August 21, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Elon Musk is expected to point his money machine at Texas politics

Elon Musk is expected to spend big to boost Republicans in the midterms this November, according to Trump officials briefed on the matter. The precise amount could change, but the officials expect Musk to spend around $100 million to $200 million with a focus on voter turnout in key races, including Texas, where the fate of Republican nominee Ken Paxton could determine which party controls the US Senate. The planned cash injection—or any in-kind contribution relating to voter turnout—would be a boon for Paxton, who has been vastly outraised in contributions. According to the latest FEC filings, James Talarico had raised roughly $69 million compared to Paxton's $9 million. While an endorsement from President Donald Trump carried him to victory, Paxton lagged behind in contributions throughout a bruising primary against Senator John Cornyn that resurfaced past scandals, and has fared little better since becoming the nominee.

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To date, neither of the two largest national GOP entities have committed to spend on Paxton. The Senate Leadership Fund is run by allies of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who supported Cornyn, while MAGA Inc has not released its spending plans. Democrats in close races have generally outraised their Republican counterparts this cycle, so Paxton is not unique in being behind in fundraising. Numerous candidates are relying on national party committees and outside groups to make up the difference. Musk’s projected spend adds to the Republican National Committee’s $128 million war chest, while the Democratic National Committee is $2 million in debt. The two main GOP super PACs for House and Senate races have $380 million, compared to Democrats’ $116 million. MAGA Inc has about $400 million on hand; there is no Democratic equivalent. A spokesperson for America PAC declined to comment on the group’s spending plans. The New York Times earlier reported that Musk had authorized his PAC to spend at least $100 million for the 2026 midterms. But Musk's track record in setting up voter turnout operations has been mixed.

How a failed project could help solve the world’s biggest energy need

The sci-fi-worthy machine soaring 120 feet tall in the hills outside Lynchburg had been all but left for dead — a $400 million experiment that collapsed as the energy economy shifted and the financial prospects for next-generation nuclear technology soured. The faux eight-story reactor in Lynchburg, built to mimic a nuclear plant but run on electricity so engineers can safely monitor and tinker with it, languished a decade unused on a Liberty University engineering campus. Now, with the AI build out exploding across the country, a pair of engineering wizards with a nuclear start-up and SpaceX pedigree see in it a lucrative solution to one of the country’s most vexing challenges: powering the proliferation of data centers. They are betting that they can leverage a forgotten test facility started in 2009 as a launchpad to build the small, more nimble nuclear reactors that the industry has been promising for decades could create cheap, reliable energy.

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Billions have been spent developing such reactor designs since the 1960s. Not a single one of them is operating in the U.S. commercial market. Plenty of experts predict this will be yet another nuclear flop done in by spiraling costs, community safety concerns and engineering glitches. “We are now living in about the fifth supposed ‘nuclear renaissance’ in the U.S.,” said David Schlissel, a longtime nuclear consultant to consumer and environmental groups. “The industry keeps claiming they have new designs that will be cheaper and faster to build. It keeps turning out not to be true.” But in the frenzy to find power, plans for futuristic technologies that were abandoned years ago are on the ascent. Investment capital is flooding in. Deals are being inked. Silicon Valley is promising big paydays for whatever start-ups can solve their immense challenge of finding enough energy to feed modern data centers. “We’re standing on the shoulders of giants here, right?” Ben Kellie, the former SpaceX engineer from Alaska who co-founded Applied Atomics, said inside the Lynchburg facility housing the small-reactor project, known as mPower. “We’re starting with something that had $400 million in investment put into it, and significant time and effort. That’s a leg up.” One of the other two co-founders, Paul Keutelian, was also a high-level engineer at SpaceX.

Election officials prepare for nightmare scenarios: Ballot seizures and violence

Election officials across the country are war-gaming every move they think President Donald Trump might make to interfere in the midterm elections — scenarios that range from ordering federal agents to seize ballots and voting machines to sending immigration agents to polling locations. “I have no idea what’s next, and I don’t think anybody does,” said a senior Republican election official, one of several granted anonymity to discuss the administration’s actions against states and threats against election workers. “We’re just not creative or devious enough to come up with what might be coming.” As the president continues to spread lies about the 2020 election, the Justice Department is dispatching 1,000 monitors to watch midterm voting, and his most loyal MAGA-sphere allies are calling a federal election takeover necessary because, as one put it, “we’re in a revolution right now.”

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Earlier this year, Trump said “we shouldn’t even have an election” and expressed regret for not ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines in 2020. More recently, he left the door open to declaring a national emergency to gain control over the elections this November. Five top election officials in different states told MS NOW that state officials and election administrators are in active conversations with local law enforcement, state attorneys general and legal advisers about how to respond if federal agents attempt to raid a polling site and seize ballots or machines — breaking the chain of custody for ballots and potentially throwing an election’s results into doubt. If federal agents arrive at a polling location with a search warrant in hand, a state’s only apparent immediate response is to sue and seek an emergency stay from a court. If federal agents try to seize ballots or disrupt voting based on a national emergency declared by the president, state officials are actively talking to local law enforcement about their options to respond, said the election officials.

U.S. workers are paying more for healthcare, and next year will be worse

Surging healthcare costs are walloping U.S. workers, and they will only worsen next year. For 2027, employers may be facing the biggest health-insurance increase in at least two decades. Americans with workplace coverage are expected to spend an average $5,297 this year on healthcare, $388 more than 2025, according to a new estimate from benefits-consulting firm Aon. The spending represents a combination of payroll deductions for premiums and out-of-pocket charges like deductibles and copays. The burden is likely to grow significantly next year, when U.S. employers expect their healthcare costs to go up by 11.1%, according to a new survey from WTW, another big benefits consultant—the steepest rise in more than 20 years. That would represent the fifth year of escalating increases, according to WTW. “Employers are telling us that this is utterly unsustainable,” said Jeff Levin-Scherz, population-health leader at WTW.

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Expensive cancer treatments and wide adoption of weight-loss drugs are among the factors pushing up spending. At larger companies, the rapid rise has moved decisions around health benefits from the domain of human-resources executives into the C-suite, said Mike Pasterick, North America health-solutions leader at Aon. “We’re seeing a lot of interest now from the finance organization and even the CEO and the board.” As companies are forced to pay more for insurance, their workers, who typically pay a share of the premium, are seeing their own costs rise roughly in tandem. That means more dollars are held out of their paychecks each month. At Paul Wissmach Glass Co., which employs 35 people in Paden City, W.Va., co-owner Jason Wilburn said he has been hit by double-digit premium increases each year since his family bought the company in 2021. Health-insurance expenses now consume about 5% of the firm’s revenue—more than its profit margin. This year, the company raised the biweekly payroll deduction for a single worker to $50, from $40. Though the employer is still paying about 90% of the total premium, a few workers decided to drop their coverage when their costs went up.

State Stories

Talarico rips Paxton’s data center donors — but he’s in bed with them too

Democratic Texas Sen. candidate James Talarico has accepted millions from donors tied to the data center industry while accusing his opponent Ken Paxton of selling Texans out on the issue. “He’s taken nearly half a million dollars from data center companies and then he turns around and protects those companies at our expense,” Talarico said during an interview Aug. 13 with MS NOW. (RELATED: Cornyn Aide Takes Job With Talarico: REPORT) Paxton has received roughly $400,000 from data-center-connected donors, according to a NOTUS report, which cites Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, including reports filed by several political action committees. Talarico, a Texas state representative, has received more than $11 million from donors with ties to the industry, according to FEC records.

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He has rolled out his own proposals for regulating data centers ahead of the 2026 Senate race. Some of Talarico’s largest financial backers have connections to the data-center and AI industries, including Reid Hoffman, his largest individual donor, according to a Texas Tribune report. Hoffman has contributed $10 million to the Lone Star Rising (LSR) PAC supporting Talarico, according to FEC filings. Hoffman is also a major Microsoft shareholder, with billions of dollars invested in the company, which operates and continues to expand data centers across Texas and the country. Microsoft announced in July 2025 plans to invest $80 billion in AI data centers and infrastructure, including major projects in Texas, four of which are in San Antonio. Hoffman has also publicly advocated for expanding U.S. data-center capacity and energy infrastructure to remain globally competitive. Stephen Mandel, founder and managing member of Lone Pine Capital, has also contributed roughly $500,000 to Talarico-affiliated groups, including LSR PAC, according to FEC filings. Mandel’s investment portfolio includes companies tied to the data-center boom, including Talen Energy, which provides power for data centers, and Teradyne, which designs and manufactures advanced industrial robotics for the biggest tech companies. Tench Coxe, a director at Nvidia who serves on several of the company’s committees, also has ties to the AI and data-center industry. Nvidia promotes the expansion of AI data centers and has been involved in projects in West Texas and Fort Worth.

Why abortion opponents in Texas are turning their attention to banning surrogacy

Anti-abortion activists and lawmakers in Texas are pressing to limit or even outlaw surrogacy, a new step toward restricting major forms of infertility treatment. Surrogacy, though far from common, has entered the national spotlight this summer, the result of an explosive case in which an Alaska woman named McKenna West — who had been hired to carry a pregnancy for a California-based couple — traveled to Texas to seek medical care after refusing to have an abortion. She gave birth in Dallas last week. West has sought custody of the newborn and alleges that the baby’s parents tried to force her to terminate the pregnancy after doctors discovered a fetal anomaly called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a devastating heart condition that requires multiple surgeries after birth and that can still be fatal. The couple disputes West’s account, saying in court filings that she had agreed to terminate the pregnancy but then changed her mind and cut off contact with them.

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The newborn — whom the couple named Rumi — is now in the custody of his parents and has received surgery in Texas. Anti-abortion activists have referred to the child publicly as “baby Gabriel.” Disputes like this are rare. Still, the case has become a lightning rod for national anti-abortion activists, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who intervened in the case on behalf of West to argue that the child must receive life-sustaining treatment in Texas, even though court records indicate his parents sought for him to receive care in California. (Paxton, who has frequently allied himself with social conservatives, is in a competitive race to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.) West has secured representation from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a prominent anti-abortion legal group. Abortion opponents have argued that the case underscores a need to outlaw surrogacy entirely. Surrogacy, which data suggests has become more common in recent years, is typically pursued by people who cannot give birth, such as people who cannot safely carry a pregnancy and some queer couples.

Texas appeals court rules on defamation claims against Robert Morris, Gateway Church

A state appeals court on Wednesday, Aug. 19, granted a motion to dismiss nearly all of Cindy Clemishire's defamation claims against her abuser, Robert Morris, the church he founded and the elders who served on the church's board when the abuse came to light. "The ruling issued late Wednesday by the Texas Court of Appeals has deeply troubling consequences for survivors and victims of childhood sexual abuse," said state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, in a statement to WFAA. He represents Clemishire and now vows to take her case to the Texas Supreme Court. "If allowed to stand, it effectively grants religious organizations sweeping immunity from civil accountability -- even when they are alleged to have knowingly concealed, enabled, or protected child sexual predators -- simply because those actions occurred within a religious institution," Leach added.

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The appeals court ruling on Wednesday sides with Robert Morris' and Gateway Church's arguments that the courts do not have jurisdiction to rule on the defamation claims because it would require them to violate the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine that prevents the courts from delving into church discipline and ecclesiastical government. The suit was brought by Clemishire and her father, Jerry Clemishire, against Morris, his wife and church leadership, claiming they knowingly spread false statements to cover up decades-old abuse and protect the church's public image. The defamation claims stem from allegations by Cindy Clemishire, who said Morris began sexually abusing her at her Oklahoma home on Christmas Day in 1982, when she was 12. Clemishire has accused Morris of continuing the abuse for several years. "We are pleased that the Court of Appeals has dismissed the case against Gateway and the Independent Elders," Attorney Ron Breaux, who represented Gateway Church, said in a statement. "As the Court’s opinion confirms, this case was never about Gateway. While Gateway grieves and laments Robert’s child sexual abuse of Cindy, that abuse happened 20 years before Gateway was founded. Its current elders did not know of Robert’s crimes until Cindy told her story, at which point they immediately conducted an investigation and acted to ensure that no one complicit in hiding Robert’s past remained in Church leadership."

Brandon Herrera says he's a millionaire. His filings don't show it.

With less than three months before Election Day, Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera still hasn’t filed a financial disclosure report that accurately reflects his income. The popular YouTube creator and gun manufacturer, who has repeatedly called himself a millionaire, vowed in early July to refile his paperwork with the U.S. House clerk after the outlet Punchbowl News flagged that it listed his earned income as just $80,000 in 2024. Herrera has also previously said that joining the U.S. House, which comes with a $174,000 salary, would be a “90+% pay cut.” At the time, his campaign manager, Kimmie Gonzalez, told Punchbowl that his team was “working to submit a revised financial disclosure report within the coming weeks.”

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Gonzalez said this week that the previous filing was done by a friend of Herrera’s, and Herrera is now using the services of the Washington, D.C., law firm Holtzman Vogel. “The friend just did not have the experience needed for this level of reporting,” Gonzalez said. “The updated report will be out soon. I don't have a date. I don't have a timeline, but it will be out soon.” Herrera is running to succeed former U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, who stepped down this year amid backlash over an affair he had with a staffer who later died by suicide. The district, which includes San Antonio, Uvalde and a large swath of West Texas, leans Republican but Democrats see an opportunity to flip the seat. Herrera is required by law to file a financial disclosure, but as a candidate, he’s not mandated to refile it if discrepancies arise. Doug Spencer, a law professor at the University of Colorado who specializes in campaign finance regulation, said it’s rare for a candidate’s past filings to be called into question by the committee once they take office.

Secretary of Energy tours Exxon and HP drilling rig, addresses crowd at Bush Convention Center

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Midland on Monday to mark what the Energy Department calls the “Great American Energy Comeback.” Organized by the Permian Strategic Partnership, Wright toured an Exxon and HP drilling rig early in the morning before heading to a rally at the Bush Convention Center. The United States led the world in oil and natural gas production, according to the department. Wright said the world’s growing energy demand requires expanded production. “We have a billion people that live wonderful lives like us, and 7 billion more who want it, the only road from here to there is massively more oil and gas, growing of coal, growing of all energy that’s affordable, reliable, and secure, it’s one of the things I’m proudest of the Trump administration,” Wright said.

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Wright also addressed pushback on new energy projects like data centers, saying it comes down to choice. “So when we hear things demonized and people are trying to scare your neighbors and your friends against new technologies and new progress, let’s be skeptical about that, let’s listen about that, and let’s drive progress in our country,” Wright said. “We don’t need a data center in every community, that’s not necessary at all, people don’t want them, no problem, don’t do it, this is a choice,” Wright said. “But let’s look at that choice rationally. This is going to bring more benefits than it’s going to cost, let’s lean in on it.” U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, also spoke at the rally, praising the region’s role in the industry’s future. “The future starts right here, it’s in Midland, it’s in Odessa, it’s in the Permian Basin all in this great region, we’ve got the resources, we’ve have the technology, and most importantly, the people of the Permian Basin are making this story better and better every single day,” Pfluger said.

Studies say Austin-San Antonio passenger rail requires $13 billion or a route Union Pacific resists

A passenger rail link between Austin and San Antonio, long dreamed about by local officials and commuters who would rather watch YouTube than white-knuckle it between semi-trucks on I-35, is now being presented with two very different paths forward. But the cheaper of those two paths is already running into the same obstacle that helped kill the last serious effort: Union Pacific says its freight railroad still doesn't have capacity for any more passenger trains beyond the extremely limited existing service. Amtrak's slow rolling Texas Eagle runs only once a day, and even that service arrives on schedule just 56% of the time. The other option would build an all-new, mostly elevated railroad starting at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and following State Highway 130 to Interstate 10. That avoids Union Pacific but bypasses the biggest population centers between Austin and San Antonio. It also comes with a much heftier price tag: $13.5 billion.

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The two choices are laid out in separate studies released this summer, both prepared by engineering firm HNTB. TxDOT published a study in June that considered adding passenger trains to the existing Union Pacific corridor. This week, Travis County released the study on whether a new railroad could be built along SH 130 and I-10. The 62-page report cost almost $125,000. At a high level, engineers found either concept could work. But the studies also exposed the tradeoffs that have prevented Austin-San Antonio passenger rail from becoming a reality, despite millions of dollars spent on studies and planning. On paper, the Union Pacific option is more affordable. TxDOT studied running up to eight round trips a day between Austin and San Antonio, with stops in New Braunfels and San Marcos. The most ambitious scenario would require almost $1.9 billion in new tracks, signals, stations and other infrastructure. Annual operation and maintenance costs could top $61 million. But that study came with an major limitation: Union Pacific declined to participate. So TxDOT had to make assumptions about how passenger and freight trains could use the railroad by relying on federal data and "engineering judgment." Union Pacific is now making clear it disagrees with the premise of the study.

Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee sues CenterPoint after lineman's death

The family of a 28-year-old Texas City lineman who was fatally shocked while working on CenterPoint Energy’s electric system is suing the utility, alleging his crew had been told the lines were de-energized when they were actually live. Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee announced Aug. 20 that he had filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ryne Cooper’s family. Cooper died Aug. 11 while working on CenterPoint’s system, according to records provided by Buzbee. The lawsuit alleges CenterPoint and Cooper’s employer, Power Contracting LLC, failed to follow basic safeguards for high-voltage work, including accurately identifying and de-energizing lines and confirming they were safe before the crew began working. CenterPoint said it does not comment on pending litigation.

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Cooper, 28, and his crew were working on lines they had been told were de-energized but were instead live, the lawsuit alleges. While setting new poles, Cooper operated a switch and came into contact with an energized line, according to the lawsuit. Three crew members were injured while trying to pull him away, including one who remained hospitalized, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit claims CenterPoint was negligent and grossly negligent for failing to "exercise reasonable care with the extraordinary dangers of high-voltage electricity, including the duty to accurately identify and de-energize its lines before representing them as dead, to issue accurate maps, switching orders, and clearances, and to maintain its switching equipment in safe working condition." Power Contracting LLC, an electrical infrastructure contractor affiliated with Pike Corporation and Cooper’s employer, was hired by CenterPoint Energy and is also named in the lawsuit. In an email, Buzbee said he has sued CenterPoint "far too many times for far too many widows."

Blue Origin appears to have homed in on a site in Hutto

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Enterprises LP appears to have squared in on a site for its potentially game-changing project in Hutto. Public documents tie the company for the first time by name to the project in Hutto, a small-but-booming suburb about 35 miles northeast of Austin. It has been described as a more than $850 million project that could create 2,000 jobs – and span at least 1.3 million square feet of manufacturing, research-and-development, warehouse and logistics space. It also now appears, based on those same documents, that Blue Origin is eyeing the Hutto Crossing development for at least a portion of the project. The 118-acre development is owned by a joint venture of Dallas-based Velocis, Austin-based Ironwood Realty Partners LLC and California-based MBK Industrial Properties.

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That's all according to an Aug. 20 special meeting agenda for the Williamson County Commissioners Court. The commissioners at that meeting unanimously approved an incentives agreement with entities tied to Blue Origin and the Hutto Crossing development team. The project was previously referred to in executive session discussions as "Project Speed Racer." The agreement, which was discussed primarily in executive session before being voted on publicly, is related to the "construction and operation of approximately one million square foot of industrial research space in Hutto, Texas for research, development, inspection, testing, and manufacturing related to the aerospace and defense industry," according to the county documents. County Judge Steven Snell said he's excited about the "potential partnership if the deal comes home." He said the incentive is contingent on a $674 million investment in real and personal property, and the creation of 2,000 jobs at full buildout. Those full-time positions would come with an average salary of $88,000. It includes an initial lease and the potential to build another site in the future. The County opted to match Hutto's incentives, which have not been publicly disclosed.

Harris County committee recommends $40,000 pay boost for treasurer, despite effort to eliminate position

Despite commissioners vowing to eliminate her position, a Harris County committee established to field elected officials’ salary complaints voted to give County Treasurer Carla Wyatt a $40,000 pay raise. The recommendation will go before Harris County Commissioners Court for a final vote on her salary increase. Wyatt, a 24-year veteran of the county, asked the nine-member salary grievance committee for a 119% pay increase Thursday to bring her salary from $139,000 to $305,000 — about $50,000 more than she had originally requested in an official grievance filing.

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Wyatt’s request, which was quickly struck down by the committee made up of community members, would have brought her pay in line with recent raises approved for other elected officials, including the county and district attorneys. County commissioners also approved major pay boosts for each of the eight elected county constables earlier this month. With a final upcoming vote on the county budget, they will also be paid $305,000 — higher than the U.S. vice president’s salary. Wyatt said she serves the same number of residents as other county officials who received pay boosts, and pointed blame at the court for not increasing her pay to match theirs. “I have been here, I’m a countywide elected official, the people of Harris County put me here, and so I plan to continue to serve them in this capacity,” Wyatt said Thursday. “I don’t intend to be disrespected.”

Suzanne Bellsnyder: The voucher numbers are in. Rural Texas isn’t surprised.

I’ve spent two decades in and around the Texas Capitol, working with Republican officeholders who believed in school choice as part of a larger accountability system. That’s exactly why the first numbers on Texas’ billion-dollar voucher program should trouble conservatives, not just critics. The newly appointed Texas Comptroller has released data showing who is using Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA), also known to the rest of us as vouchers. The results won’t surprise those of us in rural Texas. Well, well, well. You don’t say. Participation is concentrated in urban areas where private schools exist, and many of the students slated to receive the money were already attending private school or being homeschooled.

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A program sold as an escape route for children trapped in failing public schools is functioning largely as a taxpayer subsidy for choices families had already made. “No Texas child should be trapped in a failing school or forced to attend a school that is unable to provide the services they need,” Comptroller Don Huffines said. That was the pitch. But approximately 70% of students who had joined the program or still had pending invitations were already attending private school or being homeschooled. Senate Bill 2, passed in 2025, created the program, and lawmakers appropriated $1 billion for its first year. The standard private-school award is $10,474. More than 274,000 students applied, and approximately 101,600 had confirmed participation by August 13. To be fair, supporters can point to several outcomes as wins. Four in five participants in the annual report came from households earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level—about $66,000 for a family of four—and nearly one-fourth had a documented disability.

Westlake mayor defends data center on Keller border but admits it’s a 'tough situation'

It doesn’t feel good to be called a bad neighbor, Westlake Mayor Kim Greaves said Tuesday. But that was the accusation made over and over during a fiery meeting on Monday by one Keller resident after another. Greaves told WFAA it was “terrible.” “There’s no other word for it,” he said. “I feel bad for the situation. But this issue is really around, does the town of Westlake have a right for economic development the way we see fit inside our own borders?” Westlake was about to approve a development agreement with PowerHouse to build a 1.1 million-square-foot data center on a parcel of land on Highway 377.

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The center would be more than 3,000 feet from homes in Westlake. But just 500 feet from homes in neighboring Keller. It's a discrepancy Greaves says Keller bears some responsibility for, because he says Keller rezoned the adjacent land, allowing homes to be built beside property they have no control over. “There’s unintended consequences when you take a piece of land that was industrial commercial, you change that, next to another town that is industrial commercial,” Greaves said. “And we’ve been very consistent last three administrations that that is the beginning of the Alliance corridor.” The Alliance corridor is a massive tech and logistics hub in Tarrant County. “It’s just a terrible situation, but should we be penalized for our economic development for decisions they made years ago?” Greaves asked. Tuesday night, Keller’s city council unanimously approved authorizing special counsel for the city to “take all steps necessary to take legal action” to try to stop the data center from being built. “We find no joy in this decision, but are confident exploring every legal avenue is in the in best interest of Keller and our residents,” Keller Mayor Ross McMullin said.

Concerns about the New World screwworm have put Texas pet adoptions on hold

Adoptions are on hold for thousands of dogs and cats in Texas, potentially putting the animals at risk of being euthanized, because of efforts to stop the spread of the New World screwworm, an insect that has crossed the border from Mexico into the United States for the first time in 60 years. The flesh-eating parasite threatens the nation’s $113 billion beef industry, prompting federal officials to close the border to cattle movements. Because the screwworm also can infect pets, most states have restricted the movement of animals from infested areas of Texas, leading to crowded conditions in state shelters that rely on adoptions to other regions of the country. “It’s thrown a wrench into things, for small rescues as well as the bigger shelters,” said Mia Bendixsen, executive director of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, which promotes animal welfare laws.

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The screwworm can lay eggs that hatch into flesh-eating larvae in the wounds or mucous of any mammal, and of the dozens of infections in southern Texas and southeastern New Mexico, several have been in dogs. Forty-four states have restricted the movements of pets from infested areas, creating a hardship for shelters from Texas that typically send thousands of animals to other states each year. In an AP interview, the shelter director for the Houston Humane Society, Aaron Grady, says the New World screwworm outbreak is complicating the annual flow of dogs and cats from Texas to other states. In Corpus Christi, the Gulf Coast Humane Society couldn’t get rescued dogs into New York state for weeks, causing the shelter’s animal population to climb from around 325 to nearly 450.The shelter, which sends about 500 dogs a year outside Texas, created more space in outdoor exercise areas until New York again allowed dogs from Texas — if a veterinarian first certified that each one wasn’t infected with the screwworm. She added that if her shelter doesn’t have space to take animals from municipal shelters, “then they have to euthanize more animals.”

HPD says Flock vandalism stalled attempted child kidnapping probe

Houston police said Thursday night that vandalism of Flock license plate cameras hindered their investigation of an attempted child kidnapping. At a community meeting at a downtown police station, Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz said the department received a report Sunday that a man had tried to lure a third-grade student into his car at Memorial Elementary's SPARK Park. Officers have yet to identify a suspect and are unable to track the car he was driving because three nearby license plate cameras had been cut down. "Unfortunately, some person that's not really cool with the license plate reader technology chose to cut the three down," Diaz said. "We're kind of hindered by that, but we're still working on it."

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The case adds to Houston's escalating debate over automated license plate readers. Critics have raised privacy concerns about the technology, while law enforcement officials say the cameras can provide valuable evidence in criminal investigations. Flock cameras automatically photograph passing vehicles and record license plate information that police can search during investigations. Cameras across Houston have recently been cut down or spray-painted. Diaz said officers canvassed the area around Memorial Elementary on Sunday and contacted Houston ISD about the attempted kidnapping. He also said residents in the area have declined to share footage from their home security cameras, further hindering the investigation. Police ask anyone who may have seen a man driving a red sedan around Memorial Elementary on Sunday to contact them.

National Stories

California draws more startup investment than all other 49 states combined

California is in the midst of a record-shattering investment wave, fueled by the artificial-intelligence boom in Silicon Valley. Companies based in the Golden State have drawn around $366 billion of venture capital since the beginning of the year, according to data provider PitchBook. That’s more than three times the amount of venture funding that has gone into the other 49 states combined, and nearly double California’s previous record, set in 2025. New York state ranks a distant second in venture-capital investment, with $27 billion in deals announced so far this year. California’s funding keeps coming despite the threat of a billionaire tax that detractors, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have warned could scare off investors.

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Thus far, at least, investments in the biggest AI companies are keeping the frenzy going while the state’s billionaire class waits to see if voters back the new levy in November. The capital pouring into AI has supercharged housing prices in San Francisco and created a new class of millionaires overnight. But the boom is reverberating beyond the tech-centric Bay Area: the money has also helped ease the state government’s chronic budget deficit by helping push income-tax revenues well above forecasts. In May 2025, California’s finance department projected $126 billion in personal-income tax revenues for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Actual income taxes instead generated around $147 billion, as AI enthusiasm fueled a soaring stock market and boosted compensation for tech workers. Future initial public offerings of young AI companies that are raising venture funding today will produce additional tax revenue from capital gains. The windfall hasn’t solved California’s long-term budget challenges but has given state leaders some unexpected, near-term flexibility.

As USS Lincoln heads home, mental health experts tally the stressors of life at sea

The USS Abraham Lincoln — which has been participating in U.S. military operations in the war with Iran — is now on its way home. The roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard that ship have spent a grueling nine months at sea with little relief. Reports have emerged of deteriorating conditions — and of deteriorating mental health, including apparent attempts by crewmembers to jump overboard. The Navy has not confirmed those reports and NPR has not independently verified them. "A small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life," Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said in a statement last week. Experts say while the physical circumstances are difficult, a lack of careful and consistent messaging from leadership at the highest levels also contributed to the crews' mental distress.

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The USS Lincoln is like a small city, according to Armen Kurdian, a retired U.S. Navy captain who served aboard the aircraft carrier in 2005. The labor aboard the carrier, he says, can be uniquely physical and difficult. "?It takes a toll on your body," says Kurdian. "The plane captains are out there on the flight deck — you know, these 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds lugging these 100-pound chains on their backs in 120-degree weather." He describes dehydration and exhaustion as pilots have to take off and land on the carriers, sometimes at night and in bad weather, and "then just being mentally prepared to go fly because lives are at stake." In the off-hours, Kurdian says there is little to no privacy, with people sleeping in crowded quarters. While difficult, these conditions can be bearable, he adds. But experts say once uncertainty is thrown into this equation, it can push people to their mental brink.

The Democrats’ one neat trick to try to win a Senate majority

The battle for the Senate in 2026 comes with some fascinating wrinkles: In a trio of races — Idaho, Nebraska and South Dakota — the Democrat has dropped out to help an independent try to win in a red state. But this strategy has already been attempted in a handful of Senate races in recent years, and it has yet to actually work — at least at the federal level. So … could it this year? It remains unlikely. But history suggests it’s worth it to keep trying. It at least gives Democrats a better shot of depriving Republicans of seats in states where a Democratic nominee probably wouldn’t have a chance at winning. In fact, when this setup has been tried, Republicans have had some of their worst Senate results in recent history in those states.

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The big examples of this strategy in recent years have been the independent candidacies of Kansas’ Greg Orman in 2014, Utah’s Evan McMullin in 2022 and Nebraska’s Dan Osborn in 2024. Osborn, a Navy veteran and union organizer, is trying again in 2026. He’s joined in Idaho by Todd Achilles, a former state House member, and in South Dakota by Brian Bengs, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who previously ran for Senate as a Democrat. Osborn’s race two years ago was arguably the most successful use of this strategy to date in a Senate race. While he lost, he held GOP Sen. Deb Fischer to a considerably lower share of the vote (53%) than President Donald Trump took on the same ballot (59%). Osborn’s 7-point loss was also significantly closer than Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ 21-point loss. Fischer’s performance was also the worst for a Republican in Nebraska since Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson last won the state 20 years ago.

Progressive overcomes AIPAC opposition to win race to replace Swalwell

Aisha Wahab, a progressive Democratic state senator, defeated Melissa Hernandez, a moderate Democrat, in a special election to replace Eric Swalwell in California, according to The Associated Press. Mr. Swalwell abruptly resigned in April amid accusations of sexual misconduct. Ms. Wahab was widely seen as the front-runner to represent California’s 14th Congressional District, after she won the June primary for the race with 43 percent of the vote. But this week’s election results were far tighter, and the race was too close to call for two days as local officials continued to count ballots until Thursday. In the closing days of the race, several super PACs — including two with ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — spent millions on advertisements on television and social media targeting the district’s voters in the suburbs east of San Francisco.

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United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, spent roughly $2.5 million, primarily denouncing Ms. Wahab. Neither candidate had made foreign policy central to their campaign. But the race became the latest in a string of Democratic primaries that pitted candidates from the more progressive faction of the party against those from the establishment wings in a kind of proxy battle over Israel. This month, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan after AIPAC spent $32 million in an attempt to defeat him. Dr. El-Sayed won in part by making criticism of the group central to his campaign. Ms. Wahab’s victory is another sign of the committee’s weakened influence in Democratic primaries, even through its constant heavy spending. Another super PAC that spent nearly $300,000 to support Ms. Wahab was specifically created to counter AIPAC money.

'I heard you missed me': Melania Trump turns heads in patriotic Rose Garden look for major announcement

First lady Melania Trump made a memorable return to the White House Rose Garden Thursday, greeting the crowd with a playful five-word message before an announcement filled with patriotism and horsepower. "I heard you missed me. Here I am," Trump said as she took the podium, as the crowd — including President Donald Trump — erupted in laughter. The first lady stood before a wall of American flags in a crisp sky-blue oversized Michael Kors shirt with the collar popped and a vivid red Dior pencil skirt, echoing the patriotic setting. She completed the look with red Manolo Blahnik suede pumps.

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And Trump's clothes weren't the only thing turning heads. Sitting nearby was an IndyCar decked out in red, white and blue and carrying the branding of the first lady's "BE BEST" and Fostering the Future initiatives. Trump couldn't resist giving the machine her own review. "Look at this incredible race car," she told the crowd. "Gorgeous and powerful." The car brought horsepower to the White House grounds just days before IndyCar drivers are set to roar through the nation's capital for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. Six-time IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon joined Trump alongside 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi, Graham Rahal and Scott McLaughlin. IndyCar President Doug Boles said the cars will blast through the capital at speeds exceeding 180 mph, passing the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument and racing around the National Mall. He described the event as a "massive and very fast spectacle" marking America's 250th birthday.

As local news dies, white nationalists see an opening

As economic pressures gut local newsrooms across the country, white nationalist figures see an untapped opening: stepping into media deserts where there are few journalists left to sound the alarm. “Local media has been dying all over America, which means that there’s essentially no real way to hold local governments accountable—and they can do whatever they want,” Kevin DeAnna told an invitation-only gathering of approximately 50 white nationalists in Rome. Breaking into a broad smile, he excitedly added: “You should be fantasizing about this. This is a good thing.” DeAnna, a prolific propagandist who has operated under a variety of pseudonyms and who has called for turning the country into a White ethnostate, celebrated the decline of local media earlier this year during an annual retreat hosted by the white nationalist Counter Currents publishing house.`

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“So, if you wanna get the most bang for your buck, activate rural America—‘cause that’s where White people are,” DeAnna argued in a video that was just recently posted online. “And these are White people that are not voting. These are White people who are angry and who are radical and have no one talking to them.” DeAnna’s remarks were part of a “Pitch to a Billionaire” panel during the Rome retreat that focused on how white nationalists could solicit funding from the world’s wealthiest people. Ironically, the white nationalist figure met with tech billionaire Peter Thiel in 2016, according to reporting by BuzzFeed and the Southern Poverty Law Center. “DeAnna’s work under the pseudonym ‘Gregory Hood’ drew upon foundational white nationalist and neo-Nazi texts that have inspired numerous acts of domestic terrorism,” SPLC senior researcher Hannah Gais wrote.

Federal government thins the herds of wild horses in Colorado

A helicopter swooped through the bright blue sky, as a pilot scanned the high desert below for wild horses running through the dusty sagebrush, about an hour's drive west of Meeker, Colorado. A small group of reporters and horse lovers watched from the cover of wizened trees, about a mile from a pen that would trap the horses. Horse advocate Robyn Smith spotted the first group of the day. Through her high-powered camera lens, she watched about half a dozen horses of various colors galloping together. "It makes me happy they're living their best life," said Smith, a retired architect who has traveled across the West to photograph wild horses. "And it's just such a beautiful thing to see when you're just wild and free like that."

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But she knew what would come next. Soon the helicopter was hovering above the horses, including a baby. They ran away from the loud buzz and toward the pen, just out of view. Scenes like this are common across the American West. The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), part of the U.S. Interior Department, oversees both wild horses and the public rangeland they call home across 10 Western states. When the agency determines there are more horses than the land can support, it removes a set number. For this gathering event in rural Colorado, about 1,000 are slated for capture. Most of the gathered horses will end up in controversial long-term holding facilities that some horse advocates equate with prisons. As Smith watched the horses gather in the pen, she clicked her camera's shutter in rapid fire and started to cry. She explained that once captured, the horses will be separated. The BLM reunites particularly young foals with their mothers. Otherwise, none of the horses will likely be together again. "That's a family. That's a family out there," Smith said through tears. "It's a family broken."

Copyright August 21, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved