October 22, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Musk’s move to flood Texas Senate race with cash plays into Talarico’s hand

Elon Musk’s move to spend millions of dollars to support Republican Ken Paxton in his US Senate race is opening up a potent line of attack about money in politics from Democratic challenger James Talarico. Musk’s America PAC has now spent $31.6 million on the Texas race, according to the latest federal filing, on top of the $149 million a different Musk-funded PAC has funneled into the contest. The spending has cemented the world’s wealthiest person as the biggest political donor for the second straight election cycle. As of Wednesday, Musk’s total known spending on the midterms is $369 million. “Elon Musk is trying to buy this Senate seat in Texas,” Talarico said during a recent rally. “In all likelihood, if you’ve seen an attack ad on your TV, that was Elon. If you’ve gotten lies in your mailbox, that was Elon. If you’ve received a text message saying scary things about me, that was Elon too.”

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Billionaire-bashing has been fundamental to Talarico’s campaign since its inception. In his launch video in September 2025, Talarico said the wealthy try to divide people over social issues so they can cut taxes for their donors. As Musk has stepped up his political spending — and personal insults directed at Talarico through his social-media accounts — it’s given the Democrat a face for those attacks. Talarico, who maintains a slight edge in recent polls, has framed the political divide as working people versus the wealthy, with an anti-corruption message about getting big money out of politics. Musk has a lot riding on the tight race, which Texas Democrats believe might be their best opportunity to win a statewide election for the first time in three decades and could be key to Democrats’ chances of flipping Senate control. Musk has lived in Texas since 2020, and Tesla and SpaceX — which are studying a mega-merger — are expanding operations in the state. SpaceX is a key contractor for NASA and the US military, and got about one-fifth of its revenue from the federal government last year. Both SpaceX and Tesla are also vulnerable to government regulations on everything from environmental restrictions around rocket launches to fuel-efficiency standards for autos. Besides his financial contributions, Musk is also using his platform on X to bash Talarico, often over unfounded accusations about transgender policy. Musk has said that “Talarico hates Texas” and amplified baseless theories about the Democrat’s health to his 241 million followers. On Facebook and Instagram, America PAC is running digital ads about “Talafreako.” Another ad shows a person putting on makeup with the caption: “He made his plan to vote. Did you?”

Texas loses 19,000 jobs, prompting Dallas Fed forecast cut

Texas lost nearly 19,000 jobs in September, according to figures published this week by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, representing the state’s largest monthly net jobs decrease since June 2025. The rough month also helped push the Reserve Bank’s 2026 Texas employment growth forecast downward to less than 1% — a significant drop from recent months and far below the state’s historical average. September’s weak job numbers come as the country faces numerous economic headwinds, including high energy costs, interest rates that continue to weigh on homebuilding and an immigration crackdown restricting hiring in some key industries. “Texas employment declined in September, slowing year-to-date job growth to 0.8%, well below the state’s long-running average of 2%,” Luis Torres, a Dallas Fed senior business economist, said in a statement. “The moderation in job growth is consistent with current labor supply constraints that partly result from sharply lower immigration.”

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The September jobs numbers were a major factor behind the bank’s new projection of a 0.9% jobs increase for the year, down from 1.2% a month ago and 2% in July. The forecast is based on an average of four models that include national GDP, oil futures prices and other economic data. In 2025, Texas’ job growth rate was 0.8%, a significant slowdown compared with recent years that economists blamed in part on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which squeezed the state’s labor market, as well as tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty. Early this year, the bank’s model projected Texas employment would grow by 1.1% for the year. “It’s not back to trend growth,” Pia Orrenius, a senior economist with the bank, said at the time. “I don’t think that trend growth is really achievable given the labor supply constraints that we’re experiencing right now.” For much of the year, though, even as soaring fuel prices and lower immigration contributed to a largely stagnant national labor market, in Texas — a state that’s long outperformed the national economy — jobs gains seemed to defy early expectations.

Higher deductibles, bigger premiums: Rising healthcare costs hit employees

Corporate America is getting hit by healthcare sticker shock—and companies are passing a greater share of the cost on to workers. The trend is accelerating. New data shows that this year, the average cost of a family health plan crossed $28,000, rising by 5%, according to an annual survey from the nonprofit KFF, which provides the broadest picture of U.S. employer health coverage. The share coming out of employees’ paychecks shot up even faster—to $7,471, an increase of 9% from 2025. Kevin Cole, chief executive of Mid Oregon Credit Union, was stunned when he got the company’s new healthcare cost projection: Mid Oregon was expected to spend 38% more on coverage in 2027. “It was horrific, much worse than I expected,” said Cole.

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Cole had to make changes to the health coverage offered to the credit union’s roughly 170 employees. Among those changes: raising workers’ premium payments in tandem with the overall cost increase, raising deductibles and offering a new high-deductible plan. Still, the changes are only expected to bring Mid Oregon’s cost increase down by about 2 percentage points. Next year is likely to be worse, according to health benefits consultants and actuaries. The cost increases for 2027 follow two or three years of steep rises, and the drivers aren’t going away. Hospitals have been able to raise some prices and use artificial-intelligence tools to boost billing. High-cost drugs for an array of conditions, including cancer and weight loss, are driving up spending. Some employers are reacting by dropping coverage for popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs, though some are now helping to fund pretax accounts that workers can use to buy them on their own. Denver-based Cerebral Brewing, which makes its own beer and owns tap rooms, is budgeting for a 20% cost increase on its health plans, which renewed on July 1. The company is also facing cost increases for aluminum and fuel, and it hasn’t raised its overall beer prices.

New $4.2 billion Texas gas pipe to supply fuel for data center

Kinder Morgan Inc. formally committed to building a $4.2 billion pipeline that will haul fuel across West Texas and the Panhandle to help power a data center complex. The project dubbed Permian Link will have a capacity to ship 2.8 billion cubic feet of gas daily across a 434-mile (700-kilometer) expanse, according to a statement Wednesday. Kinder counts an unnamed “A-list hyperscaler” as a major customer for the network, which is expected be in-service in late 2030, the statement said.

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The pipeline will capture a “compelling opportunity” by moving cheap Permian Basin gas north to emerging data center clusters in the Panhandle, Kinder Chief Executive Officer Kim Dang said during a conference call with analysts. Permian Link is the latest giant Texas pipeline to reach a final investment decision in recent months amid booming demand for power to run data centers and supply export terminals. While Kinder is looking to accommodate multiple customers with Permian Link, the unnamed hyperscaler is the anchor tenant and “obviously is driving the need for speed,” said Sital Mody, president of natural gas pipelines. Separately, the company greenlit the 470-mile Southeast Connector pipeline that will haul as much as 2.6 billion cubic feet of gas daily.

State Stories

The Texas Attorney General's race is worth watching

A crucial midterm contest is happening right now in Texas, one that could determine the future of the state and its influence on federal policy and national politics. No, not the U.S. Senate race—though everyone is watching that one, and with good reason. The Republican, Ken Paxton—who has served as Texas’s attorney general since 2015—is an unusually weak candidate, beset by personal and financial scandals and a reputation for using his office for right-wing culture-war fixations, and weighed down by a deeply unpopular president. On the other side is James Talarico, an unusually strong Democratic candidate, fluent in the language of faith and without the cloud of scandal that haunts his opponent. “This is the most competitive election that we have seen in Texas” in decades, James Henson, the executive director of the University of Texas at Austin’s nonpartisan Texas Politics Project, told me. But the race I’m talking about is downstream of that: Who will succeed Ken Paxton? The two major-party candidates vying to be attorney general are Nathan Johnson, a Democratic state senator from Dallas, and Mayes Middleton (“MAGA Mayes,” as his own ads call him), a Republican state senator and GOP mega-donor whose district covers parts of Harris, Brazoria, and Galveston counties.

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An October poll from the Texas Politics Project shows a dead heat, with Johnson at 48 percent and Middleton at 47 percent. The Texas attorney general is a very powerful position, one that has frequently been a springboard to higher office—John Cornyn held the job before becoming a U.S. senator, as did Greg Abbott before becoming the state’s governor. The AG is meant to defend the laws of the state, and has certain specific responsibilities, such as enforcing child support and investigating Medicaid fraud. Over the past few decades, however, the role has become something more: a way for ambitious politicians to wage culture wars, cultivate a national profile by taking on right-wing causes, and shape law and policy not just in Texas but nationwide. The attorney general “helps set legal policy across the country,” Justin Nelson, a Democrat who came within a few points of unseating Paxton in 2018, told me. The race between Talarico and Paxton may be capturing everyone’s attention right now, but “when you’re a senator, you’re one of 100,” Nelson pointed out. There’s only one attorney general of Texas. An entire accounting of Paxton’s use of the AG’s office to further extreme conservative causes would take too long. But you get the idea. The Texas AG’s office is the “largest legal power in the conservative movement, nationally, period, end of story,” Adam Piper, who runs the Republican Attorneys General Association, told The Texas Tribune earlier this year. Ali S. Zaidi, the former director of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, told me that “simply removing a Republican” from the Texas attorney general’s office “could have enormous ripple effects across the country for, frankly, generations to come.”

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to let Big Bend border wall construction continue

The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow construction on border walls and other barriers across the Big Bend region of West Texas to continue amid an ongoing legal fight. The administration’s emergency request to the nation’s highest court comes just weeks after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued an injunction blocking border barrier construction — and the use of federal regulatory waivers expediting the project — for the entire Big Bend region. The area, known for its rugged canyon lands and desert vistas, makes up nearly a quarter of the U.S.-Mexico border but has historically seen among the lowest numbers of border crossings in the Southwest. The Center for Biological Diversity, a church preservation group and a local river guide are suing the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection over its border barrier plans for the region.

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In the emergency application filed Wednesday, the government called the injunction “baseless” and argued that its border security and operation interests “vastly outweigh any aesthetic, recreational, or cultural injuries” suffered by the plaintiffs. The administration is asking for both a stay of the lower court injunction, which would allow construction to continue, and for the court to “summarily” take up the case and reverse the original injunction order. For now, the judge’s block on construction remains in effect, after Judge Cardone on Tuesday rejected the government’s separate request in the lower court for construction to continue. The Trump administration claims the construction pause is costing over $460,000 a day due to the “scale” of the project. “Workers there had already constructed about three quarters of a mile of border barrier, and temporary field offices, supply yards, a water delivery system, and a temporary concrete batch plant had been installed,” the emergency application read.

Texas state senator raises concerns about ‘loophole’ in new school voucher program

State Sen. José Menéndez is questioning what he calls a "loophole" in Texas’ voucher program that allows families to receive taxpayer dollars even when their children attend private schools that don’t participate in the program. A Texas lawmaker is questioning a provision in the state’s new school voucher program that allows families to receive taxpayer money even when their children attend private schools that aren’t participating in the program. At a recent Senate Education Committee hearing, Democratic state Sen. José Menéndez of San Antonio questioned how families can qualify for up to $2,000 through a category called “homeschool/other.”

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Menéndez raised concerns after reviewing a Facebook exchange in which Travis Pillow, who oversees the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program for the Comptroller’s office, explained that the homeschool/other category isn’t limited to traditional homeschool families. “Basically you’re telling folks, check homeschool or other, you’ll get the money and you can still use whatever school you want,” Menéndez said during the hearing. Pillow explained that families can qualify for the $2,000 award even if their children attend private schools that don’t participate in the voucher program. Instead of tuition, the funds can go toward approved educational expenses, including tutoring, therapy, educational materials and extracurricular activities like karate or piano lessons. “Every dollar that is spent through this program needs to be for an approved and qualified educational expense,” Pillow told lawmakers. Menéndez said the distinction raises questions about accountability, particularly when students move from the private school category into the homeschool/other category. “My concern is that by dropping to the home school it is a big, big loophole the size of a Mack truck to use it for almost anything,” Menéndez said. “And so I think it’s something we need to be thoughtful and careful with.” The hearing was held as lawmakers evaluate the first year of the voucher program and prepare to potentially double its $1 billion budget during the upcoming legislative session.

Tony Gonzales’ campaign paid wife’s companies thousands after leaving office

Since resigning this spring amid scandal, former U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales has sent tens of thousands of campaign dollars to companies recently created by his wife that don’t appear to have any physical or online presence, according to records reviewed by the Express-News. Between April and September, Gonzales’s campaign and an associated PAC reported paying $54,350 to two companies, Adulting Consulting and Casagrande LLC, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. Both businesses were registered with the state after Gonzales stepped down and include the same San Antonio address as Gonzales’s campaign committee, which appears to be a UPS store about a seven-minute drive from Gonzales' house. Gonzales’s wife, Angel, is listed as the manager for each.

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Neither company appears to have a website. In their incorporation documents, they each include the same generic business description. Federal law allows former candidates to pay companies that are operated by family members. But the services provided must be necessary, legitimate and billed at standard commercial rates, said Michael Beckel, director of money in politics reform at the nonpartisan group, Issue One. It’s illegal to use campaign funds for personal use. In FEC records, Gonzales’ campaign said the money went toward “data management,” “compliance” and “compliance consulting.” Tony Gonzales is the only candidate whose campaign has reported paying the organizations. In a statement to the Express-News, Gonzales’ campaign said the spending was in compliance with federal law. The statement did not answer questions about the specific services provided by Adulting Consulting and Casagrande LLC. “As the campaign transitions from active status there remain ongoing administrative expenses to include but not limited to compliance requirements, storage, data management, and others,” the statement said. It was unsigned.

Talarico presses anticorruption agenda, targeting both Paxton and Elon Musk

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico made one of his final swings through the Houston area Wednesday ahead of November's U.S. Senate election, taking direct aim at trillionaire Elon Musk for bankrolling his Republican rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Speaking before a crowd at the UH Hilton on the main campus of the University of Houston, Talarico framed the Senate race as a fight against corruption. "Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party, by his fellow Republicans for using his public office — his position of public trust — to enrich himself and his donors at the expense of the people of Texas," Talarico said. "Ken Paxton represents everything that’s wrong with this broken, corrupt system. He doesn’t serve us. He serves himself."

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Paxton’s campaign has been dogged by multiple scandals, including his past indictment for felony securities fraud, as well as his 2023 impeachment on charges of abuse of office, which ultimately ended in his acquittal by the Texas Senate. Talarico pledged to pass a raft of anti-corruption measures if elected. Specifically, he advocated for legislation to ban corporate political action committees and super PACs; to bar members of Congress from trading in stocks; to outlaw partisan gerrymandering by state governments; and to enact congressional term limits. As a first-term lawmaker, Talarico would likely have limited power to push for any of these measures. Talarico also took aim at Musk, pointing to the nearly $190 million in donations Paxton received from Musk through the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC tied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. "In all likelihood, if you’ve seen an attack ad on your screen, that was Elon. If you’ve gotten lies in your mailbox, that was Elon. If you’ve received a text message saying scary things about me, that was Elon too," Talarico said. "Elon Musk wants our land. He wants our water. He wants our taxpayer dollars. He wants his very own personal United States Senator. He is trying to buy Texas. But on Nov. 3, we are going to send a clear message to the world’s first trillionaire: Texas is not for sale."

Die-hard Dems face dilemma in Harris County Treasurer race

Can a county official with a boatload of baggage and relatively low name ID get re-elected in November? It’s certainly possible. Since Carla Wyatt was elected Harris County treasurer in 2023, she’s had two drunk-driving arrests, a burglary charge that was later dismissed and a pending case alleging she caused a four-car pileup on Interstate 45. Some might think that Wyatt would sit out the November election and pursue another employment opportunity, but that’s not the case. She’s on the ballot seeking another two-year term and she also brazenly asked in August for a salary increase from $139,547 to $305,000.

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Harris County’s Salary Grievance Committee instead recommended a 30 percent raise, which would have hiked Wyatt’s salary to $181,411. Commissioners Court denied the recommendation last month. The court had already voted in February 4-0 to prioritize abolishing the treasurer’s office as part of its legislative agenda in 2027. County Judge Lina Hidalgo was not present for the vote. The action came after Wyatt’s office approved two fraudulent checks totaling nearly $53,000. The funds were recovered, but the incident prompted commissioners to move key fraud-prevention duties out of the treasurer’s office and into the Office of Management and Budget. Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, has said that if Wyatt is re-elected, “it will effectively be a signal for removal.” Tarrant, Bexar, Collin and El Paso counties have all eliminated the treasurer’s office in recent years. The Harris County Treasurer’s Office is similar to a comptroller or controller, responsible for managing bank accounts and public money. It handles the receipt, disbursement and deposit of county funds and keeps records of how money is spent.

Georgia GOP candidate Jackson loans $20 million to Texas oil refinery Trump touted

Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson loaned $20 million at 12% interest to a new oil refinery planned for the Texas coast that President Donald Trump has hailed as a major victory in his quest for “energy dominance.” The healthcare billionaire’s loan and ownership stake in America First Refining’s plan to build the first new, major US refinery in half a century were disclosed in a federal tax court hearing earlier this year. Jackson’s ties to the project have become a flashpoint in the contest to decide who will lead the nation’s eighth-largest economy. His Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 election, Keisha Lance Bottoms, has unveiled ads slamming his role in the fossil-fuel installation as well as his ties to Trump. An Atlanta Journal Constitution poll ranks the race effectively a dead heat.

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Trump has been a robust supporter of America First’s proposed fuel-making complex in the Texas city of Brownsville roughly 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Elon Musk’s Starbase launch complex. The refinery will process solely Texas crude when operations begin toward the end of the decade. The White House has been seeking to boost domestic fuel output as wars in Iran and Ukraine spike prices globally ahead of the midterm elections. Retail diesel has soared almost 70% since the US-Iran war kicked off in late February, touching an all-time high of more than $6.50 a gallon late last month. The president is so bullish on America First’s development that the project is listed on the White House website as the single largest investment in US manufacturing and industry, pegging its value at $300 billion. Donald Trump Jr. has praised Jackson for stepping up to help finance the refinery. Jackson’s role in financing the refinery emerged during testimony in his United States Tax Court suit against the Internal Revenue Service over deductions tied to low-budget movie productions. In response to a question about whether any loans made by his investment firm, Jackson Investment Group, have been particularly successful, he alluded to the proposed Brownsville refinery.

Race for Tarrant County judge a barometer of region’s political dynamic, analysts say

After four years sharing the commissioners court dais, Tim O’Hare and Alisa Simmons face off Nov. 3 in the race for Tarrant County judge. O’Hare, the Republican incumbent seeking his second term, has focused his campaign on keeping property taxes low and bolstering public safety. Simmons, a Democratic county commissioner, wants to strengthen county services and has centered her campaign on empowering residents while holding government officials accountable. Both candidates took office in January 2023. Their tenure on commissioners court has been marked by repeated public clashes, as the two held opposing stances on issues including accountability for in-custody deaths at the county jail, local law enforcement’s role in immigration enforcement, last summer’s county redistricting and decorum at public meetings. The race for county judge is also a test of the county’s political dynamic, as O’Hare seeks to maintain and further assert Republican dominance in Tarrant County after the high-profile county redistricting he initiated last summer.

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Political analysts told the Fort Worth Report and KERA News that county judge races are not typically the biggest drivers of voter turnout in midterm elections, but national attention on the high-profile governor and U.S. Senate races can generate a trickle-down effect on the down-ballot races. Although Democrats are primed for a good election year in Texas, Tarrant County candidates shouldn’t count on voters sticking to one political party up and down the ballot, said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. “This is a distinctively hard year for Republicans across the country and will be in Tarrant County as well,” Jillson said in a phone interview. “How far down the ballot that goes remains to be seen.” National unrest over Republican leadership, combined with Tarrant’s growing and diversifying population, could benefit Simmons’ bid for the countywide seat, Jillson said. Voters who split from their usual party — such as Republicans considering voting Democrat for Senate — typically revert to their political affiliation further down the ballot, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. He predicted an O’Hare win. “Honestly, it’s hard to bet against Republicans, especially down-ballot,” Rottinghaus said.

Camp Mystic given firm deadline to restructure how company is run or could lose control

A bankruptcy judge could appoint a trustee if Camp Mystic fails to meet requirements for independent oversight of its Chapter 11 case. After three days of hearings, a Houston-based Bankruptcy Judge gave Camp Mystic a deadline in their Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The Kerr County Camp and other debtors in the case have until September 28 to submit a number of documents, including who they want to appoint as an Independent Fiduciary and how they plan to oversee their Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

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If they don't file them on time or Judge Christopher Lopez does not deem them up to standard by November 3, he will appoint a Trustee to oversee the case. Camp Mystic is where 28 people, including 27 campers and counselors, died in the July 2025 floods. Several of the families whose daughters died have asked for the Trustee to be put in place. The ruling comes about two weeks after Judge Lopez ruled the stay is lifted on lawsuits against the Eastland family, who own and operate the camp. Those can resume as of November 9. Camp Mystic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June after pulling their license application to open their doors for the 2026 summer camp season.

Saks sought $126 million from Dallas to keep Neiman Marcus downtown

Saks Global asked for $126 million in taxpayer dollars last year to redo — and keep open — the flagship Neiman Marcus store in downtown Dallas, newly released public records show. Saks, which acquired the department store two years ago, said it was going to pursue historic tax credits and city funding to renovate the building, bring the iconic Zodiac restaurant to the ground floor and reconstruct the top seven floors into office space and a “Luxury Accelerator” — a sort of incubator for fashion designers and fabricators. The company, now called Exemplar Luxury Group, asked for money collected in downtown’s tax increment financing zone. It presented the plan to the city over a year before Neiman Marcus permanently closed downtown. The proposal consolidated the retail store on the first two floors of the century-old building, where shoppers could’ve perused the work by the designers upstairs.

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Downtown Dallas Inc., the nonprofit that oversees downtown, is working to use historic tax credits to save aging buildings in the city center. Neiman Marcus is one of many fixtures leaving downtown. Saks officials did not immediately respond Wednesday about why the deal didn’t materialize, but in the presentation the company said the project was not “financially viable without the requested incentive.” The city’s economic development officials told The Dallas Morning News the city “indefinitely paused” work on the application after the company filed for bankruptcy in January and didn’t do any “substantive work” reviewing the proposal in the months before the pause. The News received emails, slide decks and incentive documents this week after requesting the records from the city several times. The city attorney’s office requested the Texas attorney general allow city officials to withhold the records, but the AG’s office allowed a partial release. The records show the financial considerations in the fight to keep the store downtown. The city’s Landmark Commission kicked off the process to designate the property as historic and protect the building from demolition in August.

As Texas Gov. Abbott targets Muslim groups, his PAC receives millions from Muslim oil exec

One of the largest donors to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s political action committee is a Pakistani American Muslim oil executive and philanthropist, who has given nearly $4 million to the PAC since 2025 alone. Over the same period, Abbott has launched investigations of Islamic organizations and escalated anti-Muslim rhetoric. Since 2015, S. Javaid Anwar donated more than $15 million to Abbott’s Texans for Greg Abbott PAC, making him one of Abbott’s top donors, according to Texas Ethics Commission filings. The founder of Midland Energy and Petroplex Energy, two independent oil drilling companies, Anwar has given $3.9 million and made $122,000 in-kind donations, such as providing private plane travel for Abbott, since 2025, filings show. Anwar, who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s, has been a major donor to Republicans, including contributing more than $1 million to Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to U.S. Federal Election Commission filings. The White House referred RNS to the Republican National Committee for comment, which did not immediately respond.

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Anwar, a Houston resident, also has supported local Muslim groups, serving, for example, as one of the “grand sponsors” of Houston’s largest interfaith Ramadan Iftar since at least 2013, according to the organization’s website. “He’s giving millions to Abbott, to the GOP, to Trump specifically, and they in turn have harmed us in very, very real ways,” said Saleema Gul, a Houston-based activist who is Muslim. RNS made several attempts to reach Anwar. On Friday (Oct. 16), his executive assistant sent an email to RNS, saying, “Mr. Anwar is ill and not taking any meeting request or phone calls at this time.” Abbott has called for state and federal criminal and civil investigations into The Meadow, a proposed Muslim-centered real estate development in a north Texas suburb. In November 2025, he also designated the largest Muslim civil rights group, the Council on American Islamic Relations, a foreign terrorist group in Texas. The three-term governor has repeatedly said he is targeting Sharia law, though interfaith advocates have said his rhetoric has put a target on Muslims in the state. Abbott’s spokesperson referred RNS to Abbott’s campaign, which did not respond to a request for comment. Social media users on the right have also raised objections to Anwar’s donations for different reasons, saying that Abbott’s acceptance of the donations show he doesn’t take the “Islamification” of Texas seriously.

San Antonio City Council curb's mayor’s power over bond picks

In a direct jab at Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, the City Council is curtailing her power over who will oversee San Antonio’s next bond program. Council members voted 7-3 on Wednesday to give themselves the authority to pick and approve the three chairpersons who will guide the city’s 2027 bond process, breaking with precedent. Before Jones, mayors were free to unilaterally name the so-called tri-chairs, who usually are business and civic leaders. Jones had announced her chairs on Monday: Jim Perschbach, president and CEO of Port San Antonio; Jelynne LeBlanc Jamison, president and CEO of the Center for Health Care Services and chairwoman of the San Antonio Water System’s board of directors; and Mario Obledo Jr., chief of government and public affairs at the San Antonio Food Bank. Wednesday’s vote nullifies those appointments.

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Council members Teri Castillo, Marina Alderete Gavito and Marc Whyte forced the special meeting by filing a three-signature memo last week requesting that Councilwomen Sukh Kaur and Phyllis Viagran review the mayor’s selections and that city staff draft an ordinance requiring the council to green-light the nominees. But the ordinance sets up Kaur and Viagran to go further than weighing in on Jones’ selections. It gives the two councilwomen the authority to recommend tri-chair candidates, who will then go to City Council for approval. The five council members behind the measure have repeatedly clashed with Jones over a variety of policies and protocols. She has accused her colleagues of ignoring her budget proposals and recommendations for the city’s contributions to Project Marvel, the sports and entertainment district downtown. They, in turn, say she’s been unwilling to hear their feedback and hasn’t sought their support for her initiatives. Jones’ recent proposal to allocate most of the 2027 bond proceeds to Council Districts 1 through 5, the city’s poorest, fell flat.

Texas wedding venue settles lawsuit over $16K refund after groom dies

A Hays County wedding venue has dropped its counterclaim against a woman who filed a lawsuit this summer accusing the business of refusing to refund her after her fiancée died suddenly, months before the wedding was scheduled to take place. The counterclaim from Posey Meadows against the surviving fiancée was not part of an amended answer filed in the case Tuesday.

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An attorney for the woman confirmed Wednesday evening the case was settled and she will be given a refund for the full amount. In a statement, Posey Meadows addressed the latest step in a suit that has brought a flood of negative attention to the venue. “Our thoughts continue to be with Diego’s family and loved ones, and we extend our deepest condolences. Posey Meadows is not pursuing any claim against (redacted) and is not seeking any further payment from her. When we were told of Diego’s passing, we wanted to help. We have always asked for confirmation of the circumstances when making an exception to our cancellation policy. When families have provided it in other difficult situations, we have made exceptions and refunded them in full. Our goal is to treat every family and every client fairly, compassionately, and consistently. In early May, we asked the family for a copy of the death certificate, and they told us they would provide it. While waiting, we wanted to do our part and searched for an obituary, a funeral or memorial notice, and any other public confirmation of Diego’s passing, but were unable to locate anything. We continued checking over the following months. We did not receive a copy of the death certificate until mid-August, after they had filed the lawsuit and after we had responded to it—as we were required to do. Our efforts were never meant to diminish the family’s loss. We regret that the litigation process has complicated what we hoped would be a speedy and compassionate resolution. We are hopeful an agreement will be reached very soon, and we sincerely hope it allows everyone involved to move forward with peace and healing.” An attorney for Posey Meadows, who confirmed she had earlier this week replaced the attorney who filed the counterclaim, told KSAT Wednesday morning the venue had offered to settle the case and is waiting to hear back from the plaintiff’s attorney.

National Stories

Hegseth wanted Eisenhower’s globe for his office. His staff broke it.

It was early this year when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wanted to move the world. A replica of it, anyway. Two floor globes said to be used by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II are housed in the Pentagon, where subsequent generations of Army leaders became custodians of the artifacts, according to people familiar with the globe’s lineage and an accompanying plaque dating them to the 1930s. The historical significance was attractive to Hegseth, these people said, and his staff requested that the secretary’s office become the new home to one of the 30-inch globes. Ordinarily, moving historical items within the building is a deliberate process overseen by trained curators. Instead, Hegseth’s staff dispatched its own team to relocate an Eisenhower globe. They lost control of the artifact and dropped it, sending the globe crashing onto its base and impaling the fragile shell near Antarctica, according to those familiar with the incident. The resulting gash appears to be several inches wide.

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Pentagon officials denied The Washington Post’s request for a photo of the globe or to examine the artifact in person, but The Post separately obtained images of the damage. The Army, in an email to The Post, acknowledged that the globe was damaged and said it occurred during an “attempted move” Feb. 3. Aside from the hole, “the spherical portion of the globe was detached from the metal mounting that allows it to rotate,” spokesman Christopher Surridge said in response to questions. Ultimately, the damaged relic was not relocated, he said. Asked where the movers came from, Surridge referred The Post to Hegseth’s office. Spokespeople for the defense secretary did not respond to a request for comment. The Army office in possession of the globe had expected to consult with experts at the U.S. Army Center of Military History on how to ensure its safe transport and properly document its new relocation to Hegseth’s office, according to two people familiar with the matter. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a previously undisclosed incident that is viewed as an embarrassment within the Defense Department.

It’s a blue state. It was ground zero for ICE’s brutality. It’s somehow also Democrats’ 2026 weak spot.

With less than two weeks to go before the midterms, the tale is the same as it has been all fall: It’s hard to find anything going Republicans’ way. Look around. While the GOP’s super PACs continue flooding Senate races in red states like Texas, Ohio, Kansas, and Iowa with ads, Senate Democrats’ super PAC is investing in Mississippi. In the House, Republican election groups are retreating from lost causes to defend core seats. But as Democrats put away House districts and Senate races in states like Georgia and North Carolina, one race is swimming curiously against the tide. On the same day that the election handicappers at the Cook Political Report shifted their rating of the Mississippi and South Carolina Senate races in Democrats’ favor, and fellow forecasters at Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved dozens of House races Democrats’ way, Cook made another change.

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It moved the Minnesota Senate race, a contest between Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Republican former sports reporter Michele Tafoya, from “Likely Democrat” to “Lean Democrat.” Crystal Ball had made a similar decision the previous week. In other words, forecasters believe Flanagan is still the favorite, but not by much. What’s going on here? Why, in a great environment for Democrats, and in a consistently blue state like Minnesota, is this race looking like a squeaker? It’s not the same as New Hampshire, Democrats’ other misbehaving light-blue state that should be a shoo-in this year but somehow isn’t. In the Granite State, Republicans are running a former senator from the state’s Republican royal family, and Republican outside groups invested substantially, and early, in that race. Senate Republicans’ main super PAC, meanwhile, hasn’t put any money behind Tafoya’s bid; each candidate’s campaign has spent a civilized couple-million dollars each. And it’s not that Minnesota is a runaway train trending redder demographically. It’s dominated by the Twin Cities, and has a high percentage of adults with college degrees, the dividing line on which so much of Trump-era political realignment hinges. Instead, Democrats’ inability to pull away in this race is a matter of candidate quality, and seismic news stories from Minnesota that garnered immense national attention. What sets the race apart, aside from positions here or there, though, is that Tafoya, more than the average 2026 Republican in Trump’s America, has a lot of offensive material to work with. Flanagan is lieutenant to Gov. Tim Walz, who presided over a state welfare fraud scandal of such magnitude that it ended his bid for a third term. Tafoya has made this her central line of attack, arguing that Flanagan should be held accountable for the failures of the administration.

Trump merchandise stores are closing: 'He has peaked'

When the Trump merchandise store here announced it was closing earlier this year, Wes Alker, a Trump superfan and retired auto mechanic, came by for some nostalgia and the going-out-of-business deals. They included everything from "Trump Won" caps for $9.99 to Trump pool floats for $19.99. Trump stores first emerged during the 2016 campaign. But with the president now in his second and final term, store owners say there isn't as much to fire up the consumer fan base and sales have softened. At least four stores have closed this year. The MAGA Mall, a big online retailer and wholesaler, reports sales of MAGA gear are down 30% compared to a presidential election year when Trump is on the ballot.

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"He's no longer a viable business model for entrepreneurs because he has peaked," said Alker, who wore a gray T-shirt with a photo of former President Joe Biden and former Vice-President Kamala Harris which read, "Dumb and Dumber." Trump's lame duck status isn't the only drag on demand. When the Bensalem store closed – it still maintains an online presence – Trump's average approval rating had already fallen from 50 % when he took office to 44 %. Nine months later, when Bill Hays shut down his Trump super store outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, the president's approval rating had fallen five more points. Hays said unpopular policies – such as DOGE's massive government staff cuts – have had an impact. He noticed that instead of immediately putting on their new Trump gear, more buyers asked for bags. "People were not wearing their colors, so to speak, like they did before the (2024) election," said Hays, 80. When Hays opened his store in April 2024, business boomed. One day, he said, there was a line of 80 people out the door and sales hit $200,000 a month. By the time it closed in September, sales had fallen to just $20,000 a month. "After the inauguration, I think a lot of people felt that their job was done," said Hays. "They didn't have to promote MAGA or Trump."

Vance ‘disgusted’ by Republicans decrying Ramaswamy ad with Acton’s mother

Vice President Vance criticized the response by some Republicans to a campaign ad for Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R), saying he is “disgusted” by those in his party who pushed back on the video. “I have to admit that I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” Vance said at a fraud task force press conference Wednesday. The ad features the mother of Ramaswamy’s Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, who accuses Acton of being a “liar” and saying “my daughter needs help.”

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Acton’s brother released a statement and a competing video hours later saying that he and Acton have been estranged from their mother for years because she stayed married to the man who sexually abused Acton at a young age. Acton was removed from her mother’s care at the age of 12, something unmentioned in the Ramaswamy ad. Acton is in a competitive race for Ohio governor, but her lead has expanded in recent polls. Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, gives Acton a 60 percent chance of defeating Ramaswamy. Vance, a former Ohio senator, again defended Ramaswamy while rallying with him in the Buckeye State Wednesday. “Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar,” Vance said. “Whatever you think about any of the TV advertisements, focus on the substance and focus on the facts.” The personal nature and controversy surrounding the ad led Democrats and some Republicans to condemn it and call on Ramaswamy, who admitted Tuesday that the ad was from his campaign, to change course. Axios reported Tuesday that Ramaswamy’s campaign will now spend $4 million on airing the ad statewide. Vance said at the press conference that he is not concerned about the ad and is only focused on Republicans winning Ohio. “Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern,” Vance said. “What is my concern is who is going to govern the next generation of American government, who is going to win the Senate race in the state of Ohio, who is going to win the governor’s race in the state of Ohio?” “Politics is a tough business,” Vance added. “My message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.”

‘There are no people’: Springfield, Ohio, faces loss of Haitian residents

The denizens of this once booming industrial Midwestern city were pining for something to rally people around when they coined the motto: “Speak a good word for Springfield or say nothing.” It was the height of the Depression in 1932 and the slogan sought to inspire unity among those living in a place where the Shawnee once roamed, European immigrants arrived and freed Black families found a home. Now some residents in Springfield, Ohio, say the city’s creed is being put to the test. Since thousands of Haitian residents lost their protection from deportation this summer, dozens have been arrested, scores have lost their jobs and others have either left the country or decided to hunker down at home, out of view. “Help wanted” ads for cooks, dishwashers and babysitters are going unanswered. Haitian residents are limiting their electrical usage as they worry about how they will pay the bills.

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“I’m not sure there is precedent in U.S. history for this small a community to lose that much of its workforce and population cloistered at home,” said Tim Voltz, a Springfield resident who helps Haitian immigrants. “The situation is unsustainable.” Ohio’s Miami Valley region had been growing in recent years, after decades of decline that began in the 1950s when factories shuttered and the area’s population shrunk. New immigrants, including people from Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as Haiti, helped boost Springfield’s economy, adding thousands of new jobs. The county health department estimated the Haitian population grew to about 20 to 25 percent of the city over the last decade. Then Donald Trump targeted the city’s Haitians during his 2024 presidential campaign, falsely claiming that most had arrived illegally, were “destroying” the city and were eating people’s pets. The economy began to falter in Clark County, where Springfield is located, losing more manufacturing jobs in 2025 than it had gained the two previous years. Springfield now leads the state in year-over-year job losses. Federal job reports show the city’s labor force lost 1,100 manufacturing, leisure and hospitality jobs, contracting 2.2 percent in 2025. The downward trend has continued this year, preliminary data shows. Many factors, including rising transportation and child care costs, help explain why Ohioans are exiting the workforce.

Trump's redistricting gave Republicans a head start, now it goes to the voters

Voters across much of the South are casting ballots ahead of next month's midterm elections in congressional districts that were redrawn following calls from President Trump. He said it would help the GOP hold the House, where they currently outnumber Democrats 218 to 214. In state legislatures over the last year, Republicans tilted about eight more seats their way than Democrats did in response. But it's the voters who will decide whether it works. Here's the catch: Republicans redrew districts partly on how people voted in the presidential election in 2024. Now the political mood has changed and many who voted for President Trump two years ago could be voting for Democrats, or not voting, in the midterms. The Republicans could lose many of the districts they targeted.

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Usually, states redistrict early in each decade after the census. But Trump called on legislatures to do it now. It set off a chain reaction of political crises across the country that threw legislatures into the national spotlight. Texas Republicans issued arrest warrants for Democratic legislators who'd left the state. The Louisiana governor suspended a primary after thousands of votes were already cast so the lines could be redrawn. In Missouri, the state supreme court found the Republican secretary of state in contempt for sticking with a GOP map that was not legally in effect. In California and Virginia, Democrats won approval in statewide votes for redistricting in response to the Republicans in other states – only to have the courts toss out Virginia's plan. And when the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act this spring, it fueled rushed legislative sessions to draw maps that often ended up weakening the voting power of minority communities. In a few places, Republicans rejected Trump's call to redistrict, including dramatic votes in the Indiana and South Carolina legislatures. But overall, Trump prompted a cycle of mid-decade redistricting unlike any since the 1960s, when courts set the current rules.

Trump pushback, Biden 'disaster' and gender surprise: 5 key moments from Kansas Senate debate

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton sparred over President Donald Trump, immigration, Iran, transgender athletes, artificial intelligence and personal controversies during a contentious Kansas Senate debate Wednesday night. The hour-long showdown came less than two weeks before Election Day as Marshall seeks a second term and Hamilton, a longtime pastor, tries to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Kansas since 1932. The race has drawn increased national attention as Republicans and Democrats battle for control of the Senate, with Trump traveling to Kansas earlier this week to campaign for Marshall â?? a topic touched on during the debate.

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The debate wasted little time getting contentious, opening with questions about controversies that have fueled attacks against both candidates. Marshall was confronted with a New York Times review that found his former medical practice sued more than 700 patients over unpaid bills. "Every year we gave away $3 to $4 million of charity, but we also had a business," Marshall responded. "We had 300 employees, we had a mortgage payment, we had electric." Hamilton, meanwhile, was questioned about his handling of allegations involving a volunteer at his church's summer camp who was accused of sexual abuse. Hamilton acknowledged that he should have ensured the individual did not return to the camp following an initial investigation. Trump became part of the debate after moderators played footage from the president's campaign appearance for Marshall in Kansas earlier in the week. "And at this election, I'm asking you to pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot. Just pretend," Trump told the crowd. Marshall was then asked whether Trump's support meant Kansans should expect him to back every part of the president's agenda. "No," Marshall responded, saying there had been "multiple times" when he objected to Trump.

Copyright October 22, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved