July 12, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Sen. Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after ‘brief and sudden illness’

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was elected to the Senate in 2002 and was a close political ally of President Donald Trump’s, has died, his office confirmed early Sunday. He was 71. Graham died Saturday night “from a brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the statement said. President Donald Trump led tributes Sunday to “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known,” describing Graham as a “true American Patriot” in a Truth Social post.

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Graham was chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was seeking a fifth six-year Senate term in November. He was one of the most well-known members of the chamber and a key voice within the party on defense and foreign policy. Emergency personnel responded to a call for “cardiac arrest” at Graham’s Capitol Hill home on Saturday night, according to police scanner audio obtained by NBC News. EMS audio later indicated CPR was in progress. Photographs from the scene reviewed by NBC News show paramedics carrying a person on a stretcher from Graham’s home to an awaiting ambulance. Police cars and fire trucks were also on site. A top staffer to Graham told NBC News early Sunday that there was no indication the lawmaker was feeling unwell prior to his death. He had been scheduled to appear on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Graham was a frequent guest on the broadcast, appearing a total of 63 times over the years.

A new foe has emerged for data centers: Farmers

About 30 miles from Clint McRae’s southeastern Montana ranch, a local utility company bought roughly 6,000 acres of cattle grazing land. After scouring job postings online and talking with local ranchers, he’s deduced that the land might soon be transformed into one of the many large-scale data centers moving into Montana over the past year. McRae’s primary concern is water. It is essential for cattlemen in the western plains who have for years been shrinking their cattle herds in response to droughts. The local water supply will have to keep flowing to the new data center projects, rather than to ranchers who need it to keep the pasture healthy and calves hydrated, according to McRae. Montana’s cattle herd could experience a more permanent decline as a result, he said.

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“If we have a dry year like we’re having now, who’s going to cut back?” McRae, a fourth-generation rancher, said. “It’s going to be agriculture.” At town hall meetings, McRae is trying to sound the alarm and rally other local ranchers to speak out against new data center projects. A spokeswoman for the utility, NorthWestern Energy, said no decisions have been made and no timeline set regarding the site. “Securing land now helps ensure we have options later, without rushing decisions that could impact reliability or costs,” she said. America’s farmers and cattle ranchers are raising red flags about the potential drain on local resources that the data-center construction boom poses to rural regions of the farm economy. The agriculture industry is warning that the AI-focused facilities are gobbling up farmland acreage, electricity and water needed to raise livestock and grow crops. “It’s almost like the wild west to see who gets there first,” said Philip Nelson, president of the Illinois Farm Bureau and a fourth-generation corn and soybean farmer in Seneca, Ill. Tech companies are investing unprecedented sums of money to finance a construction boom across the U.S. of huge data centers to fuel America’s AI ambitions, largely in rural areas. Data center projects have been touted as a new source of growth for small towns and flyover country.

Mark Cuban takes legal action against Dallas Mavericks ownership over potential new arena deal

Mark Cuban has gone to court over frustrations that he’s being kept in the dark about the Dallas Mavericks moving forward in their quest to build a new arena. Cuban’s lawyers have filed a petition in Dallas County district court seeking sworn testimony from a corporate representative of the Arena Development Institute, a company formed by Mavericks ownership in Delaware. In June, the Mavericks announced that they had entered into an option agreement for the potential purchase of 104 acres of land at the former Valley View Mall site in North Dallas. The Mavericks’ lease at American Airlines Center expires in 2031, and the team hopes to move into a new building ahead of the 2031-32 season. Cuban claims that this potential new arena deal could violate contracts he already has in place with the Mavericks’ owners in Texas.

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In the document Cuban filed, he outlines his version of how he sold his majority stake in the Mavericks to Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont, the Sands Corporation CEO who also serves as the Mavericks governor. Cuban said he began working with them in 2019 to pass gambling in Texas. Their goal at the time was to build a “Venetian style destination resort” somewhere in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. In 2023, Cuban officially sold his majority stake in the Mavericks to Adelson. Cuban said that they had a handshake agreement in place where he would remain in control of the Mavericks’ basketball decisions while Dumont would be in charge of the team’s business side. “This handshake agreement was reiterated in multiple emails and orally in the presence of Dumont, Miriam Adelson, another NBA owner, and Mavericks employees,” Cuban’s legal action read. The Athletic asked Cuban if he could produce these emails. Cuban replied, “Can’t say anything at all.”

One U.S. visa program is growing rapidly. No one is happy with it

The Trump administration is focused on an immigration crackdown. But agriculture employers and some moderate Republicans want to start negotiating at least one aspect of legal immigration: expanding a visa program that brings foreign workers to America's farms. Dozens of farmers — including dairy farmers and blueberry, apple and peach growers — and lobbying powerhouses like the American Farm Bureau Federation took to Washington this month to advocate for their labor needs. At the center of discussions is a bill introduced by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson that would expand access to the H-2A visa for seasonal agricultural labor. "While this may not be in our jurisdiction, it is certainly in the interest of the farmers and ranchers, and foresters that we represent," Thompson, R-Pa., told reporters and gathered farmers. He nodded to the fact that the House Judiciary Committee, not his, must approve any bill related to immigration and visas.

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The H-2A visa program provides workers, primarily from Mexico, for farms that need someone to pick, fertilize and prune crops on a seasonal and temporary basis. Historically, farms with year-round needs such as dairies have been excluded from the program. But use of H-2A visas has jumped more than 500% since 2012 — from 62,743 to nearly 400,000 in 2025, in part because other programs have strict caps and other limits. Despite its growing popularity and farmers' reliance on the program, employers, labor advocates and both political parties agree that it is far from perfect. But there are strong ideological and practical differences on what needs to be changed. Labor organizations and conservatives are skeptical of any program that expands the use of foreign labor. Labor groups have long criticized the H-2A program for the potential of workplace abuses, and conservatives take issue with any program that could grandfather in workers currently working in the U.S. illegally. Farmers and other businesses warn of immediate consequences to their labor supply without expanding the program, given the administration's deportations and continued record-low crossings at the southern border.

New housing law targets affordability — what it means for homebuyers and sellers

Bipartisan legislation intended to increase the U.S. housing supply and improve affordability is now law — but experts say homebuyers and sellers shouldn’t expect fast relief. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act automatically became law on Saturday after President Donald Trump neither signed it nor vetoed it within a set timeframe. The legislation combines dozens of housing measures aimed at encouraging home construction, expanding access to financing and restricting purchases by large institutional investors. The legislation “will help expand the nation’s housing supply by reducing regulatory barriers and encouraging local governments to reform zoning and land-use policies that have limited home building,” said Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, in a statement after the measure cleared Congress on June 23.

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The new law arrives as housing affordability remains strained. Home prices are near record highs and 30-year fixed mortgage rates continue to hover above 6.5%. The median price of an existing home in the U.S. reached $440,600 in June, up 49.2% from June 2020, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. There’s also an estimated housing supply deficit of about 4 million homes, according to Realtor.com. “This bill directly targets some of the biggest drivers of housing costs: land-use restrictions, permitting delays, financing constraints and regulatory hurdles,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality, a real estate data company. “Unfortunately, homebuyers should not expect immediate relief,” Hepp said, adding that “housing development takes time and many of the benefits would likely materialize gradually rather than overnight.” Among the new law’s many technical and policy changes, several provisions are likely to matter most to consumers. A key provision would prohibit large institutional investors that own at least 350 single-family homes from purchasing additional single-family homes, subject to several exceptions. Those exceptions include certain build-to-rent and renovate-to-rent projects, as well as programs that help renters build credit and eventually purchase homes.

State Stories

Father files lawsuit against Atmos after son and wife's death in Oak Cliff apartment explosion

A man whose 1-year-old son and wife were killed in a gas explosion and fire at an Oak Cliff Apartment in May has sued Atmos Energy for allegedly failing to mark a gas line struck by a driller. It’s at least the fifth lawsuit to be filed against Atmos over the incident. The lawsuit, filed by Erik Perez Sr., alleges Atmos frequently failed to properly mark its gas pipes in the area leading up to the explosion. It claims Atmos has thousands of leaking pipes and frequently fails to locate its own pipes. “They just don't know where their lines are,” Ted Lyons, Perez Sr.’s lead attorney, told KERA. “They don't know what the heck's going on with their gas system – it's amazing.” The explosion killed Marisol Perez, her 1-year-old son Erik Perez Jr. and Democratic activist Sylvia Collins. Collins’ daughter, Michelle, has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Atmos.

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Perez Sr.’s then 9-year-old daughter was found crawling through the debris before being rescued by a bystander, according to the lawsuit. “They're devastated. They can barely deal with this,” Lyons said of the Perez family. “It's unbelievable.” “The safety of our communities and employees is our first priority,” Atmos told KERA in a statement. “We are grateful to Dallas Fire Rescue and all first responders who bravely responded to this incident. Our hearts go out to the people who were lost, their families, and everyone who has been impacted by this tragedy.” The lawsuit alleges a gas leak was reported at the apartment a month before the explosion. JF Construction notified 811 — the number anybody digging must call to request a utility line locate — of a gas leak at The Clyde apartments on March 20, according to the lawsuit. The gas meter at the apartment was replaced on May 15. A gas leak at Louise Wolff Kahn Elementary School blocks away from the apartment was also allegedly due to an improperly marked gas line, according to the lawsuit.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo to be ‘less visible’ due to mono diagnosis, she says

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced she has contracted mononucleosis and will be stepping back from public duties as she recovers. On Thursday, Hidalgo shared a statement on social media announcing she had contracted the contagious viral infection commonly referred to as mono. She made the announcement to explain why she may have a less visible role as the county’s top elected official over the next several weeks. "I've been dealing with a lingering sore throat and intense fatigue," she wrote in her post. "At around 8 p.m. tonight, I received lab results confirming a mono diagnosis. The only treatment for mono is rest. ... I share this because I will be less visible around the community for the next several weeks while I recover."

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As county judge, Hidalgo presides over a five-member commissioners court, which serves as the executive decision-making body for the county government. Harris County, which includes Houston, is the most populous county in Texas and among the most populous in the United States. Hidalgo said her staff will represent her "when necessary." "I remain fully available and reachable, especially in the event of an emergency,” Hidalgo wrote. “... I expect to be back to normal after a few weeks of limited engagements." In 2023, Hidalgo took a two-month leave of absence to receive treatment for clinical depression at an inpatient care facility outside of Texas. Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a fellow Democrat and the longest-tenured county commissioner, presided over commissioners court during her absence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mono can last 4-6 weeks and has symptoms including extreme fatigue, fever, sore throat, headaches and body aches. There is no vaccine to protect against mono, according to the CDC. Hidalgo said she initially thought her symptoms were caused by "exhaustion." "Thinking my diagnosis was exhaustion, I have recently interacted with community members as usual," she said. "Thankfully, mono is not spread through casual contact."

'Unusual vibration' felt before plane crash that killed Austin tech leader Joshua Baer, NTSB says

New details have emerged about the June 16 plane crash in Laredo that killed Austin tech entrepreneur Joshua Baer. A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board details how pilots noticed early in the flight that there was an “unusual vibration." "It sounds like a fan is on ... you can feel it in the dashboard," a pilot said. The pilots contacted NetJets, which co-owns the plane, and noted that the humming noise had gone away. The instruments on the plane then indicated that it was caused by a cooling fan. The crew continued speaking with a maintenance controller and the flight operations duty manager, and it was decided that the flight could safely proceed to the destination in Austin.

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Once the plane was approaching the U.S.-Mexico border, the pilots received another message indicating low fuel pressure in the right engine. Within minutes, three more messages displayed, including a message indicating low fuel, and the pilots prepared for an emergency landing. The plane received permission to land in Laredo, but as they approached, both engines lost power. A pilot then asked for possible fields to land in nearby before ultimately crashing on a highway. Doorbell cameras showed fire flaring up around the plane as it was approaching the road, the report said. The plane, which departed from Los Cabos, Mexico, was over 40,000 feet in the air before descending over the span of 30 minutes. It ultimately crashed on Loop 20, several miles short of the airport. Baer’s dog, Stormy, also died following the crash, according to the Laredo Police Department. The main pilot suffered serious injuries while the co-pilot and three other passengers received minor injuries. The driver of a car that was hit by the plane on the highway also received minor injuries, according to the report.

New Dallas County GOP chair vows to rebuild in Democratic stronghold

As the newly elected Dallas County GOP chair, Monty Montanez said he’s focused on engaging with voters and trying to restore the Republican Party’s weight in a county that has been solidly blue for two decades. He’s less interested in talking about turmoil that came before him after the party's demand for precinct-based voting on the March 3 primary day. That shift from the vote-anywhere system ended with thousands of confused Republicans and Democrats showing up to wrong locations. And it led to the resignation of then-chair Allen West, who restored countywide voting for the runoff to avoid repeat chaos but drew ire from much of his party. Montanez declined to say whether as chair he will push for precinct-based voting in the 2028 primary, because the party's plan “is still being put together.”

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But after being elected by Republican precinct chairs June 25 to serve West’s abandoned two-year term, Montanez, 46, has laid out a goal of boosting the party's reputation as his long game. He said he’s looking to move the party past recent dysfunction by rebuilding the GOP’s grassroots base, finances, candidate pool and election turnout — an uphill battle in a county where Democrats dependably win elections. “My goal is to build a stronger, more united party that supports our volunteers, earns the trust of our community and works every day to elect Republicans,” Montanez said. He started his tenure by touring the Dallas County elections department and meeting with Elections Administrator Paul Adams, whom Montanez said he has “complete confidence in.” West, who became chair in 2024, repeatedly questioned the integrity of Dallas County’s voting machines and pushed unproven allegations of election fraud. Montanez said he doesn’t share the same concerns about Dallas County’s voting equipment or countywide voting system, though he prefers precincts and hand-marked paper ballots. “Being there and walking through and asking all the questions and listening to everyone, I felt completely comfortable that our elections are secure,” he said.

Secret Texas Capitol vault reveals hidden treasury history

All this time, there’s been a secret vault in the basement of the Texas Capitol, and few living souls have seen it. During a recent tour of the magnificent building with Kevin Koch, the Architect of the Capitol, we discussed discoveries made during efforts to preserve the building's granite, limestone, mortar, plaster, paint, terrazzo, iron, oak, pine and, in decorative flourishes, polished mahogany, walnut, cherry and cedar. All these materials have been fashioned and refashioned as the “People’s Palace” has been restored and renovated repeatedly since it opened with a grand party in 1888. As a person whose case of acrophobia has only escalated with advancing age, I skipped parts of the private tour that might have taken me high above the Great Seal of Texas, which is rendered under the ribbed dome in terrazzo collected from all over the state.

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Yet when Koch mentioned a rarely seen subterranean treasury vault built in 1936, my response ran along the lines of, “Yes, please, with all my curiosity ablaze!” Why a new state treasury during the 1930s? Recall that this was the era of headline-grabbing gangsters, some of them local or regional, others national figures roaming Texas. Let’s just start with the Barrow and Newton family gangs, the first better known by its charismatic duo, “Bonnie and Clyde,” the second as the “Newton Boys.” In addition, every big city in Texas seemed to generate tight-knit crime families, such as the Maceo syndicate in Galveston and the Piranio network in Dallas. These gangsters staged spectacular crimes: celebrity kidnappings, daylight bank robberies, mad jailbreaks, mass shootings and mob assassinations. For safe cracking, mobsters used explosives and torches to defeat the escalating defenses of safe makers, which included multiple, thick layers of metal, inventive locks and anti-explosive devices.

New EPA rule could weaken Texans' voice on air pollution: critics

A proposed change to a federal rule could eliminate Texans' right to weigh in on permits for facilities considered "minor" air polluters, critics say, including small industrial operations like concrete batch plants, rock crushers and some power projects that fuel data centers. The change would remove a federal requirement for public feedback and leave it to states to decide whether to include members of the community before officials approve or deny facilities' air pollution permits that fall below "major emissions" thresholds. This includes air pollution permits linked to a number of AI data centers in Texas, which have used minor emissions applications to permit diesel generators and gas turbines to power their facilities.

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The EPA has emphasized that it is not proposing to weaken environmental protections, but rather to give states more leeway to define their own public-input processes. Texas environmental groups have sounded the alarm, saying the change would likely undermine the few avenues everyday Texans have to influence air pollution levels. The nonprofit Public Citizen said the change would allow the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to eliminate its public notice and participation processes for smaller-scale polluters. The TCEQ has not responded to repeated requests for comment on this concern. Currently, communities are required to be notified with enough time to submit comments or request hearings that can get their input on the record for the state's consideration before new permits are granted. Advocates expect that to change if the new federal rule goes through. "The TCEQ consistently demonstrates its inability to consider the needs of communities across Texas and works to limit public transparency and opportunities for meaningful public input," said Kathryn Guerra, campaign director at Public Citizen and former regulator at both TCEQ and EPA.

The Onion hasn't taken control of Infowars yet, but it's relaunching the conspiracy site anyway

Infowars is back. But if you're looking for content about lizard people controlling the highest levers of power or chemicals turning frogs gay, you'll likely be disappointed. The Onion said Thursday it's forging ahead with its takeover of the Austin-based, conspiracy-peddling website formerly run by Alex Jones. Onion CEO Ben Collins said that the "real" Infowars will stream Thursday night with comedian Tim Heidecker hosting an inaugural broadcast. Heidecker previewed his take on Jones and Infowars in May, parodying Jones' sale of supplements by claiming he could turn viewers' urine into gold while drinking what he claimed to be blood in a Satanic ritual. The launch comes as lawyers for the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting are still wrangling in a Travis County court to finalize the satirical publication's takeover of Infowars.

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In a statement, Collins said The Onion would launch its parody of Infowars Thursday night and that it planned on donating $100,000 to Sandy Hook families. "From the beginning, this has been about the Sandy Hook families and making sure something better comes from a platform that caused so much harm," Collins said. "We got into this because we saw an opportunity to take one of the most evil things on the internet and turn it into something funny, creative, and actually useful. The premiere is the first real look at that vision, and we're excited to finally put it in front of people." Judges in Connecticut and Texas ruled Jones regularly defamed Sandy Hook families on Infowars, calling them crisis actors and suggesting the massacre was staged. He was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages, declared bankruptcy in 2022 and was forced to sell off assets, including the Infowars site. The Onion emerged as a potential buyer in 2024, but Jones has successfully fended off a takeover in Travis County courts. Last week, the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals sided with Jones, sending the case back to its Travis County trial court and delaying the transfer of the Infowars domain name to The Onion. Collins said The Onion would continue its takeover while the lawsuit is waylaid in court. "We have too much to do to wait around," he said. Meanwhile, Jones launched a new platform after he was shut out of the Infowars site in May. KUT reached out to Jones' attorney for a comment but has not yet heard back.

Grapevine's Wally Funk, who went to space, has died at the age of 87

The City of Grapevine has announced the death of Wally Funk, 87. Funk passed away last night in her Grapevine home, the city said. Funk, then 82, reached her lifelong dream when she flew aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on July 20, 2021, alongside company founder Jeff Bezos. In a release, the City of Grapevine says "Wally was a beloved Grapevine resident whose extraordinary accomplishments and generous spirit left an enduring legacy. The City of Grapevine proudly recognizes Wally Funk, whose extraordinary career has inspired generations by breaking barriers in aviation and space exploration. Funk continues to serve as a global symbol of determination, perseverance and excellence"

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For Funk, the journey was decades in the making. In 1961, she was the youngest participant in the privately funded "Women in Space Program," later known as the Mercury 13. Neither Funk, nor the other women ever became astronauts because NASA didn’t want women representing America in the space race with the Soviet Union. "She did better on many of the tests than the men astronauts," said Duff O'Dell, a longtime friend and Grapevine City Councilwoman. "That didn't stop her. She was determined." Funk was known to break barriers as the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. Author Loretta Hall, who wrote a book about Funk, said her drive was never about seeking recognition. "I don't think she really set out to be the first woman to do this or that or the other thing," Hall said. "She just wanted to do what she wanted to do, what she knew she was capable of doing." Hall called Funk "the most positive and most persistent person I ever met."

Pressure mounts on Texas to address brutal heat crisis in prison cells

Texas, the state with the largest prison population in the US, is coming under mounting legal pressure to address the ongoing crisis of brutal heat in its cells, as extreme summer temperatures expose inmates to suffering, illness and even death. The Texas department of criminal justice (TDCJ), the state agency that runs dozens of prisons, has been hit by a new wrongful death lawsuit by the family of Jason Wilson. The inmate was found dead in his solitary confinement cell at the Coffield unit in July 2024. The family’s civil complaint, lodged in a federal district court in Houston, accuses the state of inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on the prisoner “that led to his death in a brutally hot, un-airconditioned cell”. Refusal to provide Wilson with cool water and regular showers, combined with the lack of air conditioning and a failure to check routinely on his wellbeing, “caused him immense suffering and death”.

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His plight was the result of “deliberate indifference” and “intentional discrimination” on the part of the Texas authorities, the suit says. The new wrongful death lawsuit comes as Texas is already awaiting the outcome of a separate federal court action in Austin over the heat crisis. An alliance of advocacy groups is calling on a federal judge in the western district of Texas to order the state to introduce air conditioning in all its prisons over the next three years. A ruling in that case is expected within months. The legal crunch is coming to a head just as searing summer heat yet again pummels Texas prisons. Of the state’s 141,000 prisoners, more than 85,000 are held in cells without air conditioning where internal temperatures regularly exceed 115F (46C) in summer months. A high of 149F has been recorded. At such extremes, individual inmates can experience physical and mental breakdown, and those who are particularly vulnerable as a result of co-morbidities can suffer fatal heatstrokes.

‘It doesn’t get easier’: Candlelight vigil honors Lorenzo Salgado Araujo

More than 200 people gathered Saturday morning to honor Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the man shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents (ICE) this week. Holding lit candles and "ICE OUT" signs, the group said prayers and mourned Salgado Araujo's death as well as others like Renee Good and Alex Pretti — who had lost their lives during ICE encounters in Minnesota earlier this year. "It doesn't get easier, and of course I'm still looking for answers," Ronaldo Salgado, the victim's son, said. "I've been looking for answers since 7 o'clock a.m. Tuesday."

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Two of Salgado Araujo's sons, Ronaldo and Lorenzo Jr., spoke to the crowd. They described their father as a shy, hardworking individual who loved the Chivas Mexican soccer team and raised his sons to value and prioritize their education. Ronaldo said the family has still not received his father's belongings, including his wallet, phone and lunchbox. "Which I imagine is just sitting there in that van at the FBI facility just rotting away," Ronaldo said. "It was the last meal my mom made for him, and she just wants that lunchbox back." Salgado Araujo was shot Tuesday morning during what ICE has called a "targeted enforcement operation” in Houston’s East End neighborhood. He was traveling to work with three other men in his car. In a statement to Houston Public Media, a DHS spokesperson did not specify whether any of the people in the vehicle were intended targets, saying one of the individuals in the van "resembled the target." An ICE spokesperson said during the stop, Salgado Araujo was attempting to evade arrest and allegedly rammed his van into an ICE vehicle, causing an ICE agent to fire his weapon.

Hundreds of Texas teachers were investigated for posting about Charlie Kirk. Here’s what happened next.

In her 28 years as a teacher working at schools in the Harris County area, Jennifer Courtemanche felt most at home at Lee High School. That changed for the 54-year-old English teacher on September 10. Hours after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Courtemanche made a series of posts on Facebook about the right-wing influencer’s death and was met with dozens of comments, texts, and voicemails from strangers attacking her positions. Someone—it’s unclear who—reported her to the Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District, while others attacked her directly. “I hope you’re next,” one read. “I hope you die by violence in front of your family,” said another. “Kill yourself,” said a third. Courtemanche, who was born in Dallas and has lived in Texas for her whole life, had made four posts about Kirk that day. The first, in response to Utah Governor Spencer Cox’s statement that Kirk’s assassination was a tragedy, read, “I’ll bet if the victim had been Black or Brown or a Democrat influencer he’d have been singing a different tune. Could Kirk have baited just ONE too many people? Could this have been the consequences of his actions catching up with him?” That night, Courtemanche recalls furiously searching for the settings to make her account private. A half hour before midnight, she received another voicemail.

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“I found your address. Someone is going to come to your house and f— you up, bitch,” an anonymous caller said. As messages continued to pour in, she worried about how people in the community might react. Courtemanche said she and her husband didn’t even go to church that Sunday, despite being regulars. Scared, Courtemanche reached out to her school principal, asking what she should do. He told her to call her local police department and to contact the district’s Human Resources. She did. The next morning, the HR department rang her back. The district told her not to come in and that she was being put on administrative leave. By the next Monday, Courtemanche received an email from the district notifying her that it had reported her to the Texas Education Agency. In the wake of Kirk’s assassination, there was a wide push by the Texas GOP to discipline teachers who’d made posts about his passing that it deemed offensive. Two days after Kirk died, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath instructed ISDs to report instances of educators sharing inappropriate content online to his agency. In total, 350 complaints were levied, including those against Courtemanche. According to documents obtained by Texas Monthly via public-records requests, some school districts, like Goose Creek, chose to terminate employees after conducting investigations. Others simply reported the complaint for a state investigation into the matter. But more than six months after Kirk’s death, it appears the discipline Texas politicians promised hasn’t gone very far. All but two of the 350 complaints against teachers had been dismissed as of an April, according to the testimony of Keith Ingram, an attorney with the Office of the Attorney General. Courtemanche’s case is an instructive one outlining how the state attempted to crack down on anti-Kirk speech. On September 22, less than two weeks after her original posts, the Goose Creek school board voted to terminate her contract by a vote of 2–0 with four abstentions. Mercedes Renteria III, one of the two members who voted for Courtemanche’s termination, gave an interview with the town’s local paper, The Baytown Sun. “[S]he is an incompetent teacher, and she shouldn’t have crossed the line and spoken publicly on social media and every other venue to say bad things about Charlie Kirk,” he said. “I think she should be fired, and karma’s a bitch. How about that?”

Texas Rangers investigating City of Trinidad after water issues, controversial arrests, firings

After controversial arrests, alleged retaliatory firings and a litany of water issues, the Texas Rangers are investigating the City of Trinidad. What we know: The Texas Rangers confirmed to FOX 4 they have begun an investigation into the City of Trinidad. "We can confirm the Texas Rangers are investigating. As this is an active investigation, we have no further information to provide," the Texas Rangers said to FOX 4 in a statement. The law enforcement agency's investigation comes as multiple lawsuits have been filed against the city over retaliatory firings and controversial arrests related to the city's water quality issues.

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This week, former Trinidad City Administrator and Secretary Lindsey Patterson filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming she had "no record of discipline" when she was terminated in Feb. 2026. Patterson's suit claims she was fired after reporting to the Trinidad Police Department that "public funds belonging to the city were being held by private individuals." Trinidad's current City Administrator, Cynthia Dosier, has been listed as a defendant in several of the lawsuits. She has not returned FOX 4's request for comment since our first report. On Friday, FOX 4's David Sentendrey attempted to speak to Dosier at her office in Trinidad. Dosier had no comment when asked about the Texas Rangers' investigation. What they're saying: Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws previously called for an investigation by the Texas Rangers into the city's now-public issues. He tells Sentendrey he's glad that's finally happening. "I wanted people here to know that there is going to be transparency at the end of this," Haws said. "We need to know that our office is in order and I think the best way to do that is with a third party having eyes on it and finding out what really is going on here."

National Stories

‘Islamic Republic of Japan’: Trump’s verbal flubs are piling up

President Donald Trump has not been charitable about politicians’ verbal gaffes. He once played a video of Joe Biden’s verbal stumbles at a 2022 rally. During the 2024 campaign, he ridiculed Biden for mixing up Trump and Kamala Harris, saying, “Great job, Joe!” And in 2018, Trump joined in the longstanding conservative lampooning of Barack Obama’s misstatement that he had visited 57 states. “Can you imagine if I said that,” Trump posted on X, adding: “story of the year!” In fact, Trump has now said things like that over and over again. That was perhaps best exemplified by an appearance Wednesday at the NATO summit in Turkey, in which Trump made three significant errors — including calling Iran “the Islamic Republic of Japan” — in less than 10 minutes while speaking next to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. But he’s had plenty of other gaffes recently.

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A recap of some of his biggest recent flubs and mix-ups: While recounting a clash in Iran, Trump inadvertently referred to the “Islamic Republic of Japan” — which isn’t a thing. “I told this story yesterday: We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan,” Trump said. “They were shot at the aircraft carrier over a period of about one hour.” Trump has made a big show of decrying the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, which was called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. But at the same event, he flubbed the acronym. “They picked the wrong country, JCPOC,” Trump said. “What a terrible — what a terrible deal.” While seated next to Zelensky, Trump asked the reporters assembled if they had “a question for President Putin.” (Biden did much the same thing during his own visit to a NATO summit in 2024.)

Knives out at US Supreme Court as justices’ squabbles go public

Justice Amy Coney Barrett has compared sitting on the US Supreme Court to “being in an arranged marriage with no option of divorce”. After a politically fraught term marred by infighting, its nine members may need couples therapy. Over the course of a term dominated by President Donald Trump’s controversial second-term agenda — from his immigration crackdown to his bureaucratic takeover — the knives have come out at the nation’s top court. In pointed remarks and fiery written opinions, its justices have traded barbs in a manner typically kept out of the public eye. The hardening of ideological lines at the once collegial top court could have profound consequences for public support of the nation’s third branch of government. “It’s a very ideologically divided, very conservative court,” said Carolyn Shapiro, co-director of Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States.

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“Given how fast and how destructive of tradition, precedent [and] practice the court’s actions have been for the majority — it’s not surprising?.?.?. that emotions are probably running high on both sides,” she added. One in five of the court’s decisions this term was decided 6-3 along ideological lines — a significant jump from the 11 per cent average for the last five terms, according to data from SCOTUSBlog. There are signs that the divisions are already affecting approval for the court. A YouGov poll this month found that half of Americans disapproved of the way it is handling cases, with concerns largely divided along partisan lines. The divide was on show at the end of last month. As the court handed down its final opinions, Justice Samuel Alito read the majority’s decision allowing the federal government to turn away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. When he finished, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor began to read her scathing dissent — a move signalling strong opposition to a ruling. She referred to Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany but were turned away by the US government, many of whom later died in the Holocaust, adding that more people would die as a consequence of the court’s ruling. It “regrettably and tragically extinguishes the light of the torch of the Statue of Liberty”, she said. In a highly unusual turn, Alito took the floor again and, appearing frustrated, he said there was “much” he “would have added” to his statement had he known Sotomayor planned to speak.

‘No one planned for this’: The rapidly-evolving 18-day primary to replace Platner

Nirav Shah’s first event back on the campaign trail was coming together quickly. Staffers shepherded supporters into a nearly-empty office space, and an intrepid group of volunteers, armed with masking tape and markers, put the finishing touches on familiar campaign signs that suddenly needed an update. Forming in a makeshift assembly line, they methodically taped over the word “governor” and wrote “Senate” in its place. Erin Evans, 56, of Portland, arrived with her own handmade poster: she had used colored duct tape to mask what once was her “Graham Platner for Senate” yard sign, covering the oysterman’s name with an all-caps “NIRAV.” The DIY-campaigning is a symptom of the moment in which Maine Democrats now find themselves. Platner, who ended his campaign Wednesday night, had energized voters who were hungry for a fighter to unseat GOP Sen. Susan Collins. But support for Platner’s campaign crumbled after POLITICO reported a woman he used to date accused him of sexual assault — an allegation which he denies.

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His old supporters are now trying to find a new political home in the two-and-a-half short weeks during which Maine Democrats must name a replacement for their former Senate hopeful. And voters’ options, for the most part, are a flurry of familiar faces who unsuccessfully mounted campaigns for office already this year and are now scrambling for a second chance.“Campaigns are always like building the plane while you’re flying it, but this is like building it while falling out of a helicopter,” said a staffer working on one of the campaigns who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss the situation. The homemade signs at Shah’s event were just one example of how fast things are moving in Maine: the WiFi network available at his kickoff event was still labeled “ShahForGovernor.” Several of the Democrats vying to replace Platner have already run against each other in a nearly-identical field in this year’s June primaries. Whoever emerges will face Collins, a battle-tested five-term incumbent with more than $10 million cash in the bank who won her last race by eight points even as President Donald Trump lost the state by nine. The race’s result will play a pivotal role in Senate control. Three of the unsuccessful candidates for governor are vying for the open spot on the ballot, including former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and Shah, who was the former top Pine Tree State public health official. All three won at least 20 percent of the primary vote just one month ago. Two other candidates, Jordan Wood and Paige Loud, fell short in the Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) in his battleground seat.

Times journalists subpoenaed as Trump escalates pressure on media

The Trump administration issued subpoenas on Friday to several journalists for The New York Times, after the news outlet reported this week on security concerns involving President Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One. The subpoenas — which seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday — were an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations. In some cases, the subpoenas were delivered by federal agents who showed up at reporters’ homes. The Times denounced the administration’s actions. “The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” said David McCraw, The Times’s top newsroom lawyer, in a statement on Friday evening.

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“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” Mr. McCraw wrote. “This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.” The subpoenas contain few specifics, asking only that the journalists testify “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.” They were issued by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. Mr. Clayton, who leads one of the country’s most prominent law enforcement offices, was recently nominated by Mr. Trump to serve as director of national intelligence. Representatives for the White House did not respond to inquiries on Friday evening. In a statement on Saturday, a Justice Department spokeswoman said that “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.” “We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but D.O.J. also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information,” said the spokeswoman, Emily Covington. She added, “We recognize there may always be natural tension there, but we are not going to ignore the law.”

How Marco Rubio is running Venezuela from afar

President Trump was sitting in the Oval Office earlier this year with Secretary of State Marco Rubio when an idea came to him. Maybe he should dispatch Mr. Rubio permanently to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, where U.S. commandos had carried out the proudest foreign policy achievement of Mr. Trump’s second term: the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the country’s president. Mr. Rubio could be the next leader of Venezuela, Mr. Trump suggested. And while the president’s aides say he was joking — and that he frequently teases Mr. Rubio about an overseas assignment — the fact is that Mr. Rubio does not need to move to Caracas. He already runs Venezuela from Washington. In the six months since U.S. forces blew open Mr. Maduro’s bedroom door and snatched him in the dead of night, Mr. Rubio has become the de facto viceroy of Venezuela, holding sway over a sovereign nation in a way that no American official has since L. Paul Bremer III arrived in Baghdad in 2003 to run U.S.-occupied Iraq.

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Mr. Rubio now effectively controls Venezuela’s finances, the distribution of its natural resources and its government, according to interviews with more than a dozen officials and people close to both governments in Washington and Caracas, who provided details about his involvement in steering the country’s policies. Many spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private interactions and internal discussions. While he has not visited Venezuela in person since the U.S. took over, the secretary of state is deeply involved in the country’s day-to-day operations, keeping in close contact with Delcy Rodríguez, who was Mr. Maduro’s vice president and now leads her country on an acting basis, with the imprimatur of the United States. The two exchange messages in Spanish on WhatsApp, trading gossip, birthday greetings and selfies. Despite the banter, the relationship between Mr. Rubio and Ms. Rodríguez is far from a partnership. It is a manifestation of Trump-era American power, in which the winner takes all regardless of sovereignty and international law. The Venezuelan government did not respond to a request for comment. The Trump administration did not address detailed questions about Mr. Rubio’s authority in Venezuela. Mr. Rubio has downplayed his role, and largely avoids discussing his work. He declined multiple requests for an interview. Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesman, said in a statement that “with renewed cooperation and sound economic stewardship, Venezuela can re-emerge as a stable, prosperous partner whose citizens benefit from its vast natural wealth and strengthened ties with the United States.”

Matthew Continetti: Bet on Democrats’ midterm enthusiasm

(Matthew Joseph Continetti is an American journalist and Director of Domestic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.) Making sense of the 2026 election isn’t easy. History and polling put Democrats on track to take the House and gain Senate seats. Yet unusual structural advantages—gerrymandering, money and negative partisanship—have Republicans thinking they have a shot to retain Congress. Count me skeptical. The fundamentals in a midterm election favor the opposition, even if a Democratic wave has yet to be spotted offshore. The reason is simple: enthusiasm. Democrats have it. Republicans don’t. Engagement and intensity matter more than dollars and cents. And Democrats and independents seem ready to crawl over broken glass to vote against President Trump. To reverse the trend, Mr. Trump and the GOP will have to provide Republican voters reasons to turn out in November. They better come up with something, stat. Democrats have history on their side.

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The president’s party has lost House seats in all but three midterm elections during the past century. The exceptions—1934, 1998 and 2002—were during extraordinarily popular presidencies. Though the Gallup poll debuted after the 1934 midterm, we can infer Franklin Roosevelt’s popularity from his landslide election and re-election. Bill Clinton’s job approval rating in November 1998 was 66%, according to Gallup. George W. Bush’s approval rating in November 2002 was about the same. Gallup no longer measures presidential job approval. But at this writing the Real Clear Politics polling average has Trump’s approval rating a tick under 41%. And in midterm elections since 1946, the party of a president with job-approval ratings below 50% has lost an average of 34 House seats. For Mike Johnson to retain the speaker’s gavel, Republicans can lose no more than two seats. Senate results are slightly less tied to presidential approval. Much depends on the state and candidates. Think of the difference between 2014, when Barack Obama’s job approval was at 42% and Democrats lost nine Senate seats, and 2022, when Joe Biden’s approval was also 42% and Democrats gained a seat.

How Candace Owens became TPUSA’s worst enemy

Less than one month after Charlie Kirk’s death, Candace Owens made an incendiary claim: Kirk came to her in a dream and told her he had been betrayed. Owens, a conservative podcaster who worked for Turning Point USA from 2017 to 2019, had taken it upon herself to investigate Kirk’s death, homing in on potential betrayers. On her popular podcast, she denied that Tyler Robinson, the troubled 23-year-old from Utah who is standing trial for allegedly murdering Kirk, had acted alone. She suggested Israel somehow played a role. And she said Kirk’s former colleagues at Turning Point — including his wife, Erika Kirk — should face scrutiny. “Everything Turning Point is doing is wrong,” Owens said on her podcast a little over a month after Kirk died. “I want war with all of you, OK? All of you.”

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At first, Turning Point did little to push back. Then Owens dialed in on two of Charlie Kirk’s confidantes who were present when he was killed: Turning Point chief of staff Mikey McCoy and contracted camera operator Terryl Farnsworth. McCoy had appeared on video holding his hands to his ears moments after Kirk’s death — something Owens found suspicious. And Farnsworth drew her attention over a selfie video he recorded in shock as Kirk’s body was whisked away. Owens said she found their actions “to be quite strange”: “There is no way you are going to convince me and the rest of the world that all of this is normal.” On a late October episode of the Charlie Kirk Show, producer Blake Neff called claims that Turning Point staffers were part of some sort of conspiracy “utterly vile.” (McCoy declined to comment.) It was one of the first times Turning Point acknowledged the conspiracies publicly. But privately, mayhem was unfolding inside the organization. Following Owens’ conspiratorial videos, staffers received a series of threats, and Turning Point ramped up security at its Phoenix headquarters and the homes of several employees, according to three people with direct knowledge of the arrangements, who — like others in this piece — were granted anonymity to discuss private matters. One of those people took their family into hiding multiple times and eventually moved into a rental property so their name would not appear on public documents; the home they own is now rented out. This person also told POLITICO Magazine they spent thousands of dollars scrubbing their children’s images from the internet.

Copyright July 12, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved