May 24, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Sen. Ted Cruz says Blanche faced "full-on revolt" over "anti-weaponization fund" in meeting with GOP senators

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said a two-hour meeting Thursday with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about the Justice Department's new "anti-weaponization fund" was "one of the roughest meetings I've seen in my entire time in the Senate." "There were fireworks at an epic level," Cruz said Friday on his podcast. "Fiery does not begin to cut it." Blanche was dispatched to the Capitol to try and convince skeptical Republican lawmakers to drop their opposition to the nearly $1.8 billion fund to pay people who claim they were politically persecuted. The announcement of the fund — part of a settlement to resolve President Trump's lawsuit against the IRS — came as senators prepared to vote on a reconciliation package to fund border security and immigration enforcement through the end of Mr. Trump's term.

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The reconciliation measure is unrelated to the Justice Department fund, but Democrats vowed to force votes on amendments targeting the fund during the Senate's vote-a-rama on the funding package, which was expected to begin Thursday. Instead, lawmakers canceled votes after the Blanche meeting and went home for the Memorial Day recess. "We were going to lose those amendment votes because of the 40-plus Republicans in the room, I'd say half of them were ready to vote with the Democrats on this," Cruz said. "If the judgment fund had not been announced this week, we would be right now on the Senate floor, we'd be funding border security." "We will see the administration announcing at a minimum a modification of this, because if they don't, they've got a full-on revolt in the Senate," he added. Cruz said about 45 of the 53 Senate Republicans were attendance and "at least half of them were blasting the attorney general and they were pissed." "They were screaming at the acting attorney general," he said. "There were multiple senators who were yelling at the attorney general — and it was not calm, it was yelling — and they were saying this feels like self-dealing."

Can John Cornyn overcome Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton?

As he approaches perhaps the most anxious election night of his long political career, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn might be hoping for a little magic from the ghost of Harry Truman. Cornyn, a four-term incumbent who previously served as Texas attorney general and on the state Supreme Court, has trailed narrowly in most polls leading up to Tuesday's Republican Senate primary runoff. But since President Donald Trump's eleventh-hour endorsement of rival Ken Paxton last week, many pundits have all but written off Cornyn's chances of advancing to the general election. And that's where the Truman comparison comes in. Students of political history will recall that in the 1948 election, the plainspoken man from Missouri who ascended to the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt three and a half years earlier was seen as heading for certain defeat against Thomas E. Dewey, the Republican governor of New York.

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Truman had limped into the fall campaign that year leading a fractured Democratic Party. The progressive wing, believing Truman was an unworthy heir to FDR's New Deal, rallied behind the independent candidacy of former Vice President Henry Wallace, who had been dumped from Roosevelt's ticket in 1944. The segregationists who dominated the Southern Democrats at the time formed what became known as the Dixiecrats and nominated U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. So consistent was the polling that Truman could not win with his party so badly split that pollsters shut down their operations in the campaign's closing weeks. And so confident was at least one big-city newspaper, the Chicago Daily Tribune, that the Republican candidate would romp to victory, it published a front-page, all-caps banner headline reading "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN" for its next-day edition before nearly enough of the votes had been tallied. That headline — just like the pollsters, pundits and all the rest — was dead wrong. And the iconic photo of the beaming Truman holding aloft perhaps the most famous newspaper blunder in American journalism endures nearly 78 years later as a reminder of the last glimmer of hope for every struggling politician who has ever prayed for an election-night miracle.

Can U.S. Rep. Chip Roy make a comeback in his uphill Attorney General race?

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Dripping Springs) seemed cooked after finishing a distant second in the GOP’s Attorney General primary. But a late infusion of campaign cash has suddenly pulled his race back online, sending Roy into overdrive as he tries to win back old supporters. In the final stretch of his Republican primary runoff, the 53-year-old has flown in conservative leaders to speak on his behalf, argued with social media influencers who’ve attacked his conservative credentials, and even launched TV ads defending his relationship with President Donald Trump. “There’s a lot of lies being told about our record, a lot of positions being distorted,” Roy told roughly two dozen supporters outside Brook Hollow Library on Monday — part of a breakneck campaign tour that could be his last.

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It’s a comeback effort even Roy once viewed as impossible. He gave up a safe red congressional seat to run for Attorney General and weathered major attacks from self-funding state Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), who spent an astounding $15 million on his campaign and took 39% of the vote to Roy’s 32%. The San Antonio Report’s 2026 Republican Primary Runoff Voter Guide Yet if Roy’s internal polling is correct, he told supporters Monday, the May 26 runoff election is now in a dead heat. “We just came out of the field [Sunday] night. It’s moving, in a good way,” Roy said. “All the trends are in the right direction. We just have to get the truth out there about our record.” Middleton’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Democratic chair faces calls to quit over ‘shambles’ of election autopsy release

Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, is facing mounting calls to resign over his shambolic handling of an autopsy report on Kamala Harris’s defeat by Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Martin suppressed the document for months before finally bowing to internal pressure and releasing it on Thursday. The slapdash nature of the autopsy, omitting Joe Biden’s decision to run for a second term and failing to mention the words “Gaza” or “Israel”, has only deepened a crisis of confidence in his leadership. Democratic members of Congress have called for Martin to stand down. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts told the Axios news site: “He should resign,” because of “his lack of leadership”. Moulton added that it is “utterly nuts it took us this long to release the autopsy”.

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Marc Veasey of Texas sounded an alarm before the midterm elections, telling Semafor: “There doesn’t seem to be a plan to turn things around and the clock is ticking. November is literally around the corner … I believe it’s time for him to move on.” Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, appearing on the Thom Hartmann Program, said in response to a caller who argued that Martin should go: “I agree … Having what we have right now is not doing it.” Other voices have joined the chorus. Tommy Vietor, a former spokesperson for Barack Obama, posted on X: “If he’d done this in the first place and not lied about why it hadn’t been released, things might be different. As it stands, this raises more questions about his judgment, candor and ability to lead the DNC.” Emily Amick, a Democratic strategist and former counsel to Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, said in a statement: “Ken Martin has lost the confidence of the party and voters across the country who have been moving away from the Democratic party cycle after cycle. I question how we can move forward with him at the helm of the presidential primary process without that trust.”

Rubio fends off conservative critics of Iran deal as agreement appears imminent

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday defended the Trump administration’s push for a deal to end the war with Iran, even as it came under attack from Republican hawks urging the United States to restart hostilities against Tehran. “There is no one who has been stronger on this issue than President Trump,” Rubio said, while noting he expects “some good news” in the coming hours regarding a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed in response to the U.S.-Israel war. Rubio spoke at a news conference in India’s capital. When asked about criticisms from Republican senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo on social media, Rubio said the president’s commitment to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon “shouldn’t be questioned by anybody.”

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“The idea that somehow this president … is going to somehow agree to a deal that ultimately winds up putting Iran in a stronger position when it comes to nuclear ambitions is absurd,” Rubio said. The prospect of a deal, which Trump said Saturday was in the final stages of negotiations, has created a major rift among Trump’s supporters in a conflict that has already seen the MAGA movement splinter along fault lines of pro-Israel hawks and conservative doves. Pompeo criticized the emerging deal as an agreement to “pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world,” a reference to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and weapons of mass destruction. The criticism prompted an immediate retort from senior White House official Steven Cheung on X, who said Pompeo “should shut his stupid mouth and leave the real work to the professionals.” Graham said on X that a deal could make Iran “more powerful over time,” and Cruz said he was “deeply concerned” that a deal to reopen the strait in exchange for economic sanctions relief would be a “disastrous mistake.”

State Stories

Bush Airport to be 1 of 3 U.S. entry points for travelers from certain countries amid Ebola outbreak

Houston’s Bush Airport has been designated as one of three airports authorized to screen passengers entering the U.S. from certain African countries as the Ebola outbreak spreads. Bush Airport and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport will join Dulles International Airport as the only entry points for passengers who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within the last 21 days. “This requirement applies to all passengers, including U.S. citizens and LPRs (lawful permanent residents), who were present in those countries,” according to a notice from the U.S. Department of State. Bush Airport can begin accepting those passengers on flights departing after 10:59 p.m. Houston time on Tuesday, May 26. For Atlanta, the requirement begins for flights departing Friday night, May 22.

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Both Houston and Atlanta are host cities for the World Cup, and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s team is expected to have base camps in both cities. The DRC’s first match in Houston is scheduled for June 17. Houston health officials and infectious disease experts are closely monitoring the Ebola outbreak ahead of the World Cup. This outbreak involves a rarer strain of Ebola that doctors say behaves differently from more common forms of the virus. The concern in Houston stems from the fact that the DR Congo national soccer team is expected to use Houston as its home base during the FIFA World Cup, with players, staff and fans anticipated to spend several weeks in the city. Dr. John McCullers, dean of the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine at the University of Houston, said the virus is highly deadly but does not spread easily. “It’s one of those infectious diseases that’s really, really deadly, but it’s also harder to get because you have to have really direct contact with bodily fluids of an infected person,” McCullers said.

One number from SpaceX’s pre-IPO disclosures reveals just how fragile this business really is

Buried inside SpaceX's pre-IPO disclosures is a single percentage that should make every investor lining up for the $75 billion June 2026 Nasdaq debut pause. It's a quieter number tucked into a concentration-of-risk footnote, well away from the headline revenue figure and the backlog, and it reframes the entire bull case. In 2025, a single customer (the U.S. government) accounted for 20.9% of consolidated revenue. The year before, it was 24.2%. The year before that, 25.2%. The disclosure adds bluntly: "No other customers represented more than 10% of consolidated revenue." Against $18,674 million in 2025 revenue, roughly one in every five dollars flows from federal agencies whose budgets are written in a town where priorities shift every two years.

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SpaceX's own risk language is unsparing. The company warns that the government can unilaterally "declare us ineligible to receive new contracts; terminate existing contracts at its convenience and without advance notice; reduce the scope and value of existing contracts; audit our contract-related costs and fees, including allocated indirect costs; and revoke required security clearances." Then the political layer: "The current political environment in the United States is highly polarized, and shifts in the composition of the U.S. Congress or changes in the presidential administration can result in significant changes in government spending priorities." Translation: a roughly $4 billion revenue stream sits on a switch that politicians can flip. The Federal Acquisition Regulation and DFARS compliance regime tightens the screws further. SpaceX concedes that noncompliance "could result in suspension of payments, termination of contracts, civil or criminal penalties, or exclusion from future government contracting opportunities." Washington's fiscal picture is a headwind. The federal deficit hit $1.77 trillion in fiscal year 2025. Real GNP growth has decelerated from 5.0% in Q2 2025 to 1.8% by Q3 2025. When growth slows and deficits balloon, discretionary contracting is the first thing to feel the squeeze.

Growth in Texas' medicinal cannabis program slower than expected

Texas’ medicinal cannabis program is growing at a steady clip after lawmakers expanded it last year to include more patient conditions and dispensaries. Roughly 22,000 new patients have enrolled between September and April, bringing the program’s patients up to nearly 150,000, according to state data. Chronic pain, by far the most common newly eligible condition, is likely driving most of that growth, according to several doctors and business owners. But the overall trendline hasn’t spiked as much as supporters had forecast, at least so far. The Department of Public Safety is still finalizing licenses that would more than triple the number of dispensaries in the state. And the agency has yet to approve more satellite retail stores and new product formulations that would allow patients to intake high levels of THC.

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“It didn’t accelerate the way it should have,” said Susan Hays, a lawyer who served on the DPS’ now-disbanded working group focused on medicinal cannabis. “That’s because the program’s not accessible, and it’s still expensive.” Texas’ medicinal marijuana program launched over a decade ago, but has struggled to gain traction and compete against the state’s booming, yet largely unregulated, hemp-derived THC market. In June 2025, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law the largest expansion of the Texas Compassionate Use Program to date, which added more eligible medical conditions, while also expanding the amount of allowable THC and the number of licensed dispensaries from three to 15. The changes, largely pushed by veterans groups, took effect in September. After months of deliberation, DPS issued 12 new conditional licenses in April and May for companies to begin operating in farther-flung areas of the state, where medicinal cannabis has largely been inaccessible. But those locations could take months or even years to become operational.

A year after the flood, Kerr County quietly opens the summer season

On July 4, Vinny Mifsud was only halfway through his first season running GlowRow kayak tours from his property at the foot of the Sidney Baker Bridge, in Kerrville. His small, clear, fiberglass watercraft each light up with a differently colored LED strip, so that the guided trips up and down the Guadalupe River look like something between a rave and a regatta. Last summer, on nights when Louise Hays Park was full, kids often ran to the river to wave and watch them paddle by, Mifsud said. On the night of the deadly July flood, Mifsud locked up the trailer full of kayaks and oars and went back to his house, half an hour away, in Pipe Creek. The next morning, the kayaks, his business, and seemingly everything in a thirty-mile stretch was gone. Mifsud quickly turned his property over to the local and out-of-town fire departments that sent trucks and search and rescue teams. Like the rest of Kerrville, his focus was on the larger recovery, helping out where needed with cleanups, not rushing back to business as usual. It wasn’t until November that Mifsud ventured back onto the water, taking a tentative paddle along the old GlowRow route to see what was navigable. Along the way he passed a firefighter he recognized from the search and rescue teams.

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The whole town, whose economy depends on the influx of summer crowds drawn by campgrounds and retreat centers, had been watching and waiting as delays from lawsuits, petitions, and inaccessible FEMA data during the 75-day Department of Homeland Security shutdown pushed the licensing for camps across the state down to the wire. Then, in early May, after the state announced that it would waive the cost-prohibitive requirement that camps have fiber-optic backup for their communication systems, the first camps began to get word that their licenses had been approved. The printing began. Camp would go on, for most. The summer tourist season in Kerr County ordinarily generates $102 million, 720 local jobs, and $13 million in combined federal, state, and county tax revenue, according to an economic analysis by Texas A&M’s Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center. On top of all of the horrific tragedies last year, the area suffered the loss of its economy, compounded by the $1.1 billion in direct damage across the Central Texas region. The analysis estimated that a similar decline in visitation during 2026 would result in a loss of between 26 and 106 tourism jobs, 5 and 22 jobs in supporting industries, and 36 and 144 jobs in other sectors as a result of lower spending by workers. The impact, and the continued effort it will take to bring Kerr County back to health, has been daunting, said Todd Bock, executive director of Kerr Economic Development Corporation. “It’s larger in scope than any of us anticipated.”

Dallas Mavericks win control of American Airlines Center in ongoing legal dispute with Stars

The Dallas Mavericks were awarded full control over the American Airlines Center in a dispute with the Dallas Stars over arena maintenance and improvements — a decision the hockey team has already appealed. In a final judgment issued Wednesday, Dallas Business Court Judge Bill Whitehill found that the Stars had moved their headquarters to Frisco, giving the Dallas Sports Group — which has a controlling interest in the Mavericks — the contractual right to buy out the Stars' ownership interests in the American Airlines Center and fully control the arena. The Stars immediately appealed Whitehill’s ruling to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals. The team declined to comment. KERA News has reached out to the Mavericks and the American Airlines Center for comment and will update this story with any response.

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Both of the teams' leases at the arena end in 2031, but the Stars currently practice at the Comerica Center in Frisco. In their suit filed in October, the Mavericks argued the Stars had moved their headquarters to Frisco in violation of the teams’ contract agreement — which requires the hockey team’s principal headquarters to be in Dallas — meaning the Mavericks could take over the arena. The Stars countersued, arguing the team's corporate and executive offices are still principally located in Dallas. The team also said only the city of Dallas, which owns the American Airlines Center, has the legal right to declare that the Stars have breached their contract, not the Mavericks. Both the Stars and the Mavericks are eyeing new arenas to potentially call home once their lease ends. The city of Dallas confirmed in February the Stars are in talks to potentially move to The Shops at Willowbend in Plano, but no formal offer has been made. Dallas City Manager Kimberly Tolbert confirmed in March she met with both teams about their “futures in Dallas” amid rumors that the Mavericks were looking to move to the Dallas City Hall site, the future of which is also undecided.

Texas Public Radio and San Antonio Report to combine operations

Texas Public Radio and the San Antonio Report will combine operations beginning July 1, creating what leaders say will be the largest nonprofit newsroom in San Antonio’s history. The two organizations announced the move as local journalism faces financial pressure, shrinking newsroom staffs and major changes in how audiences get news. Under the plan, the San Antonio Report’s assets will be donated to Texas Public Radio, while both organizations continue to publish on their separate websites and platforms for now. TPR and San Antonio Report leaders said the goal is to share resources, expand coverage and reach more people across the San Antonio region.

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Together, the newsrooms are expected to include about 31 journalists, which would be the most either organization has ever had. San Antonio Report publisher and CEO Angie Mock is expected to move into a transformational gifts role for one year. Editor-in-Chief Leigh Munsil will become senior vice president of news and editor-in-chief across both news teams. TPR President and CEO Ashley Alvarado said there is no planned consolidation of roles, though leaders will evaluate how positions fit the combined organization over time. The organizations say they have raised $1.4 million from local donors and philanthropic groups to support expanded digital operations and reporting capacity. The announcement comes as public media and nonprofit news organizations nationwide are looking for more sustainable business models. TPR and San Antonio Report leaders framed the combination as a growth strategy, not just a response to financial stress.

Dallas Morning News Editorial: Dallas mayor grows staff while city looks for budget cuts

Mayor Eric Johnson recently scolded his City Council colleagues via newsletter for paying “lip service to fiscal responsibility” during the year while voting “for bloat when the time comes.” He patted himself on the back with a story about a time in 2020 when he pushed to “defund the bureaucracy.” His comments come on the back of a $33 million shortfall in the city budget, and, in other circumstances, would deserve at least measured support. But if Johnson wants to criticize others, he should first address the bloat in his own office. That would lend credibility to his demands of others. Going back to the days of Mayor Laura Miller in the 2000s, the mayor’s office has generally had a staff of four to five people, plus the occasional intern and part-timers. We know this from talking to City Hall insiders and from browsing archival webpages. Miller and her successors, Tom Leppert and Mike Rawlings, listed their staffers’ names and contact information.

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But not Johnson. Not a single staffer is listed on his webpage. We had to file an open records request to find out he has seven employees in his office. Their annual salaries add up to more than $720,000, a steep sum for an office that doesn’t want to be found — not by the public or by this newspaper. Our emails to the mayor’s staff almost always go unreturned, and we know that even VIPs can struggle to get a hold of him. Council support staff technically report to the city manager’s office, but the Dallas mayor and council members usually select their aides. The mayor’s chief of staff, Alheli Garza, joined his office in 2019, when Johnson became mayor. She was a junior aide back then. Garza was promoted to chief of staff four years later, and as of May 2025, her annual salary was about $129,000, which was comparable to that of Johnson’s two previous chiefs of staff. Today, however, Garza’s paychecks come out to $167,769 annually — a whopping 29% bump year over year. “The chief of staff salary is based on the operational needs and scope of work for this critical position within the mayor’s office,” a city spokesman told us in an email. The next highest-paid position in the mayor’s office is his chief of policy and communications. Online records show that the city had posted that job by May 1 of last year, if not earlier. The top of the salary range advertised for the position was about $129,000, although the posting stated that this was a “starting salary range.” That’s a novel way to say “please ask us for more taxpayer money.”

Waymo pauses robotaxi service in Dallas amid weather, safety concerns

Dallas residents won't be seeing the white, camera-laden driverless robotaxis on the city's streets anymore — for now. The company Waymo said it's temporarily pausing its driverless rideshare service in Dallas after concerns over severe weather and freeway access. “We are committed to being good neighbors for our riders and our communities," a Waymo spokesperson said in a written statement Friday. "As part of that commitment, we make proactive decisions including temporarily pausing aspects of our service." The company cited flash floods in some areas of Texas, Atlanta and Nashville and said it's working to make improvements in those areas.

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The decision comes just three months after the service launched in Dallas. Since the company began operating in various U.S. cities over the past year, there have been safety concerns over the autonomous technology. The company had filed a software recall late last year after reports that the robotaxis illegally passed stopped school buses in Austin and other cities, prompting an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There have also been reports of the robotaxis blocking traffic during emergencies, such as during a shooting in Austin in April. Waymo told KERA it plans to restart operations in Dallas only when it's safe to do so. "We know riders count on us to get around, and we appreciate their patience as we work to get them where they’re going safely and reliably,” the spokesperson said.

Colony Ridge developers sue Alex Jones for defamation over social media video

The developers of a Houston-area residential community are suing far-right radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for defamation, after comments he made in a February video in which he called the community a "mortgage scam" that was "occupied" by immigrants without legal status, according to a new lawsuit. The community, called Colony Ridge, filed the lawsuit this week in Liberty County, accusing Jones and Pete Chambers, who also spoke in the video, of disparaging their business and defaming them.

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The allegations stem from a Feb. 6 video shared on X, which was titled "TEXAS TREASON ALERT," according to the lawsuit. The video was also shared on Infowars and Banned.Video, websites Jones operated until they were bought by The Onion and shut down earlier this month, as well as on TikTok. In the video, Chambers stated Colony Ridge was known as "la Colonia" and that it was "occupied" by thousands of immigrants without legal status, according to the lawsuit. Jones and Chambers also allegedly called the development "a mortgage scam." "Colony Ridge is about the people. We take seriously our responsibility to stand up for our residents and our community," Colony Ridge CEO John Harris said in a statement provided to Houston Public Media. “When powerful media figures knowingly spread lies about a community, there must be accountability. We will not sit by while Alex Jones, Pete Chambers, and Infowars use our residents as props in a disinformation campaign. The record must be corrected, and those responsible must answer for the real harm they have caused.”

El Paso proposal: No tax breaks, incentives for future data centers within city

No tax breaks or incentives for future data centers. That’s the basic recommendation from city staffers who in the coming weeks will present proposed policies to guide how the city should manage new data centers within its jurisdiction. A nearly 40-page policy memo obtained by El Paso Matters proposes the city establish binding “community benefit agreements” rather than offer incentive deals. Other rules would require a minimum distance between data centers and residential neighborhoods or ecological sites, and also require data centers to obtain a new kind of permit that would require a public process and more oversight. In a 5-3 vote, the City Council in February directed city staff to develop the framework. The proposed policies, which echo the backlash and public discontent with data center developments, suggest data centers could have negative environmental effects such as increased air pollution that run counter to the climate action plan the city adopted earlier this year.

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“Hyperscale data centers like the one Meta is constructing in the Northeast, and the one recently announced at Ft. Bliss, will have a significant negative impact on (greenhouse gas) emissions, co-pollutants and overall air quality,” reads the policy document. The city estimated electricity generation to power data centers would increase the city’s carbon dioxide emissions by 21% compared with a 2019 baseline. The policy proposals include: Require AI data centers to obtain a special use permit rather than the “by right” permit now required. The special permit will require public disclosure and direct City Council oversight, as well as standards around distance from residential housing. Require data center developers to submit detailed plans covering their facility’s projected water and energy use, emissions, noise and water treatment. It also would establish performance standards and mandate developers use the most efficient cooling technologies to limit water consumption. Pause on any tax incentives for AI data centers and instead prioritize community benefit agreements that require legally binding commitments from developers to fund certain community projects, workforce education or neighborhood programs. Seek greater oversight and transparency of data centers’ water and energy usage and ensure costs aren’t shifted to existing utility ratepayers.

'This affects all of us': Rising costs push Texas farmers, families to the brink ahead of primary runoff

One Central Texas organization says rising farming costs and food insecurity are putting pressure on both farmers and families ahead of the upcoming primary runoff election. ‘This affects all of us’: Rising costs push Texas farmers, families to the brink ahead of primary runoff World Hunger Relief Executive Director Beth Ferguson said the impact of rising fuel, transportation and seed costs extends far beyond farms and into grocery stores and households across Central Texas. “When farmers are not able to produce because gas prices are through the roof or seed prices are skyrocketing because transportation costs are going so high, that trickles down into our grocery stores and translates into families,” Ferguson said. Ferguson said many families are already struggling with high grocery prices and limited access to food. “This is an issue that affects all of us. When farmers can’t produce, we don’t have food in the grocery store,” Ferguson said.

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She said local farmers need more support from state and federal leaders, especially through programs tied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “We’re going to have to really figure out how we can help small farmers and local farmers instead of just helping line the pockets of these big conglomerates that are taking over our farming industry,” Ferguson said. With early voting underway, Ferguson encouraged voters to research where candidates stand on agriculture and food access issues before heading to the polls. “Know who you’re voting for. Don’t assume just because you voted one way or another in the past that that is going to be a great way to vote this year,” Ferguson said. World Hunger Relief also encourages community members to support local farmers and share how rising costs are affecting their families and daily lives.

National Stories

Elise Stefanik cozied up to Trump. Where does she go next?

In many ways, the book party promoting Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America’s Elite Universities — the new tome authored by Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik — has all the usual trappings. There’s a pile of books at the entrance of the room. Attendees are eagerly snapping up copies in hopes of snaring the author’s autograph. And there is the chitchat of friends and casual acquaintances, all the while keeping an eye out for someone more interesting or useful to talk with. But this isn’t your typical Washington book party. For starters, the venue isn’t a tweedy bookstore but a glossy trade association building just blocks from the Capitol. Here, the vibe is more like a high end hotel conference room than a literary salon. Waiters circulate among the crowd, passing around plates of hors d’oeuvres. Attendees — among them congressional colleagues, lobbyists and a bevy of former staffers and aides — queue up at the open bar in the back of the room where mid- to top-shelf liquor is being served. And, in a striking departure from the average book party, where the goal is to boost sales, copies of Poison Ivies are free for the taking.

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Speaking about the premise of her book, Stefanik says the wave of post-October 7 antisemitism signals “a turning point in American higher education, and it highlights the need for moral clarity.” She praises Trump: “We have an administration that is holding these universities accountable.” Later, in an interview with POLITICO, Stefanik made clear that she would not rule out a future bid for any office and took pains to tout her status within the New York GOP. She describes herself as “the New York Republican who has earned and is very grateful for the strongest fundraising apparatus, strongest grassroots apparatus, strongest political record, highest turnout of any congressional district in New York State.” If anyone thought the low profile Stefanik has kept in recent months since she decided not to pursue a gubernatorial bid in New York means she’s done with politics, the book party demonstrates that’s not the case. Still one of the youngest people ever to serve in congressional leadership, she has pivoted her career twice already, and it doesn’t seem like she’s ready to join the K Street-flavored crowd packing the room for her. The venue. The canapes. The open bar. It’s not quite a fundraiser but it’s certainly not an opportunity to flog books. Instead, it’s a gathering of allies and loyalists. Stefanik may only be focused at the moment on finishing atop the New York Times best sellers list but she doesn’t seem like someone whose ambitions are quite that limited. She might be leaving Congress but, it seems, she’s still running for something.

A massacre moved him to guard a mosque. He died in its defense.

Every morning, before he headed to work across town as a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego, Amin Abdullah would arrive at a tiny, worn-down mosque. Just as he would at his job, he swept the perimeter, using a flashlight to check every corner. And then he would go inside and pray, said his friend Khalid Alexander. Mr. Abdullah, who was a Muslim convert, felt he had a calling as a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego after he was pained by the terrorist attacks against the Muslim community in Christchurch, New Zealand. On Monday, Mr. Abdullah was killed in service of that calling, protecting the children inside the Islamic Center when terror arrived at its door. “Keeping people safe in the spaces he was in was always his top priority,” Mr. Alexander said. “He died exactly the way he would have wanted to,” the friend added.

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Two other community members were killed, and were identified by several Muslim organizations on Tuesday as Mansour Kaziha, the manager of the mosque store and the center’s caretaker; and Nader Awad, a worshiper who rushed to the center to help. The authorities said the three victims were shot and killed on Monday by two teenagers, who later killed themselves in a vehicle blocks away. The killings at the mosque were being investigated as a hate crime and set off new concerns of Islamophobia in the United States. The attack began when both suspects ran past Mr. Abdullah, the security guard, to get into the Islamic center on Monday, and they most likely did not see him there initially, said Chief Scott Wahl of the San Diego Police Department at a news conference on Tuesday. Once Mr. Abdullah saw the gunmen, he quickly reached for his radio and ordered a lockdown. Then, he shot at both gunmen. The gunmen returned fire at Mr. Abdullah, and Chief Wahl said that he “continued to engage in a gun battle with the two suspects.” “His actions — without a doubt — delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred these two individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque, where as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet of these suspects,” Chief Wahl said. “Tragically, he died in that gun battle.”

Trump drops shocking violent AI vid showing assault on Late Show Host Stephen Colbert — so did his White House

President Donald Trump dropped a violent Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated video depicting an assault on ousted Late Show host Stephen Colbert — which was also distributed by the official White House X/Twitter account. The Late Show ended its run next week, a cancellation that was announced last year just days after Colbert made a particularly harsh criticism of CBS and Trump. On Thursday night, the show ended with an emotional finale that concluded with Colbert and rock legend Paul McCartney turning out the lights in the Ed Sullivan Theater. Trump himself has taken credit for Colbert’s cancellation, along with a raft of other media moves, and was quick to celebrate the end with a late-night attack following the show. He wrote “Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!”

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But Trump wasn’t done. On Friday night, he posted a video on his Truth Social account that featured a fake Late Show clip of Colbert welcoming the audience back from a commercial break, but then being assaulted by Trump. After throwing Colbert into a dumpster, the AI Trump does a discombobulated version of the trademark upper-body dance. The president also posted the video on his X/Twitter account, and the White House followed suit minutes later. Their post carried the caption “Bye-bye ??.” Earlier, on Friday morning, Trump posted another attack on Colbert that carried a threat to other hosts and used the language of death. “Stephen Colbert’s firing from CBS was the “Beginning of the End” for untalented, nasty, highly overpaid, not funny, and very poorly rated Late Night Television Hosts. Others, of even less talent, to soon follow. May they all Rest in Peace! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump wrote. This imagery comes as Trump and his government are attempting to jail former FBI Director James Comey for posting a photograph of seashells forming the numerical phrase “86 47,” which the Trump DOJ is claiming constituted a threat on the president’s life.

CBS News boss 'furious' over Anderson Cooper's '60 Minutes' farewell: report

Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief at CBS News, apparently wasn’t feeling all the feels of Anderson Cooper’s emotional farewell from “60 Minutes” last week. The correspondent signed off for good after 20 years, nearly crying as he said “I’m Anderson Cooper” for the final time in a “60 Minutes Overtime” segment on YouTube. But he also expressed hope that the venerable news show would uphold its “independence” ? which has been seriously disputed as CBS News leans right under Weiss. That’s what got the new boss “furious” and feeling “blindsided” after she wasn’t given a heads-up on his remarks, people familiar with the matter told Status.

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“I hope ‘60 Minutes’ remains ‘60 Minutes,’” Cooper said. “There’s very few things that have been around for as long as ‘60 Minutes’ has, and maintain the quality that it has. ... I think the independence of ‘60 Minutes’ has been critical. The trust it has with viewers is critical to the success of ‘60 Minutes.’” Top producer Bill Owens reportedly departed due to interference, and correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi vented after Weiss pulled a segment on a notorious prison where migrants were sent by the Trump administration. (It later aired.) “In my view, it was the result of a more aggressive contagion: the spread of corporate meddling and editorial fear. It’s hard to watch,” Alfonsi said. HuffPost reached out to Weiss and CBS News for comment.

With big decisions ahead, the Supreme Court collides with a testy Trump

Vice President JD Vance made an unannounced visit to the Supreme Court last week to attend a private dinner in a wood-paneled conference room with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and dozens of the chief justice’s former law clerks. Accompanying his wife Usha, who clerked for the chief justice nearly a decade ago, Mr. Vance’s visit was a social call, people familiar with the dinner said. But Mr. Vance’s friendly pop-by illustrated the awkward dance that has been underway between the Trump administration and the nation’s highest court, as the administration has at times appeared to woo the justices even as President Trump has repeatedly bullied and insulted them. With the court preparing to issue major rulings in the coming weeks that will determine the fate of key aspects of the president’s agenda, Mr. Trump has vacillated between combative and conciliatory in his treatment of the justices.

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He has seemed ever aware and at times resentful of the critical role the justices play in determining the lawfulness of his policies, with the court representing perhaps the one force in American government truly able to thwart his agenda. At the heart of the tension: a president who appears to believe that justices, especially those he appointed, should be loyalists rather than independent actors in a separate, equal branch of government. Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement that the American people have “always valued President Trump’s ability to freely speak his mind and share his thoughts directly with them” — including about the court. The chief justice did not respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Mr. Vance declined to comment. Mr. Trump was furious with the court after it invalidated his sweeping tariffs in February. He called a news conference to vent, criticizing individual justices as “fools and lap dogs” and saying his two nominees who voted against him were “an embarrassment to their families.” While past presidents have voiced disagreement and frustration with Supreme Court rulings, that kind of language and personal animosity has been unheard-of from a president.

Justice Department scrubs its website of news releases about Jan. 6 defendants

The Department of Justice is acknowledging it has removed from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, calling the information about the prosecutions “partisan propaganda.” The purge of news releases documenting criminal charges, convictions and sentencings is the latest step by the Trump administration to dramatically rewrite the history of the assault on the Capitol, when hundreds of supporters of Republican President Donald Trump stormed the building in an effort to halt the congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

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Trump, on his first day back in office in January 2025, pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes during the Capitol assault, including those convicted of attacking officers with makeshift weapons such as flagpoles, a hockey stick and crutch. On Monday, the Justice Department announced the creation of a $1.776 billion fund meant to compensate Trump allies who feel they were unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not ruled out that rioters convicted of violence will be eligible for payouts, prompting bipartisan anger in Congress. After a journalist on Friday observed on the social media platform X that the Justice Department was “quietly” removing news releases on its website that were related to the Jan. 6 attack, including about a Texas man who pleaded guilty to assault and also faced separate state charges of soliciting a minor, the department responded through its “rapid response” account that there was “nothing ‘quiet’ about it.”

Suspected gunman dead after exchanging fire with Secret Service near White House

A man is dead after exchanging gunfire with Secret Service officers just outside the White House complex early Saturday evening, the Secret Service said. The man, who was identified by a law enforcement official as 21-year-old Nasire Best, fired shots at 17th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, according to the Secret Service. “A preliminary investigation indicates that as the individual approached, he removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers,” Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. “Secret Service police officers returned fire, striking the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital, where he later died.” A bystander was also struck in the exchange of bullets, the Secret Service said, but it is unclear whether it was by the suspect or shots returned from officers.

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Best previously had been charged with unlawful entry when he tried to enter the White House complex in July 2025, according to court records. Best walked through an exit turnstile lane in a restricted area and told officers “he was Jesus Christ and that he wanted to get arrested.” A law enforcement official familiar with the incident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation, described Best as an emotionally disturbed person who was known to law enforcement. Officials did not detail the extent of the bystander’s injuries or outline the possible motivations behind the exchange of gunfire. No Secret Service personnel or White House staff were injured, and President Donald Trump, who was in the White House at the time, was not affected. In a post on social media afterward, Trump thanked the Secret Service and other law enforcement for their actions, noting that the incident came only a month after the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner. He argued that it showed how important it is “for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C.” — likely a reference to his White House ballroom project, which is designed to include significant security features.

Tulsi Gabbard out as DNI but Trump doesn’t tee up a confirmation fight

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is resigning from her post as director of national intelligence because of her husband’s cancer battle, President Donald Trump announced Friday. The commander in chief said Principal Deputy DNI Aaron Lukas would take over after Gabbard departs on June 30. Trump described Lukas as “highly respected.” Trump made the personnel announcement on his social media platform a few minutes before Reuters reported that the White House forced her to step down. The White House slammed that report, which was attributed to “a source familiar with the matter.” “As the President said, she is stepping aside to ensure that her husband becomes better than ever before,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle wrote on X. “Any suggestion that the White House forced her to resign over her husband’s health is slanderous.”

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Trump cited her spouse’s poor health as the reason behind her exit. “Her wonderful husband, Abraham, has been recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, and she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I have no doubt he will soon be better than ever. Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her. Her highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence,” the president added. Gabbard, in her own comment on X, echoed Trump’s reasoning. “My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” she wrote. “He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”

Copyright May 24, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved