May 13, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Austin agrees to pay $35 million to men exonerated in yogurt shop murders case

The city of Austin plans to pay $35 million to three men and the family of a fourth who were wrongly accused in Austin’s yogurt shop murders case, the American-Statesman has confirmed. The tentative settlement, reached Tuesday, would resolve claims that Austin police misconduct upended the men’s lives for decades and sent one of them to Texas’ death row. The agreement still requires City Council approval. If approved, the settlement would mark the largest payout in city history and likely require it to borrow money through bonds or loans. It also would rank among the nation’s larger wrongful conviction settlements, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

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There is no timeline for finalizing the agreement, but City Council members have met multiple times in recent executive sessions to discuss the city’s strategy. The city also hired prominent Austin attorney Dan Richards to negotiate on its behalf. Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement that "there is nothing I can say to undo past wrongs. We can only mitigate our mistakes with action. I hope the exonerations bring some relief and closure. And I hope that this proposed financial settlement agreement also brings some relief and closure." "This settlement closes the final chapter of a devastating story in Austin's history," City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a statement. "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with those who were wrongly accused and wrongly convicted in this case and hope that this settlement brings a sense of closure to everyone affected by this horrific event." By resolving the matter, officials hope to avoid a lawsuit expected to be filed by Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Forrest Welborn and the family of Maurice Pierce.

As Republicans carve up Black districts, Democrats pivot to a new midterm message

As Republicans carve up Black districts, Democrats pivot to a new midterm message Democrats will be unable to respond to the GOP’s redistricting gains before the November elections, and are now turning the mapmaking fight into a political messaging battle. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and members of the Congressional Black Caucus speak to reporters House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and members of the Congressional Black Caucus speak in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling to strike down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana, at the Capitol in Washington, on April 29, 2026. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP By Andrew Howard 05/12/2026 04:40 AM EDT Updated: 05/12/2026 10:13 AM EDT Democrats are changing their redistricting strategy — again. Just two weeks after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries promised to invoke “maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time,” his side has been forced to shift drastically into a defensive posture thanks to a pair of court rulings that moved the House map toward the GOP. Now, with little to no chances left to redistrict ahead of November to counter GOP gains of 10 favorable House seats or more, Democrats are stuck doing something they know all too well: blaming President Donald Trump, and hoping it will spur voters to turn out for them in the midterms. In statements and interviews since Virginia’s Supreme Court struck down state Democrats’ new congressional map and the high court narrowed the Voting Rights Act, the party is arguing that Republicans’ aggressive moves to dismantle Black- and Hispanic-majority districts in the South will outrage voters of color and spur them to the polls in record numbers.

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“Given the highly unfavorable political environment confronting House Republicans, the extremists will not meaningfully benefit from their scandalous gerrymandering scheme,” Jeffries said in a Monday “Dear Colleague” letter. “Quite the opposite. Democratic enthusiasm and resolve have grown more intense.” Democrats are looking to turn that argument into a political silver lining. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has begun recruiting candidates to run in Southern states where GOP lawmakers are mulling redraws — like South Carolina, where the party is betting Republicans will miscalculate and accidentally create a new battleground seat, according to one person familiar with the effort granted anonymity to discuss it. There are also numerous districts on the DCCC’s list of battleground seats where Black voters — who are being targeted by the Southern redraws — make up significant shares of the population and could be motivated to vote by what Democrats see as attempts to suppress the community’s sway. “Democrats are gonna be able to go into African American communities and say, ‘Republicans are doing everything they can to take away your political power,’” said Democratic strategist Ian Russell, who served as the DCCC political director in 2014 and 2016 and still works on House races across the country. “That’s a really salient message.”

FBI created ‘Payback Squad’ to handle political cases, sources say

The FBI now has a team of special agents that’s being internally referred to as the “payback squad” specifically put together to handle politically sensitive cases, according to four sources briefed on the matter who spoke to NOTUS on the condition of anonymity. The team is understood to be made up of agents who are willing to pursue political targets set by the Trump administration, with one current government official noting that investigators are tasked with building cases similar to the recent criminal prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey. The sources — which include two current government officials, a former official and a fourth person familiar with current operations — differed on whether the squad is based out of Washington headquarters or New York. A current law enforcement official described the squad as a team of agents who know what they’re signing up for and work temporary rotations at an off-site location away from standard FBI field offices as part of an effort that began roughly a year ago.

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Asked about the matter, a senior FBI official speaking on background denied that a new squad was created with that particular name. However, this person said bureau personnel are likely referring to an effort stemming from what is officially called the Director’s Advisory Team, a group that was created early last year as a “special investigative” unit tasked with “getting to the bottom of some abuses of power that happened” during the previous three presidential administrations. That relatively new investigative team was “detached” from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and has recently added new agents out of New York, the senior official said. This official said the Director’s Advisory Team is currently building a criminal case that seeks to charge former top government officials with a “grand conspiracy” against President Donald Trump. That particular investigation aims to indict former CIA Director John Brennan in the coming weeks, likely in South Florida, according to two other officials with knowledge of the matter. The Director’s Advisory Team includes former FBI agent John Eckenrode, who previously worked on the special counsel investigation led by the prosecutor John Durham that examined the origins of the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

Ex-Texas Lottery Director quietly indicted - then unindicted

Gary Grief, the former director of the Texas Lottery Commission who has absorbed much of the blame for the agency’s role in helping international gamblers engineer a $95 million Lotto jackpot win in 2023, was indicted for abuse of public office, according to documents filed in Travis County District Court. The case, a first-degree felony, was then quickly dismissed, documents show. According to the bare-bones filing, Grief, who retired from his lottery position in early 2024, was indicted by a grand jury on April 16. The indictment alleged he “intentionally and knowingly misuse(d) government property,” specifically, “the Lotto Texas drawing held on April 22, 2023, and the value of the use of the said Lotto Texas drawing was of the value of $300,000 or more.”

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The case was dismissed the following day by the Travis County District Attorney’s office for “prosecutorial discretion,” according to court documents. The assistant district attorney who dismissed the case did not return a phone call seeking comment. Nor did Grief’s last known attorney, Sam Bassett. The speedy and unexplained dismissal of the serious criminal indictment of a former high-level state official adds another element of mystery to a scheme that last year consumed the Texas Legislature. It resulted in the resignation of the Texas Lottery Commission’s executive director, the dismantling of the agency and at least two state investigations. The lottery is now overseen by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. With the Lotto jackpot swollen to $95 million, on April 22, 2023, a single buyer purchased virtually all of the possible 25.8 million number combinations for the game, guaranteeing that one of its tickets would be the winner. No other player guessed the correct six numbers, and two months later the State of Texas handed an entity called Rook TX a $57.8 million check. The company collected another $2.5 million from lesser prizes.

State Stories

Locked in tight race, Cornyn offers bill to name interstate for Trump

In today’s Texas Republican politics, the road to President Donald Trump’s heart might just run down a Texas highway. Sen. John Cornyn unveiled legislation this week to rename a future interstate across Texas as “I-47,” honoring President Donald Trump as the nation’s 47th president. The move comes as Cornyn seeks Trump’s endorsement in advance of his bruising Senate runoff May 26 against Attorney General Ken Paxton. The proposal would upgrade U.S. Highway 287, which runs from Port Arthur to Amarillo before continuing north into Montana, into a future interstate corridor Cornyn wants branded as the “Trump Interstate.” Cornyn cast the proposal as both an economic development measure and a tribute to Trump, calling him “the most consequential president of our lifetime.”

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“Texas is Trump Country, and this bill cements that legacy by designating nearly 1,800 miles of open-road from Texas’ Gulf Coast to the edge of the U.S.-Canadian border as I-47 to forever be remembered as Trump Interstate,” Cornyn said in a news release promoting the bill. With early voting starting Monday in the runoff, many social media users connected the timing to the race, mocking the announcement as a bid to win Trump’s favor. Cornyn edged Paxton in the first round of voting but finished short of the majority required to avoid a rematch. The winner faces Democrat James Talarico in November. Both candidates have emphasized their ties to Trump, who has teased that he will make a pick but so far has stayed out of the race. Paxton has sharply criticized Cornyn as disloyal to the president, posting recently on X that “there's no one more anti-Trump than Cornyn.” Cornyn has touted his support of Trump and brushed aside suggestions the highway proposal represents him angling for the president’s endorsement. So why name the interstate for Trump? “Why not? I mean, we name highways and bridges and buildings after people all the time,” Cornyn said. “It's appropriate.”

Texas Republicans spent years courting Indian voters. Then came talk of the “Indian takeover.”

Burt Thakur is a U.S. citizen, a Navy veteran and a Trump supporter. Last year, he was elected to be a strong conservative voice on the City Council in the booming Dallas suburb of Frisco. Lately, that job has required Thakur, who was born in New Delhi, to sit on the dais at Frisco City Hall and listen as a steady stream of people hurl racist invective at him and the entire Indian community. The speakers, many of whom don’t live in Frisco, rail against invaders, anchor babies, H-1B visa fraud and the “Indian takeover” of a city where nearly one in five residents are Indian. Dylan Law, a McKinney resident who grew up in Frisco, told the council in early February that the city was falling to “unchosen, unwanted and uninvited forces.” “Be America First,” Law implored the council, to audience cheers. “And to those who abuse the system my people built, go home before you are sent back.”

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Over the last few months, Frisco has become the unwilling backdrop for a larger conflict between Republicans’ nascent relationship with Indian American voters, and the party’s rising nativist strain, which rejects anyone not born here, including naturalized citizens. The same faction that’s been targeting Muslims over the specter of Sharia law has turned its hostility toward Texas’ growing Indian community, accusing them of exploiting the H-1B visa program to steal American jobs and undercut wages. For some conservatives, Frisco’s changing face is proof that President Donald Trump’s America First agenda must be taken to what they see as its natural conclusion: cutting off immigration to the U.S. en masse. “We’ve got communities like Frisco that have been totally transformed, whether it’s Islamic immigration or immigration from anywhere else in Asia,” Rep. Brandon Gill, a Republican who represents parts of Frisco, told conservative YouTuber Benny Johnson. “If you go to some of these areas, you feel like you’re in a foreign country, and that’s a problem. America is for our people. We have a distinct heritage … and that’s something we as conservatives should seek to actually conserve.” Gill and other members of Texas’ congressional delegation have called for a freeze on all legal immigration, citing concerns with the H-1B visa program, which is primarily used by high-skill Indian immigrants. Gov. Greg Abbott, following Trump’s lead, restricted H-1B visas for state workers, a move he promoted on social media to push back against complaints about H-1B visas in Texas.

40,000 pregnant Texans faced month-long wait for Medicaid application to be processed

More than 40,000 pregnant people in Texas waited more than a month for the state to process their Medicaid applications – which an advocacy group said could delay vital prenatal care. Texans Care for Children recently released data it received from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, or HHSC, that shows between March 2025 and this February almost 24,000 people waited more than 60 days. A 2025 external quality review of Texas Medicaid also found once pregnant people were enrolled in the program they could face wait times for appointments. “When our moms miss out on prenatal care or start prenatal care late, they're more likely to have complications with their pregnancy and their babies are less likely to be healthy,” said Diana Forester, director of health policy at Texans Care for Children.

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Medicaid covers almost half of all births in Texas – representing more than 185,000 births in 2023. That’s why Forester said it’s so important to pay attention to what’s happening with the program. “It’s an indicator of how our healthcare system is functioning,” she said. “It’s a red flag. If something’s wrong, we need to fix it.” Texas is one of 10 states that hasn’t expanded Medicaid to include low-income adults that are considered “able-bodied” – which makes it one of the most restrictive states for coverage, according to Forester. That means the “traditional” Medicaid populations, or the populations that states have to cover – like people with disabilities, children and pregnant people – are some of the only groups that have access to the program in Texas. Because Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country, Forester said getting enrolled in Medicaid quickly can play an important role in getting access to care earlier in someone’s pregnancy. “Medicaid is the only viable way to get health insurance when you're pregnant, if you are uninsured,” she said. Federal standards require states to process Medicaid applications within 45 days of an individual applying. Between March of last year and this February, almost 27,000 pregnant Texans waited for longer than that for their application to be approved or denied.

Mexican authorities confirm 3 of the 6 migrants found dead inside a freight rail container near Laredo were Mexican nationals

Mexican authorities said they are assisting families and coordinating repatriation efforts after six migrants were found dead inside a shipping container transported by rail near Laredo, Texas, in a case that has renewed attention on the dangers of migrant smuggling routes tied to commercial freight systems along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office identified five of the six victims Tuesday, a 29-year-old woman, a 45-year-old man and a 56-year-old man from Mexico, and a 14-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man from Honduras. The six individuals were discovered Sunday afternoon inside a shipping container at the Union Pacific Railyard near mile marker 13 of Interstate 35 after workers inspected one of the containers.

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Following initial examinations, the medical examiner’s office determined the 29-year-old Mexican woman died from hyperthermia. The cause of death has not been confirmed for all six, but officials said it was highly probable that extreme heat caused the deaths of the entire group. Temperatures in Laredo reached 97 degrees Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. In a statement, Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Mexican Consulate in Laredo activated its protection protocols immediately after local authorities notified officials about the deaths. The ministry said three of the victims had been confirmed as Mexican nationals and that consular personnel were maintaining contact with relatives to provide legal assistance, support identification efforts and coordinate the eventual repatriation of remains to Mexico. The consulate also said it had established communication with the assistant chief of the Laredo Police Department overseeing the investigation and would continue monitoring the case while remaining in permanent contact with authorities to follow developments and contribute to clarifying what happened.

Oppose? Expand? Votes in 2 North Texas communities highlight a divide over data center growth

Leaders in two North Texas communities took sharply different approaches this week to the rapid expansion of Al-driven data centers, highlighting a growing divide over how Texas should manage the industry's explosive growth. In Glen Rose, the Somervell County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a resolution opposing any new data center developments until the state legislature addresses the county concerns over water and energy regulations. Additionally, the commissioners approved a letter to state officials urging lawmakers to increase regulation on data centers. County officials and residents raised concerns about water use, strain on infrastructure and the long-term impact industrial development could have on rural communities and natural resources.

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The vote came months after the county approved incentives tied to a proposed Amazon data center project near the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant. “Growth without planning and without guardrails can create long term consequences that we cannot take back, especially on our natural resources and even more so on our water," state Rep. Helen Kerwin told commissioners during Monday's meeting. "It is about making sure rural Texas has a say in its future and that we are protecting our water, our infrastructure, and the very way of life that our people care so deeply about," Kerwin said. Residents speaking in favor of tighter restrictions argued counties need more authority to regulate major industrial projects. "We, as a community, citizens, with elected officials, must do everything we can to combat the invasion of industrial development that threaten our communities,” said resident Brian Crawford. “As elected officials, you represent the citizens of this county. You should speak as the citizens speak, not as the developers and investors want you to.”

Gateway Church and founder Robert Morris agree to dismiss retirement pay lawsuit

Southlake’s Gateway Church and its founder, Robert Morris, have agreed to dismiss a yearlong, multi-million-dollar lawsuit over Morris’ retirement pay, according to court documents. Filed Friday in Tarrant County, the agreement comes weeks after Morris was released from an Oklahoma prison after serving a six-month sentence for child sexual abuse. “The parties have reached agreement on an appropriate arbitration forum to resolve their dispute and will now proceed in that forum and not in state court,” Morris’ attorney, Bill Mateja, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Thus, the state court proceeding was dismissed.” The parties agreed to dismiss the suit without prejudice, and for each side to cover any expenses incurred over the course of the action.

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Morris, the North Texas megachurch’s former senior pastor, was seeking a $1 million one-time payment, and annual payments of $600,000 to $800,000 for the rest of his and his wife, Debbie’s, lives, the Star-Telegram previously reported. Gateway Church had declined to pay, citing contract terms and a “defiantly unapologetic” stance by Morris in relation to the allegations against him. Morris countered, arguing that the church was using the allegations to get out of paying him the benefits package. Another lawsuit filed against Morris and the church by the abuse victim, Cindy Clemishire, is still pending. Clemishire was 12 years old in the 1980s when Morris began abusing her, she has said.

Chapa and Davis clash on performance of DA Joe Gonzales

The two runoff candidates for the Democratic party nomination for Bexar County district attorney have two very different views on the job performance of current district attorney Joe Gonzales. Speaking on Tuesday on Texas Public Radio’s The Source candidate Luz Ellena Chapa graded Gonzales time as DA with an “F.” Chapa also claimed that at a recent event hosted by the Northwest Democrats Gonzales confronted her. “He lunged at me and put his finger in my face and told me he could put his finger in my face because I'm no longer a sitting judge,” said Chapa. In a statement to Texas Public Radio, Gonzales responded to Chapa’s claim saying he “respectfully denies allegations that he lunged at DA candidate Luz Elena Chapa.”

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Chapa, a former Fourth Court of Appeals Justice, is running against Jane Davis, a veteran prosecutor who currently works in the District Attorney’s office. Davis has positioned herself as the candidate who would continue the progressive reforms Gonzales has initiated at the DA’s office. “Joe has done some good things,” Davis said. “He has been courageous in some of the things he's tried to do. I do think that many of the things that he has tried to do need some refinement. And we need to be working especially with law enforcement,” she said. One of the biggest distinctions between the two candidates is their backgrounds in prosecuting cases, which is a main function of the job of district attorney. Chapa has never prosecuted a criminal case but that experience was unnecessary to be an effective district attorney.

Ken Paxton’s Glass House

Ken Paxton wants you to join him on his high horse. Since announcing his run for the U.S. Senate seat held by four-term incumbent Senator John Cornyn last April, Paxton has held two roles: Texas Attorney General and firebrand candidate. Using the official trappings of the powerful AG’s office, Paxton has spent the past year broadcasting strong, overtly political messages to Texans. Among them: You should be scared, and you should be disgusted. (You should also be impressed by all that he’s doing to protect you from all of it.) In a rigorous journalistic endeavor, the Texas Observer looked at every single press release Paxton’s office has put out from April 2025 through April 2026. We wanted to see how he was using his official AG communications—those presumably tailored to influence the media narrative, with bombastic quotes packaged for reporters to reprint—as his Senate campaign grew more contentious and voters indicated they needed more convincing. These press releases have helped serve as useful chum to throw out to his party base as he, first, navigated a three-way primary that included Congressman Wesley Hunt, and now, a ruthless runoff with Cornyn that will come to a head later this month.

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These communiqués have also helped create a constant stream of free media, which is especially helpful given his struggles to fundraise for expensive ad buys (while Cornyn has a massive money machine). With the guidance of a rhetoric expert, and stubbornly without the use of artificial intelligence implements, we analyzed hundreds of these documents, paying special attention to word choice, the impetus behind each missive, and who, if anybody, was the target of his vitriol. The AG’s office sent out nearly 300 press releases in the past year, and the overwhelming majority were negative in tone, even those lauding his office’s “major victories” in court. In these announcements—a mixture of bombthrowing office PR and turn-of-the-screw legal and investigative updates—he used strong language, replete with moralizing and name calling. His favorite targets were companies he accused of having unethical business practices or ties to China, immigrants, and trans people. His most fervent month was August 2025, when Texas House Democrats broke quorum for two weeks to forestall a vote on a Trump-ordered congressional redistricting map and Paxton’s office sent out 37 releases. The following month, Paxton sent out one of his longest releases, which was a laundry list of his accomplishments securing “victory after victory” in the AG’s office. His second most prolific month was February of this year—during which he sent 34 press releases—the month ahead of the heated March primary contest.

Fort Worth tables $10B data center site plan vote hours before council meeting

Less than three hours before the Fort Worth City Council was scheduled to discuss a site plan for a $10 billion data center development on the city’s southeast edge, the agenda item was delayed by over a month to the council’s June 23 meeting. Council members were expected to discuss and vote on a site plan for the data center being developed by Fort Worth-based energy consortium Black Mountain, which has successfully petitioned the city to rezone roughly 431 acres near Forest Hill and Everman for the development. The site plan is for a 187-acre portion of the future data center campus that was initially approved by the Fort Worth City Council in 2025, located at the corner Lon Stephenson Road and Forest Hill Drive.

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The data center campus would contain four buildings and an Oncor substation that would deliver power only to the data center. The site plan approved by the zoning commission included increased building heights and setbacks from residential areas. Over 30 people were registered to give public comment about the data center at the City Council meeting, according to the speaker list shared with the Star-Telegram. Council member Chris Nettles said that was not a factor in rescheduling the motion. Bob Riley, a consultant for the development, told the Star-Telegram that he was told by the city late Tuesday afternoon that the agenda item would be moved to a council meeting in late June, but he was not told which meeting. The council is scheduled to hear a briefing about data centers from city staff on June 2 before voting on two zoning measures for the data center that have spent most of this year in limbo after residents, council members, and leaders in nearby cities expressed concerns about the development. Council member Chris Nettles said that although he could have moved the agenda item earlier, after speaking with other council members, he decided to reschedule the item so they could hear the city staff briefing first.

Former President Barack Obama makes surprise Austin appearance with James Talarico, Gina Hinojosa

Former President Barack Obama stopped by an Austin taco restaurant Tuesday afternoon alongside Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico and gubernatorial hopeful state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, according to videos shared online. Obama appeared to make a campaign-style visit at Taco Joint on San Jacinto Boulevard, just east of the University of Texas, where he spoke with patrons and posed for photos alongside the two Texas Democrats. “Do you know our outstanding next governor and senator?” Obama said to a group of restaurant patrons as Hinojosa and Talarico stood nearby. They chatted and took photos for about 30 minutes. The appearance had been kept under wraps for security reasons.

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The trio reportedly chatted with restaurant goers, and as Obama left, he addressed the crowd, saying, “Remember to vote!” Those who piled into the establishment cheered in response to the former president. He took his order of fried fish, mole and shrimp street tacos to go, attendees said.

Dallas County childcare tax push draws packed house, doubts

The Dallas County Commissioners Court hosted a full house of parents, pastors, nonprofit leaders and business representatives on Monday, many wearing red stickers that read “childcare supports working families.” It’s not yet clear whether a childcare tax will reach the Nov. 3 county ballot, but the meeting’s turnout reflects the growing recognition of Texas’ childcare crisis. About 9,500 families are on a waitlist to receive childcare assistance through Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, while childcare in Dallas County can cost about $11,000 a year for one child, according to the Living Wage Institute. Hillary Evans, vice president of policy and advocacy at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, told commissioners 83% of eligible Dallas County children cannot access affordable, high-quality care. Roughly 19,000 parents want to work but cannot because they lack reliable childcare, she said, while advocates estimate childcare shortages drain nearly $4 billion from the regional economy annually.

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“Too often, childcare is discussed only as a household expense, when in reality, it is a core economic infrastructure that supports parental employment, business stability and long-term educational success for children,” Evans said. Melanie Rubin, director of the North Texas Early Education Alliance, explained that the proposed Dallas County Children’s Fund would levy a 3-cent tax per $100 of assessed valuation, which advocates said amounts to roughly $10 a month for the average homeowner. The tax could generate an estimated $132 million annually, most of it directed toward childcare scholarships and stabilizing infant and toddler classrooms. Advocates asked the county to begin drafting ballot language and implementation plans this month, so commissioners could decide by early August whether to place the measure before voters in November.

South Dakota company claims $78 million Lotto Texas jackpot days before expiration

A South Dakota trust company has claimed the $78 million Lotto Texas jackpot just six days before the winning ticket expired, the Texas Lottery said. Jua-Ri Trust Agreement Trident Trust Company Inc., of Sioux Falls, S.D., was the group that claimed the ticket, the lottery said. The prize was claimed on May 8, less than a week before the ticket expires and the prize money was to be redistributed by the Texas Legislature. The winning ticket was for the Nov. 15, 2025 drawing, which had all six numbers drawn (7-17-23-28-39-48). It was purchased at Gordon’s Bait & Tackle, located in Brownsville. The jackpot is the sixth-highest jackpot in Lotto Texas history.

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Blue Origin eyes Williamson County for massive project, sources say

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Enterprises LP is considering a Williamson County city for a massive project. The Hutto Economic Development Corp. during a May 11 meeting held a public hearing to consider financial incentives for what was only referred to as a "Project Blue Hub" in public documents. The company was not mentioned by name and nobody from the public signed up to speak. No action was taken. It was described by officials as a 1.3 million-square-foot manufacturing, research-and-development, warehouse and logistics project looking at Hutto. It was said to be bringing more than 2,000 jobs with an average salary of $88,000 over the next five years. The capital investment was pegged at more than $650 million.

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The group then discussed an economic development performance agreement for an incentive to support Project Blue Hub during a lengthy executive session. No action was taken upon return into public session and the details of the incentive are not publicly known. While Blue Origin was not mentioned by name, several sources told the Austin Business Journal the company has indeed squared in on Hutto – a rural but fast-growing city 25 miles northeast of Austin – as a potential location for the project. The details revealed also line up with what was described by the ABJ late last year, in terms of a project approaching $1 billion in capital investment. "As we scale production to meet our customers' needs across our various programs, we're evaluating several locations nationwide that align with our operational requirements and mission objectives. With existing roots in Texas, the state continues to be an important part of that conversation," a spokesperson for Blue Origin said in a May 12 statement. Hutto economic development officials did not immediately respond to a request.

Texas Stock Exchange signs lease at high-profile Uptown tower

The Texas Stock Exchange has signed a lease at Bank of America Tower at Parkside, officials with the exchange told The Dallas Morning News. The deal includes several provisions that would allow TXSE to get out of the lease without penalty if certain conditions aren’t met. One key point is that city officials approve an electronic ticker on the high-rise.

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The Oak Lawn Committee offered near unanimous support for the ticker request during its Tuesday meeting. Support from the Oak Lawn Committee isn’t required, but it’s a critical step that shapes projects and informs decision-makers ahead of city plan commission and city council review. “While TXSE has taken the next step to select its permanent home in Dallas, we continue to work through a number of critical remaining items that are essential to finalizing the location of the Texas Market Center,” the group said. TXSE was announced in 2024 with more than $100 million in backing from major players like BlackRock, Citadel Securities and Charles Schwab. That figure has grown to $275 million thanks to investments from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and others.

National Stories

In blow to Democrats, Missouri Supreme Court upholds map that targets Rep. Cleaver

The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday that the submission of referendum signatures did not automatically prevent a GOP-friendly congressional map from going into effect and also rejected two other challenges contending that the new lines violate constitutional prohibitions on compactness. The rulings are another blow to Democrats, who have had a string of setbacks nationally related to redistricting in the past week. Last year, Missouri lawmakers overhauled the state’s congressional map to transform Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-based district into a GOP-leaning seat. The group People Not Politicians submitted signatures to place the map up for a referendum, which in the past would have likely prevented it from going into effect.

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But Secretary of State Denny Hoskins announced that during the signature verification process, the new map – and not one passed in 2022 that features a district Cleaver would likely win – would be in effect. Two plaintiffs filed a lawsuit, which was rejected by Cole County Judge Brian Stumpe. The plaintiffs appealed that decision to the state Supreme Court. On Tuesday, the same day that oral arguments were heard in the case, Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ginger Gooch wrote in her unanimous opinion that nothing in the state constitution stipulates that a bill is suspended when a group turns in signatures. “Had the drafters intended a referendum petition filing to automatically suspend any act of the General Assembly at issue in the referendum petition, they would have so stated,” Gooch wrote. While the plaintiffs in the case pointed to other instances where laws were suspended, such as in 2017 when opponents of right to work submitted referendum signatures, Gooch wrote that “appellants offered no evidence the secretary could have determined, or did determine, compliance with the constitutional signature requirement on December 9 when the referendum petition was filed.”

The South Carolina Republican who defied Trump on redistricting

Shane Massey, the Republican leader of the South Carolina Senate, described his party’s attempt to redraw the state’s congressional map as a “perfect example of just how much elected officials have lost their way.” In an impassioned, roughly 45-minute speech that spoke to national frustrations over anti-democratic gerrymanders, Mr. Massey listed the reasons he would vote not to return to the Capitol to take up redistricting. “Too many people in power just want to do whatever it takes to stay in power,” he said. “They’ll do whatever it takes to keep it, but I ask to what end? What do you do with it when you’ve attained it?”

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His speech came after facing days of calls, texts and online posts pressuring him to eliminate South Carolina’s sole Democratic-held congressional district. Mr. Massey said even President Trump had called him last week — his first conversation with the president — to discuss how South Carolina could help him sweep the state’s congressional delegation. “Look, I hope you can help us out,” Mr. Massey recalled the president telling him. In Mr. Massey’s view, however, it wasn’t that easy. While opponents of the ruthless national redistricting battle have often been on the losing end, isolated intraparty conflicts have impeded a wholly partisan reshaping of congressional districts. Republicans in Indiana broke with Mr. Trump last year, and Bill Ferguson, the Democratic leader of the Maryland Senate, effectively blocked a redistricting drive in his state. But few have spoken as explicitly, or extensively, as Mr. Massey. On Tuesday, he was one of five South Carolina Republicans who voted not to approve an agreement that would have allowed the Legislature to reconvene this month for redistricting. Now, the state appears unlikely to join the redistricting frenzy that has taken hold across the country, especially in the South, since the Supreme Court last month weakened the Voting Rights Act.

Tiny data centers may be coming into the homes of Americans in the future

Data centers are gobbling up land, driving up electric bills, and becoming a lightning rod for public discontent over big tech’s power in society. Maine’s legislature recently passed a data center ban in the state (but failed to override the governor’s veto). According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 14 states spanning the political spectrum from Oklahoma to New York are considering legislation that would ban or pause new data centers, as public opinion on AI has increasingly shifted to the negative. Still, despite the qualms of the public and politicians, there’s a torrent of capital for building new data centers. The biggest technology companies in the U.S. are on pace to spend as much as $1 trillion annually by 2027 on AI, according to recent Wall Street estimates. Globally, a recent McKinsey report forecasts spending on data centers will hit $7 trillion by 2030.

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At the same time, the idea of putting data centers closer to consumers, even onto and into their homes, is gaining traction in real estate circles. Major players in housing, including homebuilder PulteGroup, are in early testing with Nvidia and California-based startup Span to install small fractional data center “nodes” on the exterior walls of newly built homes, according to recent reporting from CNBC’s Diana Olick. The question of whether that model can scale, and whether homeowners, HOAs, and regulators will approve it, is up for debate. Experts point to some benefits to home-based data centers, with the home-based grid allowing for less construction needed on new ones and greater energy efficiency. “It is technically possible and already being explored,” said Balaji Tammabattula, chief operating officer at BaRupOn, a U.S.-based energy and technology company currently building out a data center campus in Liberty County, Texas. He said just as a home computer can contribute processing power to a distributed network, a home can host compute hardware that feeds into a larger data processing system. The home-as-data-center model would follow similar attempts at using latent home power for crypto mining or to sell excess rooftop solar power or EV credits.

Waymo recalls massive autonomous fleet after incident flags major safety issue

Waymo is recalling its massive fleet of autonomous vehicles over a defect that may pose significant safety risk, according to federal regulators. The action follows an incident in which a driverless vehicle failed to come to a complete stop after encountering flooded road conditions on a high-speed roadway, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a May 6 report. "Entering a flooded roadway can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury," the agency said. The recall covers 3,791 vehicles equipped with the company’s 5th and 6th generation Automated Driving Systems (ADS), which regulators estimate have a 100% defect rate.

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The company currently operates thousands of vehicles across the U.S., including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin. According to the report, when a Waymo robotaxi approaches standing water on higher-speed roads, it may slow down but fail to come to a full stop after detection. Federal regulators said the first incident occurred on April 20, when an unoccupied Waymo vehicle encountered an "untraversable flooded section" of roadway with a 40 mph speed limit. That same day, Waymo implemented additional restrictions to reduce the risk of similar incidents in inclement weather, including updates to weather-related controls and changes to mapping systems used by its vehicles.

Nebraska Democratic Senate primary winner says she’ll drop out to support independent in general election

A Democratic challenger who said she intends to drop out of November’s race for the US Senate in Nebraska to clear the way for an independent candidate has won the state’s Democratic primary. Cindy Burbank ran against William Forbes, who Democrats contended was a Republican plant in the race, with the intent to drop out if she won. Forbes, a pastor who has voted for Trump and opposed abortion access, is currently registered as a Democrat. While the state Democratic party endorsed Burbank for the primary, it has backed Dan Osborn for the general election. Osborn, an independent, is seen as the best hope to beat the Republican senator Pete Ricketts in November. Burbank wants to clear the field to give Osborn and Ricketts a head-to-head matchup, she has previously said.

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And in the state’s second congressional district, known as the “blue dot” of Omaha and its surrounding suburbs, the state senator John Cavanaugh remained locked in a tight race with Denise Powell that remained too close to call late Tuesday night. The second congressional district is a key pickup potential for Democrats if they want to regain control of the US House. It is rated as leaning Democratic by the Cook Political Report, which analyzes elections. Republican representative Don Bacon announced last year that he wouldn’t seek re-election, giving Democrats more of a chance to pick up the seat in the politically mixed area of the right-leaning Plains state. Most US states use a winner-take-all method to award electoral college votes: whoever wins the whole state gets the entirety of its electoral college votes, the process by which the US elects a president. But in Nebraska, each congressional district awards an electoral college vote. And in the “blue dot” of the second congressional district, Democrats have won the electoral college vote in three of the last five elections, including for Kamala Harris in 2024. Republicans have sought to change Nebraska’s electoral college voting process to a winner-take-all method, most recently in 2025, when the effort failed by two votes. If Cavanaugh wins the general election for the second district, the Republican governor, Jim Pillen, would get the chance to appoint his replacement through 2028, which could give Republicans the numbers to overturn the “blue dot”. It’s not clear that Republicans will actually make an attempt to overturn this process – they, too, have benefited from it, depending on the year.

Longtime ICE official David Venturella chosen to head agency

Longtime ICE official David Venturella has been chosen to lead the immigration agency after its former acting director’s departure was announced last month, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Tuesday evening. Venturella was executive director of ICE’s Secure Communities program, which deals with people in the country illegally who are in the custody of other law enforcement agencies. He also served at the private prison company GEO Group as a senior vice president of client relations until 2023. GEO Group has over $1 billion worth of contracts with ICE, according to public records. After he retired from GEO, Venturella was a consultant for the company, advising on new and existing contracts, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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President Barack Obama ended the Secure Communities program in 2014. Then-DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a memo at the time that the program alienated immigrant communities from local law enforcement. Under the program, authorities shared digital fingerprints from everyone booked into jail with federal authorities, who used it to look for people in the country without authorization. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reinstitute the Secure Communities program in 2017, during his first term. Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March and replaced her with a Republican ally, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. Trump campaigned for his second term in office by promising mass deportations. After he retook office, ICE was thrust into the national spotlight when federal officers, some of them from ICE, carried out immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Chicago and other cities. During the operation in Minneapolis, federal officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Nvidia C.E.O. Jensen Huang hitches ride with Trump to China after last-minute invite

President Trump welcomed Jensen Huang, the chief executive of the chip giant Nvidia, late Tuesday onto Air Force One as he headed to Beijing for a summit with China’s leader. Mr. Huang, who leads the world’s most valuable company, had been omitted from a list of business leaders slated to travel to China. But after seeing reports that Mr. Huang wasn’t coming, Mr. Trump called him on Tuesday morning and extended an invitation, said a person familiar with the call. Mr. Huang flew to Alaska late Tuesday and boarded Air Force One during a layover. For nearly a year, he has been lobbying officials in Washington and Beijing to allow Nvidia to sell its artificial intelligence chips to China.

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“Jensen is currently on Air Force One,” Mr. Trump said in a social media post. He said it was an honor to have the Nvidia chief executive, who he called “the Great Jensen Huang,” and other business leaders “journeying to the Great Country of China where I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic.” On Monday, the White House released a list of 16 chief executives, including Tim Cook of Apple, Larry Fink of BlackRock and leaders of other companies pushing for deals with China. It did not include Mr. Huang. That omission was noted across Silicon Valley and Washington. Mr. Huang has forged a strong relationship with Mr. Trump and has acted as a go-between for the administration between Washington and Beijing. His company’s chips have been critical to the A.I. boom that is reshaping the global economy, and are coveted by governments and companies across the world. Selling A.I. chips to China has been contentious in Washington. Last summer, Mr. Trump approved the sale of an older generation of Nvidia chips to China and planned to take a cut of those sales. But the Chinese government hasn’t approved any purchases. Some Republicans have supported legislation that would limit the scope of those sales, and last year, members of Mr. Trump’s own administration intervened to discourage him from permitting the sale of even more advanced A.I. chips for national security reasons.

Progressives bet AI anxiety will win them elections

Many Americans are anxious about artificial intelligence. Progressive politicians think they can capitalize on that. A growing number of progressive candidates are campaigning on their plans to regulate the AI industry and address the threat of workers being displaced. Their hope is the issue will help them gain support among the young, rural and working-class voters whom Democrats are eager to attract. “There’s an opening, but you’ve got to be aggressive,” Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who is running in a Democratic primary to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters, told NOTUS. “You have people who are seeing AI thrust in front of them, whether they like it or not, in every aspect of their lives and people are incredibly anxious about what this technology means.”

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AI’s rapid growth and the lack of government guardrails are quickly becoming a widespread concern among Americans. Multiple polls show people are worried about AI-related issues: 51% of Americans don’t trust either Republicans or Democrats to do a good job at handling AI, according to an April poll by Washington Post, ABC News and IPSOS. A Politico and Public First poll from last month found that 43% of those surveyed said the risk of AI outweighs the benefits. And only 18% of Gen Z reports feeling hopeful about AI, according to recent polling from Gallup. McMorrow said demonstrating that Democrats can push back on Big Tech will help the party make inroads with voters who supported Donald Trump in the last general election. “People voted for him, and then they looked at the inauguration and he’s surrounded by all of the tech CEOs. He’s grifting and making all of this money for himself while this technology is pummeling people full force,” McMorrow said.

Copyright May 13, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved