharply. "When was the last time a President made America money??" Trump wrote on Thursday. The administration has been boosting efforts to secure U.S. supply chains for critical minerals and semiconductors, including by taking equity stakes in companies as part of an effort to cut reliance on China.

A California man's case highlights gaps in care and oversight at DHS detention centers

Just about every Saturday, Ulises Parias drives two hours to visit his father, Carlitos Ricardo "Richard" Parias, at the Adelanto Detention Center in California. They talk on the phone regularly. Parias tells his father about his 16-year-old sister and about his college classes. Occasionally, his dad's health comes up: his left arm hurts and he gets headaches, fevers and blurry vision. It has been over eight months since Parias' father was shot by federal agents during an immigration enforcement arrest in Los Angeles. Immigration attorneys representing Parias allege he is not receiving adequate medical care, including pain medication and physical therapy, following an encounter with federal agents that resulted in Parias being shot near his left elbow.

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"The last thing he told me was, have a good day at school. Then, like five minutes later, I heard some commotion outside," Parias, 20, said in an interview with NPR. "My heart stopped for a minute, and then I quickly went outside [to] the streets. And that's when I found my dad's car. The window was shattered." Attorneys for Parias have tried to secure his release from detention while his immigration case plays out. So far, that request has been denied. Parias' case, his attorneys say, is one that exemplifies the challenges facing many detainees in a judicial and detention system with limited resources and dwindling avenues for any recourse, including for people with no criminal record. This year brought increased scrutiny on federal law enforcement's use of force, after two federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, and on the conditions within immigration detention centers, including medical care amid some of the highest numbers of people in detention and of deaths of those in custody.

Trump administration shuttered a criminal probe into fraudster’s clemency

President Trump’s political appointees quashed an early-stage criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his clemency grant to a convicted fraudster, according to five people with knowledge of the events. The investigation, which has not been previously reported, had begun examining whether improper payments were made to help facilitate the commutation awarded to David Gentile, a private equity executive who was convicted in a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of mostly mom-and-pop investors, some of whom lost their retirement savings. The clemency grant freed Mr. Gentile last November less than two weeks into a seven-year prison sentence, and wiped away the possibility of forfeiting more than $15.5 million to the government.

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Within a few months, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, where Mr. Gentile’s conviction had been secured, opened an investigation into how the commutation came about. Among the evidence they gathered was information about jailhouse communications in which Mr. Gentile discussed making payments of $2.5 million or more to people or companies to help facilitate his clemency, according to two people with knowledge of the investigation who were not authorized to discuss it. One of the people who came under scrutiny by investigators was the Rev. Frank Mann, a retired Catholic priest from Queens who is friends with Mr. Trump. In an email sent to The New York Times, Father Mann denied having anything to do with the clemency. But people with knowledge of the prison communications say that the priest corresponded with Mr. Gentile about lobbying the president on his behalf. By May, the investigation had come to an abrupt halt after The Times inquired about the matter with the White House and the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York, where the career prosecutors pursuing the inquiry worked. In a phone call with Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Aakash Singh, an associate deputy attorney general, expressed concern about the investigation, according to two people with an understanding of the sequence of events.

Copyright June 22, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved