April 18, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Trump picks top Texas health official for CDC deputy director

President Donald Trump has chosen Dr. Jennifer Shuford, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, to serve as deputy director and chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump announced Shuford’s selection among a slate of CDC hires in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, including his pick for CDC director, Dr. Erica Schwartz. “These Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine have the knowledge, experience, and TOP degrees to restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC,” Trump said in his post. Schwartz, who served as deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first term, must have her nomination confirmed by the U.S. Senate before she can assume the role. As deputy, Shuford will not have to undergo a Senate confirmation process.

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Shuford has led DSHS in Texas since 2022 after serving as the state’s chief epidemiologist and helping to lead the COVID-19 response here. She trained as an infectious disease physician at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and has a Master of Public Health from Harvard University. In a news release, representatives for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), of which Shuford is a board member, praised her appointment. "Dr. Shuford has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a steadfast commitment to evidence-based public health," said Dr. Joseph Kanter, CEO of ASTHO. "Her experience leading one of the nation's largest and most complex state health agencies — particularly her work as a frontline infectious disease physician and chief state epidemiologist — makes her uniquely qualified to help lead CDC." As commissioner of DSHS, Shuford oversaw the state’s response to the West Texas measles outbreak of 2025 and publicly spoke about the importance of vaccination to prevent the disease’s spread. Schwartz, too, has been a vocal supporter of vaccines — in contrast to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has questioned the efficacy and safety of vaccines. KUT News has reached out to HHS for additional comments on Shuford’s selection and a timeline for her transition into the role. KUT News has also reached out to Shuford for comment. The executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission will be responsible for finding a new DSHS leader once Shuford leaves her post.

American Airlines pours cold water on talk of United merger

Speculation about a merger between Fort Worth-based American Airlines and Chicago-based United Airlines can be put to rest — at least according to one of the parties involved. On Friday evening, American issued a statement addressing the merger rumors, saying the airline isn’t considering joining forces with its competitor. “American Airlines is not engaged with or interested in any discussions regarding a merger with United Airlines,” the statement read. Earlier in the week, Reuters reported that United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby had floated the merger idea during a meeting with President Donald Trump in February.

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American is the second-largest airline in the U.S. by market share behind Delta Airlines, and United is fourth behind Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, though there’s a relatively small gap between first and fourth place. But American ranks far behind Delta and United in terms of profitability. A United spokesperson declined to comment when asked about Kirby’s pitch to the president. Any potential merger likely would have met antitrust opposition. Still, during an April 7 interview with CNBC, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wouldn’t rule out the possibility of an airline merger when asked if it could happen. A merger would be subject to regulatory approval, but Duffy said the president “loves to see big deals happen.” American’s statement Friday went on to say that a merger with United would hurt competition and negatively affect customers. “Our focus will remain on executing on our strategic objectives and positioning American to win for the long term,” the statement read.

Behind Trump’s public bravado on the war, he grapples with his own fears

It seemed like Donald Trump’s appetite for risk had run out, and his fears were ramping up. It was Good Friday afternoon in a nearly empty West Wing soon after the president learned that an American jet had been shot down in Iran, with two airmen missing. Trump screamed at aides for hours. The Europeans aren’t helping, he said repeatedly. Gas prices averaged $4.09. Images of the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis—one of the biggest international policy failures of a presidency in recent times—had been looming large in his mind, people who have spoken to him said. “If you look at what happened with Jimmy Carter…with the helicopters and the hostages, it cost them the election,” Trump had said in March. “What a mess.” Trump demanded that the military go get them immediately. But the U.S. hadn’t been on the ground in Iran since the government overthrow that led to the hostage crisis, and they needed to figure out how to get into treacherous Iranian terrain and avoid Tehran’s own military.

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Aides kept the president out of the room as they got minute-by-minute updates because they believed his impatience wouldn’t be helpful, instead updating him at meaningful moments, a senior administration official said. One airman was recovered quickly, but it wasn’t until late Saturday that Trump received word that the second airman had been rescued in a high-stakes extraction. What could’ve turned into the lowest point in Trump’s two terms, wouldn’t. After 2 a.m., Trump, too, went to bed. Six hours later, the chest-thumping president was back with another audacious gamble to loosen Iran’s grip on its most powerful point of leverage, the Strait of Hormuz. “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell,” he blasted on social media Easter morning from the White House residence, adding an Islamic prayer to the post. A president who thrives on drama is bringing an even more intense version of his unorthodox, maximalist approach to a new situation—fighting a war. He is veering between belligerent and conciliatory approaches and grappling behind the scenes with just how badly things could go wrong. At the same time, the president sometimes loses focus, spending time on the details of his plans for the White House ballroom or on midterm fundraisers—and telling advisers he wants to shift to other topics.

State Stories

‘La Gordiloca’ lost at the Supreme Court but won in Laredo

It’s the day after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to revive her lawsuit against the local officials who orchestrated her arrest nearly a decade ago, and Laredo citizen-journalist Priscilla Villarreal is on Facebook Live to deliver a much-awaited statement. For several minutes, viewers are treated to little more than the radio playing in the background and a scowl that would be the envy of an old-school cop shop reporter. The delay is a tactic; Villarreal is waiting until enough people have started watching to begin her stream-of-consciousness diatribe. Then, the music changes to English band Chumbawamba’s 1997 hit “Tubthumping,” with its on-the-nose refrain of “You’re not ever gonna keep me down.”

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Despite the dire concern about press freedoms that the ruling in her case has created among mainstream journalists and First Amendment experts, the social media personality and provocateur known as “La Gordiloca” is defiant, as she explains the prosecution had only managed to raise her profile. “I’m already in the lawbooks; that’s enough for me,” Villarreal said on the March 24 livestream before switching into expletive-filled Spanish. “This was a fucking nine-year squeeze that had everybody shitting themselves. And if you mess with me again, we’ll go back to fucking court.” Villarreal’s oft-recounted origin story is that in 2015, she livestreamed the aftermath of a murder-suicide on her Facebook page, garnering her attention across Laredo and unexpectedly launching her journalism career.

Crypto-powered payment option MegPrime introduced by D-FW homebuilder

A platform tied to a Dallas homebuilder launched a crypto-backed payment and rewards program that could be a pathway for homebuilders into the world of cryptocurrency. MegPrime, a payment platform powered by its own digital currency, launched its app and incentive program on Wednesday. The incentive program offers incentives up to $15,000 to homebuyers while their home is under construction. The program uses cryptocurrency as an interface in one of the first instances of cryptocurrency being used by a homebuilder in this way. MegPrime’s launch was sparked by the Dallas homebuilder Megatel Homes, which will be the first builder to use the payment program. Zach Ipour, the CEO of MegPrime and Megatel Homes, said that while a home is being built, Megatel will offer $1,500 per month through MegPrime in the form of its own cryptocurrency to customers.

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Depending on the size of a home, it can take four to 12 months to build a home. During that time, buyers may be making rent or mortgage payments on their current home using the MegPrime app. “You’re already paying that rent regardless, you just choose to pay that through the MegPrime pay and receive $1,500 incentives for that,” Ipour said in an interview. The cryptocurrency token can be converted into dollars or other forms of currency, which Ipour said is part of the benefit of using cryptocurrency. He also said the platform is designed for people who aren’t necessarily crypto savvy. “We didn’t build this because the world needed another cryptocurrency,” Ipour said in a news release. “We built it to solve a real need, and we used homeownership as our starting point. Crypto is just the architecture of the solution.” Megatel is the first builder to use the platform and Ipour said he hopes the platform is used by more builders, eventually becoming a regularly used platform, similar to PayPal. MegPrime is working with other builders to have them use MegPrime, he said. MegPrime is basing its ability to create its cryptocurrency-powered platform on a no-action letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The January letter signaled the staff of the regulatory body would not recommend enforcement action against the company. Companies can request a no-action letter if they are unsure if a product or service would be a violation of federal securities law and want clarification from the commission.

Dallas man convicted of threatening judges in Texas and New York

A federal jury convicted a Dallas man of sending letters threatening to kill federal judges and mailing a white powder intended to resemble biological weapon to a Fort Worth courthouse. Donald Ray McCray, 67, was found guilty Wednesday on three counts of mailing threats to federal courthouses in North Texas and New York, and one count of sending a hoax biological weapon to the federal courthouse in Fort Worth. The trial lasted two days and jurors deliberated for just one hour before convicting McCray.

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Prosecutors said McCray sent the letters while incarcerated in a Texas state prison. In March 2025, he mailed letters to clerks at federal courthouses in Fort Worth and Amarillo threatening to kill state and federal employees, including judges. The letters contained white powder. In one instance, one of McCray’s letters containing white powder triggered an emergency response at Fort Worth’s federal courthouse. The building was shut down, and authorities enacted an emergency response to make sure the substance was safe. McCray appeared at a federal court hearing shortly after the indictment in June 2025 and made additional threats against government employees and judges. “With this verdict, North Texas residents held the defendant accountable for his threats and attempts to undermine our judiciary,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said in a statement.

2nd lawsuit against border wall construction in Big Bend region

An environmental watchdog group on Thursday filed another lawsuit to stop border wall construction in the Big Bend region of Texas. The Center for Biological Diversity filed Thursday’s lawsuit in federal court in El Paso against the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This came a week after the nonprofit had filed a lawsuit to stop border wall barrier construction in Big Bend in the same Western District of Texas Court.

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Thursday’s lawsuit was filed with the nonprofit group Friends of the Ruidosa Church, and a Big Bend river guide and landowner alleging the Trump administration unconstitutionally waived dozens of environmental laws to fast track border wall construction through the Big Bend region. It also says the administration exceeded its power legally granted by Congress. And violated the Constitution, including the major questions doctrine, which requires clear congressional approval for actions with vast economic and political consequences. “Because Congress did not clearly authorize DHS or U.S. Customs and Border Protection to create a complete, cross-continental border-length wall, the Secretary’s efforts to do so through serial waivers, and particularly the Big Bend Waiver, violates the major questions doctrine and thus the Constitution’s separation of powers principles,” the 38-page lawsuit says. The lawsuit says the “unconstitutional repeal of bedrock environmental and historic protections and dozens of other federal laws to expedite massive border wall construction on the Texas Mexico border will destroy iconic sections of the Rio Grande corridor.” On April 7, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Texas Civil Rights Project filed a complaint in the same federal court against CBP for more information on border wall plans. That complaint charged the government was withholding public records on construction plans for border barriers through Big Bend National Park and Big Bend State Park, as well as the surrounding region.

Mike Miles cancels moonlighting contract with his former charter school network

Houston ISD pays its state-appointed superintendent, Mike Miles, a base salary of $462,000, and the district also gave him a bonus of $173,660 approved by its state-appointed board in September. Yet, all along, the leader of Texas’ largest school district has also been moonlighting—earning another $190,000 over the past three years, according to receipts obtained by the Texas Observer, as a consultant for Third Future Schools (TFS), the Colorado-based charter school network he founded and previously led. In February, he renegotiated his TFS consulting contract to receive $30,000 per quarter—a 58 percent raise over his prior pay, based on documents the Observer obtained from a source. Miles’ contract with Houston ISD allowed him to do outside consulting. But his February agreement may have violated a 2025 state law that restricts moonlighting by administrators.

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House Bill 3372, which took effect June 22, 2025, bans public school administrators from moonlighting for companies that do business with their districts. It also bans superintendents and assistant superintendents from moonlighting for other school districts, charter schools, or education companies that provide curriculum or administration services to any district. (The law allows lower-level administrators to moonlight for the latter group of entities if their school board approves.) In response to a question about Miles’ February consulting agreement with TFS, an HISD spokesperson initially told the Observer in an April 7 email that Miles had complied with the new law: “Superintendent Miles has disclosed his prior affiliation with Third Future Schools, and all related matters have been reviewed to ensure compliance with HB 3372, District policy, and applicable legal requirements, with no impact on his duties leading Houston ISD.” But after the Observer emailed questions to members of Houston ISD’s appointed school board, including a copy of the February agreement, the Houston ISD spokesperson emailed again, saying that Miles had cancelled the contract after it had “been carefully reviewed for compliance with HB 3372.” On April 8, the spokesperson wrote: “Following that review, Superintendent Miles proactively canceled his contract and will not accept any financial benefits from Third Future Schools, ensuring full alignment with the law. He remains fully focused on leading Houston ISD and delivering results for students.” No member of the Houston ISD board responded to the Observer’s questions.

Toby Neugebauer departs as Fermi America’s CEO

Fermi America CEO Toby Neugebauer departed his role as the company’s CEO on April 17, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fermi’s board of directors has created an interim office of the CEO, which will include Jacobo Ortiz, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, and Anna Bofa, an observer on the company’s Board. In its first year, Fermi America raised around $1.8 billion in capital, around $785 million from IPO gross proceeds on NASDAQ and the London Stock Exchange, and around $885 million in equipment financing.

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During Fermi’s most recent earnings call on March 30, Neugebauer announced that the company would pursue a potential expansion. The Project Matador site has expanded from its planned 5,769 acres to around 7,570 acres through adjacent land acquisitions, which Fermi said are either closed or under contract. Fermi’s filing with the SEC said the company expects to release additional information on Monday. We’ve reached out to Fermi America and will provide additional information as it becomes available.

State politics shape rarely-contested Alamo Heights ISD races

“We are a consensus board,” is a phrase Ty Edwards often uses to describe the Alamo Heights Independent School District Board of Trustees, in which he’s served on for three years. Covering nine square miles in the cities of Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Olmos Park and a sliver of San Antonio’s North Side, AHISD serves around 4,800 students and has a B-rating from the state for “recognized performance” in student achievement. Less than 20% of students are considered economically disadvantaged, and enrollment has stayed consistent for years, even as other neighboring districts keep losing students. Alamo Heights ISD is what education experts call a “destination district,” consistently attracting families from outside of its boundaries.

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Usually untouched by contentious elections or board disagreements, the AHISD board could face shakeups from two races on the general May election this year. The two trustees up for reelection — Edwards in Place 3 and Hunter Kingman in Place 4 — both drew challengers from a group of parents concerned with AHISD’s handling of new “parents’ rights” laws. In January, district officials canceled an author’s visit to its two elementary schools after a handful of parents complained about the mention of the LGBTQ+ community in one of the writer’s other books. The cancellation quickly drew backlash from families concerned that the complaints had an outsized effect on all students. But officials said they were being cautious in response to Senate Bill 12, a parent choice bill passed during the 2025 state legislative session that limits classroom discussion of gender identity, sexual orientation, race and topics of diversity, equity and inclusion. Unsatisfied with the district’s response, parents informally picked two moms from their ranks to run: Lindsey Saldana for Place 3 and Bianca Cerqueira for Place 4, who have been supporting each other’s campaigns.

Growing Fort Worth suburb tangled in lawsuit heads toward critical election featuring a few familiar Capitol characters

Willow Park, a growing city west of Fort Worth, is heading toward an election that could flip the balance of its five-member City Council — as it grapples with crumbling roads, new home developments and a lawsuit filed by neighboring cities. Three at-large City Council seats in Willow Park — a city of nearly 7,000 along the lucrative I-20 corridor — are up for grabs on May 2. The three incumbents, Nathan Crummel, Scott Smith and Buddy Wright, are aligned against Marci Galle, Houston Wingard and Roy Kurban. Early voting starts Monday, April 20. The city, which Crummel calls “the gateway to Parker County,” took in around 2,000 new residents in the last six years.

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Just shy of 800 voted in the city’s last election, making low voter turnout a concern on both sides. “We’re not looking to keep things the same,” Wright said of himself and fellow incumbents. “We see potential ... and their side seems to be afraid of growth. They’re afraid of development. They’re afraid of change.” The challengers have the support of prominent conservatives and the city’s relatively fresh mayor, Teresa Palmer. Palmer’s tenure, which began in May 2025 after she defeated Doyle Moss, has seen the resignation of two city council members and the city attorney last year. The city manager was also voted out. The election could flip the way the city is governed. Palmer is a fierce advocate of Willow Park becoming a home rule city. Texas cities can either be general law, meaning state statutes dictate its powers and duties, or home rule, meaning a city operates based on its own charter, as long as that charter does not conflict with state law. She appointed 12 people, including Wingard, Kurban, Galle’s daughter Gwendolyn, and former Republican state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, who represented suburban Fort Worth from 2013-21. The committee proposed adding a sixth council member and giving the mayor voting power. “It’ll get more citizens involved in managing our city,” Wingard said. “Not just a small group at city hall.” While the charter will not be voted on in the upcoming election, the slate of challengers said, if elected, they will make it a priority. Wingard, a Lockheed Martin retiree, said part of what riled him up to run was what he believed to be coordinated mistreatment of the mayor by City Council and staff. Palmer has faced harsh critics.

National Stories

Traders placed over $1bn in perfectly timed bets on the Iran war. What is going on?

Suspicious wagers on the US-Israel war in Iran are creating huge windfalls and raising concerns among lawmakers Sixteen bets made $100,000 each accurately predicting the timing of the US airstrikes against Iran on 27 February. Later, a single user would make over $550,000 after betting that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would topple, just moments before his assassination by Israeli forces. On 7 April, right before Donald Trump announced a temporary ceasefire with Iran, traders bet $950m that oil prices would come down. They did. These bets and other well-timed wagers accurately predicted the precise timing of major developments in the US-Israel war with Iran, creating huge windfalls and raising concerns among lawmakers and experts over potential insider trading.

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Betting – once largely siloed to sporting events – has now spread to include contracts on news events where insider information could give some traders an advantage. The proliferation of online betting markets like Polymarket and Kalshi has allowed bets on virtually any news event. It’s also easier than ever to buy commodity derivatives like oil futures, where traders gamble on what the price of oil will be in the future. Leaders of some US federal agencies and some members of Congress said they want to crack down on suspicious trading taking place across different marketplaces, but it’s unclear how much headway regulators will make. “Is the problem that we don’t have legislation or that we don’t have enforcement capabilities?” said Joshua Mitts, a law professor at Columbia University. “To have a law that can’t really be enforced effectively given the technological limitations, it’s sort of putting the cart before the horse.”

The FBI director ss MIA

On Friday, April 10, as FBI Director Kash Patel was preparing to leave work for the weekend, he struggled to log into an internal computer system. He quickly became convinced that he had been locked out, and he panicked, frantically calling aides and allies to announce that he had been fired by the White House, according to nine people familiar with his outreach. Two of these people described his behavior as a “freak-out.” Patel oversees an agency that employs roughly 38,000 people, including many who are trained to investigate and verify information that can be presented under oath in a court of law. News of his emotional outburst ricocheted through the bureau, prompting chatter among officials and, in some corners of the building, expressions of relief. The White House fielded calls from the bureau and from members of Congress asking who was now in charge of the FBI. It turned out that the answer was still Patel. He had not been fired.

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The access problem, two people familiar with the matter said, appears to have been a technical error, and it was quickly resolved. “It was all ultimately bullshit,” one FBI official told me. But Patel, according to multiple current officials, as well as former officials who have stayed close to him, is deeply concerned that his job is in jeopardy. He has good reasons to think so—including some having to do with what witnesses described to me as bouts of excessive drinking. My colleague Ashley Parker and I reported earlier this month that Patel was among the officials expected to be fired after Attorney General Pam Bondi’s ouster, on April 2. “We’re all just waiting for the word” that Patel is officially out of the top job, an FBI official told me this week, and a former official told my colleague Jonathan Lemire that Patel was “rightly paranoid.” Senior members of the Trump administration are already discussing who might replace him, according to an administration official and two people close to the White House who were familiar with the conversations. In response to a detailed list of 19 questions, the White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told me in a statement that under Donald Trump and Patel, “crime across the country has plummeted to the lowest level in more than 100 years and many high profile criminals have been put behind bars. Director Patel remains a critical player on the Administration’s law and order team.” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told me in a statement, “Patel has accomplished more in 14 months than the previous administration did in four years. Anonymously sourced hit pieces do not constitute journalism.”

Potential 2028 Democrats audition in Michigan, with a focus on Trump

Former Vice President Kamala Harris accused the Trump administration of being historically ineffective and unethical. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey urged Democrats not to be derailed by their internal disagreements. And Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky said the party could lure back working-class voters by focusing on kitchen-table issues. The 2028 presidential shadow primary arrived in the swing state of Michigan on Saturday, with several potential Democratic candidates test-driving their pitches before a crowd of party activists eager to turn the page on President Trump. The Democrats’ remarks at a Women’s Caucus luncheon hosted by the Michigan Democratic Party are part of a weekend of programming in Detroit that will culminate with the state party’s convention on Sunday. Michigan has been pivotal in recent Democratic presidential primaries and general elections.

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A week ago, the three potential candidates — and many more — gathered in New York for a convention that was the first of many Democratic auditions before what is expected to be a wide-open 2028 race. As they travel the country, these Democrats are delivering stump-speech-style messages that often include sharp criticisms of the president and his party. “We are dealing with the most corrupt, callous and incompetent presidential administration in the history of the United States — period,” Ms. Harris, the 2024 nominee, said at the luncheon Saturday, decrying a war with Iran that “the American people do not want” and that she said had eroded the nation’s global standing. Mr. Booker, who ran for president in 2020, called for Democrats to unify going into the midterm elections, saying that the Trump administration was inflicting a “terrible storm” on Americans through its handling of immigration, the economy and the Iran war. “Our kryptonite is division,” Mr. Booker said, adding that the party should have a “robust dialogue” during the primary season but should not allow its disagreements to bleed into the general election. “I’ve seen it too much in our party.”

'Mission accomplished': US breaks hiring record for air traffic controller applicants

More than 8,000 qualified candidates applied to be air traffic controllers in record time, according to U.S. officials. "Mission accomplished," U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted Friday night on X along with a video clip of "Super Mario Bros." The clip is a nod to the Federal Aviation Administration's latest hiring campaign, inviting video game players to "level up" and apply to become air traffic controllers. The splashy new campaign featured an ad targeted at video game players and launched ahead of the annual hiring window, which opened at midnight April 17. Within 13 hours, the FAA reportedly received more than 8,000 applications, and roughly 7,250 of those applications were qualified, according to Duffy.

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By 7 p.m. Eastern, the number of qualified applicants rose past 8,000, was the agency's goal. As of Saturday morning, the job posting was no longer open. Duffy said that it was the "fastest application pace in American History for air traffic controllers" in the FAA's 67 years of recruiting. The FAA has been battling a stubborn shortage of air traffic controllers, hit by retirements and pandemic slowdowns. The FAA highlights skills gamers already use, including quick thinking, focus and managing complex situations under pressure. On the hiring website, the FAA leans into the gaming tactics, reframing job requirements as "mission requirements" and dangling "high score rewards" for joining the team. To become an air traffic controller, the agency says one must be a U.S. citizen, under 31 years of age and speak fluent English. As the "high score rewards," the FAA touts a six-figure salaries totaling more than $155,000 after three years of Academy graduation, paid academy training and a "legendary" benefits package.

Copyright April 19, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved