April 3, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

ERCOT: Data centers cause Texas' large load queue to balloon

The size of ERCOT’s large load interconnection requests – majority of which are data centers wanting to connect to the grid – soared by nearly 150 gigawatts to 410 gigawatts in just two weeks, a symptom of Texas becoming a hub for data centers and other high-tech industries. On Tuesday, ERCOT officials discussed the massive uptick in requests, the agency’s recently published “state of the grid” report and more at its third annual Innovation Summit at Kalahari Resorts’ convention center in Round Rock. Large loads are customers requesting a new or expanded interconnection, where its total peak demand at a single site would be at least 75 megawatts. Hundreds of people in various roles tied to the energy industry were in attendance for panels, attended by industry executives and experts from across the globe.

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The first session included a discussion between ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas and National Energy System Operator CEO Fintan Slye on “powering progress.” Vegas, who has led ERCOT since 2022, reflected on the evolving grid and energy market in Texas. “The ERCOT grid today is vastly different from the ERCOT grid of even 5 years ago and certainly more than 20 years ago,” he said. “I think that’s one of the characteristics of the conversation today about the grid itself is just how rapidly evolving and changing it has become.” Vegas called ERCOT an “energy island,” which can afford both benefits like the ability to change and move quickly in response to needs. The needs are noticeably increasing — and fast, according to the last data from ERCOT. The agency said peak demand could reach 145 GW by 2030, and it currently has about 453 GW of requests to connect to the grid. ERCOT’s all-time peak demand was 85 GW in August 2023. Notably, ERCOT reported its large load interconnection queue now sits at 410 GW, about 87% of which are data centers. That’s a spike from closer to 300 GW just two weeks ago.

Governor calls for swift action as Nueces River Authority faces leadership allegations

Gov. Greg Abbott is demanding a thorough investigation into the Nueces River Authority after a top official at the agency accused Executive Director John Byrum of lying to the board, putting a $30 million grant at risk, and telling staff to hide information from the people who are supposed to be watching over them. "Every member of a Texas board or commission should uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in service of the people of Texas," Abbott press secretary Andrew Mahaleris wrote in a statement to KRIS 6 News. "Governor Abbott expects a thorough investigation into the allegations brought forth and for the Board to act swiftly once the investigation is complete."

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Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo is also calling for answers. She announced she will place the matter on the April 14 City Council agenda so it can be discussed publicly. "From the beginning, there were serious concerns with the NRA's presentation," Guajardo wrote. "I did not see a clear, logical plan, funding mechanism, or sufficient information to support the NRA's multi-million dollar project. Unfortunately, what the news is reporting now reinforces those concerns." Guajardo said she has asked the city manager for an immediate update. The NRA is a state agency created by the Texas Legislature in 1935. It manages water resources for all or parts of 22 counties across more than 17,000 square miles of South Texas. A 21-member board oversees the agency. The governor appoints all board members to six-year terms, and those appointments must be confirmed by the Texas Senate. The governor also picks the board president. The NRA does not receive state or federal tax money. It pays its bills through fees for services and interest on investments. The governor appoints that board, subject to consent from the Texas State Senate. Eric Burnett is the president of the board.

Florida virtual school approved for Texas vouchers through loophole

A Florida-based virtual school could receive Texas taxpayer funds through the state's new $1 billion private school voucher program, despite provisions in the law meant to block out-of-state schools from joining the program. State records show that the Texas Comptroller's office approved NFC Academy — North Forest Baptist Church Academy based in Tallahassee — to participate in the voucher program on March 13. The school, which teaches a biblical worldview to students in grades K-12, had been “pursuing approval” for the Texas program, according to its website. Texas vouchers can go to different providers, including private and virtual schools, pre-K programs, homeschool materials and other vendors, like therapists or tutors.

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Vendors and private schools have different eligibility requirements. But NFC Academy appears to have entered the program through a potential loophole between how the two categories are defined — allowing out-of-state schools to receive state funds if they are "acting as a vendor." The school was only allowed on the program as a vendor — not as a virtual school — and therefore is not eligible for the full funding amount of $10,500 for private schools, according to the Texas Comptroller's office. However, it is still listed as an online school on the state's map. Dee Carney, director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, said the Florida school's approval goes back to a key question she has been asking about the voucher program: “Who's benefiting: private entities or the Texas public?”

State Stories

Patients face higher costs as Blue Cross, hospital system fail to strike deal

Thousands of Houston patients could pay more or be forced to switch doctors after Memorial Hermann Health System and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas failed to agree to a new contract. The health system is no longer in network for Blue Cross Blue Shield commercial and Blue Advantage Marketplace plans after the sides could not agree to terms by an April 1 deadline, Memorial Hermann said in a statement. As a result, many patients with Blue Cross Blue Shield plans will need to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for medical services at Memorial Hermann. The health system includes 14 hospitals and hundreds of doctors’ offices and clinics in the Houston area.

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Certain patients, such as those who are pregnant or being treated for a disability, acute condition or life-threatening illness, may still be eligible for in-network rates at Memorial Hermann. Those patients should fill out a continuity of care request form or call the phone number on their insurance card, the health system said. Memorial Hermann accused the insurer of asking for “unreasonable demands” and dragging out talks until the April 1 deadline as a negotiating tactic. The reimbursement rates and contract language that Blue Cross Blue Shield proposed during negotiations “ignore the financial realities facing health systems today,” Memorial Hermann said in its statement. “We will not prioritize a for-profit insurer’s bottom line over the best interests of our patients, providers, employers and employees,” Memorial Hermann said in the statement. Memorial Hermann accused Blue Cross Blue Shield of employing similar tactics in contract talks with health systems across the United States, including several in Texas.

Texas attorney general under scrutiny over hotel room payments

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office is under scrutiny after agency employees reallocated taxpayer-funded hotel rooms to donors and other private citizens, some of whom failed to cover the cost of the stay until the state comptroller began auditing the agency’s finances earlier this year. Two senior officials involved in the incident resigned soon after it was brought to agency leadership’s attention. Paxton, who is in a contentious runoff for the GOP Senate nomination against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, was impeached in 2023 over allegations that involved improper relationships with a donor. The more recent investigation centers on hotel rooms the agency booked for employees attending last year’s inauguration of President Donald Trump and Supreme Court arguments over a new state law, defended by Paxton’s office, that requires adult websites to verify users’ ages.

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The agency paid more than $20,000 for a nonrefundable block of 10 hotel rooms at the Courtyard Marriott. Then, a winter storm prevented several of the travelers from getting to Washington. The agency would have been on the hook for approximately $16,000 of unused hotel rooms, documents obtained through an open records request show. Instead, agency employees identified private citizens who wanted the rooms and agreed to pay out of pocket for them. “The intent was to relieve the OAG of its financial obligation for the unused rooms,” deputy first assistant attorney general Ralph Molina said in an investigative report conducted by the agency. The people who agreed to take the rooms included major Paxton donors Terry and Jennifer Lacore, controversial Albanian businessman Bashkim Ulaj and chair of the Albanian Republican Party Fatmir Mediu. Keith Craft, lead pastor at Elevate Life Church in Frisco, later took one of the rooms as well. The list was first reported by Texas Bullpen.

Carrot shipment hid $2.7M of meth seized at Texas-Mexico border, feds say

Turns out not every carrot is meant for the Easter Bunny; some are apparently stuffed with $2.7 million worth of meth. Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection uncovered the drugs hidden inside a shipment of carrots at the Pharr International Bridge, putting a quick stop to what might be the least healthy vegetable delivery in Texas history. In a Thursday news release, CBP said the discovery happened March 30 when officers encountered a commercial tractor-trailer entering from Reynosa. The vehicle was sent to a secondary inspection, where nonintrusive imaging technology and a K-9 team flagged something suspicious among the veggies.

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A closer look turned up 1,055 packages of methamphetamine tucked inside the carrot shipment, weighing nearly 300 pounds. Authorities estimate the drugs have a street value of about $2.7 million. “The criminal element is always thinking of ways to get their narcotics through our international crossings, but as this seizure aptly illustrates, our CBP officers are experts in their field and use all available tools and technology to thwart these smuggling attempts,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry. CBP officers seized the narcotics and the tractor-trailer. Special agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations have launched a criminal investigation.

CBP: Border wall will go through National Butterfly Center

As the temperatures hovered in the 90s on Tuesday, noisy chachalaca birds honked in the trees at the National Butterfly Center, and butterflies twitted about. But Jeffrey Glassberg, president of the North American Butterfly Association, which runs the center, worries their habitat will be destroyed if a border wall is built through it as the federal government has planned. U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed to Border Report on Tuesday that they have awarded a contract to build 34 miles of border wall through the Rio Grande Valley from Rio Grande City to Weslaco, including through the National Butterfly Center, and other areas that previously had been exempted by Congress, including La Lomita Chapel, Bentsen State Park, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and historic cemetaries.

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“The border wall in the areas near La Lomita Chapel and the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas will be constructed along the existing flood levee. This will involve constructing a reinforced concrete levee wall adjacent to and matching the height of the current levee, with 30-foot steel bollard panels installed on top. This approach is intended to enhance both security and flood protection in the area,” a CBP spokesperson said. “They have contacted us. And obviously I don’t feel good about it,” Glassberg told Border Report. Beloved birding preserve on South Texas border might not reopen if wall is built through it He shared a letter CBP sent to them telling them the federal government is interested in the National Butterfly Center’s property, which borders the Rio Grande overlooking Mexico, and requesting permission for agents to enter the property. It offers them $1,000 for a right of entry, but also says the agency can take the property via “eminent domain, in accordance with the Declaration of Taking Act.“

El Paso County school enrollment drops 2.7% as declining births, migration reshape classrooms

El Paso County’s decline in student enrollment accelerated this year, as demographic forces reshape schools and the broader community, according to newly released state figures. El Paso’s traditional public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools had 160,463 students in the 2025-26 school year, a 2.7% decline from the previous year, according to an El Paso Matters analysis of Texas Education Agency data. That rate of decline is two to six times faster than most other years in the past two decades, with the exception of the 2020-21 school year, when the COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning led to a 3.5% decline in enrollment.

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The enrollment decline is driven by a number of demographic factors, especially a birth rate that is falling at twice the national average, and the consistent migration of people leaving El Paso in search of better economic opportunities or a more attractive lifestyle. El Paso County’s school enrollment topped 180,000 as recently as the 2012-13 school year, state records show. Each of El Paso County’s nine traditional independent school districts saw an enrollment decline in 2025-26, ranging from 2% in Canutillo, Clint and Socorro to 6% in Anthony. The El Paso and Ysleta school districts – which are located in older areas of the city – both saw enrollment losses of 4%. Total enrollment in the nine traditional public school districts declined by 3% this year compared with the prior year. The enrollment picture for El Paso’s nine open-enrollment charter school systems was mixed. Harmony Public Schools and Burnham Wood Charter Schools both added about 150 students. Five of the charter school systems saw declining enrollments.

The plan to move millions of people around Dallas-Fort Worth during the World Cup

Expect traffic around AT&T Stadium to be a nightmare during the World Cup, but there’s a plan to help alleviate some of the stress hundreds of thousands of soccer fans will put on our transportation system this summer. The North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee and the North Central Texas Council of Governments presented Thursday their mobility playbook, which focuses heavily on rail and bus service to move fans to and from Arlington on match days. Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said it’s likely a million additional people will use local roads and public transportation systems over the 31 days the World Cup is in town, during which time nine matches will be played at AT&T Stadium (which will temporarily be renamed Dallas Stadium for the tournament).

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Each of those games will be the equivalent of a Super Bowl, officials have said, with upward of 100,000 people descending upon Dallas-Fort Worth. The Trinity Railway Express, with service from downtown Fort Worth, will operate four-car trains instead of the standard three-car trains, and they’re adding two additional train sets with a locomotive and four cars each. On match days, TRE trains from Fort Worth and Dallas will carry fans to the CentrePort/DFW Airport near State Highway 360 and Trinity Boulevard in Fort Worth, and shuttle buses will transport people to a bus hub closer to the stadium. TRE tickets are available via the GoPass app. Additionally, there will be 125 regional charter buses to carry passengers who can’t fit on the trains. These buses can carry 50 passengers each and will operate with priority on Interstate 30 using specially managed lanes. Transportation officials will be able to change the directional flow of traffic on these lanes depending on the need.

Jason Kidd responds to Mark Cuban's comments about Luka Doncic trade

An NBA game was to be played here in Fiserv Forum Tuesday night, but as Mavericks-Bucks tipoff neared, coach Jason Kidd found himself having to put out a brush fire 1,000 miles away in Dallas about a trade that occurred 423 days ago. Not just any trade, Kidd realizes, but The Trade of Luka Doncic from which the franchise largely has moved on – or had until former majority owner Mark Cuban seemingly brought gasoline and matches to a podcast interview that was released Tuesday.

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“When are we going to move on?” Kidd asked a Dallas Morning News reporter during a brief one-on-one interview about 90 minutes before tipoff Tuesday. “We have to move forward. We're focused on the present and the future and we've got an incredible opportunity to build.” Kidd’s initial rhetorical question could have been meant for Mavsland in general, but, clearly, it mostly was directed at Cuban, whom Kidd said he phoned Tuesday after the Intersections podcast’s release. During the podcast, Cuban expressed regret for selling the franchise to the Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont families in December 2023 and criticized general manager Nico Harrison’s Feb. 1, 2025, trade of Doncic. Then suddenly, briefly, he injected Kidd into the conversation. “That doesn’t justify it for our coach and our general manager to stand up and trade our best player.” Cuban offered no specifics or elaboration, but those three words, “for our coach,” essentially hung Kidd out to dry. Kidd, on multiple occasions, has said he didn’t learn of the trade until the 11th hour. During the following day’s news conference, Kidd praised Doncic, but emphasized, “When you look at the vision of the team and what Nico wants to build, I truly support that and truly believe the players we’re getting are ones that can help us win a championship.”

Houston’s favorite meteorologist has seen enough

Since moving to Houston in 2012, meteorologist Matt Lanza has seen it all. Freak windstorms. Record-setting freezes and droughts. Hurricane Harvey (2017), Tropical Storm Nicholas (2021), and Hurricane Beryl (2024). For the past eleven years, Lanza has shared his “hype-free” forecasts on Space City Weather, a bare-bones blog that he runs with fellow meteorologist Eric Berger. The website enjoyed a modest following until Harvey dumped some 27 trillion gallons of rain over southeast Texas and Louisiana, sending Houstonians scrambling for a reliable forecast. The site received around four million page views over the course of the disaster. Now it’s the first place many people turn when the forecast darkens. Last week, Lanza announced that his family was moving to Connecticut, partly to be closer to his elderly parents and partly because Houston’s extreme weather had become a little too extreme, even for a professional. “I do worry about our vulnerability here to hurricanes, and not just Beryl-type storms—much bigger storms,” he explained.

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He’s leaving his day job at CenterPoint Energy, the Houston utility where he serves as chief meteorologist, but will continue contributing to Space City Weather and its sister site, The Eyewall, which focuses on Atlantic hurricanes. "My parents are getting older. We’ve got two kids, and my parents only get to see them once a year. That started stirring up thoughts of moving. It was that combined with just being done with hurricane stuff for a while. It’s a different world now than it was five or ten years ago in terms of how we forecast and cover hurricanes. We have to constantly talk people off the ledge. "It used to be that if there was a storm in the Atlantic, seven or eight days out, people might not give much thought to it. Now people see something like that on social media and panic, no matter how much you educate them. There are people on social media trying to score engagement points. We have to constantly battle people that are scaring people for engagement. It gets tiring," he said.

National Stories

Trump signs order imposing 100 percent tariff on brand name drugs

President Trump signed an executive order Thursday targeting imported brand name drugs with a 100 percent tariff, citing the U.S.’s “import reliance” as reason for the decision. “I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to impose a 100 percent ad valorem duty rate on the import of patented pharmaceuticals and associated pharmaceutical ingredients,” Trump’s executive order stated. The Section 232 tariffs enacted through this order are designated for national security concerns. Some brand name drug manufacturers will fare better than others. Companies that have approved plans to start manufacturing facilities in the U.S. will face a 20 percent tariff instead. Drugs coming from the European Union, Japan, South Korea or Switzerland and Liechtenstein will be subject to a 15 percent tariff, while drugs from the United Kingdom will face an unspecified “lower” rate subject to a U.S.-U.K. trade agreement.

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The pharmaceutical industry was swift to condemn Trump’s latest drug tariffs. “Tariffs on cutting-edge medicines will increase costs and could jeopardize billions in U.S. investments announced in the last year. Every dollar spent on tariffs is a dollar that can’t be invested in communities across the country,” said Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of the pharmaceutical trade group PhRMA. “The innovative biopharmaceutical sector has a robust U.S. manufacturing footprint. In fact, two-thirds of the medicines that are consumed in the U.S. are made in America,” he added. “And when innovative medicines or their inputs are sourced from other countries, these products overwhelmingly come from reliable U.S. allies, like Europe and Japan.”

As first Easter of Leo's papacy approaches, his priorities come into sharper focus

Almost one year after Pope Francis made his final public appearance on Easter, Pope Leo XIV is approaching his first celebration of the feast as pontiff — a moment that offers a more defining glimpse into a papacy focused on unity, peace and social justice. While Leo’s first year has largely implied continuity with Francis, analysis of his leadership style highlights his willingness to empower clergy and delegate authority. On Holy Thursday (April 2), which commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, Leo departed from one of Francis’ most symbolic gestures. In past years, Francis used the washing of the feet ceremony to highlight marginalized groups — including prisoners, migrants and women — underscoring his outreach to those living on the peripheries of society.

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This year, though, Leo washed the feet of 12 priests from the Diocese of Rome at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. The move reflects both a return to tradition — Benedict XVI, who was succeeded by Francis, was the last pope to wash the feet of diocesan priests in Rome — but also his focus on empowering clergy and promoting a more missionary role for priests. “The great missionaries bear witnesses to quiet, unobtrusive approaches, whose method is the sharing of life, selfless service, the renunciation of any calculated strategy, dialogue and respect,” Leo said during the Chrism Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday, as priests renewed the promises made during their ordination. Leo’s style of governance is becoming visible in balancing continuity and reform. Breaking with Francis, who chose to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican as a sign of simplicity, Leo has returned to the Apostolic Palace. The move last month came as senior Vatican officials, who handed in their resignations after Francis’ death, are awaiting confirmation or replacement.

Your Amazon orders may cost more now. Here’s what changed.

Amazon customers will be hit with an extra charge later this month as the e-commerce giant increases fees in response to higher costs caused by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The Seattle-based company notified customers it will be adding a 3.5% fuel and logistics-related surcharge “to recover a portion of the actual cost increases we’re experiencing.” Advertisement Article continues below this ad The announcement comes as the war creates shipping complications and drives up gasoline prices and costs for food and other essential goods. Major shippers including UPS and FedEx also have increased their fuel surcharge rates, as the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel has skyrocketed. The U.S. Postal Service also is introducing a limited-time 8% surcharge on shipping services starting April 26 and running through Jan. 17.

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Amazon’s increase takes effect April 17 in the U.S. and Canada for goods from third-party sellers that use its Fulfillment by Amazon services. For those sellers, the company handles packing, shipping, customer service and returns. The charge also will be added to international sales from the U.S. to Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Starting May 2, it will apply to the Buy with Prime program, through which Prime members receive faster shipping on products from partnering third-party websites. The surcharge will be applied on sales in the U.S. and Canada. “Due to the work we have already done together to lower costs, this surcharge is meaningfully lower than other major carriers,” Amazon said. In 2024, Amazon subsidiary Amazon Fresh slashed costs up to 30% on 4,000 weekly rotating grocery items to help reduce inflation-related price bumps.

Copyright April 03, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved