September 16, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Fed rates, tariffs will test GOP midterm defenses

There are 48 days until Election Day. There are many pivotal moments in an election cycle. Today is one of the most important. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce this afternoon whether it’s raising interest rates for the first time in three years to counter persistently high inflation and calm a bond market that’s punishing U.S. bonds. A hike would raise the cost of living for tens of millions of Americans. President Donald Trump and other top administration officials have insisted the Fed cut rates. “The United States is so strong, we should be paying the lowest interest rate in the world, regardless of their formulas,” Trump said over the weekend. But the furor in global markets over inflation may prove more powerful than Trump’s demands. And the fallout will be huge — credit cards, mortgages and car loans all get more expensive when interest rates rise. So does the cost of servicing the massive U.S. debt.

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If Fed Chair Kevin Warsh and other governors are forced to keep raising rates in order to quash inflation, the economy will eventually slow, with all the political fallout that carries for Trump and GOP lawmakers. There’s already bad news for Republicans on the affordability front, the issue dominating this election. Thanks to the Iran war, gas prices hit $4.36 per gallon nationally, up from $4.15 last week. Diesel is at a record $6.26 and headed higher, which will make groceries and everything else more costly. Stores are limiting sales of motor oil, and it’s going to cost more to heat your home this winter. Healthcare costs will rise dramatically next year. Electricity and water prices are surging, with data centers at least partly to blame. Meanwhile, the GOP-run Senate is debating a college sports bill while legislation that would address Americans’ economic concerns languishes. Even Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the most endangered GOP incumbent, complained in a private Republican meeting Tuesday that the Senate should take up bills that actually help regular Americans, pointing to permitting reform and her bipartisan insulin bill. Tariffs. Trump’s trade wars have helped push costs higher, a fact Democrats are hammering on the campaign trail. The escalation with Canada — one of America’s biggest trading partners — shows how painful the tariffs have been for the GOP. The standoff hits hardest in border and farm states where there are a handful of key Senate races. A Republican senator on the ballot this year told us that the White House is “putting a noose around all of our necks” by escalating a trade war this close to the election.

Texas Republicans are scrambling after Bo French’s outburst

Texas Republicans were already fretting about slipping support with voters of color. Then Bo French got on X. The Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner posted a photo of a crowd of University of Texas football fans, most of them people of color, saying, “The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.” The Sunday morning comments, which appeared to target South Asian students, sent Lone Star Republicans into a frenzy, worried about the impact the rhetoric could have on GOP candidates up and down the ballot, including Attorney General Ken Paxton’s high-profile Senate race and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection fight. A number of Republican lawmakers, including some in tough races, quickly denounced the post as racist, as others squirmed with carefully worded statements. And GOP operatives winced at the potential electoral backlash — in a year that’s already looking tougher-than-normal for a party that has dominated the state for decades. Still, no one explicitly called for him to drop out of the race. “His post on social media is profoundly unhelpful if his goal is to see Republicans win statewide races in a tough political environment in 50 days,” said Matt Mackowiak, an Austin-based GOP consultant who advised Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) unsuccessful primary campaign against Paxton.

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Cornyn condemned the post, asking whether other GOP officials would “condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized.” Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas), who is facing a tough reelection fight in a Hispanic-majority district, told POLITICO in a statement she’s willing to “condemn racism” wherever it comes from. “All I see in that photograph is a group of kids celebrating a Longhorns win. What can be more Texan than that?” De La Cruz said, before taking a shot at her Democratic opponent, Bobby Pulido, for his past racial comments. And Karl Rove, a longtime adviser to former President George W. Bush, called French a “bigot” at a private lunch event and said he’s voting for French’s Democratic opponent, The Texas Tribune reported. Meanwhile, state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, the Democrat running against French, said he had his best fundraising day of the cycle after French’s post. French didn’t respond to requests for comment. He repeatedly stood by his comments since Sunday morning. During a local radio appearance Monday, he said he didn’t have any personal animosity against the students at the football game, but said that it is “not racist to point out that we should be favoring Texans over foreigners” and that his fellow Republicans are afraid of being called racist.

House leader threatens to abolish Texas Railroad Commission

The head of the House oversight committee for the Texas Railroad Commission threatened to abolish the oil and gas regulatory agency Tuesday after a commissioner refused to appear at a hearing. Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian had been called to testify at Tuesday’s meeting of the House Energy Resources Committee in response to the commission’s recent decision to eliminate public comment from its meetings. Christian notified the head of the committee, Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, that he would not attend, saying he had to honor a prior commitment, according to a letter Christian sent to Darby’s office.

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“A sitting commissioner absconding from his agency's oversight hearing is nothing more than a mockery of the Texas Legislature and the legislative process,” Darby said. In fiery remarks, Darby said that because of Christian’s refusal to appear, the Legislature would take a close look at the operations of the Railroad Commission. “We could abolish the Railroad Commission with a simple majority vote in the Legislature if we so choose,” Darby said, adding that every authority the commission has derives from state lawmakers. “The Legislature giveth and it taketh. That is not a threat. It is a fact.” In an emailed statement, Christian called Darby’s comments “an attack on democracy.” “Chairman Darby’s answer to a minor adjustment to the public-input process is to threaten the ultimate form of public input: Texans’ right to elect their Railroad Commissioners," Christian said. Darby’s committee plans to schedule another meeting with Christian's testimony as its sole agenda item. If he refuses to appear again, Darby said the committee would issue a subpoena. “If Commissioner Christian is listening, and I bet he is, I would tell him to keep his calendar clear,” Darby said. The spat between Darby and Christian erupted out of the commission’s decision in August to remove public comment from its regular meetings. For 21 years, members of the public have had an opportunity to address the three-member panel of elected oil regulators at each meeting. Christian proposed the change, saying some people were abusing the privilege. In place of public comments, staff would host listening sessions. The change passed 2-1, with outgoing Commissioner Jim Wright in favor and Chair Christi Craddick opposed.

Trump plans blitz of $138 million and counting to save midterm Republicans

President Trump’s political operation has unleashed its vast financial resources to try to save the Republican Party’s control of Congress, reserving nearly $138 million over the past 10 days to help the party’s midterm candidates. The planned spending linked to Mr. Trump’s $400 million super PAC has grown by the day, and is set to fuel a massive ad campaign supporting battleground Republican candidates beginning this month. Some Republicans for months have criticized Mr. Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., for not seriously engaging in the midterms despite its huge war chest. But now a blitz of spending tied to the group has arrived.

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A new super PAC that The New York Times previously reported was linked to MAGA Inc., No Going Back PAC Inc., has booked over $95 million worth of ads, according to data from AdImpact, a media tracking firm. Another $27 million worth of ads is slated to come from another new super PAC called Safety and Affordability PAC Inc. The group is financially backed by MAGA Inc., according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose a confidential arrangement. The group has not yet begun advertising. The paperwork for No Going Back and Safety and Affordability was filed with the Federal Election Commission six minutes apart by the same treasurer. Sign up to get Maggie Haberman's articles emailed to you. Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent reporting on President Trump. So far, Safety and Affordability PAC has appeared to focus on helping House Republicans. It has booked ads in 15 races for the lower chamber. No Going Back PAC, by contrast, has booked two-thirds of its ad reservations on Senate races. And MAGA Inc. itself has booked another $9 million in ads — so far only in the Texas Senate race. The three super PACs seem to have essentially carved up the midterm map; so far, their only overlapping advertising spending is in just two House races, New York’s 17th District and Michigan’s 4th District.

State Stories

Texas argues it needs DHS’s overhauled immigration database for the midterms

As the Supreme Court deliberates the legality of an overhauled immigration database that some states want to use to purge noncitizens from voter rolls ahead of the midterms, Texas is arguing that the system’s updates — which include citizens’ Social Security data — has been “transformational” for the state’s ability to administer elections. After President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower court’s order that halted use of the modified Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database, Texas filed a brief Tuesday arguing that its implementation has been essential for monitoring voter roll accuracy. “By forcing the States to utilize an outdated and inefficient SAVE program, the district court’s order undermines Texas’ interest in maintaining accurate, up-to-date voter rolls — which in turn impedes Texas’ interest in ensuring voter confidence and administering an orderly election,” state leaders, including state Attorney General Ken Paxton, wrote in a filing with the high court.

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The SAVE database, which spawned a tangled legal process, was originally intended to track the status of immigrants in the country but was revamped after Trump’s March 2025 executive order aimed at rooting out potential noncitizen voters. Expanding the database by adding personal data and new features prompted a lawsuit over concerns that the Social Security number search feature constituted a privacy violation — amid broader concerns that the database could have inaccuracies that would lead to American citizens being erroneously flagged as ineligible to vote. Texas’ brief coincides with the arrests of seven people indicted for “illegal activity” related to the 2024 general election, Paxton announced on Tuesday. The Texas secretary of state’s office said that 117 out of 2,724 flagged potential noncitizen voters have been referred to Paxton’s office for further investigation, while 578 voters had demonstrated citizenship upon further review. Travis County, home of Texas’ capital, Austin, filed an amicus brief on Tuesday, arguing the SAVE system was unreliable and risked purging American citizens ahead of the midterms. The county cited an existing state code that requires voters who have been flagged to provide proof of citizenship within 30 days or risk being removed from state voter rolls.

Ex-state Rep. Burnam files lawsuit against Judge Tim O’Hare, Tarrant County

A former Texas representative who was ejected from a Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting in August and subsequently arrested is suing the county and Judge Tim O’Hare in federal court, according to court documents. O’Hare ordered Lon Burnam removed from the Aug. 4 meeting when the 73-year-old picked up the microphone — in an alleged violation of the meeting rules — during his one minute of public comment. Burnam said he was protesting O’Hare’s removal of another public speaker for handling the microphone when the incident occurred. The former state representative lay down on the floor in what he described as “nonviolent resistance,” and deputies from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office had to carry him out. Burnam alleges that O’Hare violated his First Amendment rights and claims that the county has repeatedly used its authority to silence “critical speakers,” according to the lawsuit.

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Burnam’s complaint was filed Sept. 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The day of Burnam’s arrest, the commissioners were discussing cutting the number of polling locations for the Nov. 3 midterm election. O’Hare removed one man during public comments for picking up the microphone. The former state representative said in the court documents that he’d understood the man is autistic and had previously received permission to handle the microphone. Burnam felt O’Hare treated the speaker unfairly and decided to protest. The 73-year-old defended his behavior at the meeting, stating in the lawsuit that he “did not damage the microphone, threaten anyone, strike anyone, block the proceedings, attempt to obtain a second speaking turn, or prevent another speaker from being heard.” Burnam has been charged with disrupting a meeting and disorderly conduct. His defense attorney, Tiffany Burks, filed a motion on Sept. 9 seeking to dismiss the charges. Burnam was previously removed from a Tarrant County Commissioners meeting on July 2, 2024. According to the lawsuit, he approached O’Hare after the public portion of the meeting and criticized him for his alleged treatment of Commissioner Alisa Simmons. Burnam states that he observed O’Hare cut off Simmons and declare her out of order while she was questioning county staff.

After backlash, power grid officials back away from agreement to give ERCOT CEO millions in additional bonuses

The president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas secured approval for a contract Tuesday that documents suggested could pay up to $6.4 million next year. But after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick publicly criticized the move, Pablo Vegas told The Texas Tribune that the contract won’t be executed and he’ll remain under his current employment agreement. Both ERCOT’s board of directors and the Public Utility Commission, which regulates the grid, advanced a six-year contract extension for Pablo Vegas on Tuesday during ERCOT’s regular board meeting. But Patrick said on social media that he told the chairs of both agencies to “immediately reverse their action” and that they complied. “During a time of increasing utility costs, this is not the time to give the CEO of ERCOT a multi-million-dollar pay raise on the backs of ratepayers,” Patrick said.

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Patrick’s post came after The Texas Tribune published an earlier version of this story about the contract approval. A PUC spokesperson confirmed the vote to grant Vegas the new contract, but did not mention any reversed decisions. Vegas said the boards of directors did not vote Tuesday to rescind their approval of the contract, but decided not to sign it. He said he did not know when Patrick called ERCOT board chair Bill Flores and PUC chair Thomas Gleason. Vegas said that immediately after the meeting’s closed-door executive session, Flores publicly brought back up the approved contract and said the board would not finalize it Tuesday but did not give a reason why. ERCOT operates as a nonprofit and is funded mostly by an administration fee of $0.61 per megawatt-hour, which is paid directly by retail electric providers and municipal utilities and typically passed on to their customers. ERCOT reduced its administration fee from $0.63 per MWh at the start of the year. Statewide, electric rates have risen about 40% on average since 2020, up from an average residential rate of 11.50¢ per kWh in 2020 to 16.11¢ per kWh in 2026, according to data from independent electricity marketplace ElectricChoice. ERCOT anticipates nearly $486 million in revenue in 2026, according to its 2026-2027 biennial budget.

State leaders question handling of suspect before deadly Round Rock homicide

A Labor Day homicide in Round Rock is now drawing attention from state leaders who are questioning how the man accused of killing a 62-year-old man was released from jail earlier this year. Andrew James Wimsatt was fatally stabbed at Chandler Creek Park near Double File Trail Elementary School. Investigators believe the attack was random and that Wimsatt and the suspect, 26-year-old Benedict Ogbodiegwu, did not know each other. According to an arrest affidavit, Wimsatt was sitting on a park bench when Ogbodiegwu approached him from behind and attacked him. Ogbodiegwu was arrested later that day and charged with murder.

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Williamson County court records show Ogbodiegwu was arrested twice earlier this year. One case involved a misdemeanor theft charge, while another involved failing to identify or providing false information. Ogbodiegwu also had a previous felony arrest in 2017 for theft from a person. Gov. Greg Abbott called Wimsatt’s death a “senseless, preventable tragedy” and pointed to the case while discussing his push to create a Texas Statewide Prosecutor. “This is exactly why I am creating a Texas Statewide Prosecutor to keep dangerous repeat offenders behind bars where they belong,” Abbott said. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows also called for answers about why Ogbodiegwu was released after multiple arrests. Burrows said the Texas House’s Governmental Oversight Select Committee will investigate “prosecutorial integrity” and whether officials put ideology ahead of public safety. The committee is scheduled to meet Sept. 30.

News 4 WOAI, Fox News 29 face layoffs amid shifting TV news industry

As major changes continue to sweep through the TV news industry, two popular San Antonio news outlets have laid off multiple staff members. News 4 WOAI and KABB Fox News 29, sister stations owned by American media company Sinclair Broadcast Group, notified staff members of the layoffs Wednesday. “WOAI and KABB are committed to positioning the stations for long-term sustainability,” a Sinclair spokesperson told the Express-News. “We have made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of positions in our content center.” The spokesperson noted that the layoffs would allow the stations to “operate more efficiently and continue delivering exceptional local news and content to San Antonio viewers. We thank those affected for their contributions to the stations and the community,” the spokesperson added.

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Although Sinclair’s statement did not disclose exactly how many employees were laid off or identify the positions that were eliminated, the cuts come as the company has made similar newsroom reductions at other Texas-based stations. On Aug. 6, the company abruptly laid off morning anchor John-Carlos Estrada and traffic anchor Jenna Wilson, who led CBS Austin’s “This Morning” program. "Beginning mid-September, CBS Austin will debut a refreshed format for CBS Austin 'This Morning,' designed to better serve our audience while continuing to deliver the local journalism and community coverage our viewers expect," station leaders said in an August statement. "As part of that transition, the station has made the difficult decision to eliminate two positions. We are grateful to the talented employees whose positions were impacted and thank them for their contributions to the newscast."

Family blames Texas' "merciless" abortion ban for woman's death, files lawsuit targeting Paxton, doctors

The family of Tierra Walker, who died of preeclampsia at the age of 37 when she was 20 weeks pregnant, has filed a lawsuit in Texas, saying she was denied an abortion that could have saved her life as her health quickly deteriorated. Lawyers for Walker's family filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Bexar County District Court accusing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, several of her doctors and others of "deliberate indifference, discrimination, and medical mistreatment [that] ultimately caused her horrific and tragic death" in 2024. Preeclampsia is a severe high blood pressure condition in pregnancy that can be fatal. Walker's family alleges Paxton — a Republican who is currently running for Senate — and another defendant, Stephen Brint Carlton, executive director of the Texas Medical Board, stripped her of her right to life by imposing "a merciless blanket prohibition" on abortion, while the doctors allegedly failed to offer life-saving medical treatment.

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Paxton has been outspoken in his defense of Texas' near-total abortion ban. He has filed lawsuits against doctors and organizations who ship abortion pills to Texas from out of state. His office has not responded to CBS News' request for comment. "At every turn, Texas's political and medical establishments not only failed but actively harmed Ms. Walker," the lawsuit alleges. "Tierra Walker is dead because not one of her … healthcare providers would give her the one medical procedure that would have saved her life," Michelle Maloney, an attorney representing the family, told CBS News. They refused, she said, because of "the immense culture of fear" around abortion in the state of Texas. ProPublica was first to report on the circumstances of Walker's death. CBS News has reached out to all the parties involved in the lawsuit. University Health said in a statement that it could not comment on individual patients or litigation, but said, "Our priority is to provide medically appropriate and timely care, while safeguarding patient privacy and complying with all applicable laws and regulations." Walker learned she was nearly eight weeks pregnant on Sept. 19, 2024, during an emergency room visit.

ExxonMobil wins approval for Texas carbon capture in 2-to-1 vote

ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. won approval for its Rose carbon-capture project in Texas, allowing the company to move ahead with the emission-reducing development that could be among the biggest of its kind. The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s primary oil and natural gas regulator, approved a permit to inject carbon dioxide underground with two commissioners voting in support and one against, according to a statement release by dissenting member Wayne Christian. The permit allows ExxonMobil to inject as much as 53 million tons of carbon dioxide over a 13-year period from industrial emitters along the Gulf Coast into rock strata about one mile (1.6 kilometers) underground for permanent storage. ExxonMobil didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Joshua Schroeder: Weighing facts, not fear, on data centers

(Joshua Schroeder is Georgetown's mayor.) The controversy surrounding land in Taylor shows how quickly a local issue can spiral once social media takes over. What began as a property dispute soon became much larger. Context disappeared, assumptions filled the gaps, and before long, people were debating claims that bore little resemblance to the original facts. Unfortunately, that's becoming an increasingly common pattern. Local issues are amplified online, speculation replaces evidence, and communities are left sorting through headlines instead of facts. Texans can separate fact from internet fiction, and our public conversations should reflect that. The debate over data centers is a good example. Headlines, viral posts, and political rhetoric have fueled the perception that these facilities are inherently harmful to our communities, resources and health. Every major infrastructure project deserves scrutiny, and data centers should be no exception.

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A recent Austin American-Statesman article raised questions about the potential impacts of data centers in Central Texas. Those questions deserve serious answers, but they also deserve context. Communities are best served when these discussions are grounded in evidence rather than speculation. As mayor of Georgetown, I've consistently defended local control over land use because I believe cities should evaluate every proposed project through a transparent process based on objective standards. I don't have the luxury of debating growth in the abstract. Our community experiences it every day. Georgetown sits in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, alongside communities like Taylor and Temple. Growth is not something happening to us; it is something we are responsible for managing through transparency, careful planning, and common sense. That means data centers should be judged the same way we evaluate any major investment: with facts, evidence, and honest public debate—not fear, misinformation or selective skepticism. That responsibility includes balancing infrastructure needs, public safety and quality-of-life investments while responding to pressure to reduce the property tax burden on homeowners. Data centers generate substantial local tax revenue while placing limited demands on roads and municipal services.

San Marcos city council member arrested in Austin, court records show

A San Marcos city council member faces an assault on a public servant charge, a third-degree felony, following a “disturbance” that happened between him and a security guard in downtown Austin over the weekend, according to an arrest affidavit. The council member involved is Lorenzo Gonzalez, who represents Place 5. KXAN confirmed his position via his bond document, which marks his employer as the “City of San Marcos” and his position as “city council.” Gonzalez attended Tuesday’s city council work session. KXAN tried to speak with him as council broke for executive session, but Gonzalez did not answer our questions, and he walked into an area of city hall not accessible to the public. We also asked Mayor Jane Hughson for comment outside of council chambers, but she did not respond to our questions either.

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According to the arrest affidavit, Gonzalez approached security guards near Lavaca and Third Streets downtown on Sunday after another man, named Richard, was hit in the face. The affidavit did not clearly state if or how Richard and Gonzalez knew each other. “Gonzalez walked up to security staff and began arguing, telling the security guards Richard was the victim. [APD] explained that during this interaction, a disturbance occurred between Gonzalez and the security staff,” the affidavit reads. One of the security guards told APD he was trying to de-escalate the situation with the man that got hit, and Gonzalez and a woman “got into the way.” Witnesses said Gonzalez shoved a security guard. Another security guard said Gonzalez bit him on the hand as he tried to detain him. The affidavit also included notes about an interview with the owner of the private security company involved. That owner, named Daniel, said a fight happened outside of a bar involving someone hitting Richard in the face. Daniel said one of Richard’s friends accused the security guards of assaulting Richard, and the security guards tried to explain that the person who punched Richard ran off. Daniel told police he reviewed security footage that showed Gonzalez arguing with one guard, and another guard trying to calm things down. He said the video also showed Gonzalez push a guard twice, before Gonzalez “fell to the ground.” According to Travis County Court Records, Gonzalez’ bond was released on a $5,000 bond.

CenterPoint Energy confirms breach after hacker leaks data

Texas utility CenterPoint Energy confirmed on Monday that a threat actor has obtained customers’ personal information. The disclosure comes just days after a hacker claimed to have stolen millions of records. CenterPoint Energy is a Houston-based public utility that delivers electricity and natural gas to roughly 7 million customers across Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. The company told the SEC that it has launched an investigation after becoming aware of someone claiming to have obtained customer information. “While the investigation remains ongoing, the Company has determined that an unauthorized third party obtained personal information relating to a portion of the Company’s customers through one of the Company’s external facing systems,” it said in the SEC filing.

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The utility noted that the cybersecurity incident has not impacted the delivery of electric and gas services and it does not believe that the data breach will have a material impact. The company’s disclosure comes after a hacker leaked data allegedly stolen from its systems. The claims were made on a popular cybercrime forum on September 12. The hacker allegedly obtained nearly 7.5 million user records, threatening that “next time we won’t simply pull data, we’ll start attacking the main infrastructure.” The threat actor has made available for download a 2.5 GB archive file allegedly containing data stolen from CenterPoint Energy. SecurityWeek cannot confirm the validity of the data and it’s not uncommon for hackers to make false or exaggerated claims. This is not the first time a hacker has claimed to have stolen CenterPoint Energy data. In 2024, it was one of several energy companies targeted by an access broker named AntiBrok3rs. A few months later, a different hacker claimed to have obtained the company’s data. In both cases, the stolen data was believed to have come from the Cl0p ransomware group’s 2023 MOVEit campaign. Analysts believed at the time that the CenterPoint Energy data originated from a third party rather than directly from the company’s systems.

Republicans face death threats for condemning nominee's racist rant: report

Republicans in Texas are starting to split over one of their most controversial nominees — and their own safety is in jeopardy because of it. According to Quorum Report's Scott Braddock on Monday, "Well-placed sources say the Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating death threats against Republican lawmakers who condemned Bo French's racist comments about UT students." French is running for the Texas Railroad Commission, a three-member body that regulates the state's oil and gas industry. He has a long history of extreme anti-immigration posts, particularly against people of color.

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The latest controversy exploded after French posted an image of mostly South Asian students at the University of Texas celebrating a win by the Longhorns college football team. "Like body-cams exposed criminals, social media is exposing how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners. It’s everywhere and far worse than any of us could imagine," he wrote. His remarks were condemned by a number of local Republican officials. Even Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, though he went out of his way to avoid condemning French directly, said his comments "are not my message." In one of the most surprising developments, legendary former George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove, a ruthless Texas Republican operative, announced he would be voting for French's Democratic opponent, oil and gas engineer Jon Rosenthal.

Texas General Land Office to explore power plant development on state lands

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham on Tuesday announced that her office would "explore the development" of geothermal, natural gas and small nuclear power plants on state land. "We have an opportunity to look beyond traditional energy sources and develop the resources and technologies that can keep Texas powered for decades to come," Buckingham said in a news release. "Geothermal, advanced nuclear technology and natural gas plants represent very different approaches to the same challenge: producing dependable power right here at home. The GLO is going to explore every responsible opportunity to make Texas energy stronger, more reliable, and more secure." The Texas Geothermal Energy Alliance praised Buckingham's announcement.

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"Texas is proving that geothermal is happening now, and it’s happening here," the alliance's executive vice president Matt Welch said in a statement. The Texas General Land Office (GLO) leases state land for oil and gas development, farming, solar and wind farms and other commercial uses, allocating the money to fund state schools. "Allowing surface property to be developed for power plants ... [and] geothermal energy sites — that's all part of the portfolio and usage of Texas land," University of Houston Energy Fellow Ed Hirs said. Hirs said the GLO's announcement isn't surprising. "The Texas General Land Office is always looking for ways to make some money off of the land," he said. "Opening it up for power plant development is just a logical extension of their business model."

More choices, fewer students: How San Antonio school options are changing this year

As a new school year opened in San Antonio, the number of students in neighborhood public schools dwindled yet again as more families sought out different ways of schooling. The changes may be driven in part by Texas' new school voucher program or mounting state pressure on public school districts to improve test scores — either way, families have more options than ever before. They’re leaving neighborhood schools to escape bullying, find smaller classes, have more flexible schedules, pursue more rigorous academics or give children a head start on their future careers. In the past three years, 37 neighborhood schools have closed across the area. Charter growth and declining birth rates are driving falling enrollment at 12 of the metro area’s 19 school districts. At the same time, population growth on San Antonio’s outskirts is fueling demand for new neighborhood campuses. This school year, two districts — one suburban and one more remote — opened new high, middle and elementary schools.

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For longtime parent advocate Maribel Gardea, the expanding list of options presents families with a mixed bag. “I’ve always been an advocate for school choice,” she said. “So I think growing and learning with parents in that way is going to be helpful, helping them understand what their options and what they actually look like and how they feel in these schools.” Gardea, who lives in the San Antonio Independent School District, considered using a voucher for her 15-year-old son Voozeki but ultimately decided against it. She worried private schools would limit her family’s autonomy over their son’s education. She also worries students in low-income neighborhoods near the city’s urban core may not have access to the same range of options as families in more affluent areas — where private schools may be more plentiful and families have fewer barriers to getting their children to school. Regardless, what school looks like in San Antonio is changing. For some students, more rigid classroom routines designed to boost test scores strictly structure the school day. Others learn alongside kids several years older and younger or log into class from their living rooms. New schooling models are reshaping what families expect from school as public districts compete to keep students enrolled.

Kids with disabilities have limited childcare options. Texas plan offers solutions

State agencies want to improve access to early childhood settings for children with disabilities and developmental delays. Experts say a strategic plan to do so needs to be backed by funding and resources to achieve that goal. A new four-year strategic plan created by the Texas Education Agency, Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Workforce Commission outlines the obstacles families face when navigating childcare, pre-K and support services for their children statewide. It also lays out a roadmap to inclusion for these children with recommendations from childcare providers, parents and early childhood intervention staff. Experts say the plan acknowledges gaps that have been apparent for years, including in Tarrant County. A 2024 report by the Early Learning Alliance found that less than 25% of licensed or registered childcare programs in Tarrant County served children with disabilities.

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A lack of funding, resources and training for childcare providers and their staff forces them to turn away these children, according to the report. This echoes findings in the new state plan, which included survey responses from childcare providers, families, school district staff and more. Workforce shortages were identified as the main barrier to inclusion when serving children with disabilities, with more than half of respondents “citing a lack of trained specialists and nearly half citing limited training and coaching opportunities, compounded by high turnover and low pay.” Bethany Edwards, co-author of the Early Learning Alliance report, said she views the plan as a promising first step but that it’s up to lawmakers to enact the ideas through policy and investment. Edwards, who is also the director for research and evaluation at the Center for Transforming Lives in Tarrant County, said she views the inaccessibility to early education and care as an economic issue that prevents parents from working, pursuing education or building financial stability. Edwards is also the mother of a child with a disability.

National Stories

Dems grill Patel on sex with animals, drinking on the job, frat boy goals in off-the-rails hearing: ‘Shut up’

Senate Democrats grilled FBI boss Kash Patel on whether the bureau hires people who had sex with animals, blasted him as a “thug,” and accused him of being a drunk during an off-the-rails Judiciary Committee hearing. Patel had been summoned before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a routine oversight hearing and came prepared to crow about plummeting crime rates, but Democrats derailed that plan by latching onto a litany of scandals during the explosive confrontation instead. “You have been so drunk that briefings have been rescheduled so you could sleep it off,” Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) swiped, goading him into taking an alcohol test. Patel, who showed up to the hearing armed with opposition research notes against his Democratic foes, did a double-take upon hearing that and shook his head, but Hirono didn’t give him a chance to respond.

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The premise of Hirono’s claim stems from a bombshell report in The Atlantic about Patel’s alleged drinking habits, which prompted him to slap a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the outlet. Fueling that narrative was footage of Patel chugging beer with the US men’s Olympic hockey champion team. “The players who are my friends invited me to the locker room,” Patel fired back when asked about the chugging by Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.). “I go where I want to go after delivering the most prolific crime reduction in US history.” But that did little to mollify the attacks. “He’s like an 18-year-old kid who wants to join a fraternity that he could never be a member of, doing keg stands and chugging with friends,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) chided. “He’s an embarrassment. He is a disgrace. This is a mockery and a sham. What’s bad are the people enabling him.” Booker, who ran for president in 2020 and has a knack for impassioned screeds at hearings, raged at Republicans for allowing Patel to lash out at Welch as a “complete and total fraud.” He accused Patel of using the FBI’s resources to intimidate journalists.

Kennedy Center closes as Trump threatens to stop repairs over naming fight

President Donald Trump’s 19-month effort to seize full control of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts came to a head Tuesday as its board voted to immediately close the building for a two-year renovation — a roughly $250 million overhaul that Trump publicly threatened to block unless his name is added to the institution. Hours after a federal judge barred the center from putting Trump’s name back on the building, the president said that although the center would close immediately, renovations “cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name.” (That appeals court in June rejected an attempt to keep Trump’s name on the building.) If the appeals court rules against the center and the Supreme Court does not overturn that decision, Trump said, “the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place.”

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Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), the Kennedy Center trustee who challenged the addition of Trump’s name in court, accused the president of putting his desire for recognition ahead of an institution that serves as both a memorial to an assassinated president and as one of the nation’s premier performing arts venues. “President Trump is holding the Kennedy Center hostage unless he can put his name on this sacred memorial,” Beatty said. “The Court just rejected this proposal for the second time. This unlawfulness is as breathtaking as it is wrong, and it needs to stop.” The extraordinary sequence brought together nearly every strand of Trump’s transformation of the national cultural institution: his efforts to put his name on the presidential memorial, a renovation he has championed as essential to saving the aging building, a deepening financial crisis and a legal fight with a board minority that has repeatedly challenged his plans. The consequences became visible within hours.

ICE has no plans to ‘sweep polling locations’ for noncitizens, Homan says

White House border czar Tom Homan on Sunday said there are no plans in place for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to “sweep polling locations” in the November midterm elections. Homan told Fox News host Jacqui Heinreich on “The Sunday Briefing” that he has not seen “any operational plans or any discussions on any immigration enforcement operation at polling places,” when Heinreich asked if there was any truth to claims that ICE will be “raiding” polling locations. “This is another fear tactic. This is another attack on ICE and this administration,” Homan said about the claims. “I mean, they don’t want ICE near the polling places, they don’t want to vote for voter ID, they don’t want observers. What have they got to hide to begin with, right? But there is no plan for enforcement action at polling places. It’s just another attempt to smear ICE and smear the president.”

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Homan also pushed back on reports of ICE arrests at elementary schools, hospitals and places of worship, saying there’s no “sensitive location” policy. “If you’re a criminal alien, you’re a national security threat, there’s no sanctuary,” he said. “But look at the past two years. Not one instance of ICE operating at a sensitive location, [including] polling places.” Latino civil rights and voting rights groups, along with the city of Denver, last week filed a lawsuit to block ICE from polling locations. The plaintiffs cited post-Civil War-era federal laws barring armed federal personnel at polling locations to prevent the intimidation of voters. Lawyers for Denver and other plaintiffs — which include immigrant rights groups League of United Latin American Citizens, Common Cause and UnidosUS — wrote, “the specter of armed officers at polling places threatens the freedom of this upcoming election.” “It places voters in fear that they will be confronted by armed federal immigration enforcement officers if they choose to cast a ballot,” they added. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said earlier this month that ICE would appear at polling places if there is a threat or a warrant for “someone that we have been actively tracking down.” He made similar remarks in an interview with CNN’s Kasie Hunt in June, noting that ICE would not be at polling locations because “only people that should be voting there is American citizens.”

OpenAI's rogue agents probed Hugging Face for weaknesses two months before major hack

Rogue AI agents from OpenAI hijacked Hugging ?Face user accounts and probed the site itself for vulnerabilities as early as May, nearly two months before the July breach of the ?open-source repository drew global attention, according to researchers who reviewed the activity. The newly uncovered malicious activity showed that the rogue agents' efforts to find a way into Hugging Face began earlier than publicly known. Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here. OpenAI had previously disclosed one aspect of the malicious activity — the theft of a Hugging Face user's digital credential to access a biology-related file — in its ?last month, but researchers told Reuters the probing activity against Hugging Face appeared to go beyond what was described in the report.

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The activity ?was discovered by independent researcher Jonas Wiedermann-Moeller last week, he told Reuters. He said he found evidence that the OpenAI ?agents compromised two Hugging Face user accounts and used them to send unusually formatted files to the company's servers as early as May 13. He and ?other researchers who reviewed the evidence said the behavior resembled an attempt to map or test parts of Hugging Face's network for ways to infiltrate, although they ?stressed there was no evidence the effort resulted in an actual breach. OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company had disclosed the May 13 event, privately notified Hugging Face about the activity flagged by Wiedermann-Moeller and was "committed to transparency about these issues and to sharing what we learn as our review continues." Hugging Face, recently acquired by chipmaker Nvidia did not respond to ?requests for comment.

EU chief backs plan for Canada to become 'associate member'

Some countries in the western Balkans including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia are already on the long road towards full EU membership. In Eastern Europe, Georgia and Moldova are also applying. Ten of the bloc's 27 members are yet to ratify a free-trade agreement struck with Ottawa nearly a decade ago, and some capitals would prefer to build on existing defence and trade agreements rather than create a new form of membership for Canada. Setting out the EU's political and policy priorities for year ahead, von der Leyen also proposed the formation of a European Security Council, which would include the UK and Ukraine, amid an ongoing threat to the continent from Russia.

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"For a long time, we have discussed a leaders' format focused on the security of our continent, with partners like Canada, Norway, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and others involved," she said in the wide-ranging address. "This is even more urgent now, given the nature and scale of the risks at play. This is why we will set out our ideas to make a European Security Council a reality." Alongside global threats, von der Leyen also said many European families were worried about the cost of living, and the "dizzying speed of change" of technology and its impacts on jobs and society. Other proposals included inviting the world's largest AI labs for talks on how to support industry efforts to pace the frontier, as well as slashing bureaucracy for businesses in the EU.

New photos show widespread damage at U.S. positions caused by Iranian missile, drone attacks

New photos obtained exclusively by CBS News reveal for the first time the widespread damage and destruction of buildings and vehicles at multiple U.S. positions across the Middle East, as a result of Iranian missile and drone attacks. The images were sent to CBS News by active service members on condition of anonymity because of rigid media restrictions within the military. "This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public," one deployed service member told CBS News. "We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face."

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One photo, taken at Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia, shows a direct hit on the back half of a Boeing E-3 Sentry four-engine aircraft, its tail severed from the charred fuselage that also supported a rotating radar that is essential for collecting midair intelligence. Other photos taken from the base show hollowed-out buildings and barracks whose shells ironically stand next to unaffected cement "T-wall" structures, which were once regarded as critical fortifications against grenade and mortar attacks but proved critically ineffective against an aerial assault. Similarly grim pictures were captured at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, a major staging area for U.S. Army ground troops, armored vehicles and some aircraft; the post is located in a remote desert region far northwest of Kuwait City. The Defense Department's inspector general this week released a fresh report on the war in Iran that revealed "equipment losses" worth up to $3.7 billion — including nearly 60 aircraft. In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to Congress, the inspector general added that U.S. Central Command reported Iranian strikes at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

"60 Minutes" premiere ratings dropped to 25-year low

60 Minutes appears on track to record its worst season premiere ratings in more than a quarter-century as the storied CBS newsmagazine returned Sunday following a staff overhaul under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. Sunday’s season opener drew an estimated 7.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen data, making it the least-watched 60 Minutes premiere in records stretching back to at least 2000. Under these figures, the audience was down 21% from last year’s premiere, while viewership among adults aged 25 to 54 plunged 33%. In October 2000, for example, the show premiered with a whopping 11.2 million total viewers. The result is an early setback for CBS after months of intense scrutiny surrounding Weiss’s remake of one of television’s most prominent news programs.

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Perhaps more striking was the audience delivered to the broadcast. An NFL game immediately preceding 60 Minutes attracted 18.4 million viewers, meaning more than 10 million viewers disappeared before the newsmagazine began. The numbers, however, are preliminary and could rise when Nielsen releases its final figures Tuesday afternoon. Another factor at play is the NFL game that preceded 60 Minutes, according to a source familiar with the ratings. Sunday’s gridiron match-up between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings on CBS failed to generate the same viewership as last year’s contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens. In addition, there was also a late-afternoon game between the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles on Fox to contend with. Last year, Fox did not air a late-afternoon game. Sunday’s premiere featured correspondent Norah O’Donnell interviewing an Air Force officer shot down over Iran, Lesley Stahl investigating the presidential pardon business and Jon Wertheim profiling the Los Angeles Rams. Former New York Times conservative columnist Ross Douthat closed the broadcast with a segment about artificial intelligence and the importance of “journalism you can trust.”

Cleveland City Council decides to rename Lake Erie to ‘Gulf of Cleveland’

The Cleveland, Ohio, City Council on Monday voted to rename a portion of Lake Erie as the “Gulf of Cleveland,” taking a jab at President Trump’s executive order declaring that Lake Ontario be called the “Gulf of America.” The emergency resolution led by Councilmember Kris Harsh passed in a 13-1 vote and was intended to take effect immediately. The resolution is not legally binding. Harsh’s speech to attendees ahead of the vote referred to Trump’s order to rename Lake Ontario, as well as ordering the Gulf of Mexico be called “the Gulf of America” last year, and his recent suggestion of calling New Mexico “New America” after a viral social media post falsely claimed he signed such an executive order. The resolution applies to the 2-mile stretch of water from the city shoreline, from its eastern to its western borders. It additionally requires the city clerk to notify Apple and other national mapping companies about this new name.

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“President Trump’s orders to assign new names without reference to history, tradition, and other acts of Congress have opened the door for United States officials to rename other geography,” Harsh said. “Thanks to him, this is a man who clearly isn’t afraid to say what no one is thinking.” Harsh added that Trump’s moves made him “emboldened” to rename Cleveland’s neighboring Great Lake. He held up a map during his speech that showed “Gulf of Cleveland” written over the portion of the lake closest to the city. Harsh also speculated on any pushback to the renaming before replying to that hypothetical pushback with “Who cares?” “Listen to me very carefully and jot this down: Words don’t matter,” he added, later mocking Trump’s style of ending Truth Social posts by saying at the end of his own speech: “Thank you for your attention to this matter.” Trump’s orders to rename Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico were quickly integrated into Google’s and Apple’s online maps and visible to users in the U.S. International users saw both names, while Canadian and Mexican users, respectively, saw the commonly used names of both bodies of water on the platforms. It also prompted MapQuest downloads to soar, as the company left the names of both bodies of water unchanged.

House votes for a third time to end the Iran war as conflict drags on

For a third time, the U.S. House has voted to end the war in Iran, approving a war powers resolution that would halt President Donald Trump’s ability to continue military action without congressional approval. The roll call late Tuesday, 220-204, was similar to earlier efforts this summer, with a few more Republicans joining all Democrats voting to bring an end to the conflict. None of the resolutions have made it to the president’s desk, where Trump would almost certainly veto the measure. “Remember when Donald Trump said that this war would last just a few weeks?” said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., who served as a Marine during the Iraq War and pushed the resolution forward. He said it’s time for Congress to “actually ask tough questions, as the Constitution directs us to do, rather than be subservient to another warmongering administration.”

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Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, questioned which military resources Democrats would want to remove from the region where he said Iran remains a threat. Mast said Trump is against “forever wars, and that is what he is ending” — the decades of hostilities from Iran. “They are a continuous ongoing threat to the United States,” Mast said. “Enough is enough.” The action is likely the last House vote on the Iran war ahead of the midterm elections, where the conflict overseas is playing a substantial role in the political campaigns. The war that Trump launched Feb. 28 has dragged, with on-again, off-again deadly missile strikes being exchanged and causing havoc in the region for nearly seven months. Lawmakers are heading home at the end of the week to campaign nearly full-time, with less than 50 days to go before the elections that will determine control of Congress as Democrats try to wrest power from Republicans.

Copyright September 16, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved