September 14, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Trump downplays the need to check AI development

President Donald Trump on Sunday played down the need for his administration to check the development of artificial intelligence, saying he worried about ceding America’s edge over China in a global competition and that winning would help address the risks from the advancing technology. While acknowledging the need for some regulation, Trump provided no specifics about potential rules and attributed warnings about the technology moving too quickly and with little oversight to “negative forces” he did not identify, though industry pioneers have raised such concerns. “We can put guardrails, we can do this and that, but I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that ... shouldn’t be bringing it up, and they’re bringing up things that won’t happen,” Trump told reporters during a weekend trip to Ireland. “But whoever wins with AI wins.”

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Asked later Sunday if he was trying to minimize the risks from AI, Trump said, “I’m not downplaying,” adding that artificial intelligence is “going to be more good than bad, but by a lot.” Speaking with reporters during the flight back to Washington, he repeated his earlier comment regarding the stakes for “whoever wins AI.” The Republican president spoke a day after Dario Amodei, CEO of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, said the industry should put the brakes on its fast-moving development to give safety measures time to catch up. Other tech leaders, including Elon Musk and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, publicly agreed with Amodei. Asked by a reporter if the industry should slow down or be regulated, Trump said after watching a golfer tee off in the Irish Open at his resort in Doonbeg that the United States is leading China in the development of AI and “frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins.” Chinese President Xi Jinping is due at the White House later in September to meet with Trump, and AI likely will be among the items they discuss.

Democrats have midterm momentum. Here’s what risks tripping them up.

Democrats are grappling with several liabilities that risk impeding the momentum they have gained to retake control of Congress. New opportunities have come on the map for Democrats as President Trump has become increasingly unpopular because of the war with Iran, tariffs and the high cost of living. Nonpartisan analysts say the party is favored to win the U.S. House and has a shot at a narrow majority in the Senate. Yet Republicans still have a significant financial edge, and Democrats have work to do to persuade voters to support them in states they need to win. Republican party committees and super PACs are far outraising their Democratic counterparts. As of July, the Republican National Committee had more than $130 million on hand compared with just $16 million for the Democratic National Committee. Trump’s super PAC, for which Democrats don’t have a comparable entity, had $403 million on hand.

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“I think it’s hilarious that anybody would count us out at this point in the campaign,” said South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who leads the Republican Senate campaign arm. “We will have the resources to be successful. We have done a good job of candidate recruitment.” Democrats are now competitive in states Trump won easily in previous cycles. Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas are all rated as “tossup” Senate races by the nonpartisan Cook Political report. It is a victory for Democrats to even be competitive in such GOP strongholds, said Amy Walter, the report’s publisher and editor in chief. But voters in those states and other Republican House districts in play still view Democrats with skepticism, she said. Individual Democratic candidates, particularly in Senate races, have outraised their Republican counterparts in most cases. “This is the kind of environment when a political scientist would say, ‘You have all the elements for a wave,’” said Walter. Still, there are opportunities for Republicans “to not get completely wiped out.” The GOP sees a chance to win open Senate seats in Michigan and New Hampshire held by Democrats who aren’t seeking re-election. Polls suggest far more voters disapprove than approve of Trump. Republicans have even lost their edge in many polls as the party best equipped to manage the economy. In theory those things make these midterms look worse for Trump than when Democrats swept into the House majority in 2018. Yet this time around, Democrats hold a slightly narrower lead on the generic ballot, just over 6 percentage points compared with the 8 percentage points in 2018. And Democrats are just as unpopular as the opposing party. Some 59% of Americans have an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party, compared with 58% with an unfavorable view of the Republican Party, according to a Pew Research Center survey released in May.

How Jasmine Crockett's support down ballot could help mobilize Dems

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett has pledged for months to help Democrats this November by getting involved in lesser-publicized downballot races. The former U.S. Senate hopeful appears to now be making good on that promise, announcing a slate of endorsements this month, including Letitia Plummer, the Democratic nominee for Harris County judge. While Crockett doesn’t plan to campaign for the party’s Senate nominee and her former foe, James Talarico, her local endorsements could go a long way in helping him and other statewide candidates generate the kind of mass turnout they’ll need to overcome decades of GOP dominance. Crockett’s support could especially help shore up support from a portion of Black voters — a longtime cornerstone of Democrats’ coalition.

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An August poll conducted by Texas Southern University found that a majority of Black voters surveyed felt the Democratic Party had at least somewhat taken their support for granted. Michael Adams, a political scientist at TSU, described Crockett’s strategy as a kind of “reverse political coattails” that could help ease some of the tension that’s bubbled in the wake of her primary defeat. “Some people may call it sour grapes. What she's suggesting is the opposite,” Adams said. “In Harris County, which is one of the largest reservoirs of Democratic votes, if Jasmine Crockett can increase the turnout of Democrats here, It certainly will help Talarico.” Crockett has said she plans to campaign for Plummer, as well as two other Black Democratic county judge candidates, but has yet to outline what that will look like on the ground. She did not respond to a request for comment. To really turn out voters, Crockett will need to take the same grassroots approach to mobilizing voters that saw her appearing everywhere from churches to inner-city clubs during the primaries, said Nancy Sims, a political science lecturer at the University of Houston. Appearing alongside Plummer’s image on mailers and promotional images will only go so far.

Republican candidate Bo French's xenophobic posts disparaging non-white UT students draws backlash from own party

What was supposed to be a moment to celebrate a dramatic comeback win has instead set the stage for a different kind of showdown — one within the Texas Republican Party. Republican Texas Railroad Commissioner candidate Bo French is facing backlash after a post on X calling attention to a group of University of Texas fans at the Saturday night game against Ohio State. The post drew 17 million views — and sharp criticism from members of his own party. "I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined," French wrote, going on to claim Americans have been displaced by foreigners. Bud Kennedy, a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, said the post fits a familiar strategy for French. "This is nothing new," Kennedy said. "I think in some ways people are giving him what he wants, which is notoriety."

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Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said the message behind French's post was unmistakable. "The message here is that the student body at the University of Texas, in Bo French's view, ought to be less Asian," Wilson said. "And presumably whiter than what it actually is." Wilson said the post has opened a rift within the Republican Party just weeks ahead of a critical midterm election. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called the post "intolerant" and "racist," and several Republican leaders across the state have called on French to delete it. Kennedy said the backlash stems from a contradiction with the party's recent messaging. "All of the rhetoric we've heard from the White House and the convention in Dallas last week is that the Republicans are proud to be the party that ignores race — that doesn't apply DEI or racial quotas," Kennedy said. "This seems to be at complete odds with that." Gov. Greg Abbott also weighed in, though has not demanded an apology from French. "That is not my message. A selective picture of Longhorn fans celebrating our biggest home victory-ever-actually shows a way that Texans unite. We all support our college football teams. The way we win the state is the same way we win football games. We unite under the brand of Texas. That doesn’t mean that Texas cannot also lead in having the toughest immigration laws of any state in America and freezing H1B visas at our universities.”

State Stories

James Talarico's 'censored' Kimmel interview surpasses Trump address

U.S. Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico's campaign is touting the viewership of the Austin-area Democrat's appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" after host Jimmy Kimmel said the interview was moved online because of what he described as threats to the show, ABC and its affiliates, according to the late-night host. JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico's campaign, noted on X that the interview’s YouTube views were more than double the number of viewers who watched President Donald Trump's speech on Fox News during the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. As of Saturday afternoon, the roughly 20-minute late-night appearance, which was moved to YouTube and not broadcast, had racked up 6.3 million views. Trump's convention speech Wednesday drew in 2.5 million viewers on Fox News, ahead of MS NOW's 1 million and CNN's 441,000 in the same period, according to Reuters.

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Those figures measure television viewers, while the Talarico interview’s figure represents YouTube views. Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that his speech beat the viewership of the NFL's opening night, featuring a showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. The president wrote that his address was "far bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible," and that the "overall numbers [of viewers] beat the NFL," without providing evidence to back his claims. While viewership for the NFL's opening night wasn't immediately available, it averaged 18 million viewers per game last season, and last year's opener drew close to 28 million. "Try to censor James Talarico at your own risk," Ennis wrote, referring to what he described as threats from the Federal Communications Commission. Kimmel referenced the dispute with the FCC when opening the segment that featured the Democratic Senate hopeful, describing the commission's "targeting" of the show, despite it hosting numerous candidates, including Trump himself. "He was on this show two times, but now I guess he doesn't like me anymore or the First Amendment," Kimmel said.

Trump can’t stop insulting his own candidate in Texas. Why?

Republicans’ hopes of holding their Senate majority might hinge on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton more than anyone else. And President Donald Trump seemingly can’t stop insulting him. Trump has repeatedly made the case for Paxton — whom he endorsed over the safer candidate, incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn — in recent days. And over and over, he’s thickly layered it in insults directed at the way Paxton looks, dresses and speaks. Trump then assures any listeners that Paxton, despite how he presents, is actually a fantastic attorney general. It’s both bizarre and entertaining, in a vintage Trump way — before American politics seemed to get heavier under the weight of controversial wars, more severe partisanship and increasing political violence. But it all begs the question: What on earth is Trump doing? Does he really think this helps his candidate? Is there any strategy behind it?

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It all started on September 2, when Trump alluded to Paxton being a bit of a slob no fewer than three separate times: “Some people don’t like the way he dresses,” Trump said at a travel industry event at the White House, “or some people don’t like the way he interviews or talks.” He added at a Rose Garden event with fellow Republicans: “You might not love his look, you might not love his television interviews, but he was the best attorney general in the country, perhaps. … And that speaks a lot louder than the suit he’s wearing that doesn’t look so great.” “I know guys that are very impressive. Everyone says, oh, they’re great, they’re great, wow. But they were lousy at their job,” Trump added on Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s podcast. “This is sort of a little bit the opposite, to be honest with you.” Trump continued ragging on Paxton on successive nights of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas this week. On Wednesday, the president made it clear — in case there was any doubt — that he personally didn’t have much regard for how Paxton presents. “Some may not like the way he dresses,” Trump said before slipping in a laugh line: “I don’t.”

Giants' offense rolls over the Cowboys to give coach John Harbaugh a 28-20 win in his debut

Several months before coaching his first game for the New York Giants, John Harbaugh told fans he wanted to build a team that could beat the Dallas Cowboys. It took one game to accomplish that feat. Jaxson Dart connected with Isaiah Likely for two touchdowns and Devin Singletary on another, Cam Skattebo ran for one in his first game back from injury and the Giants opened the season by rolling over Dallas 28-20 on Sunday night in Harbaugh's New York debut. It's just one victory, but it was a promising start of a new era. “We took steps in that direction,” Harbaugh said. “I think we’re on our way.”

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Dart made one smart throw after another, mixing in a series of well-timed runs to keep the defense off balance. He finished 23 of 29 for 230 yards passing, plus 54 rushing, including a couple of slides and a dive to avoid the unnecessary hits that punctuated his rookie year. “Just seeing his arm talent, just seeing how he takes over the game — using his legs, making the right decisions, knowing the coverages,” No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers said. “He was not backing down. He was not going to lose, and I was right behind him.” Likely made eight catches on eight targets for 78 yards in his New York debut after following Harbaugh from Baltimore, extending the training camp trend when he was consistently Dart's top option. Nabers, playing for the first time since going down with a torn ACL in his right knee 350 days ago, had six catches for 69 yards. “He's just a guy where no matter what the coverage is, no matter who they put out there on him, you have all the confidence in the world that he's going to make a play,” Dart said. Back on the field more than 10 months since breaking his right fibula and dislocating his right ankle in gruesome fashion, Skattebo rumbled for 81 yards on 18 carries. After getting in hot water for doing a backflip earlier this summer, Skattebo brought back his signature celebration after running into the end zone untouched for the Giants' first points of the season.

How data center construction is impacting west Texas homeowners at ground zero

Rusty Towell, a professor at Abilene Christian University, has lived on his northwest Abilene property for over two decades. “We picked this spot because we wanted a little property, but we want to be close to town and close to ACU,” Towell said. “We bought this property and we built the home. Then we built the second home, so now I live out here with my parents.” Towell said as recently as a year ago he had also been talking to his kids about building them homes on the property as well. “They like the idea of their children growing up next to grandma and grandpa,” Towell said. Those plans, however, are now changing.

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“Just a little bit to the north, there was this idea of bringing in a little data center to do some Bitcoin mining … five years ago that was sort of the plan,” Towell said. “Then the AI boom, took off and all of a sudden it turned into Stargate.” Towell said the project has now grown to his property line. “Now I’m 200 feet from the data center,” he said. With the proximity to the data center came noise and trucks. “There’s a lot of construction noise that happens, and depending on what they’re doing, it can be around the clock,” Towell said. “The road that they used to have, a couple of cars a day on it now at times has a thousand semis going up and down it every day. It’s a very, very different life out here now.” There are also lights flooding the area to the north of his property, Towell said.

Houston Chronicle Editorial: Can Texas Republicans stand up to to racists in their own party?

Thank you, Sen. John Cornyn, for standing up for Texans. On Sunday morning, Texas’ senior senator took to social media to call out Bo French, a fellow Republican and the statewide candidate for railroad commissioner, for his unabashed racism. Here’s what happened: As the Longhorns celebrated an incredible come-from-behind win to defeat top-ranked Ohio State, French made it clear he cared more about the color of Longhorn fans’ skin than the content of the scoreboard. “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this,” French posted on social media with a photo of Longhorns cheering in the stands — students clad in burnt orange and cowboy hats, who looked to be of South Asian descent. “I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.” Cornyn was having none of it.

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“This is the Republican nominee for statewide office,” he posted in response. “Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.” To their credit, several other Republican politicians followed Cornyn’s example. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said French’s post crossed the line and told him to delete it. Rep. Lacy Hull, a Houston Republican running for reelection, also called on French to delete the post and stood up for the students. “This post breaks my heart. I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans.” As we write this, Republican Reps. Jared Patterson, Jeff Leach and Matt Shaheen have also issued similar statements. That’s a good start. Here’s the next step: Republicans need to tell their voters not to support French for railroad commissioner. This wasn’t an isolated incident. French has a long history of racism and it isn’t going to stop unless voters make sure he loses.

Houston-area school districts seek $137M from voters as deficits grow

Five Houston-area school districts are asking voters for a combined $137 million in new revenue this November to shore up multi-million dollar budget deficits driven by declining enrollment, inflation and rising insurance costs. Voters in Cy-Fair, Channelview, Huffman, La Porte and Spring ISDs can expect to see a voter-approved tax-rate increase, or VATRE, measure on the Nov. 3 ballot. At least two other Houston-area districts considered holding a tax-rate increase election but opted not to. Clear Creek ISD's board discussed the idea but did not move forward, according to Community Impact, and Aldine ISD’s board declined the measure in a split vote. While the districts are all asking voters for different tax rate increases, one thing unites them: They are running out of options to pay for rising costs.

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Enrollment declines have put pressure on revenue, while inflation has risen since the pandemic. Some districts have already closed schools to bring costs down, but closing schools isn't always a viable solution to solve enrollment and budget issues. “I do think it's notable — almost more notable than that these districts are going out for a tax rate election — is that they didn't for this long,” said Amanda Brownson, deputy executive director of policy and research at the Texas Association of School Business Officials. “They really tried to hold out as long as they could.” The latest batch of districts asking voters for more revenue follows at least four other Houston-area districts that put a similar proposal on the ballot in the last two years. Alief ISD and Montgomery ISD passed tax-rate increases in 2024, while Spring and Magnolia ISDs' elections for higher tax rates failed the same year. Spring ISD is trying again for a tax rate increase this year, while Magnolia ISD is not. Magnolia held a successful bond election earlier this year, which did not increase the tax rate, and leaders said in meetings they wanted to keep that promise, according to Community Impact.

Parents say they won't support closing failing Austin ISD schools to avoid state takeover

Mayor Kirk Watson is urging parents from two middle schools to ask the state to close the campuses to avoid a total takeover of the Austin Independent School District, but some parents have already said they won't sign a petition because they have fought for resources for years and have felt ignored. "Why do we need to sacrifice Webb and Burnet?" Vanessa Gamez, a parent and PTA member at Webb, said. "We have nothing to lose if the TEA takes Austin ISD. Nothing to lose. Right now we don't have voice, nobody listened to us. Many years ago we made recommendations and tried to help at the school, and what happened? Nothing." In his weekly newsletter, Watson said Webb and Burnet middle school parents have the power to act, instead of "waiting for something to happen," after the two schools received their fifth consecutive failing F ratings from the state.

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Those accountability ratings triggered a state law that requires Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to intervene and appoint a new superintendent and board of managers or close the two schools. Watson is asking for the latter and arguing that AISD schools have made progress overall. He said this plan helps empower families that will be the most impacted by a takeover. "This is the only way that there is some control over their destiny as opposed to having something done by the state to them," Watson told KUT News. "If there's a takeover with the school district, I think it is reasonable to assume that it's likely that those schools will be closed." According to the Texas Education Code, if parents of a majority of students of the school that received five consecutive failing grades present the commissioner with a written petition to close the campus, he is required to do so. The code says parents would have to present the petition to the superintendent for validation by Oct. 15. The superintendent must submit it to the commissioner no later than Dec.1. KUT News has reached out to the Texas Education Agency but has not heard back.

‘Why are you taking her?’ ICE arrests surge in El Paso region as families feel the impact

Sonia can still hear her daughter’s frightened voice crying out over the cellphone speaker, “What do I do?! What do I do?! Do I open it?!” “Roll down the window! Roll down the window, now!” she heard men shout in the background. The booming sound of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers knocking forcibly on her daughter’s car window sent them both to tears. It was that May 22 phone call that changed everything. Sonia was on a call with her daughter, Sofia, who was leaving work during an evening shift break when she was blocked by several black vehicles emblazoned with “ICE” in gold letters. She was quickly surrounded by uniformed, masked officers pointing guns toward her on the street just outside her Central El Paso workplace.

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Sonia rushed to the scene. Sofia exited the car and was swiftly handcuffed. In a moment of grace amid the chaos, Sonia said, when she arrived, officers allowed her to hug her daughter before taking her away. “I had every emotion possible – anger, fear, sadness, guilt – a lot of guilt,” Sonia said in Spanish. She’d brought her daughter from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso to trick-or-treat on Halloween 25 years ago. But following a family medical emergency, they never left. “It wasn’t our intention to stay, but things happened and we found ourselves building a life here. (Being arrested) wasn’t something we thought about much – until recently with all this happening.” El Paso Matters agreed to use pseudonyms for the women, who fear retaliation for telling their story. Sofia was among the nearly 3,500 people who were apprehended by ICE in the El Paso region this year through Aug. 5 – roughly as many as in all of 2025, according to ICE data obtained by the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by El Paso Matters. The program, an initiative of the University of California, Berkeley, collects federal data through the Freedom of Information Act.

Texas has a new plan to better include young children with disabilities in classrooms

Texas is trying to do a better job of including young children with disabilities in classrooms alongside their peers. Federal law already requires schools to educate children with disabilities alongside children without disabilities whenever appropriate. But that doesn't always happen in preschool and childcare classrooms, and a new state plan is trying to understand why, and what Texas can do about it. The Texas Early Childhood Inclusion Plan for 2026–2030 was developed jointly by the Texas Education Agency, Texas Health and Human Services Commission and Texas Workforce Commission. In a bi-partisan effort, state lawmakers directed the agencies during the last legislative session to identify barriers to inclusion and recommend ways to address them.

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More than 1,200 families, educators, childcare providers and others participated in a statewide survey. More than half pointed to a shortage of trained specialists — including special education teachers, occupational therapists and speech therapists — as one barrier to inclusion. The plan calls for more teacher training, smaller classes and better coordination among programs. It also asks the state to explore additional funding and financial incentives to recruit and retain early childhood educators and specialists. For young children, inclusion doesn't necessarily look the same from one classroom to another. Federal special education law requires children with disabilities to be educated in the “least restrictive environment.” The appropriate setting depends on the needs of each child. For a preschooler, that could mean attending a regular pre-K classroom with additional support, receiving services in a community childcare center or Head Start program, or spending some or all of the day in a specialized classroom. Steven Aleman, a senior policy analyst with the nonprofit Disability Rights Texas, said the recommendations in the state's plan aren't particularly new. “[They] are pretty sound and pretty basic recommendations about best practices,” Aleman said. The harder part, he said, is putting those practices into place -- and funding them. “If we're going to try to, for instance, reduce ratios, which would be so much more important, especially for young children, especially children with disabilities, then I think you could start to arrive at some estimates or projections about what it would take to help,” Aleman said.

Texas is trying to punish its way out of a prison overdose crisis

D’Mitri Davis, 36, met his younger brother Dominique Judge for the first time in 2024, when they were both in prison. The two were living at the French Robertson Unit in Abilene when they were coincidentally enrolled in the same adult education course. They were unaware of the family connection until a chance conversation in class. “Whose last name is Davis?” Judge asked, after glancing at classwork stacked at the front of the room. Judge had been adopted, but he’d met his biological dad in 2018. His dad told him that Judge had a half-brother in prison, so every time the 24-year-old met someone with that surname, he wondered if they were related. Davis was skeptical. He’d grown up in Galveston with his mom and his sister, the only sibling he knew. He took a harder look at Judge only when the younger man mentioned being from Beaumont. As an adult, Davis, too, had finally connected with his dad, who had fathered “a whole football team” somewhere in southeast Texas.

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Though Davis had a darker complexion and more facial hair than Judge, Davis noticed a nebulous family resemblance. “When I looked in his face, I saw my dad,” he recalled in a June interview. Davis offered up his ID badge, which showed the full name he shared with his father. Judge, already convinced, began jumping up and down, saying: “That’s my brother! That’s my brother!” After their lucky meeting, the two grew close. Judge had been struggling, feeling overwhelmed by the weight of his 25-year sentence. No one on the outside would take his calls. Feeling unmoored, he’d started using drugs, which were seemingly everywhere in prison. “I lost hope, and I didn’t have a family at the time,” Judge told the Texas Observer. Meeting his brother gave him something to hold onto and helped him ease off on the drugs. Their encounters made Davis think about his own choices. He’d been dealing in Galveston when he was busted and sent to prison. He wasn’t using inside, but he’d stayed in the game. Prisons are full of people like Judge, who are vulnerable to addiction, and Davis, who have backgrounds as dealers. The rate of substance-use disorders is nearly six times higher among prisoners than in the free world, according to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Texas health department requests additional funding to support local departments, maintain programs

Texas Department of State Health Services, or DSHS, said it needs additional funding to meet expectations of state policymakers and to maintain critical public health infrastructure. On Friday, DSHS officials presented the agency’s legislative appropriations request to state officials ahead of budget discussions during the 2027 legislative session. The agency asked for more than $230 million in additional funding beyond the agency’s base budget — including funding to support local agencies, maintain programs and hire additional staff. Imelda Garcia, interim DSHS commissioner, said the additional funding doesn’t cover anything new or “fancy.” “It is about the meat and potatoes of core public health functions and maintaining the operations and the mandates we’ve been directed to do,” she said.

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Garcia said the agency is seeing higher costs to complete core functions, like disease monitoring, infectious disease treatment and disaster response. In addition to funding to maintain several IT and data systems that play a key role in disease management and response, DSHS is asking for more support for local health departments as federal cuts threaten services. DSHS has already been preparing to lose federal COVID-19 grants, but now it’s worried about another program expected to end soon. The agency’s CFO, Christy Havel Burton, said the Public Health Infrastructure Grant, or PHIG, will stop at the end of November 2027. “PHIG in particular has been a critical source of funding for the local health departments,” she said. “The end of the grant will be significant for the field.” Havel Burton and Garcia said they’re worried about what this means for disaster response and infectious disease monitoring throughout the state. Garcia said DSHS already has to move money around to ensure public health officials are able to respond to crises.

National Stories

Tech stocks shudder in response to calls to slow A.I. progress

Technology stocks around the world fell on Monday, after a chorus of senior executives at artificial intelligence companies called for slowing down the rapid pace of development of the transformative technology. Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell nearly 2 percent ahead of the open of trading in New York. Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta and other companies at the forefront of the A.I. build-out posted declines premarket. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index, which is heavily influenced by two chip suppliers for A.I. data centers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, fell more than 3 percent. Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest chipmaker, fell 1.2 percent. Japan’s main stock index also declined, with SoftBank, a major tech investment firm, shedding more than 10 percent. In Europe, semiconductor stocks like ASML of the Netherlands and Infineon of Germany fell sharply.

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The tech industry has been the engine powering global markets to repeated new highs in recent years as advances in A.I. have moved faster than investors initially expected. Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, published a long blog post on Saturday calling on industry leaders to slow A.I. development for fear of losing control of rapidly advancing models at the so-called frontier of development. Those models, he wrote, have already begun to build the next generation of artificial intelligence, in what is known as “recursive self-improvement.” That raises the risk that the technology will become an autonomous cybersecurity threat, even threatening “serious economic disruption.” “A race to the bottom, spurred by commercial incentives, can make these risks more acute,” Dr. Amodei said. As one remedy, he said he would hire third-party “evaluators” who would “verify adherence to safety practices and commitments.” The post was endorsed by Elon Musk, who runs Space X, which also houses his A.I platform, x.AI; Sam Altman, who co-founded OpenAI; and Demis Hassabis, the co-founder of Google DeepMind. “I agree with Dario,” Mr. Altman said, adding that he would also hire third-party “evaluators” to oversee OpenAI’s safety practices.

‘Pod Save America’ is in the wilderness too

The hosts of “Pod Save America” skipped their usual programming after then-President Joe Biden faceplanted in his debate with now-President Donald Trump. Instead of outlining an optimistic view of Democrats’ chances, the former Obama administration staffers taped an episode called “A Brutally Honest Debate Recap” about whether the 81-year-old incumbent was fit to run against Trump at all. The break from party orthodoxy upset some Democratic bigwigs. That included Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Rob Flaherty, who sent a fundraising pitch to supporters after the episode aired, throwing out a veiled insult at “self-important Podcasters” who doubted Biden’s ability to win. At some point over the course of more than a thousand podcast episodes, though, “self-important” turned into just “important,” no qualifiers.

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Now, Democratic operatives widely agree that a candidate’s appearance on the show is unequivocally good for any campaign. A sit-down with the “Pod Save” crew is practically a required stop for any 2028 hopeful, whether to draw attention in a digital environment where people’s focus is getting harder to earn, or to attract organizers and donors who could fuel groundwork IRL. “Pod Save” ranks among both Spotify’s and Apple Podcasts’ most popular shows in the U.S., and consistently sits among the top 25 podcasts in terms of reach in Edison Research’s quarterly metrics rankings since Trump’s second election. How Democrats use it to hash out their ongoing, heated intraparty debates over wokeness, foreign policy, health care and other issues could play a major role in where the party ultimately lands. Still, in 2024, the podcasters got their way, but their team fell short: Biden dropped out and Trump won. This prompted reflection from the party, as well as from the podcasters. “I want to do some personal soul-searching, and the party to do soul-searching to fix this, and to do better next time,” Tommy Vietor, one of the hosts, said at the time. Nearly two years later, Vietor doesn’t have much to say about the results of that search.

Kennedy Center could close as early as Tuesday, warns of bankruptcy, documents show

Leaders of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, installed by President Donald Trump, say the center is on the brink of bankruptcy and argue that putting the president’s name on its facade — and thus ensuring his fundraising efforts — may be the only way to avoid imminent and “certain fiscal collapse,” according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. The bleak assessment is laid out in a 57-page packet distributed to the center’s board of trustees ahead of a special meeting Tuesday, when the Trump-led board is scheduled to consider two resolutions aimed at addressing twin crises confronting the national performing arts center: one financial, the other physical. Center officials say they could be unable to make payroll or pay routine maintenance contracts “within a matter of weeks” and argue that publicly recognizing Trump could secure his help raising enough money to keep the institution afloat.

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Center officials are also recommending that the board close its main building immediately, warning that remaining open would endanger lives. Board approval, which seems likely, means the center could close as early as Tuesday. The presentation makes clear that Trump’s support hinges on getting public credit for his involvement. The financial resolution says Trump has offered to “raise the necessary funds to keep the Center from bankruptcy” while the building undergoes a sweeping renovation. But it says Trump is unlikely to provide “fundamental oversight” of that project or lead a financial rescue without “appropriate recognition” of his role. Together, the two proposals represent a remarkable new phase in Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center, which has been engulfed by financial turmoil, leadership upheaval and litigation since he installed himself as chairman last year. Trump and his allies have repeatedly portrayed his leadership — and his name — as essential to rescuing the institution, even as ticket sales and fundraising have plummeted under their stewardship. Trustees are being asked to choose among 10 texts that could be placed on the building’s exterior beneath its name, including one reading: “Renovation Restoration and Endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.” Lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), a Kennedy Center trustee who has sued to keep Trump’s name off the building, blasted the new proposal.

How your mail carrier ended up at the center of the midterms battle

The U.S. Postal Service for years has endured one headache after another, from declining mail volume and financial shortfalls to uneven leadership. Now it is facing a uniquely daunting challenge at the center of American politics. Under a set of White House-ordered regulations unveiled last month, the Postal Service wants to press ahead—in time for the midterms—with new controls on mail ballots, used by nearly a third of American voters. President Trump has long criticized mail voting as compromised, even as there is no documented evidence of widespread fraud tied to mail ballots. The requirements include an approval process for the design of ballot envelopes and the launch of an online portal for states to upload information about voters who will receive them.

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Postal workers will be tasked with verifying that the mailings match the lists of voters that the states would have to provide—and ultimately, whether the ballots should go out at all. The regulations have been put on ice by lower-court judges, after two dozen states sued to block them. The Supreme Court could weigh in soon. There are legal questions about whether the Postal Service has the authority to serve as a national ballot regulator when states have the primary constitutional responsibility to run elections. But there are practical questions about whether it is even possible to implement the new rules with the election just weeks away. The first ballots are already in the mail for those who vote in states including North Carolina and Wisconsin. The litigating states said it would be nearly impossible to comply—and they argue it is a pretty sure bet that the Postal Service will struggle, too. “Even if state and local officials were somehow able to implement the new rule perfectly, there is a high risk of technical breakdown, ineptitude, and delay on the part of USPS,” the states said in a legal submission to the Supreme Court.

Tracking Trump’s projects and plans reshaping DC so far this term

President Donald Trump has aggressively moved to leave his imprint on the nation’s capital in the year and a half since he returned to office. The famed Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has been drained, painted blue, filled again, and drained again. An entire wing of the White House is gone, demolished to a pile of rubble, while construction on a much larger 90,000-square foot replacement is rapidly underway. And the latest: Trump said recently the new helipad on the South Lawn is complete. Sites around town are being scoped out for new, splashy monuments. The president’s name has been added to several buildings in the nation’s capital, including the US Institute of Peace and the Kennedy Center, although it’s since been removed from the latter (though plans show his name may again be added back). And Trump has touted the repair of Columbus Fountain, in front of Union Station, as “the most magnificent possibly of all,” among a number of fountains repaired around the city.

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Dulles International Airport, the Washington-area travel hub in Northern Virginia, is also up for a $22.5 billion renovation. Its unusual passenger transport system between gates and planes — the so-called people movers — are set to be replaced. The president — reverting to his roots as a builder and developer — has blown through regulatory hurdles, sparking legal challenges to several of his projects. And while he’s secured millions in private donations, some efforts are also racking up millions at the taxpayers’ expense. Public opinion is largely not on Trump’s side. Americans, for example, have overwhelmingly opposed his ballroom project and his proposed triumphal arch. In Trump’s view, though, construction is the foundation of his legacy, according to sources familiar with his thinking. Trump’s plans for a new White House ballroom began in 2010, with an offer to the Obama administration to build one that would replace the tents used for large state dinners. After ruminating on the idea for 15 years, Trump moved quickly upon entering office for a second time to make it a reality. After he hired an architect and drew up plans, the excavators began tearing into the East Wing in October 2025 to make way.

Greg Ip: Populist Republicans and Democratic Socialists are starting to merge

(Greg Ip is The Wall Street Journal's chief economics commentator.) June 30 was a bad day for Nobel Prize-winning champions of free markets. That day New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recalled Friedrich Hayek’s put-down of socialists. Then he clapped back: Socialists, he said, would now solve capitalists’ “years of mismanagement.” In an interview the same day, Vice President JD Vance dismissed Milton Friedman as irrelevant “in a world where globalized liberalism has become the sort of status quo of American elites.” That a Democratic socialist mayor and a Republican vice president have found common cause disparaging free-market icons heralds the ascendance of what could be called the Horseshoe party.

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“Horseshoe theory” describes the tendency of the political extremes to bend toward each other. Coined decades ago to describe the similarities between communism and fascism, today it captures how Republicans’ populist wing, typified by Vance, and the progressive left, represented by Mamdani, have drawn closer to each and more distant from the center of their own parties. Both extremes disdain free markets and globalization while embracing big, coercive government. They are obsessed with identity; the populist right rails against immigration while the progressive left inveighs against “colonialism” and systemic racism. They are populists who see ordinary people pitted against global elites, including their own party establishments. There’s no formal classification for far right and far left. An individual could have views plucked from either, both and in between. Still, convergence is visible in the strange alliances forming across the country: In the Senate, progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) has teamed up with Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno (R., Ohio) to raise Social Security taxes on wealthy wage earners. In the House of Representatives, progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.) and libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.) jointly forced the release of files on Jeffrey Epstein. Right-wing provocateur Steve Bannon backed Democratic socialists Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) in their push to stop data centers. President Trump agreed with progressive Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed that the Senate filibuster should be terminated.

Copyright September 14, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved