June 1, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Data centers need water. Could Texas oil companies help?

Thirsty data centers are cropping up all over Texas, as the state contends with a water shortage so severe that entire communities are running dry. But data center developers in parched areas of the state may end up banking on a little-known solution from Houston’s oil industry: oilfield wastewater, known as produced water. Deals involving the treated wastewater are already taking shape behind closed doors. After reaching a $43 million land deal for a power plant to support data center operations in an undisclosed location, Texas Pacific Land Corp. said it was “in talks” to supply the project with treated oilfield wastewater.

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Using the waste stream as a water source is a solution that not only allows data center development to move forward more freely in Texas as water supplies dwindle, but could also solve an existential problem for oil companies. Their oilfields are drowning in wastewater. The longstanding practice of injecting this water underground has turned into a critical problem for Houston's oil companies as a rash of earthquakes, leaking wells and toxic geysers prove the wastewater they are sending underground is not staying put. State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, is aiming for a “twofer,” as he advocates for cleaning and reusing the wastewater for data centers and agriculture, and for recharging drying rivers – instead of injecting it underground into “pore space.” “Texas is out of water in some areas today,” Perry told a packed ballroom at the Produced Water Society Conference in Sugar Land in February. “Oil and gas industry will be out of pore space in two years. For those that are familiar, we can't inject anymore.” The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, charged with developing treatment and testing standards for oilfield wastewater, has yet to finalize a permit process for its release into rivers or for irrigating crops. But data center use could leapfrog this stalled process.

Republican Party of Texas expects $600 million to be spent on campaigns in Texas

Now that the bruising primaries are over, both major political parties in Texas are trying to unify as early as possible before November. For Republicans, it’s repairing the rift between supporters of U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton and John Cornyn, who lost to Paxton in the GOP runoff. Paxton will face Democrat James Talarico in November. “We always have very brutal primaries. I mean, this is not a new thing,” Abraham George told us on Inside Texas Politics. “But, you know, at the end of the day, they will look at Talarico and go, well, there’s no way we can get behind that guy,” Abraham George is chairman of the Republican Party of Texas.

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He tells us the state party has had conversations with both camps in an effort to mend fences and transfer support. George tells us that because Paxton won, and he needs all the support he can get, he’s ready to work with everyone. And George expects Cornyn to eventually get behind Paxton because he understands how dangerous Talarico is as an opponent. “We should take him seriously. I mean, he is probably more dangerous than Beto (O’Rourke),” George said. “He’s a weird, weird dude. But I’ll tell you the truth, he is very charismatic for a lot of people, very beta male, which helps with a great group of people. And so, we are taking him seriously.” The chairman tells us the GOP is focused on two areas of the state: South Texas, where Republicans are trying to keep the border counties they flipped during the last election. That cost the party millions, and it is already trying to raise more this cycle. They’re also paying closer attention to Harris County. George says GOP candidates have been performing better there in recent elections, and they’re looking to move the needle even more this cycle. George says Governor Greg Abbott, who is on the ballot against Democrat Gina Hinojosa, has promised to spend $20 - $25 million in Harris County alone. And those dollars will be just a drop in the bucket compared to the overall spending expected in Texas as both national Republicans and Democrats invest in the state. “We were told by RNC (Republican National Committee) a couple of days ago, a few days ago, we’re expecting about $600 million total spent in Texas between Democrats and Republicans. That’s a lot of money,” George explained.

Records link soil analysis to nicked gas line at Oak Cliff blast site

Sparse but chilling details in an alert sent Thursday show that the firm overseeing a soil analysis at the site of a deadly Oak Cliff apartment explosion earlier this week reported a drilling company damaged a gas line near the building. Texas811 records reviewed by The Dallas Morning News indicate the damage was caused by a rig boring for soil samples. ECS Limited, a national engineering consulting firm with an office in Carrollton, reported the issue. Austin-based O-SDA Industries had plans to buy the Oak Cliff property to build low-income housing for seniors. Megan Lasch, the company’s president, said she hired ECS to provide a geotechnical report, in which engineers analyze soil, rock and groundwater conditions before designing foundations.

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An ECS Limited spokesperson told The News in an email that none of its employees were on site at the time of the explosion. They declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation. Authorities have connected the explosion to a gas leak but have not provided further details. The records said the line was damaged with a drill rig by Barba Drilling, and a charred truck at the scene was registered to Barba Drilling Co. Manuel Barba, listed in records as the company’s manager, did not respond to phone calls, text messages or voicemails seeking comment. Officials said three people were killed and at least five others were injured in Thursday’s blast at The Clyde apartments in the 400 block of East 9th Street, near Patton Avenue. The tragedy is the worst gas explosion in the city since 2018, when a leak and subsequent explosion in northwest Dallas claimed the life of a 12-year-old girl. “This is absolutely catastrophic,” said Geoff Henley, a Dallas attorney representing the current property owner, who was not involved in the digging work. “A variety of things had to go wrong for this to happen.”

Iran and US trade strikes, Kuwait comes under fire as diplomacy drags on

Iran and the United States said they had both carried out strikes on military targets, and each accused the other of acting aggressively as ?diplomatic efforts to end three months of war drag on. The U.S. military said it had at the weekend struck Iranian air defences, a ground control station and two drones that were threatening ships after "aggressive Iranian actions", including shooting down a U.S. drone over international waters. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday it had targeted an air base used by the U.S. in response to an attack on southern Iran. It did not ?identify the base, but Kuwait activated air defences on Monday and denounced Iranian missile and drone attacks, which it said were undermining efforts to reduce tensions in the ?region.

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Oil prices, which have risen sharply since the start of the war, gained more than 3% on Monday after ?the strikes. Tensions were also fuelled by Israel ordering troops to move further into Lebanon against Tehran-backed Hezbollah, in a conflict that was reignited by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. The ?U.S. and Iran have sporadically exchanged strikes since a ceasefire took effect in early April, while Pakistan has been mediating efforts to secure a more durable agreement. An exchange of strikes ?last Thursday was described in similar terms by each side. The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon. It has also caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global supply route for oil and liquefied natural gas. In a late-night social media post, U.S. President ?Donald Trump did not mention the exchange of hostilities, repeating his assertion that Iran "really wants to make a deal". He berated critics, including what he described as "seemingly unpatriotic Republicans", for negative “chirping” about ?negotiations to end the conflict. "Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - It always does!" he said.

State Stories

Abbott: Texas GOP will help raise what Paxton needs to beat Talarico

Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Republicans’ most prolific fundraiser, says Senate nominee Ken Paxton will have no trouble raising the money he needs to win in November. But Abbott made clear Paxton won't be on his own. Get the latest political news, analysis and policy decisions shaping Texas and the nation. The governor said well-funded Republicans up and down the ballot will help ensure Democrats don't "hijack" Texas. “We're all going to come together and make sure we have the resources capable of winning this election cycle, just like we have for more than 30 years now,” Abbott said Thursday at an event with law enforcement officials in Arlington. In the GOP Senate race, incumbent John Cornyn outspent Paxton nearly 2-to-1, funding a barrage of negative ads and attacks against him. Still, Paxton won the runoff Tuesday in a landslide and now heads into the general election against Democrat James Talarico, a state representative from Austin.

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Questions remains about whether Paxton, whose legal troubles and personal controversies have bitterly divided the GOP, can raise what's needed for what could become one of the nation's most expensive Senate fights. Talarico pulled in $27 million in the first quarter of 2026, the largest first-quarter haul ever reported by a Senate candidate in any state during an election year. And he said Thursday his campaign had collected more than $3 million in the first 24 hours after Paxton clinched the nomination. Article continues below this ad Even in victory, Paxton was looking ahead to November and asking for donations. “I know how critical it is for our party to come together, and that's what we must do now,” he said. “Without a shadow of a doubt, I will be the Democrats' No. 1 target in November.” Abbott cannot directly transfer money from his sizable campaign account, which topped $100 million earlier this year. He can donate to other statewide and legislative races, but federal law prohibits money raised in state races from going directly to Senate candidates.

Energy giant switches on first phase of $1.1 billion Texas solar farm set to power AT&T and Toyota

Sequoia Solar, in Callahan County, Texas, has officially brought its first 400 megawatts of capacity online. That first phase is now operating, while a second 415-megawatt phase is due online before the end of the year. Together, the two phases will bring the project to 815 megawatts, placing it among the continent's largest solar developments, according to Electrek. Power from the project is being sold under long-term purchase agreements to AT&T, Toyota, PepsiCo, and Donaldson Company. The project's launch also reflects a broader shift across the energy sector. Even companies with long ties to fossil fuels are investing more in renewable energy as utilities and major businesses look for stable, long-term sources of cleaner electricity. Texas is at the center of that growth, as solar and battery projects continue to spread while statewide electricity demand rises.

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Adding hundreds of megawatts to the grid can help meet rising electricity demand and ease strain on power systems, especially in fast-growing states such as Texas. Solar can also make energy costs more predictable over time because sunlight is free and not subject to the same fuel-price swings as coal or gas. For companies like AT&T, that translates into lower operating costs and less pollution tied to their operations.

Meta data center expected to become city of El Paso’s largest property taxpayer

The artificial intelligence data center that Meta Platforms Inc. is spending $10 billion to develop in Northeast El Paso will be the city’s biggest property taxpayer when the campus is fully built. The city of El Paso estimates Meta’s data center will pay around $15 million a year in city property taxes alone – not including what it may pay to other taxing entities. El Paso Electric is currently the city government’s biggest taxpayer, paying about $4 million last year, according to Robert Cortinas, the city’s chief financial officer and deputy city manager. “We’re talking about a large influx of property tax dollars in the very near future,” Cortinas told El Paso Matters.

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The city and county governments in late 2023 awarded economic development incentives to Meta. Those consisted mainly of an 80% break on property taxes for 35 years. The city also committed $12.5 million to repair the road infrastructure immediately around the data center. That $12.5 million is the biggest outlay so far of an $80 million fund El Paso Electric committed to the city in exchange for City Council’s support of the utility’s 2020 sale to a J.P. Morgan-owned investment fund. The main reason the city courted Meta to establish a data center here, Cortinas said, was to increase local tax revenue from a multi-billion-dollar private investment that would lower the tax burden on existing El Paso property owners. The city recognized the project wasn’t a massive job creator, Cortinas added.

Georgetown poised to expand water supply as city plans for long-term growth

The city of Georgetown is taking another step to secure its future water supply, announcing plans in May to significantly increase the amount of groundwater available to the city. Georgetown city leaders signed a term sheet with Recharge Water LP that would provide up to 34,800 acre-feet of groundwater per year, sourced from the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer in Bastrop and Lee counties. Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder called the agreement a major milestone, as cities across Central Texas face growing concerns about water availability. “Water is one of the major issues in Central Texas,” Schroeder said.

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If finalized, the agreement would span 30 years and is expected to begin delivering water to the city by 2031. There are also options for two additional 30-year terms according to the city. KXAN reached out to the Texas Water Development Board on the impact the agreement would have on the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer and will update this story if a response is given. The move comes as Georgetown faces rising demand driven by population growth. City data previously projected a need for tens of thousands of additional acre-feet of water annually to meet long-term demand. To address that gap, voters earlier this month approved a plan to sell off portions of the city’s water utility outside city limits, a move leaders say could reduce overall water demand by about 60%. City officials say the combination of reducing demand and securing new groundwater will help cover most of Georgetown’s future water needs.

CDC finds that most of those hospitalized with measles in West Texas were children or pregnant adults

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that more than 90% of the people hospitalized during the first two months of the 2025 measles outbreak in West Texas were children. More than half were under the age of four. Of the five adults who required hospital care for measles during that period, four of them were pregnant. Two of them delivered their babies while they were in the hospital for measles, and both babies tested positive for measles within two days of birth. The CDC gathered this information from the available medical records of 54 of the 60 people who were hospitalized between January 20 and March 18, 2025. More than 70% of those hospitalized during these two months had pneumonia. Nearly 70% had hypoxia. 70% required supplemental oxygen. Four children were admitted to the intensive care unit; two required intubation and mechanical ventilation, and one child died. All of the people included in this report were either unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. The West Texas measles outbreak continued through August 18 of that year. Of the 762 people with confirmed infections between January and August 2025, 99 were hospitalized. Another child died, bringing the total number of people killed by measles during the outbreak to two.

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Dallas builder shutting down, laying off 150-plus as bankruptcy, misconduct allegations roil owners

About 150 employees of a Dallas-based specialty construction company appear to be collateral damage in a legal battle between an out-of-state private equity firm declaring bankruptcy and its founders accused of financial misconduct. In a WARN notice dated May 19, Auzmet Architectural notified the state that it would be laying off 152 workers at its 1444 North Cockrell Hill Road headquarters. Most would be separated from employment immediately, with a select few assisting with wind-down until mid-July, the notice said. Auzmet designs and builds custom facades for buildings and has provided services at Dallas’ First Baptist Church, Atelier Flora Lofts, Ross Tower and more. The company has several ongoing projects in the city, notably Uptown’s under-construction Bank of America Tower at Parkside, and it is unclear what will happen to those projects.

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On May 22, Auzmet, alongside owners Illinois Avenue Partners and a host of IAP’s other subsidiaries, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A few months ago, IAP sued departed founders Richard Gifford and Michael Winton alleging a “pervasive scheme of financial misconduct, manipulation of IAP’s books and records, self-dealing, and concealment of company liabilities and financial status.” “The magnitude of Winton and Gifford’s malfeasance is substantial and has been debilitating to the Company,” reads the complaint, filed in Delaware Chancery Court in January. Winton and Gifford founded IAP, headquartered in Philadelphia, around 2018, and the firm initially targeted small custom signage companies and other commercial real estate contractors, according to the complaint. IAP then acquired Auzmet in 2021, its first major acquisition and the largest company in IAP’s portfolio by far, seeking outside investment to do so. The lawsuit then alleges that though the revenue of IAP’s portfolio companies couldn’t support additional acquisitions, the pair continued to seek outside investment and debt financing to acquire more companies while representing to IAP’s board and lenders that its portfolio companies’ financials were strong. Winton and Gifford then approached the board multiple time for cash infusions, citing cash shortfall emergencies, unexpected due to IAP’s purportedly strong financials, the lawsuit says. They also allegedly took out two loans totaling more than $1 million to fix cash problems and make payroll that they never disclosed to the board.

Houston police add officers after major pay raise, matching U.S. trend

A year after Mayor John Whitmire secured city council approval of nearly $1 billion in police raises over five years, the Houston Police Department has more officers in its ranks than at any time in the last two decades. Whitmire and police union leaders have praised the uptick, tying it to improved morale and the lucrative new contract, but experts say rising staffing levels are a trend in law enforcement agencies across the country. “Our new contract appears to be bringing people in,” said Doug Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, in a previous interview with the Houston Chronicle. He declined to comment for this story.

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But public safety agencies nationwide are reporting improved staffing numbers – including departments that haven’t handed out 36.5% in raises to officers, as Houston did. “We’re seeing incremental increases the last few years, things are stabilizing,” said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington D.C.-based police think tank. “Overall, staffing is better than it has been in years.” Seven of the 10 biggest Texas police agencies saw an increase in officer headcounts between 2024 and 2025, state data show, led by Fort Worth. HPD’s headcount reached 5,364 in March. That’s the highest in at least 20 years, according to city records. The department actually recruited more officers in its 2024 fiscal year – before the raises were approved – than in the last fiscal year or as of April in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, city data show. But the number of officers leaving the department has dropped significantly, from 269 in 2024 down to 149 as of April in the current fiscal year, records show. That dynamic also is nationwide, Wexler said: Recruiting is improving at the same time that retirements and resignations are slowing. Still, Wexler praised the data out of Houston specifically, saying the officer headcount is the best in 25 years.

ACA enrollment is dropping nationwide, but not in Texas.

Cuts to federal subsidies for health insurance are driving people across the country to drop plans they bought through the Affordable Care Act marketplace — but not in Texas. A recent report by the think tank KFF found that 4.2 million Texans signed up for health insurance this year through the ACA, known as Obamacare, 5% more than last year and one of the largest increases in the country. It comes as the number of enrollees nationwide declined 5% to 23.1 million. States including Arizona, Oklahoma and North Carolina saw declines of 15% or higher. The upheaval in healthcare plans follows a decision by congressional Republicans last year to cut federal spending by letting expire what are known as enhanced premium tax credits.

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Those credits were created during the COVID-19 pandemic to further lower premium costs for low-income families, while also expanding access to working-class families who had not qualified for subsidies when the original Affordable Care Act passed in 2010. The difference in Texas seems to be a bipartisan law passed in 2021 that gives the state's Department of Insurance the power to limit how much insurance companies raise rates on certain plans bought through the ACA marketplace. So while costs on middle-tier "silver" plans might have increased sharply in Texas, premiums for so-called gold and bronze plans have stayed relatively stable. The bureaucratic maneuver is known as "silver loading," said Alec Mendoza, a policy advisor with the non-profit Texas 2036. "Our preliminary data showed 75% of enrollees in Texas are still eligible for low cost plans and the numbers bear that out," he said. "We've been preaching for people to go and shop around." Texas is one of nine states to see enrollment increase this year for one reason or another. Some states like New Mexico and Massachusetts chose to help make up the loss of federal subsidies for their residents. Others, like Texas and Louisiana, not only have "silver loading" laws but also more uninsured residents because the state didn't expand access to Medicaid.

Marvin Forland, who helped build San Antonio medical school, dies at 93

Dr. Marvin Forland, a founding faculty member of the UT Health San Antonio medical school, has died at age 93, university officials announced Thursday. An internist, nephrologist and educator, Forland established what was then the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio — now the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine. He helped shape the school from its earliest years “as a community devoted to forming humane and morally serious healers,” officials with UT Health, the academic health center of UT San Antonio, said in a release. Forland died Tuesday while in hospice care.

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A native of northern New Jersey, Forland served in the military in the Renal Branch of the Army’s Surgical Research Unit at Brooke Army Medical Center and on the faculty at the University of Chicago School of Medicine. He returned to San Antonio in 1968 to help build the new medical school. The push for a medical school arose from public health needs in San Antonio, including care for indigent residents and demand for specialists, he told the Express-News in 2015. “Polio in ’49 and ’50 was a major problem and received a lot of national attention,” Forland recalled in an interview. “Tuberculosis and diarrhea diseases in children were far, far greater problems. So there were a lot of public health needs.” The opening of the medical school “provided a whole new tier of expertise,” he said.

How the Spurs have arrived at the NBA Finals, well ahead of schedule

Late Saturday night, Keldon Johnson stood inside a still-buzzing visitors locker room in Oklahoma City, surveyed the bedlam surrounding him and tried to fathom the unfathomable. Atop his head, the Spurs forward was wearing one of his trademark Stetson cowboy hats. Almost everyone else in the room – starters, benchwarmers, G Leaguers and team staffers – had donned crisp black ballcaps bearing the Spurs’ logo that proclaimed the next stop in the team’s magical mystery tour of a season: “2026 NBA Finals.” “This is one of the most emotional, rewarding nights I’ve ever been a part of,” said Johnson, the only player in franchise history to endure six seasons without a playoff berth. “Starting with last year, coming in this year, believing in ourselves. It takes a village to be where we’re at.”

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One season after finishing with the third-worst record in the Western Conference, two seasons after posting a second consecutive 22-win campaign, the Spurs are headed to the Finals for the seventh time in franchise history and first time since 2014. The Spurs face the New York Knicks, in a rematch of the 1999 Finals that produced the first of five title banners hanging in the Frost Bank Center rafters. Game 1 is Wednesday in San Antonio (7:30 p.m., ABC). Supposedly too young, too callow, too inexperienced for any of this, the Spurs got here by knocking off defending champion Oklahoma City in Game 7, on the road, by way of a brutally professional 111-103 victory Saturday. It was the type of triumph authored by a defiant team bent on bucking basketball history, in no mood to wait its turn. “Words like competitiveness, resolve, togetherness, execution, habits,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “They don’t give a damn about the word ‘experience.’ ”

Sudden death playoff decides winner of Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial

Russell Henley birdied the final four holes, including in a sudden death playoff, to win the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday at Colonial Country Club. Henley tracked down third-round leader Eric Cole to earn his victory. Henley shot 3-under 67 in the final round to finish at 12-under 268. Cole shot even-par 70 in the final round. After the win, Henley talked about when he knew he’d have a chance to pull off the victory. “When I made it the putt on 17,” he said. “I knew that I had a chance to put a little pressure if I played 18 well, and so just seeing those putts go in. Just kept fighting, and just got a little bit of momentum, and hard to believe I’m sitting here.”

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It was the sixth win of Henley’s career and his first since winning the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida. Henley talked about what it took to get the win, and how he kept his momentum heading into the playoff hole. “I was still kind of running on pure adrenaline at that moment,” he said. “I was glad I got to go hit a few balls off one tee while I was waiting, just to kind of swing my arms a little bit and just kind of try to get into a little bit of a rhythm, because I was very excited. So that was huge for me, and then just continued on into the last hole, and, yeah, crazy finish. I’m just over the moon.” For Henley, a Georgia native, it was his fourth top-10 finish of the season and his first since finishing third at the Masters.

Austin Pets Alive! gets $10K donation, pet beds

Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) received a $10,000 donation and 30 pet beds on Thursday. The donation was from Robert Thiele, an Amazon delivery driver and owner of Clark Courier Services, which was named in honor of his late bulldog, Clark, who passed away this spring after a battle with cancer. “I named Clark Courier Services after Clark because just like our drivers, he delivered smiles every single day. In a world full of best friends, Clark was the bestest,” said Thiele.

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According to Amazon, the donated pet beds were given a second life through Amazon Re:Turn, which repurposes textiles from customer returns that could not be resold or donated. As a surprise for Thiele, APA! unveiled memorial plaques dedicated to Clark on shelter kennels, which were inscribed with his name and the words “forever delivering.” “Our Delivery Service Partners are local, small business owners embedded in the communities they serve. Robert’s been delivering in Austin for nearly seven years, and he’s not just moving packages. He’s showing up for the people, the pets, and the neighborhoods around him. That’s what this program is about,” said Emma Crowley, Amazon spokesperson. “Today, we got to give a little back to someone who has and will continue to give so much to others.”

National Stories

Why it matters if OpenAI or Anthropic wins the IPO race

In the bitter rivalry between AI heavyweights OpenAI and Anthropic, it will mostly be who has the best technology that determines the ultimate victor. But which one of them gets to its public offering first matters a great deal, too. The window for initial public offerings is decidedly open, with a receptive market. Cerebras, an AI-chip company, rose 68% on its first day of trading last month. Only digital-design platform Figma’s absurd 250% rise last year was bigger for a company valued at more than $10 billion at listing in the past five years, according to FactSet data. Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to follow up this summer in what may well be the largest IPO in history—with a targeted valuation of $1.5 trillion. That will add more heat to the IPO cauldron. This is all the more reason for OpenAI and Anthropic to try to be the first big artificial-intelligence-model developer to go public.

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There are some clear advantages to being first out of the gate. Just as importantly, there are major disadvantages in being second. Academic research has shown that IPOs tend to come in industry clusters, and that companies listing later in a cycle don’t tend to perform as well. That stands to reason, given that higher-quality companies with deeper moats tend to go public early, triggering a barrage of followers that might not be as strong. And even in a hot market, there isn’t an infinite amount of money to go around. Investors may rotate out of other stocks to pile into SpaceX, then do more reshuffling to make bets on OpenAI and Anthropic later this year or next. The one that goes first is likely to gobble up more of the increasingly scarce capital. And both OpenAI and Anthropic are looking for sky-high valuations. Anthropic raised money recently at a valuation approaching $1 trillion. OpenAI was last valued in March at $852 billion.

DHS backs off its demand for Green-Card applicants to leave US

The Department of Homeland Security said that highly qualified and skilled green-card applicants will see no noticeable impact from a controversial policy announced last week that most people seeking permanent legal residency would have to apply from outside the US. The clarification, which appeared aimed at reassuring employers and immigrants that the process won’t become restrictive, came in a statement Saturday, which said the guidance issued last week by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services merely reiterated longstanding law and policy. At the time, a USCIS spokesperson said immigrants temporarily in the US who wanted green cards “must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances.” This would have changed the decades-long practice of allowing immigrants sponsored by relatives or employers to remain in the US while waiting for green cards.

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The latest DHS statement suggested that the requirement to apply from outside the US would not affect those who can serve US national interests or provide economic benefits, and that the policy won’t prevent any qualified person from obtaining a green card. Immigration lawyers said they received many worried phone calls after the initial USCIS statement from clients worried that the Trump administration was trying to restrict legal immigration. The new rule is “another way to try to deport people I believe are not deportable,” Elizabeth Goss, an immigration lawyer in Boston, said of the earlier policy. “It’s another way to force people out.” At the same time, DHS said that some applicants will need to begin the process in a US embassy or consulate outside the US. It won’t impact any current permanent legal residents, DHS added. The statement was reported earlier by the New York Times and CBS News.

'At what point does it make sense to ditch a gas car for an electric vehicle?'

Rising gasoline prices have some Americans thinking about buying an electric vehicle. It's a big financial decision, especially since Republicans ended federal subsidies last year worth up to $7,500. Guadalupe Higuera, 30, of Phoenix, Ariz., bought his Chevrolet Equinox EV before that incentive ended. But he still wonders if it was a smart choice. Higuera responded to NPR's request for questions about reducing your climate impact and saving money. "At what point does it make sense to ditch a gas car for an EV?" he asked. "Does it make sense to replace it at a certain age or mileage? Or do we just drive it until the wheels fall off?" Higuera says his question is motivated by both saving money and reducing his contribution to the greenhouse gases that are warming the climate.

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After investigating his question, the answer, as far as climate pollution is concerned, is clear: it makes sense to switch to an EV now. On saving money, the answer is more complicated. But Higuera concludes that switching to an EV was a good financial choice, too. One reason Higuera questioned his decision was that nothing was wrong with his previous car, a 2016 Jeep Wrangler. And his family has owned an auto repair shop, north of downtown Phoenix, since before he was born. So, he grew up with the idea that it's wasteful to get rid of a car that still runs fine. "I remember having that conversation with my parents [and] my older brother, before I got my current car," Higuera says. "And they're like, 'your car — we can keep fixing it. It's still good. There's nothing wrong with it.'" Americans are keeping their vehicles longer. The average age of cars and light trucks on the road increased to 12.8 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Often, a big factor in deciding whether to get a new car is repair costs, according to AAA. And not everyone has the benefit of getting the family discount for repairs, as Higuera does. There are lessons for everyone considering an EV in answering Higuera's question. We set out to compare the costs of keeping his Jeep with buying his EV. And we used a tool that calculated typical repair costs (not his family discount), so the comparison can be useful to others.

Federal transportation board pauses proposed Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway merger

The Surface Transportation Board is pausing a decision on an $85 billion merger between Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway. The federal agency — which regulates the nation’s railroads — announced its unanimous decision May 28 to allow both companies to submit more information, including the merger’s potential effect on competitiveness, by July 27. Board officials said the railroads provided incomplete information when the application was first submitted and that a revised application didn’t fix the problem. The revision, submitted April 30, included an environmental review. Public comments about the application are considered in the completeness of the revised application, according to the agency.

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“The board finds that there are several aspects of the revised application that are unclear or underdeveloped,” the agency said in a news release. Additional information is required “so that the board (can) thoroughly evaluate — and the public has an adequate opportunity to comment on — whether the transaction is in the public interest,” the agency said in a news release. The merger, if approved, would create a single-line railroad across the country, linking the East and West coasts. On May 18, Eric Gehringer, Union Pacific’s executive vice president of operations, told attendees of the 22nd Annual Southwestern Rail Conference that the federal agency was expected to make a decision on the proposed merger by early 2027. Gehringer said the merger would not create a behemoth railroad company. “I’m not going to integrate the two railroads right away,” he said at the Hurst event. “We’ll have a plan, it will be well thought out. We’ll have all of the changed management in place and we will make one adjustment after the next in line with safety, in line with service, in line with growth. We’ll make sure those changes, as we make them, demonstrate the outcome that we expected. If we have to adjust, we’ll adjust.”

Mexico's Sheinbaum accuses U.S. of political interference after DOJ indicts Mexican domestic officials

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum launched her strongest criticism to date against what she says are blunt U.S. attempts to interfere in Mexican domestic politics. What had been a recurring theme in her recent speeches became on Sunday a rallying cry to stir up her supporters at a rally in Mexico City, where she claimed that since the deaths of two CIA agents on April 19, efforts by U.S. authorities and far-right groups to destabilize her government have intensified. The most serious attempt at intervention to date, according to her, came days after that incident when the Department of Justice indicted 10 Mexican officials — including Rubén Rocha Moya, the governor of Sinaloa state — on charges of alleged drug trafficking offences.

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“An incident of this magnitude is unprecedented in our bilateral relations,” she said. “Is this really a legitimate, genuine interest in helping Mexico? Or are we perhaps seeing sectors of the U.S. far right positioning themselves ahead of their 2026 elections?” The president assured that Mexico is open to and committed to maintaining security cooperation in order to prevent drug trafficking, but this does not mean that the U.S. can determine who is guilty of a crime or not. “When pressure is applied to our institutions from outside, when it becomes accepted that another country can intervene in matters that are the responsibility of Mexicans, we’re no longer talking about cooperation; we’re talking about interference,” said Sheinbaum. The case involving the 10 indicted individuals has become the main point of tension between Sheinbaum and President Donald Trump’s administration, as it marks the first time a U.S. authority has requested the arrest and extradition of a sitting, elected Mexican official.

Blue states pitch 100 percent tax on Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ payouts

Democratic state leaders around the country have an unusual strategy to stymie President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion settlement fund for people who claim they were wrongly investigated by the government. Their plan: Tax the payouts at 100 percent. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has endorsed the idea, saying, “It’s an action we look forward to taking.” State legislators in New York and Wisconsin are crafting bills on the topic. And Democratic candidates are rallying behind the tactic in blue states. “The slush fund is a blatantly corrupt theft of taxpayer dollars, and we need to do everything we can to stop it,” Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) said in an interview with The Washington Post. Bennet is the leading Democratic candidate for governor in Colorado. “I actually think this won’t wear well with Republicans or Democrats in America,” Bennet said of the politics of Trump’s fund.

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The issue is particularly relevant in Colorado, where Gov. Jared Polis (D) recently granted clemency to Tina Peters, a former county clerk who helped secretly copy voting machine hard drives in an effort to bolster Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Earlier this month, Vice President JD Vance said it was “reasonable” that Peters “get some compensation” from the fund. The Trump administration drew backlash from Democrats as well as some Republicans when it announced this month that it was establishing a fund to pay people who claim they were wrongly investigated or prosecuted, echoing the president’s claims of a “weaponized” justice system. Trump agreed to drop a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax records in exchange for creating the $1.776 billion pool of money. A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving ahead with the fund as critics question how the money will be distributed and worry that it will go primarily to Trump allies. Democrats in Congress reacted to the fund with outrage but have limited options to respond while they are in the minority. At the state level, however, Democratic officials have more options to try to block the payments. In California, Assembly Budget Committee Chair Jesse Gabriel (D) said Democrats are planning to put a tax on the payouts in the state budget. “That money belongs to taxpayers, and we’re going to make sure it stays with taxpayers,” Gabriel said.

Cory Booker admits Graham Platner 'has questions to answer' following latest scandal

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., admitted to having "concerns" on Sunday over the latest scandals surrounding Graham Platner, the presumptive Maine Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. While appearing on ABC's "This Week," Booker was asked about the latest scandal plaguing Platner's campaign after it was reported that Platner had sent explicit messages to at least six women despite being married. "Do you have concerns with the weight of all these controversies that it may jeopardize Democratic hopes to get that Senate seat in Maine?" host Jonathan Karl asked Booker.

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"Yes, I have concerns," Booker said. "That guy has questions to answer, and that’s what campaigns are for." Booker then pivoted to discussing his concerns over the Democratic Party failing to take back the Senate in 2026. "I know that so much is riding on Democrats taking control of the Senate," Booker said. "That this election, if we do not get the votes necessary to take care of the House and the Senate, we will continue to have an out-of-control president." Platner’s campaign confirmed the text exchanges to Politico following a report from the Wall Street Journal that claimed his wife, Amy Gertner, told a campaign aide about the texts after he launched his senate bid as they began looking into potential political liabilities. After the story went viral, Gertner released a five-minute video statement defending her husband and his campaign. "So it makes me really angry, disappointed, and I find it really shameful that there's a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip, instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on — like healthcare and education and childcare," Gertner said.

Hard-liners balk at GOP’s failure to enshrine anti-transgender laws

GOP hard-liners who promised voters they’d use their new majority in Washington to enact anti-trans legislation are increasingly frustrated their leaders don’t seem to share the same commitment. A record number of bills that would roll back access to health care, sports participation and military service for transgender individuals have been introduced over the last year and a half after Republicans spent tens of millions of dollars campaigning on the issue in 2024. The party has struggled, however, to get more than a handful to President Donald Trump’s desk, and some Republicans worry the weak showing could deflate red state voters come November as the GOP fights to keep control of Congress.

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These members are now looking toward legislative packages — like the annual defense policy bill or party-line budget reconciliation bills — as their last chance to codify restrictions on the trans community this year. But leaders are still not making the issues a priority, they say. “It just amazes me that they aren’t listening on this issue, I really don’t understand that,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said in a recent interview. Hawley has failed to convince leaders to attach a provision in the current immigration enforcement-focused reconciliation bill that would defund Planned Parenthood, which offers gender-affirming care he called “risky” and “dangerous” for children. While he successfully zeroed out Medicaid funding for the health care provider in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — one of the few anti-transgender measures Congress has enacted — that provision will expire in July, upping the pressure to get it reauthorized. “I’ve absolutely been telling [leaders] I want this in the next bill because taxpayer money shouldn’t be funding transgender treatment for minors,” added Hawley, who is now looking ahead to the potential third reconciliation bill the party could advance later this year.

Copyright June 01, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved