Lead Stories

Gov. Greg Abbott’s school money bill just needs his approval after Texas Senate vote

A program that will fundamentally change Texas education by sending public dollars toward private schools is headed to the governor’s desk. The state Senate voted Thursday to send Senate Bill 2 to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has promised to swiftly sign the measure creating education savings accounts after working for more than two years to pass a school voucher-like proposal. On a vote of 19-12, the Senate approved the ESA proposal that the House passed last week after a marathon debate in the Legislature’s lower chamber. The vote tally was largely partisan, with one Republican, Jacksonville Sen. Robert Nichols, joining Democrats in opposition. “School choice has come to Texas,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said following the vote.

The Senate approved the House’s version of the bill, which allowed the bill to avoid a conference committee in which lawmakers from both chambers would have smoothed out differences between the two proposals. House Republicans rebuffed every attempt by Democrats to alter the plan, including a last-ditch effort to force Texans to vote on the proposal. SB 2 creates a program that allows parents to apply for an ESA — worth roughly $10,000 at today’s levels — that they can use to pay for private school expenses, such as tuition, uniforms, meals and educational materials. The programs’ budget is capped at $1 billion in 2027, but estimates show it could cost as much as $4 billion a year by 2030. Patrick has pushed for a similar program for more than a decade. The Senate has passed numerous versions of a voucher-like bill in previous sessions. Texas’ efforts gained momentum in the past two years after Abbott began campaigning on the issue. He crisscrossed the state making the case for his proposal at friendly receptions at Christian private schools.

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Corporate giants shred outlooks over tariff uncertainty

The CEOs of American Airlines, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and many other major U.S. companies warned that shape-shifting tariff threats make it virtually impossible to plan and are spooking consumers. American, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Air Group told investors and analysts that leisure travel had already softened and pulled their full-year outlooks because the economic climate makes it too tough to forecast. Procter & Gamble, the maker of Pampers diapers and Tide detergent, said it was considering raising prices on some items. And auto-industry groups representing General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota sent a letter to President Trump imploring him to reconsider the 25% tariff on car parts that goes into effect May 3, because it will make buying and repairing cars and trucks more expensive. “We don’t know what is going to happen,” Robert Isom, chief executive of American, told investors and analysts on Thursday. So the airline is being cautious. “What does that mean? It means that we don’t hire as much. It means that we don’t bring on as many planes, potentially. It means a reduction in overall economic activity.”

The same frustrating limbo looms over people trying to plan vacations, Isom said, adding that nobody relishes uncertainty when they are talking about spending their hard-earned dollars. More executives, from Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon to Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, warned Wall Street and the Trump administration of the damage to the economy that tariffs will cause. Branson said Trump could do lasting harm with his unpredictable trade policies that took a booming economy and shook it to its core. “It’s just such a pity because everything was going so bloody well up to about three months ago,” Branson said. White House spokesman Kush Desai said: “Under President Trump, business leaders are making trillions in historic investment commitments [and] driving the robust private-sector hiring reflected in multiple jobs reports.” CEOs have sought to assure investors they can weather the tariff storm, but many also said they hoped the erratic nature of the Trump administration’s tariff strategy would end soon. Planning for the future—and forecasting profitability—amid constantly changing guidance hasn’t just caused several companies, including British drinks maker Diageo, to drop their outlook. It led United Airlines to issue two forecasts: one for a stable economy and another for a recessionary one. Trump’s 90-day delay on imposing so-called reciprocal tariffs has only amped up the uncertainty, Solomon told CNBC. The mood now is completely different than it was as Trump took office in January and the World Economic Forum in Davos was abuzz with optimism that he would usher in a new age of less regulation.

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Houston metro could need 50% more electricity by 2031 at peak times, says CenterPoint

Greater Houston is growing. So is its voracious appetite for electricity. In fact, CenterPoint Energy’s Houston-area customers could require 50% more electricity during peak usage times by 2031, company executives told investors Tuesday. That’s like adding two San Antonio metros to the Houston region. Even then, the projection is a “conservative forecast,” meaning the region’s actual electricity needs might end up much higher, CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call Tuesday morning. The local power grid would require billions of dollars of investments to accommodate this growth, if it pans out — a lucrative opportunity for CenterPoint, since the company makes money by spending big on capital projects.

“We're not seeing growth slow down in the Greater Houston region. If anything, it's accelerating. So, I think the electric transmission build-out will only accelerate as we get into the next decade,” Wells said Tuesday. The cost of those projects, meanwhile, would be paid for via electricity rate increases spread out across CenterPoint’s expanding customer base. CenterPoint earned $297 million in profits in the first quarter, a 15% decrease from the same period last year. Still, Tuesday’s earnings call was upbeat as executives touted the company’s plan to spend more than $27 billion in capital projects through 2030. Approximately $20 billion of those investments are planned for CenterPoint’s electric utility businesses in Houston and Indiana. Another $7 billion is planned for the company’s natural gas utilities across Texas, Minnesota, Indiana and Ohio.

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In rare rebuke of Putin, Trump urges Russia to ‘STOP!’ after deadly attack on Kyiv

President Donald Trump on Thursday offered rare criticism of Vladimir Putin, urging the Russian leader to “STOP!” after a deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying.” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” Russia struck Kyiv with an hourslong barrage of missiles and drones. At least 12 people were killed and 90 were injured in the deadliest assault on the city since last July. Trump’s frustration is growing as a U.S.-led effort to get a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia has not made progress. The comments about Putin came after Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday and accused him of prolonging the “killing field” by refusing to surrender the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula as part of a possible deal. Russia illegally annexed that area in 2014.

With his assertion that Putin demonstrated “very bad timing” with the massive attack, Trump appeared to suggest that the Russian leader was doing himself no favors toward achieving the Kremlin’s demand that any peace agreement include Russia keeping control of Crimea as well as Ukrainian territory in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions it has seized since invading in February 2022. Later Thursday during an Oval Office meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump said that Crimea was taken from Ukraine without a fight. He also noted that annexation of the Black Sea peninsula happened under President Barack Obama’s watch. Asked what Putin is doing now to help forge a peace deal, Trump responded, “stopping taking the whole country, pretty big concession.” But the notion is one that Ukraine and much of Europe have fiercely pushed back against, arguing that Russia pausing a land grab is hardly a concession. Zelenskyy has repeated many times that recognizing occupied territory as Russia’s is a red line for Ukraine. He noted Thursday that Ukraine had agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal 44 days ago as a first step to a negotiated peace, but that Moscow’s attacks had continued.

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State Stories

God, Texas, and film incentives

Lawmakers took another big step yesterday towards the biggest boost in film and TV incentives in the history of Texas. However, stumbling blocks that could make its passage into law much more complex have become apparent as elected officials start to raise concerns about how much the revised program would help Texans. Last week, the Senate approved Senate Bill 22, which would create the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Fund, guaranteeing a $2.5 billion incentive fund for film, TV, and online production over the next decade. Yesterday the House Committee on Culture, Recreation, and Tourism took up House Bill 4568, the House companion bill to SB 22. "It's good to have Texans promoting Texas," glowed bill author Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, waving towards Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, who were taking another day off from filming their upcoming series, Brothers to stump for the bill.

Texas already has a rebate, the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, but the issue isn't nor has it ever been how TMIIIP operates. In many ways it’s regarded as the gold standard of incentive programs: a baseline 25% rebate on verified in-state spending for eligible projects that submit extensive and heavily reviewed accounts. With other states being seen as using incentive cash or transferrable tax credits in a desperate attempt to bring in any production, TMIIIP had proved its worth with an estimated $4.69 spent in state for every $1 reimbursed. Texas already has a rebate, the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, but the issue isn't nor has it ever been how TMIIIP operates. In many ways it’s regarded as the gold standard of incentive programs: a baseline 25% rebate on verified in-state spending for eligible projects that submit extensive and heavily reviewed accounts. With other states being seen as using incentive cash or transferrable tax credits in a desperate attempt to bring in any production, TMIIIP had proved its worth with an estimated $4.69 spent in state for every $1 reimbursed. But the uplifts are, ultimately, relatively minor points. There's one number in the bill that could completely undo all the good work TMIIIP has done and turn TMIIIF into an accounting failure. That number is 35. As in, 35% of all cast and crew must be Texas residents for a project to be eligible for TMIIIF funding.

Read this article at Austin Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Why is Beto O’Rourke back on the rally circuit?

After three high-profile but unsuccessful campaigns, Beto O’Rourke is back on the trail. This time rallying the resistance against President Donald Trump. “We have clearly the greatest challenge that we’ve ever faced as a country, and it’s not just Donald Trump,” O’Rourke told The Dallas Morning News. “It’s also clear that our country is coming apart, and was coming apart before Trump, and our institutions and our government weren’t working for everybody.” The former congressman from El Paso, who forged a national profile in his 2020 run for president, will host a 4 p.m. Saturday town hall event at Anderson’s Eatery & Distillery in Denton. The rally, one of five O’Rourke has staged across the state, is sponsored by his group Powered By People. He’s had events in Mansfield, Wichita Falls and Fort Bend County, where he was joined by Minnesota governor and 2024 vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

Does the public tour signal another run for statewide office for O’Rourke? For now, he’s just out talking with people and listening to what they need. He loves public events, and says they provide an outlet for political action. “My theory of the case is that the only way we’re going to overcome things is by bringing people together,” O’Rourke said. “It’s not going to be Republicans who are now in power who are going to make this better. And frankly, it’s not just going to be Democrats, who are trying to gain power, who are going to make it better. It’s got to be people across the state, across the political spectrum, including, perhaps, people who dropped out of politics because it just doesn’t seem to be working for them.” O’Rourke being back on the trail has been raising eyebrows. In 2018 he came within 2.6 percentage points of beating Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. He parlayed that campaign into a failed run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. And in 2022 Gov. Greg Abbott beat him in the race for governor. He says he’s now focused on “being useful” rather than deciding whether to run for office.

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John Cornyn: I’ve worked hand-in-glove with President Trump to accomplish his agenda during his first 100 days

On Nov. 5, Americans went to the polls to elect President Donald Trump for a second term by a decisive margin. The message was clear: Americans were ready to turn the page on the last four years of failed policies under Democratic leadership. The question then became: could the new Republican majority hit the ground running, deliver on his ambitious agenda, and put the Senate back to work? As we near the end of President Trump’s first 100 days, the answer is a resounding yes. The first step in delivering on this mandate was giving President Trump his team by confirming his Cabinet. The Senate provides an important role in giving advice and consent to the President’s nominees for important positions across the executive branch. So this was the first major hurdle to clear, and an opportunity to deliver the president an early win.

President Trump selected many eminently qualified nominees for his Cabinet, including several Texans: John Ratcliffe, Scott Turner, and Brooke Rollins. I was proud to help shepherd all three of these impressive Texans through their respective committee hearings. While Republicans had secured a clear majority of 53 seats in the Senate, getting 50 members on the same page is never an easy task. Maneuvering in united government is sometimes even harder than in divided government. But on top of this inherent difficulty, Democrats insisted on pulling out all of the stops. They tried everything from exaggerated smear campaigns to all-night grandstanding. Some even demanded that their colleagues, “blow [the Senate] up.” Despite the doubts of our critics, Senate Republicans set a new standard for speed. I was proud to vote for every single one of the President’s Cabinet picks, and in just 10 weeks, the Republican-led Senate completed our first task at the fastest pace in a generation. By the end of February, the Senate had confirmed 13 of the President’s nominees, whereas only six were confirmed at that point during Biden’s presidency.

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Statesman journalist Bayliss Wagner finalist for Livingston Award

Four Austin American-Statesman journalists are finalists for two prestigious national awards for their reporting last year that examined a rural community's book ban battle and the aftermath of a deadly school bus crash. State politics reporter Bayliss Wagner on Wednesday was named a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists, given to journalists who are 35 or younger. She is among 20 journalists across the U.S. honored as a finalist for the prize awarded through the University of Michigan. Wagner is being recognized for her series, "The Cost of a Texas Town's Book Ban Battle," which both chronicled and investigated the far-reaching effects of an ideologically-driven effort to remove more than a dozen books from Llano County public libraries.

The work explained how the county and 17 Republican attorneys general hope to overturn a 30-year precedent barring officials from removing books for political reasons, detailed a citizen-led effort to combat the removals and revealed that Washington D.C.-based conservative nonprofit America First Legal collected $80,000 from a fundraiser ostensibly held to offset the county’s legal costs. Winners for the prize will be announced in June in New York City.

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Statesman journalists Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Keri Heath and Tony Plohetski finalists Education Writers Association prize

A three-member Statesman reporting team also is one of three finalists in their division for an award from the national Education Writers Association for investigative and public service reporting. The series, "A Fatal Field Trip," by Latino community affairs reporter Emiliano Tahui Gómez, education writer Keri Heath and Tony Plohetski, associate editor for investigations who oversaw and co-authored the project, chronicled the emotional aftermath of the March 2024 deadly bus crash in Bastrop County involving a Hays school district bus. The series also exposed regulatory lapses that contributed to the crash and examined a lack of seatbelts on Texas school buses.

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Houston Chronicle Editorial: Keep Texas free speech strong. Leave anti-SLAPP laws alone.

A couple, upset that their pet-sitting company left their beloved fish swimming in dirty water, takes to the internet to write a negative review. The company files a $1 million libel suit. A homeowner writes a strongly worded open letter to his homeowners association criticizing how they’ve squandered neighborhood funds. The HOA sues him for slander in retaliation. A media investigation reveals that a respected doctor did not follow protocol in their research. The doctor sues for defamation. These cases are known as SLAPPs, or “strategic lawsuits against public participation.” They discourage the exercise of our constitutional right to free speech. Try to hold power to account and you get SLAPPed. Even if a court is likely to side with the defendants, the cost of hiring lawyers in such cases has a chilling effect. Free speech becomes a right only for the rich.

At least that was the case in Texas until the Legislature enacted one of the country’s strongest anti-SLAPP laws. Passed in 2011, the Texas Citizens Participation Act allows defendants to file motions requiring plaintiffs to prove to judges, before cases move forward to the discovery phase, that their lawsuits are not frivolous. If judges rule against plaintiffs, they are responsible for the initial legal costs the defendants have incurred. The pet owner, homeowner and investigative journalists would all get their cases dismissed by filing anti-SLAPP motions. So don't fret over your old online reviews. Two bills before the Texas Legislature, however, would undermine this critical free speech protection. Senate Bill 336, filed by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Republican from Mineola, would allow SLAPP cases to move forward while an appeal is pending. That would pile up substantial legal costs for defendants and clog the courts. Only lawyers and those with bottomless pockets would win. House Bill 2988, authored by Spring Branch Republican Mano DeAyala, repeals the existing rule requiring the plaintiff to pay the defendant’s legal fees.

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North Texas ranch owners say online rumors linking them to a Mexican cartel fueled threats

Visitors to the Izaguirre Ranch in the North Texas town of Whitewright can’t miss the horse-themed decor. On the chairs, horse figures are carved into wood. Horses adorn leather seat covers, hand-painted vases containing dried flowers, a sign in the cantina and two saddles in the living room. The ranch, settled in Whitewright, a rural area 60 miles north of Dallas, has a black metal gate adorned with rearing horses. It’s a symbol that social media users have speculated is somehow connected to a controversial site in Mexico.

Online posts suggest the symbol that adorns the ranch in Texas resembles the gate of an identically named ranch in Teuchitlan, Jalisco, that Mexican authorities say was a training site for a cartel. On March 5, Jalisco authorities found 200 pairs of shoes and other personal belongings at what was being called a clandestine “crematorium” believed to be associated with the New Generation Jalisco Cartel. Perla Villarreal, the owner of the property in North Texas, told The Dallas Morning News that she was being targeted on social media because of the similarities between the two properties. Online users have linked her ranch to events in Jalisco and drug cartels, despite her declarations of not being involved. “We are not even from Jalisco,” Villarreal said, “We haven’t done anything illegal.” Villarreal said the resemblance has made her family a target of online rumors. The wife and mother said she is not afraid of being mistaken as part of organized crime; her fear is how people might react to those rumors. “I’m afraid of racism because we are in a small town where there are almost only Americans, and I am afraid that a crazy person will think that we are with the cartel and come to shoot us,” Villarreal told The News.

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Federal judge orders temporary restoration of legal status for Iranian student at Texas A&M

A federal judge in Houston has ordered the U.S. government to temporarily restore the terminated legal status of an Iranian international student at Texas A&M University. Ahmad Beyhaqi is among the foreign students beginning to stack up wins in court. U.S. District Judge David Hittner said Tuesday that Beyhaqi was likely to succeed in his case, where he has alleged that the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no authority to terminate his status. “The Supreme Court has made clear that all persons in the United States, including aliens whether their presence here is lawful, unlawful, temporary or permanent enjoy due process constitutional protections,” Hittner wrote.

Court cases have sprung up across the country as the government has revoked student visas or terminated the legal status of more than a thousand international students through a federal database managed by the Department of Homeland Security. The students say that the database removals are an attempt to coerce them to leave the country as they face confusion about their legal options. Beyhaqi is one of 23 students at Texas A&M facing terminations alongside many others across the state and region, including at Rice University, University of Houston and Houston Community College. Texas A&M officials said Thursday that no students have had their records reinstated by the government. Beyhaqi, who is pursuing a doctorate in engineering, said he was informed by Texas A&M on April 10 that his student status was terminated and his F-1 visa was revoked, according to his lawsuit. The federal database labeled him as being identified in a criminal records check “and/or” having had his visa revoked – a contention that Beyhaqi and his attorneys called vague.

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Houston lawsuit is a tale of pastoral succession, megachurch wealth and family dynasty

Pastoral succession, megachurch wealth and family dynasties combine in a lawsuit filed against Second Baptist Church of Houston and its leaders April 15. The Southern Baptist congregation is the 17th largest church in America, according to Outreach magazine, with average weekly attendance of 19,735 in 2024. After 46 years as senior pastor, Ed Young stepped down last May and named one of his sons, Ben Young, his successor. Another son, also named Ed Young, leads a Dallas-area megachurch called Fellowship Church, which is the 13th largest church in America. But all is not well in Houston, nearly one year after Ed Young the elder took a sudden retirement at age 87 — amid grumblings inside and outside the church that he had become a bit unhinged in his rambling sermons — and orchestrated naming his son as successor.

This turn of events pitted two groups within the church membership against each other: Younger members who wanted new leadership versus older, wealthier members who remained loyal to Ed Young regardless. But that’s only the beginning of this saga. Now there are allegations of deceptive practices, an illegal church business meeting and a family’s attempt to enrich itself by control of the church’s $1 billion in assets. The elder Young is Southern Baptist Convention royalty and a legend among American pastors. He not only was elected president of the SBC twice during the “conservative resurgence,” but he grew the church from about 500 people in 1976 to tens of thousands today. Second Baptist Houston was a megachurch before most Americans knew what a megachurch was. Now, a group of members has formed a nonprofit corporation called Jeremiah Counsel “to promote, protect and restore integrity, accountable governance and donor protection for churches in Texas.” Specifically Second Baptist. Jeremiah Counsel filed suit against Ben Young, Ed Young, Associate Pastor Lee Maxcy and North Texas attorney Dennis Brewer, who served as chief financial officer of Fellowship Church in North Texas. The plaintiffs charge these defendants — labeled “The Young Group” — conspired to steal church assets and take away the congregation’s right to choose its own pastor. They accuse the elder Ed Young of enacting a series of changes beginning in 2023 “to secure the ascendance of his son, Ben Young … as senior pastor to Second Baptist’s 94,000 congregants.” That “circumvented the democratic processes which had long been observed under existing church bylaws for 95 years,” the plaintiffs charge. “This move was not merely about family succession. It was also about consolidating power and control over church governance and church assets.”

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South Texas water crisis champion forced to resign by Trump

Maria-Elena Giner, the woman who has served as commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) for nearly four years, resigned Monday under pressure from the Trump administration. Giner was instrumental in addressing the binational water crisis that has afflicted South Texas and parts of northern Mexico for decades. But, under mounting pressure from the Trump administration over sewage-contaminated water flowing north from the Tijuana River, Giner was forced to resign or be fired, according to The Washington Post. The issue of raw sewage flowing into the Tijuana River dates back a century, according to reporting by The Coronado News.

Giner has been replaced by William “Chad” McIntosh, acting deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency who, just last week, announced plans for a “reorganized EPA.” In September 2021, President Joe Biden appointed Giner to lead the IBWC, the federal agency responsible for overseeing and enforcing the binational treaties between the U.S. and Mexico, including a 1944 treaty that governs water sharing along the Colorado River and Rio Grande watersheds. As part of the treaty, Mexico is obligated to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the Rio Grande from six Mexican tributaries over the course of a five-year cycle. The Rio Grande supplies nearly three-fourths of the Rio Grande Valley's water.

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National progressives back Houston attorney who fought GOP in court in Texas special election

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee on Thursday won the endorsement of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) in the special House election for Texas’s 18th Congressional District. Menefee, the youngest county attorney in Houston history, will face off against a crowded slate of largely young, progressive Democrats vying to represent one of the state’s most populous districts following the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner (D) in March. “Christian is the proven fighter Texas’s 18th district needs. We are proud to back his campaign,” Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC members Reps. Greg Casar (D-Texas), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said in a Thursday statement.

They pointed to Menefee’s history of “multi-million dollar settlements holding corporations accountable” and his legal fights against Texas Republicans. Menefee, they wrote, “has a demonstrated record of standing up to Republican overreach and delivering results for working families.” Menefee told The Hill that Texas progressives occupy a critical role in a national party seeking to claw its way out of the wilderness. He added that decades under far-right rule have given Texas Democrats something the national party needs: the ability to “be scrappy” and fight against tough odds. The state’s Democrats have been “cast aside” by party members nationally “who don’t believe that Texas has the ability to flip,” Menefee said. But faced with Republican control of all three branches of state government, he argued, Harris County Democrats — and the county attorney specifically — have repeatedly fought the state GOP to a standstill. “We’re resourceful. We know what it looks like to be in a situation where you feel like your back is up against the wall, where the only thing protecting communities you love and the people you serve is your ability to fight,” he said. “We can show national Democrats how to leave no stone unturned when it comes to trying to advocate for the people we care about,” he added.

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14 indicted on charges related to pro-Palestine encampment at UT Dallas

Nearly one year after UTD students set up an encampment on campus to protest the war in Gaza, 14 were indicted on misdemeanor charges. Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said in a Thursday news release that they were indicted on charges of obstructing a passageway, which is a Class B misdemeanor. On May 1, protestors built an encampment overnight at the University of Texas at Dallas using tents and a barrier made from tires, pallets and signs. State troopers and other law enforcement arrived to dismantle the area, and 21 people were arrested. “Free speech is protected. Blocking access and refusing lawful commands is not,” Willis said in the release. “These charges reflect that a clear line exists between protest and unlawful disruption.”

Lawyers representing the 21 arrested condemned the Colin County decision. “This is a blatant attack on free speech and complete denial of the right to hold peaceful protests,” they said in a statement Thursday. The obstruction statue “cannot be used as a blanket authority for police to shut down any protest, any time, and anywhere simply by declaring it an obstruction.” The lawyers, from the D-FW chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, said those arrested originally faced charges of criminal trespassing and a case couldn’t be made for those charges. “The use of a grand jury and the filing of a new charge nearly a year after the arrest — both highly unusual in a misdemeanor case — show clearly that Willis is not handling this as an ordinary misdemeanor case but is singling out these arrestees,” they said. The new charges are a “desperate attempt” to find a legal way to punish protesters, they added.

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Dallas-Fort Worth International taps operations exec Chris McLaughlin to serve as new CEO

Chris McLaughlin will be the new chief executive officer of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, it announced Thursday. McLaughlin succeeds Sean Donohue, who in October announced plans to retire from the world’s third busiest airport in terms of traffic. Donohue has been with DFW Airport since 2013, the final stop of his four decades-long career in aviation. Currently serving as DFW’s executive vice president of operations, McLaughlin has held that role since 2021. He was appointed CEO following a unanimous vote by the airport’s board of directors, and will step into his new role May 19.

“I am inheriting one of the best teams in the business, surrounded by true industry partners with a shared vision, supporting a community and a region that my family proudly calls home,” he said in a release. “Working together with our board, our employees, the community and our stakeholders, we’ll continue to transform travel for our region and the world,” he added. After Donohue’s announcement, the airport’s board of directors initiated a global search for his successor, but they didn’t have to go far to find him. “Chris McLaughlin is the right person to lead the airport into its next exciting chapter of growth,” Donohue said in a statement, saying the executive “possesses the experience, leadership and expertise needed to guide an enterprise the magnitude of DFW.” According to DeMetris Sampson, Chair of the DFW Airport Board of Directors, McLaughlin “stood out in a global pool of exceptional candidates as a forward-thinking, inclusive leader who understands both the scale and the impact of our mission.”

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Amanda Pope and Jordan Pacelli Everett: Texas lawmakers want even faster evictions. It will cause hunger and sickness.

(Amanda Pope is a policy analyst with the Houston Food Bank. Jordan Pacelli Everett is an associate program manager with Prevention Institute.) Houston — and Texas as a whole — faces the worst affordable housing crisis in generations, threatening a basic human need from becoming a reality for many. Housing costs outpace wages: many people are one unexpected expense — a missed shift, a busted transmission, an ER visit, or cancelled childcare — from being unable to pay rent. Current proposed legislation, House Bill 32 and its Senate companion, Senate Bill 38, would escalate this crisis by making evictions faster, easier and far more common. At the Houston Food Bank and Prevention Institute, we know housing is foundational to all aspects of family and community stability and health. We envision a world where food banks do not exist because they are not needed anymore and where all people experience their full potential for health, safety and wellbeing. HB 32 and SB 38 are being sold as a fix for “squatters,” people who trespass and reside in a home without a lease. In reality, the bills are Trojan horse policies that would dismantle protections for all renters in Texas.

These bills would fast-track evictions, strip tenants of due process, weaken rules for how tenants are notified of an eviction and reduce opportunities for legal representation — leaving families vulnerable to homelessness, hunger and preventable health crises. Let’s be clear: this is not about squatters. It’s about making eviction even easier for landlords including the large, often out-of-state corporate landlords who already clog the system. According to an analysis by Texas Housers, one in every 10 Harris County evictions are from just 30 properties, and over a third of the owners are based outside Texas. The process moves quickly. In Harris County, the median time from a landlord filing an eviction to a judge making a decision was under three weeks.

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National Stories

March home sales drop to their slowest pace since 2009

Higher mortgage rates and concern over the broader economy are making for a weak start to the all-important spring housing market. Sales of previously owned homes in March fell 5.9% from February to 4.02 million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, according to the National Association of Realtors. That’s the slowest March sales pace since 2009. Sales were 2.4% lower than in March 2024 and slumped across all regions month to month. They fell hardest in the West, the priciest region of the country, down more than 9%. The West, however, was the only region to see a year-over-year gain, due to strong activity in the Rocky Mountain states, where job growth is strong. This count is based on closings, therefore contracts likely signed in January and February, when the average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage was over 7%. It did not fall solidly below 7% until Feb. 20, according to Mortgage News Daily.

“Home buying and selling remained sluggish in March due to the affordability challenges associated with high mortgage rates,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Residential housing mobility, currently at historical lows, signals the troublesome possibility of less economic mobility for society.” Sales fell despite a sharp increase in available listings. At the end of March, there were 1.33 million units for sale, an increase of nearly 20% from March 2024. At the current sales pace, that is equivalent to a 4-month supply, which is still on the lean side. A 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyer and seller. More inventory and slower sales are starting put a chill on prices. The median price of an existing home sold in March was $403,700. That is still an all-time high for the month, but it’s only up 2.7% from last March. That annual comparison has been shrinking since December and is the smallest gain since August. “In a stark contrast to the stock and bond markets, household wealth in residential real estate continues to reach new heights,” Yun said. “With real estate asset valuation at $52 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Flow of Funds, each percentage point gain in home prices adds more than $500 billion to the household balance sheet.” First-time buyers made up 32% of the market in March, the same as in March 2024. Historically they make up roughly 40%. All-cash sales dropped to 26% from 28% the year before, but investors held steady at 15% of sales.

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Hegseth’s chief of staff exits amid Pentagon turmoil

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff departed his post Thursday, he said, the latest twist in an extended period of turmoil at the Pentagon that has included infighting among Hegseth’s advisers, the firing of at least three political appointees and deepening scrutiny of the secretary’s stewardship of the government’s largest agency. Joe Kasper, the departing chief of staff, leaves the role voluntarily and will become a part-time special government employee with a focus on science, technology and industry, he told The Washington Post, though his exact role and title were not yet clear. The designation means he may work up to 130 days as a government employee in any one 365-day period, in similar fashion to a role that billionaire Elon Musk has held in the Trump administration while overseeing dramatic cuts to the federal government.

Kasper had been discussing the move with colleagues for weeks, and Hegseth appeared to allude to the possibility in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday. Kasper, he said, is a “great American,” and was “certainly not fired.” Sean Parnell, a spokesman for Hegseth, did not respond to a request for comment. Kasper’s final departure had been forecast for days, and it was reported earlier by Politico. His exit follows weeks of friction between him and Hegseth’s other senior advisers, and questions about how the Pentagon is being managed under the former Fox News personality and the leadership he assembled upon taking office just three months ago. The spate of departures and firings — which also have targeted nearly a dozen senior military officials, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Navy’s top admiral — is a mark of disruption and instability the likes of which the Pentagon has seldom experienced. Defense officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be candid about the situation, have described Hegseth, 44, as paranoid and increasingly isolated. He is surrounded by only a small team of people whom he trusts and has become keenly focused on daily news coverage dissecting his missteps and decision-making.

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Trump pardons Nevada politician who paid for cosmetic surgery with funds to honor a slain officer

President Donald Trump has pardoned a Nevada Republican politician who was awaiting sentencing on federal charges that she used money meant for a statue honoring a slain police officer for personal costs, including plastic surgery. Michele Fiore, a former Las Vegas city councilwoman and state lawmaker who ran unsuccessfully in 2022 for state treasurer, was found guilty in October of six counts of federal wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was out of custody ahead of her sentencing, which had been scheduled for next month. In a lengthy statement Thursday on Facebook, the loyal Trump supporter expressed gratitude to the president while also accusing the U.S. government and “select media outlets” of a broad, decade-long conspiracy to “target and dismantle” her life.

The White House confirmed Fiore had been pardoned but did not comment on the president’s decision. The pardon, issued Wednesday, comes less than a week after Fiore lost a bid for a new trial. She had been facing the possibility of decades in prison. Federal prosecutors said at trial that Fiore, 54, had raised more than $70,000 for the statue of a Las Vegas police officer who was fatally shot in 2014 in the line of duty, but had instead spent some of it on cosmetic surgery, rent and her daughter’s wedding. “Michele Fiore used a tragedy to line her pockets,” federal prosecutor Dahoud Askar said. FBI agents in 2021 subpoenaed records and searched Fiore’s home in Las Vegas in connection with her campaign spending.

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Santos says he expects to receive maximum sentence: ‘I’m totally resigned’

Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) said he’s prepared to receive the maximum 87-month prison sentence that prosecutors are seeking when he appears for his sentencing on Friday, but said he hopes the judge extends him some grace. “Right now, my expectation is I’m going to prison for 87 months,” Santos said in a phone interview with The New York Times on Wednesday. “I’m totally resigned.” “I came to this world alone. I will deal with it alone, and I will go out alone,” he added. In an OANN interview Thursday with former congressman-turned-host Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Santos discussed his expectations for the sentencing hearing Friday. “What I hope happens tomorrow is that the judge is fair, balanced, and even. And, unlike federal prosecutors who are trying to drop a anchor on my head…, she is a lot more matter-of-fact and doesn’t take this… in a personal direction,” Santos said.

“I take full responsibility for bad actions I’ve made, and I regret them,” Santos added. “But I feel like seven years, you don’t see some pretty bad people get that long.” Asked what he thinks would be a fair prison length, Santos told his former colleague, “I don’t know what would be fair, but I know seven years is pretty, pretty out there, in my opinion.” Prosecutors are seeking a seven-year prison sentence for the disgraced former congressman who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft last year after being expelled from the chamber when the House Ethics Committee reported he deceived donors in an effort to raise funds for personal benefit. Santos’s attorneys have asked for a two-year sentence, the minimum sentence for an aggravated identity theft charge. Santos, a controversial figure, said he fears for his safety and plans to make an application to serve his sentence in protective custody. “Number one is, I plan to serve the entirety of any [incarcerated] sentence in solitary confinement because I fear for my safety,” Santos told Gaetz. “So it is definitely not an easy task, and it’s a monumental one to do.”

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Trump’s first-term pick to run the National Science Foundation quits: ‘I have done all I can’

The head of the US National Science Foundation, a $9 billion agency charged with advancing discoveries across the scientific spectrum, resigned Thursday amid sweeping changes spearheaded by the current Trump administration. NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan has led the agency since he was selected by President Donald Trump during his first term and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in June 2020. “I believe I have done all I can to advance the critical mission of the agency and feel that it is time for me to pass the baton to new leadership,” Panchanathan said in parting remarks, which were provided to CNN on Thursday by an agency spokesperson.

The director’s departure comes as the National Science Foundation is grappling with demands from the new Trump administration and DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency, an effort established in January to slash government spending. “This is a pivotal moment for our nation in terms of global competitiveness,” Panchanathan said in the statement. “NSF is an extremely important investment to make U.S. scientific dominance a reality. We must not lose our competitive edge.” The federal agency announced earlier this month that it would cancel hundreds of grants totaling more than $230 million. The terminations included — but were not limited to — research related to “diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and misinformation/disinformation,” according to information released by the NSF. The Trump administration issued a series of executive orders earlier this year demanding federal agencies cease activities related to promoting DEI. The canceled grants included those titled with phrases such as “Racial Equity in STEM,” “Antiracist Teacher Leadership” and “Advancing Gender Equity in Computing.”

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Why did a charity tied to Casey DeSantis suddenly get a $10 million boost?

A charity meant to help people stay off public assistance was the signature project of Florida’s popular first lady, Casey DeSantis. But over three years, it had managed to raise only about $2 million to help struggling families in Florida. Then last fall, a $10 million windfall suddenly arrived from an unlikely source: a Medicaid contractor embroiled in a case of overbilling. Within weeks, the money was gone — not to churches or other groups helping the needy. Instead, the Hope Florida Foundation quietly funneled it to two nonprofit political committees that helped Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies defeat a November ballot measure that would have legalized marijuana. The mystery of the $10 million — and how it ended up being used to help the governor’s political aims — has engulfed Mr. DeSantis and his wife in a growing scandal in Florida.

Republican state lawmakers and news reporters are investigating the money trail just as Mr. and Ms. DeSantis are mulling whether she should run for governor next year to succeed her husband. Ms. DeSantis has made the Hope Florida initiative central to her public persona since she started the program in 2021. Hope Florida connects low-income families with churches and local groups that might help them with housing, food or other needs so that they do not seek government assistance; the Hope Florida Foundation is its nonprofit fund-raising arm. “Hope Florida is a philosophy,” Ms. DeSantis said in St. Augustine, Fla., on Thursday at an event with the governor trumpeting the initiative’s achievements. “It shows we can help people in need.” Members of the governor’s own party see other motives, and they’re sounding alarms. At the State Capitol in Tallahassee on Thursday, State Representative Alex Andrade, a Pensacola Republican who was leading the investigation for the House, referred to what happened with the $10 million as a potential “conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.”

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Tens of thousands file into St. Peter’s Basilica to pay final respects to Pope Francis

So many mourners lined up to see Pope Francis lying in state in a simple wooden coffin inside St. Peter’s Basilica that the Vatican kept the doors open all night due to higher-than-expected turnout, closing the basilica for just an hour and a half Thursday morning for cleaning. The basilica was bathed in a hushed silence as mourners from across the globe made a slow, shuffling procession up the main aisle to pay their last respects to Francis, who died Monday at age 88 after a stroke. The Vatican said more than 90,000 people had paid their respects by Thursday evening, a day and a half after opening. The basilica closed for just a short time Thursday morning, and will stay open Thursday night as long as there are mourners, the Vatican said. The hours spent on line up the stately via della Conciliazione through St. Peter’s Square and through the Holy Door into the basilica has allowed mourners to find community around the Argentine pontiff’s legacy of inclusion and humble persona.

Emiliano Fernandez, a Catholic from Mexico, was waiting in line around midnight, and after two hours still had not reached the basilica. “I don’t even care how much time I wait here. It’s just the opportunity to (show) how I admired Francisco in his life,” said Fernandez, whose admiration for the pope grew during his 2016 visit to Mexico. Robert Healy, a pilgrim from Ireland, flew on the spur of the moment from Dublin just to pay his respects. “I think it’s just really important to be here, to show our respect to the Holy Father,” he said. “We flew from Dublin last night, we’re staying for one day, home tonight then. We just felt it was really important to be here.” Among the first-day mourners was a church group of 14-year-olds from near Milan who arrived for the now-suspended canonization of the first millennial saint, as well as a woman who prayed to the pope for a successful operation and an Italian family who brought their small children to see the pope’s body.

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Lead Stories

Texas' insurance crisis is hitting an unexpected target: Public schools

Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Port Aransas Independent School District when it hit in 2017, damaging every classroom and prompting weeks-long school closures. The district is still facing ripple effects today, but in a new form: its insurance costs have skyrocketed, forcing superintendent Sharon McKinney to choose between giving teachers raises and insuring school buildings. School districts across Texas have struggled to keep up with rising property insurance costs as severe weather batters school buildings. Insurance costs for districts have increased by 44% statewide since 2020, according to financial data from the Texas Education Agency. Now, state lawmakers are considering two proposals to help offset these costs – at least in coastal counties, where the crisis is particularly acute. A provision in House Bill 2, the major school finance package that passed the House last week, would reimburse school districts in the 14 coastal counties covered by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, the safety net insurance plan, for property insurance increases above the state average.

And a bill filed by state Rep. Todd Hunter, a Corpus Christi Republican, would give districts in coastal counties a credit against recapture payments for wind and hail coverage. Hunter’s bill covers Tier 1 and 2 counties, which would include Harris County and Houston ISD. (Because it includes Tier 1 only, the provision in HB 2 excludes Harris County.) “You don’t want education to suffer because you’re worried about getting money to cover buildings for the kids,” Hunter said in an interview. At the hearing on Hunter’s bill, school superintendents from three districts near Corpus Christi told lawmakers that high insurance costs have restricted funds that could be used to pay teachers and provide services for students. In Port Aransas, McKinney said, the school district now spends 10% of its $10 million annual budget paying for property insurance. In Rockport, the cost to insure school buildings has nearly tripled from $1 million in 2019 to $2.8 million in 2024, said Rockport-Fulton ISD superintendent Lesley Austin.

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Trump meets his match: the markets

President Trump has met his biggest opponent—and it’s the stock market. Since returning to Washington three months ago, Trump has toppled federal agencies, consolidated executive power, challenged global alliances and reconfigured America’s economic relationships around the globe. His moves have been met with protests, court challenges, dipping poll numbers and political opposition. Yet so far, the only force that has reliably prompted him to back down is Wall Street. In recent weeks, Trump has softened his economic and trade stances following periods of market turmoil. Early this month, he imposed a 90-day pause on many of the tariffs he had put in place just days earlier, as the stock market cratered and a selloff of U.S. bonds rattled investors. This week, he softened his tone on China after ratcheting up tariffs on imports from the country to 145%. And he ruled out—for now—attempting to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after his public musings about terminating him triggered another market plunge.

Both the president and White House officials argue that the sharp U-turns are all part of a long-term plan to force allies and adversaries alike to strike trade deals with the U.S. And they stress that Trump remains determined to follow through on his pledge to reset global trade. But in each scenario, Trump was presented with evidence by his aides and cabinet secretaries, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, that holding firm on his decisions would spur further disarray in the markets, according to people familiar with the matter. Earlier this month, Trump acknowledged that he paused the tariffs in part because he watched the bond markets and people were getting a “little queasy.” “The only interest guiding President Trump’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. The president is also hearing regularly from executives concerned about how his trade policies are affecting their bottom lines. On Monday, Trump met with top executives at the country’s biggest retailers, including Target, Walmart and Home Depot. They delivered a stark warning to the president that tariffs could scramble supply chains and raise prices, according to people familiar with the discussion. Trump’s current and former advisers said he watches the markets closely, and as an avid media consumer can’t avoid the dramatic ups and downs that have been displayed across television screens and on front pages for weeks. “He looks at the markets as a barometer of how things are going,” said David Urban, a former Trump political adviser. “In his view, it’s an important barometer of people’s opinion of life and the financial world.”

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100 days of DOGE: lots of chaos, not so much efficiency

At the Social Security Administration, lawyers, statisticians and other high-ranking agency officials are being sent from the Baltimore headquarters to regional offices to replace veteran claims processors who have been fired or taken buyouts from the Trump administration. But most of the new arrivals don't know how to do the job, leading to longer wait times for disabled and elderly Americans who depend on these benefits, according to two people familiar with the situation. Asked about the changes, an SSA official said in an email that reassigned employees "have vast knowledge about our programs and services." At the Internal Revenue Service, the internet has become so patchy since President Donald Trump ordered remote workers back to overcrowded offices that staff are resorting to personal hotspots, crashing their computers at the height of tax processing season, two IRS officials told Reuters. The IRS did not respond to a request for comment.

Nearly 100 days into what Trump and tech billionaire Elon Muskhave called a mission to make the federal bureaucracy more efficient, Reuters found 20 instances where the staff and funding cuts led to purchasing bottlenecks and increased costs; paralysis in decision-making; longer public wait times; higher-paid civil servants filling in menial jobs, and a brain drain of scientific and technological talent. "DOGE is not a serious exercise," said Jessica Riedl, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a fiscally conservative think tank that supports streamlining government. She estimates DOGE has only saved $5 billion to date, and believes it will end up costing more than it saves. The examples - previously unreported - span 14 government agencies and were described in Reuters interviews with three dozen federal workers, union representatives and governance experts. In response to questions about the impact of DOGE's cuts on government efficiency, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement that Musk's team "has already modernized government technology, prevented fraud, streamlined processes, and identified billions of dollars in savings for American taxpayers." Fields did not offer examples of improvements to government computer systems or workforce efficiency.

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State now has ‘Texas-style’ DOGE office with first bill signed by Greg Abbott this session

A new state agency dedicated to simplifying and streamlining Texas government statutes and business regulations was established Wednesday under legislation signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Senate Bill 14, by Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, creates the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office and advisory council aimed at reducing ineffective regulatory requirements and outdated rules that stand in the way of doing business in the state, Abbott said. The new law requires the creation of an online portal where users can look up and understand the requirements, impact of regulations and protocols by state agencies. And it requires agencies to publish their rules in plain language that’s easy for non-bureacrats to understand.

“We are putting in the forefront of legislation, the shaping, formation and recalibration of government in the state of Texas by making it more responsible, more responsive, less costly, and more efficient,” Abbott said. SB 14 is the first bill Abbott has signed since the Legislature convened in January. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, also a Republican, made the proposal one of the session’s priorities. The goal, Abbott said, is save taxpayer money that is being wasted on too much bureaucratic red tape, raise government transparency and accountability, and remove barriers that have turned Texas into one of the most heavily regulated states for business in the country. Some of those changes could include reducing required training hours for employees or license holders, reducing the number of forms and amount of information required by some business owners, slashing fees, or creating waivers and exemptions for some regulations, according to the legislation. The office is not identical to the Department of Government Efficiency, run by billionaire and entrepreneur Elon Musk that was created in January by an executive order from President Donald Trump.

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State Stories

Democratic leaders rebuke John Whitmire's plans to appear at Dan Crenshaw fundraiser

Around 30 precinct and Congressional chairs with the Harris County Democratic Party signed a resolution Tuesday to admonish Mayor John Whitmire, accusing him of undermining the “values and mission of the Democratic Party” the same day Whitmire planned to attend a fundraiser for GOP U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw. The resolution seeks to apply the same rules precinct chairs are bound to when they take their oath to elected officials. Precinct chairs are not allowed to endorse, fundraise or support candidates from opposing political parties, a statement released Tuesday reads. The resolution also seeks to bar Whitmire from seeking endorsement from the party in future elections. In their statement, the precinct chairs wrote that Whitmire had “stood on the sidelines” as President Donald Trump overhauled the upper rungs of the federal government, and that Whitmire failed to speak up for Houstonians who suffered the consequences. The statement also points to how the Houston Police Department has cooperated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“John Whitmire’s agenda is indistinguishable from that of a MAGA mayor,” the statement reads, referring to the Trump campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” “With Trump in office and pursuing an illegal and authoritarian agenda impacting millions of Houstonians, we deserve to have a fighter who wants to represent us, not a willing enabler of an emerging dictatorship,” the statement continued. “If Whitmire wants to be a Republican, that’s OK, but he shouldn’t be able to do that and count on the support of thousands of grassroots volunteers who shed blood, sweat and tears to knock on doors and elect people who represent our values.” Whitmire's spokesperson Mary Benton said Tuesday the mayor formed partnerships that were in the city's best interest. Party chair Mike Doyle said Tuesday that he was disappointed in Whitmire and that he thought Democratic officials should be supporting other good Democratic officials. "I think anybody that's supporting somebody who's lock-step with Trump and Elon Musk, that's just not good at best," Doyle said. "I think we're in difficult times now, and it's important that people recognize what kind of behaviors you're supporting." Whether the resolution will come before the whole party for a vote is yet to be determined. Usually resolutions have to go through the party's resolution committee before they're brought to the body as a whole, Doyle said. Precinct chairs have not sent the resolution to the committee yet.

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A Texas bill targeting squatters would also hurt renters, leaving some homeless

(Mary Spector is a law professor and associate dean for experiential learning, and Julie Forrester Rogers is a Provost Faculty Research Fellow and law professor at the Dedman School of Law at SMU. Spector directs the Civil/Consumer Law Clinic and teaches and researches consumer law. Rogers teaches and researches property and real estate law.) Texas legislators wanting to get tough on squatters may, in the process, negatively impact some of the millions of legitimate renters in the Lone Star State. More than 11 million Texans are renters. Renters and their families comprise more than 37% of the population. In 2023, approximately 400,000 families, or 3.5% of Texas renters, faced eviction. According to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, there are approximately 291,290 renter households in Travis County. Of those, approximately 13,384, or 4.6%, were the subject of an eviction filing in the last year. Similar Texas statistics illustrate possible renter peril statewide.

Texas rules require that an eviction hearing or trial be held in as little as six days after the tenant is served with a petition. Two bills making their way through the Texas Legislature would cut that time to just four days in an expedited process and allow a landlord to ask a judge to award back rent without evidence of the debt. Proponents of House Bill 32 and its companion bill, SB 38, claim the bills target squatters. The Texas Apartment Association, a trade association of the rental housing industry, maintains the bill would close loopholes exploited by squatters and make removing them easier and less expensive. But squatters are not tenants. They are trespassers — people who occupy dwellings without permission of the owner. The number of Texas squatters is unknown, but according to the National Rental Home Council, in 2024 there were just 475 in the Dallas-Fort-Worth area, or less than 0.1% of occupants in rental housing. Yet the so-called anti-squatters bill would also apply to the 99.9% of people in rental housing who occupy their homes by virtue of a written or oral lease. It would almost certainly increase evictions across the state, cause housing instability and negatively impact tenants’ physical and mental health. Current Texas law already provides a fast track for landlords, requiring a tenant to appear before a judge more quickly than in any other type of civil matter. Typical response time in justice courts is 14 days. The law already gives tenants only six to 10 days to respond after being served with the petition, enabling a judge to quickly determine who is entitled to the premises and how much money, if any, a tenant may owe.

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Jasmine Crockett says she would ‘absolutely’ go head-to-head with Donald Trump on IQ test

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett was on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Tuesday night, roasting Republicans and pitching her approach to politics as a winning strategy for fellow Democrats. Crockett, serving her second term in the U.S. House, is viewed as a rising star in the party. She has commanded attention with blunt and at-times profane take-downs of her political opponents. Kimmel suggested President Donald Trump might be a fan of the Dallas congresswoman, even if he would never admit it, because the president likes people who are aggressive and funny. The late night host played a clip of Trump invoking Crockett’s name during a recent speech at a Republican congressional fundraising dinner in Washington. Trump was arguing Democrats have lost their confidence.

“How about this new one they have, their new star, Crockett . . . If that’s their new star, they’re in serious trouble,” Trump said in the clip. Crockett, who said she’s never met Trump, laughed and said she was aware of the clip but hadn’t watched it before going on the show. “It says a lot when you literally are supposed to be the leader of the free world and you’re worried about a rising sophomore in the House,” she said. Trump called her a “lowlife” and “a very low-IQ person” after she referred to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as “Governor Hot Wheels.” Kimmel pointed out Trump questioning her intelligence and asked if she would be willing to take an “IQ test publicly, head-to-head against the president of the United States.” “Absolutely,” Crockett said as the audience cheered. “Absolutely.” She took jabs at several prominent Republicans, standing by previous comments questioning the intelligence of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. A confrontation with Greene during a committee hearing last year helped fuel Crockett’s rise to prominence.

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At town halls, Democrats turn attention to Social Security and Medicaid to fight Trump

Republicans in Congress may be hesitant these days to hold town hall meetings after being warned about potential public backlash, but Democrats are showing they are more than willing to fill the void — even if not in their congressional districts. Last week, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, held one in Fredericksburg in U.S. Rep. Chip Roy’s district, and on Saturday, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, was in Pflugerville to host one in U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul’s district. Both Roy and McCaul are Austin Republicans. Castro said if Republicans aren’t going to hold meetings to talk about the future of Social Security and Medicaid, then Democrats will. “We’re working to turn up the pressure on congressional Republicans,” Castro said in an email explaining the strategy. “We’re going to make sure voters know that they have the power to put a check on Trump’s destructive agenda.”

It’s part of a broader national directive by U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who has called on members to hold town halls all over the country. In response, Democrats have hosted more than 70 town hall meetings over the last month around the nation. There was another example on Tuesday in Houston, where Castro traveled down Interstate 10 to have one with U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia in her district. Reporter Dug Begley was there and said the two Democrats took turns blasting the Trump administration for trying to cut social service programs that working Texans and seniors rely on. Garcia said Trump's real goal is to “dismantle government little by little.” "They call it streamlining," Garcia said. "All that frankly, as we say in Texas, is horseshit." Castro said the public needs to put more pressure on Congress to stop the GOP from gutting critical programs like Social Security and Medicaid.

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Houston ISD plans around estimated 6,800 student drop for next academic year

Houston ISD will offset up to 10% of a school's projected budget loss due to declines in enrollment and average daily attendance. This 10%-back mechanism follows last school year's 12% cap on budget reductions to bolster schools. The state's largest school district is tip-toeing through its budget projections as it grapples with declining enrollment and awaits an expected increase in per-student funding from the state. State-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles said Wednesday the district expects a 6,800 drop in the district's student body. That's less than the 8,000-student drop projected in February, however, because of increases in prekindergarten enrollment, HISD Chief of Finance and Business Services James Terry said.

The district plans to settle budgets in October after an enrollment snapshot for the state is completed. "We make a good estimation, and then we meet them (the schools) halfway, or something like that, so that we give them the money up front ... Let's just say the projection is a hundred-kid loss," Miles said as an example. "So we may have changed that to 50. And then if it comes out that it is a 100-student loss, we will true up in late October." Schools will submit their budgets on April 28. "We are working with a handful of schools that are struggling to make ends meet, so to speak, and the finance department is helping them with that. Same with the chief of schools office," Miles said. He reiterated the district's commitment not to close schools in the coming year. For schools in Miles' New Education System, executing reforms, the district is in the process of matching staffing levels to enrollment numbers.

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Ex-HISD principal sues Mike Miles for $3M over emotional distress, 1 year after mass exodus

A former Houston ISD principal has filed a $3 million lawsuit alleging defamation, emotional distress, and intolerable work conditions, among other claims, against the district, state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles, the appointed Board of Managers and a Houston-based law firm representing the district. Jessica Berry, the former principal at Herod Elementary School, filed the complaint in March for the district's alleged violation of employment law and requested $3 million in damages. The lawsuit also asks for sanctions against the district, board and superintendent, as well as the termination of Miles and the termination of the board.

Berry alleged eight counts: intentional infliction of emotional distress; defamation; falsification of books and records; that the district's actions created intolerable working conditions violated state labor laws; Family Medical Leave Act violations; Texas Labor Code violations; and Texas Whistleblower Act and Department of Education Whistleblower Protections violations. The filing references Berry becoming aware that Miles put half of the district's principal on notice for low performance after the Houston Chronicle published an article about the list in spring 2024. (Community pressure ultimately led the superintendent to backtrack.) Her school's executive director, ranking above her, told her on April 23 of that year that the district was not in compliance with operating procedures required by the Texas Education Agency, according to this complaint filed by the 11-year educator. The filing also covers memos Berry received on April 23 and 24 from the district alleging six violations of Employee Standards of Conduct occurring from March 22 through April 24. This appears to reference notice she received for expressing concern to supervisors about printing special education documents with confidential information.

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Texas Space Commission awards $26M in its third round of grants

Four Houston-area companies and an Austin firm that makes 3D-printed homes will get a combined $26 million in state funds from the Texas Space Commission in its third batch of grants. The funding approved last week will go toward developing space-based manufacturing capabilities, materials that mimic lunar dirt, a center of excellence at the Texas A&M Space Institute, power-saving technologies for spacecraft and a rocket engine test site at the Houston Spaceport. The awards bring the commission’s investment to $95.3 million of the $150 million that the Texas Legislature appropriated in 2023 for the state’s Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research fund.

“This is a pivotal moment in strengthening and accelerating the Texas space economy,” said Gwen Griffin, chair of the Texas Space Commission’s board. “The projects awarded funding today will each play a critical role in ensuring Texas’ place as a leader in the emerging space economy while expanding our capabilities as a nation.” In addition to Austin’s Icon Technology Inc., grant money also will go to three Houston companies—Aegis Aerospace Inc., Interlune Corp. and Venus Aerospace Corp. — and KULR Technology Group Inc. of Webster. Some of the companies have direct connections to the commission.

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San Antonio businesses lose $375M in contracts from Musk’s DOGE cuts

Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting agency has killed nearly $583 million in federal contracts across Texas — and businesses in San Antonio are bearing the brunt. The latest data from the Department of Government Efficiency shows local entities have lost contracts worth $375 million since early this year, about two-thirds of the statewide total. The cuts are part of the Trump administration’s effort to reduce government workforce and services. Actual amounts saved are significantly less than the contracts’ value because many of the projects are underway or already complete.

Across the state, DOGE’s recent cuts have targeted Department of Homeland Security-funded citizenship and naturalization education programs and multi-million-dollar cybersecurity training programs for students in South Texas. They’ve also ceased Defense Department studies into evolving threats and several Veterans Affairs health care contracts. In San Antonio, DOGE’s latest moves killed contracts supporting migrant border camps, consulting with the VA on Legionella in its water systems, support for the Centers for Disease Control, naturalization education and the State Department’s agreement with the University of Texas at San Antonio to restore of a 12th century mausoleum in Turkmenistan.

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Texas bill jeopardizes the Trinity Railway Express, DART says

A rail linking Dallas and Fort Worth that is frequented by sports fans and concertgoers from Tarrant County could be at risk if a bill pending before Texas lawmakers is passed into law, Dallas Area Rapid Transit warns. The Trinity Railway Express line is used by thousands each years and has stops between the two cities. Among them, the American Airlines Center, which hosts the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars and musicians like Katy Perry and Dua Lipa. Dallas Area Rapid Transit cautions that a bill set to go before a House committee on April 24 would lead to service reductions, including for the Dallas to Fort Worth line.

House Bill 3187 requires cities that fund DART to set aside up to 25% of the sales and use tax that would otherwise go to the agency for a general mobility program. The dollars could be used to fund things like sidewalk construction and maintenance, hiking and biking trails, drainage improvements, and street lights and traffic control improvements. The bill, authored by Rep. Matt Shaheen, a Plano Republican, as written could also lead to an additional 25% drop in the overall sales and use tax revenue that funds DART, though that provision will be removed from the bill, Shaheen said in an interview after this article’s initial publication. Jeamy Molina, a DART spokesperson, on April 22 said that if passed DART would be looking at job losses and a 30% service reductions across its service area, which spans Addison, Carrollton, Cockrell Hill, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Garland, Glenn Heights, Highland Park, Irving, Richardson, Rowlett, Plano and University Park.

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North Texan man from Venezuela disappears from ICE custody

A Venezuelan man has disappeared into the U.S. immigration system. His family is looking for answers. Where is their brother? Where is her boyfriend? Neiyerver Adrian Leon Rengel, 27, was admitted into the U.S. in June 2023, after crossing the southern border through a scheduled appointment with immigration authorities — part of a digital portal created under the Biden administration to manage the flow of migrants entering from Mexico. In his hand, he carried a phone. In his heart, a mission: to build a future for his 6-year-old daughter, Isabela, still in Venezuela, his family said.

Leon Rengel was born in 1998 — the same year Hugo Chávez rose to power, marking the beginning of Venezuela’s unraveling. His generation came of age amid blackouts, food shortages and collapsing institutions. For six years, Leon Rengel lived in Colombia, where according to the national police he had no criminal record. In 2023, he took a risk, packed his barber tools and headed north. Once in the U.S., he lived picking up odd jobs, cutting hair, saving money. In Dallas, he met Alejandra Gutierrez, also a Venezuelan migrant. They were together for over a year, building a life. They had a dog named Princesa, and he helped Gutierrez raise her daughter. According to Gutierrez, federal agents detained Leon Rengel in the parking garage of their Irving apartment, as he was leaving for a hair-cutting gig. “They didn’t have an arrest warrant,” Gutierrez said. “They asked him to lift his shirt to show his tattoos, and when they saw them, they claimed he was affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang. They took his documents — and took him away.” That was the last time she saw him.

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Jail commission, Fort Worth PD change statements on receipt of jail death videos

After initially telling the Star-Telegram they did not have all of the video evidence collected by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office during the investigation into a jail death, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and the Fort Worth Police Department changed previous statements that they had not received the video. According to investigation documents received through an open records request to the jail commission, the Sheriff’s Office collected two sources of video footage of the events involving the death of Chasity Bonner on May 27, 2024. Bonner died of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to the medical examiner’s autopsy report, which was also included in the documents the Star-Telegram received.

A report by a crime scene investigator that was submitted to the jail commission states the Sheriff’s Office collected footage from mounted cameras in the jail and from a handheld camera operated by an officer, which begins after medical personnel responded. The Star-Telegram received the handheld footage from the jail commission. But the request for the mounted camera footage could not be fulfilled, the records office said, because the Sheriff’s Office never sent it to the commission. After initial publication of this article, Brandon Wood, executive director of the jail commission, called the Star-Telegram to say the commission had received the video, but it was unable to upload it to a file sharing website. The commission employee who processes open records requests “made an error” when she said the Sheriff’s Office hadn’t sent the video, Wood said. The Sheriff’s Office appealed to the Texas Attorney General’s Office to withhold the footage from both cameras in response to the Star-Telegram’s records requests to that agency.

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Inside the decision to allow 2 victims to hug the gunman who killed their loved ones

When Yolanda Tinajero told the man that killed her brother Arturo Benavides that she felt a desire to hug him but knew it wasn’t allowed, District Judge Sam Medrano felt a personal connection. “The first thing that moved me about her was her true faith in trying to forgive. And I’ll be honest with you, she reminded me of my mom. My mom would do the same thing,” Medrano said in an interview with El Paso Matters on Wednesday, a day after two women who lost loved ones to gunman Patrick Crusius in the 2019 Walmart mass shooting chose to forgive and hug him. So Medrano, who has presided over the 409th District Court for 29 years, asked Tinajero: “Ma’am, would it truly bring you peace and comfort if you were to hug him?” She said yes, and Medrano granted permission for the hug.

Adriana Zandri of Ciudad Juárez, whose husband, Ivan Filiberto Manzano, was among the 23 people killed by Crusius on Aug. 3, 2019, had given her victim impact statement Monday. But she remained in El Paso to listen to the statements of other victims’ families, and was moved by Tinajero’s hug. She asked to do the same, and Medrano and defense attorneys agreed. So she returned to the courtroom Tuesday afternoon and gave her hug of forgiveness, moments before the proceedings in the 5½-year-old criminal case ended. The powerful gestures of forgiveness by two women – one Mexican-American, the other Mexican – to a white man who slaughtered innocents to stop “the Hispanic invasion of Texas” has drawn worldwide attention. “If you read one thing today, I hope it’s this. Forgiving the unforgivable,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wrote on the social media platform X, sharing the El Paso Matters story on the hugs. Robert Enright, a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Wisconsin who founded the scientific study of forgiveness, called Tinajero and Zandri “heroic.”

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Dallas’ $1.65 billion plan to rebuild Interstate 345 is still unfunded

A proposed $1.65 billion rebuild of Interstate 345 in Dallas remains unfunded more than a decade after the Texas Department of Transportation first took a look at the project. The agency plans to rebuild the highway that runs between downtown and Deep Ellum in a below-grade trench with new street overpasses above. TxDOT officials have said the project will accommodate future growth in the region and help mitigate maintenance costs for the aging stretch of roadway, which carries more than 180,000 vehicles daily. Despite enthusiasm for the rebuild of the 51-year-old roadway, no funds have yet been committed to the project, TxDOT officials told the Dallas Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Tuesday.

“We do not have any funding on the project to date so that will take us time to find that funding,” TxDOT representative Ceason Clemens said. “I’d expect it to take at least 3 to 5 years just to find that magnitude of funding.” A 2012 feasibility study first examined the 2.8-mile stretch of elevated highway from Interstate 30 to Woodall Rodgers Freeway. A series of follow-up studies and meetings with the City of Dallas, including 2023 Dallas City Council approval of the project, followed. The project would restitch Deep Ellum and southern Dallas with the city center. Locals have pointed to the highway as an example of government-sanctioned segregation, where freeways bisected or walled off historically Black and Hispanic neighborhoods like Deep Ellum. Committee members on Tuesday commended the agency for extensive community outreach for the project, including two public hearings this week. TxDOT staff made several changes to plans based on public feedback. Those include removing a planned highway connection onto Allen Street, after the nearby neighborhood raised concerns about traffic impacts, and reconfiguring Cesar Chavez Boulevard. “You’ve not only gone out to the community and listened to them, you actually then made changes based on what you heard…so thank you for that part,” council member Cara Mendelsohn said Tuesday. “I don’t know where you’re going to find the $1.6 billion dollars, but I do think that when we get to construction, it’s going to be difficult, having lived through a lot of construction in my district over the past couple years. When it’s concentrated like this in one area, it’s really hard.” Environmental assessment is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2025, according to TxDOT.

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National Stories

$1 trillion of wealth was created for the 19 richest U.S. households last year

The wealthiest have gotten richer, and control a record share of America’s wealth. New data suggest $1 trillion of wealth was created for the 19 richest American households alone in 2024. That is more than the value of Switzerland’s entire economy. It took four decades for the top 0.00001% of Americans’ share of total U.S. household wealth to grow from 0.1% in 1982—when 11 households made up that rarefied group—to 1.2% in 2023, according to an analysis by Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley and the Paris School of Economics. In one year, by the end of 2024, the share of total U.S. household wealth for the modern 0.00001%—those 19 households—jumped to 1.8%, or about $2.6 trillion. That is the biggest one-year increase on record, according to Zucman.

Total U.S. household wealth stood at about $148 trillion at the end of 2024, according to a measure Zucman used that subtracts the value of big-ticket items such as appliances as well as unfunded pensions from the Federal Reserve’s estimate of household wealth. The average net worth of all groups has climbed since the third quarter of 1990 as the U.S. economy has grown. The growth in wealth of the richest Americans has far outpaced that of all other U.S. wealth groups. “You see this gradual rise and then, very recently, dramatic acceleration in the rise of the share of wealth owned by the truly superwealthy,” said Zucman. His analysis looks at wealth distribution from 1913, part of a period known as America’s Gilded Age, through 2024. The work of Zucman and his colleague Emmanuel Saez was cited by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) in their 2020-era arguments to increase taxes on the wealthy.

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House GOP bumps Pentagon spending, eyes $150B target for party-line package

House Republicans will seek a $150 billion Pentagon spending hike as part of their party-line megabill, according to three people familiar with the process, granted anonymity to describe private deliberations, abandoning a lower defense target and aligning with plans set by their Senate counterparts. The upward move by the House is a win for defense hawks, who have been pushing to use GOP’s control of Congress and the White House to maximize military spending. The House Armed Services Committee will debate its portion of Republicans’ reconciliation package next week when lawmakers return from their recess and committees begin to advance their respective sections of the sprawling domestic policy legislation.

In endorsing a larger defense hike, House Republicans are preemptively smoothing over one of what are expected to be many major differences with the Senate as both chambers work to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda. Republicans still face intraparty divisions over how far to go on Medicaid cuts, the size of tax breaks and how to offset the package’s cost. Punchbowl News first reported the higher House defense spending target. A budget framework that cleared both chambers earlier this month proposed $150 billion in additional defense spending on the Senate side, while the House settled for a lower $100 billion Pentagon goal. The instructions for House committees in the budget blueprint, however, can be waived with the same majority vote needed to pass a final bill. Neither chamber’s Republicans have unveiled defense legislation yet, though the final product is likely to fund a mix of immediate needs and long-term programs.

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Trump orders changes to civil rights rules, college accreditation

President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders Wednesday aimed at undoing his predecessor’s policies and furthering a conservative agenda to reshape American education. The seven orders took on a wide range of topics, from discipline and the use of artificial intelligence in schools to foreign donations and accreditation at colleges. Among the new orders is a directive to eliminate a civil rights enforcement tool long used to fight discrimination in education, housing and other aspects of American life — and long criticized by conservatives. Under the concept of disparate impact, actions can amount to discrimination if they have an uneven effect on people from different groups even if that was not the intent. It relies on data analysis to help identify discriminatory results. The new order Trump signed Wednesday instructs the attorney general to “repeal or amend” Title VI regulations that include disparate impact liability.

Supporters of disparate-impact analysis say it is a critical tool because finding “smoking gun” evidence to prove someone intended to discriminate is difficult. But conservatives have argued that proving discrimination should require proof that someone intended to treat people differently. And they say the reliance on data may encourage the use of racial quotas. At the Education Department, officials are reviewing agreements already reached with school districts where civil rights violations were alleged, looking to cancel agreements to resolve issues that may be based on statistical disparities. This month, the agency terminated an agreement reached last year with the school district in Rapid City, South Dakota, where Native American students were more likely to be disciplined and less likely to be in advanced classes. In signing the order, Trump said disparate impact hinders civil rights. “Under my Administration, citizens will be treated equally before the law and as individuals, not consigned to a certain fate based on their immutable characteristics,” the order said.

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Musk damaged Tesla's brand in just a few months. Fixing it will likely take longer

Elon Musk has been called a Moonshot Master, the Edison of Our Age and the Architect of the Future, but he’s got a big problem at his car company and it’s not clear he can fix it: damage to its brand. Sales have plunged for Tesla amid protests and boycotts over Musk’s embrace of far right-wing views. Profits have been sliced by two-thirds so far this year, and rivals from China, Europe and the U.S. are pouncing. On Tuesday came some relief as Musk announced in an earnings call with investors that he would be scaling back his government cost-cutting job in Washington to a “day or two per week” to focus more on his old job as Tesla’s boss. Investors pushed up Tesla’s stock 5% Wednesday, though there are plenty of challenges ahead.

Musk seemed to downplay the role that brand damage played in the drop in first-quarter sales on the investor call. Instead, he emphasized something more fleeting — an upgrade to Tesla’s best-selling Model Y that forced a shutdown of factories and pinched both supply and demand. While financial analysts following the company have noted that potential buyers probably held back while waiting for the upgrade, hurting results, even the most bullish among them say the brand damage is real, and more worrisome. “This is a full blown crisis,” said Wedbush Securities’ normally upbeat Dan Ives earlier this month. In a note to its clients, JP Morgan warned of “unprecedented brand damage.” Musk dismissed the protests against Tesla on the call as the work of people angry at his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency because “those who are receiving the waste and fraud wish it to continue.” But the protests in Europe, thousands of miles from Washington, came after Musk supported far-right politicians there. Angry Europeans hung Musk in effigy in Milan, projected an image of him doing a straight-arm salute on a Tesla factory in Berlin and put up posters in London urging people not to buy “Swasticars” from him. Sales in Europe have gone into a free fall in the first three months of this year — down 39%. In Germany, sales plunged 62%. Another worrying sign: On Tuesday, Tesla backed off its earlier promise that sales would recover this year after dropping in 2024 for the first time a dozen years. Tesla said the global trade situation was too uncertain and declined to repeat the forecast.

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Prominent role of Pete Hegseth’s wife at Pentagon draws scrutiny

News over the weekend that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s wife Jennifer was included in a second group chat where he shared sensitive military operations details has focused attention on the prominent role she has occupied at the Pentagon without being formally employed during her husband’s short tenure running the US military. Jennifer Hegseth has been a constant presence in her husband’s inner circle from even before he was confirmed to the Cabinet job. Her involvement thrust her back into the spotlight over the weekend, when it was reported that?she was in a Signal group chat with her husband, his brother, and his lawyer, in which the secretary disclosed sensitive information about military operations against the Houthis. While Hegseth’s brother Phil and his lawyer Tim Parlatore have official positions within the Defense Department, Jennifer Hegseth does not.

A source familiar with the situation told CNN Jennifer Hegseth submitted paperwork for a security clearance, but it was unclear if she received one. When asked by CNN if Jennifer Hegseth has a clearance, a spokesperson said the department does not discuss security clearances for any individual. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson, however, added that Jennifer Hegseth has “never attended a meeting where sensitive information or classified information was discussed.” Multiple sources told CNN that as Hegseth has grown increasingly paranoid about the potential of leaks to the media within the Pentagon and has begun largely depending on a small circle for counsel, including his wife. CNN previously reported that the group chat that included Jennifer Hegseth was originally created to strategize during his confirmation process, but that it continued being used after he was confirmed.

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Cardinals gather in Vatican to fine tune preparations for Pope’s funeral

Priests, pilgrims and cardinals dressed in black robes and red sashes mixed in the streets of the Vatican on Thursday as tens of thousands of Catholics paid their respects to Pope Francis and preparations for the funeral accelerated. The conclave to select the next pope has not yet started — the Vatican has not announced the date when voting will begin — but cardinals on Thursday morning held their third congregation meeting in the Holy See’s apostolic palace since Francis died on Easter Monday. During the gatherings, the cardinals decide on the logistics of the mourning period, but Vatican experts say they can also set the agenda for the conclave and privately lay out their priorities as they get ready to choose the next pope. More cardinals have arrived in Rome in recent days ahead of Francis’ funeral on Saturday.

As they trickled out of a door in the Vatican near the Sant’Anna church on Wednesday, after their second meeting since Francis died, some cardinals outlined topics that they wanted the church to focus on. “The central point is the preaching of the authentic faith as it is,” said one conservative cardinal, Mauro Piacenza. Most of the cardinals’ decisions that have been publicly disclosed have related to arrangements for Francis’ funeral and commemorations, but the churchmen will also need to pick a date for the conclave. During one of the congregation meetings before the 2013 conclave, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio gave a speech that emphasized the church’s duty to reach those at the “peripheries.” The speech made a significant mark, and Cardinal Bergoglio was elected in the ensuing conclave, becoming Pope Francis. Since Wednesday, about 50,000 people have paid their respects to Francis, whose body was lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican said. Thousands more were lining up in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday morning. “Pope Francis is watching us from up there,” said Bruna Donato, 70, one of the mourners. “He knows who goes and who doesn’t.”

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12 states sue Trump over his tariffs

A dozen states, most of them led by Democrats, sued President Trump over his tariffs on Wednesday, arguing that he has no power to “arbitrarily impose tariffs as he has done here.” Contending that only Congress has the power to legislate tariffs, the states are asking the court to block the Trump administration from enforcing what they said were unlawful tariffs. “These edicts reflect a national trade policy that now hinges on the president’s whims rather than the sound exercise of his lawful authority,” said the lawsuit, filed by the states’ attorneys general in the U.S. Court of International Trade. The states, including New York, Illinois and Oregon, are the latest parties to take the Trump administration to court over the tariffs. Their case comes after California filed its own lawsuit last week, in which Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state attorney general accused the administration of escalating a trade war that has caused “immediate and irreparable harm” to that state’s economy.

Officials and businesses from Oregon, the lead plaintiff in the suit filed Wednesday, have also expressed concerns about the vulnerability of the state’s trade-dependent economy, as well as its sportswear industry, as a result of the tariffs. “When a president pushes an unlawful policy that drives up prices at the grocery store and spikes utility bills, we don’t have the luxury of standing by,” said Dan Rayfield, Oregon’s attorney general, in a statement. “These tariffs hit every corner of our lives — from the checkout line to the doctor’s office — and we have a responsibility to push back.” Asked about the latest lawsuit, Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, called it a “witch hunt” by Democrats against Mr. Trump. “The Trump administration remains committed to using its full legal authority to confront the distinct national emergencies our country is currently facing,” he said, “both the scourge of illegal migration and fentanyl flows across our border and the exploding annual U.S. goods trade deficit.”

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Lead Stories

Abortion clarification bill heads to full Texas Senate, with some amendments

A proposal to clarify Texas’ strict abortion laws and allow doctors to provide emergency abortion care — along with amendments aimed at addressing concerns that pregnant women themselves could be criminalized — passed a key legislative hurdle Tuesday. The Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs voted 11-0 to send an amended version of Senate Bill 31 to the full Senate. That bill was authored by Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola. Abortion rights advocates have raised concerns that the originally filed version of the bill could resurrect a century-old law that would criminalize women who receive abortions. They’ve called for the bill to be amended. Before sending the bill to the full Senate, the Committee on State Affairs adopted a substitute version of Senate Bill 31.

Hughes described the changes to the bill in the committee meeting. “The committee substitute reflects feedback to strengthen the bill, make sure that pregnant women — further clarify they would not be prosecuted in any way,” Hughes said. Hughes’ office sent a copy of the substitute version to The Dallas Morning News. The substitute version removes some of the references to the century-old abortion ban. The substitute also makes it clearer that doctors do not need to wait until a medical condition is “actively injuring” the pregnant woman before providing necessary abortion care. In a joint statement Tuesday evening, five abortion rights advocates and survivors of traumatic pregnancies said they had learned of the changes earlier in the day. They were taking time to review the changes to the bills, according to the statement, which was issued by reproductive rights organization Free & Just. Tuesday’s committee meeting, which lasted about six minutes according to the recording posted online, did not include any discussion of the bill.

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Impeachment overhaul passes Texas Senate

A package of legislation that would dramatically overhaul the state’s impeachment process by laying out guidelines for both chambers, requiring all witness testimony under oath and tracking costs unanimously passed the Texas Senate on Tuesday. “This is a message [that] we want to do the right thing in the future,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, said after the vote. “It’s not a criticism of the past. It’s an improvement on the past, and we hope our fellow members over in the House will work with us to have an appropriate impeachment proceeding moving forward.” Identical proposals in the House are pending but have not been scheduled for a public hearing.

The current reform effort resulted from confusion around the process that governed the House’s historic and controversial impeachment in 2023 of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was acquitted by the Senate after a two-week trial that generated national headlines. Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, said clarifying legislation is necessary because Texas has separate systems for impeachment — one for statewide elected officials and another for leaders of state agencies — that was difficult for members of the Legislature and the public to understand last session. Birdwell’s proposed constitutional amendment would give voters a say in whether to update the process in November. The amendment would allow impeached officers to be suspended with pay while the process plays out, clarify that the governor could make a provisional appointment for suspended officers unless the governor is impeached and empower lawmakers to enact general laws around impeachment. Paxton, who has not recovered any wages from his suspension, was impeached over alleged bribery, abuse of office and obstruction of justice after senior aides accused him of using his agency to benefit real estate developer and campaign donor Nate Paul, who renovated Paxton’s Austin home and employed a woman Paxton was reportedly romantically involved with.

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Tesla CEO Musk says time he spends on DOGE will drop ‘significantly’ next month

Tesla CEO Elon Musk began his company’s earnings call on Tuesday by saying that his time spent running President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency will drop “significantly” starting in May. Musk, who has watched Tesla’s stock tumble by more than 40% this year, said he’ll continue to support the president with DOGE “to make sure that the waste and fraud that we stop does not come roaring back.” After spending almost $300 million in the 2024 campaign to help return Trump to the White House, Musk created DOGE and joined the administration with a mission to drastically reduce the size and capability of the federal government. He said he’ll continue to spend a “day or two per week” on government issues “for as long as the president would like me to do so.”

Musk’s commentary came after his company reported disappointing first-quarter results, including a 20% year-over-year slump in automotive revenue and 71% plunge in net income. In addition to challenges the company already faced, such as competition out of China and an aging fleet of electric vehicles, Tesla has recently been hit with protests in the U.S. and Europe and brand damage due to Musk’s ties to Trump and his support of Germany’s far-right AfD party. “The protests that you’ll see out there, they’re very organized,” Musk said on Tuesday’s call. He claimed, without evidence, that some people are likely protesting “because they’re receiving fraudulent money” or are “recipients of wasteful largesse.” On its website, which was last updated on Sunday, DOGE says its cuts have led to an estimated $160 billion in savings. However, Musk’s estimates of savings have been challenged, and DOGE has deleted some of the largest purported savings.

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US Treasury secretary says trade war with China is not 'sustainable'

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Tuesday speech that the ongoing tariffs showdown against China is unsustainable and he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. But in a private speech in Washington for JPMorgan Chase, Bessent also cautioned that talks between the United States and China had yet to formally start. U.S. President Donald Trump placed import taxes of 145% on China, which has countered with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods. Trump has placed tariffs on several dozen countries, causing the stock market to stumble and interest rates to increase on U.S. debt as investors worry about slower economic growth and higher inflationary pressures. Details of the speech were confirmed by two people familiar with the remarks who insisted on anonymity to discuss them.

“I do say China is going to be a slog in terms of the negotiations,” Bessent said according to a transcript obtained by The Associated Press. “Neither side thinks the status quo is sustainable.” AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying a trade war with China is not sustainable. The S&P 500 stock index rose 2.5% after Bloomberg News initially reported Bessent’s remarks. Trump acknowledged the increase in the stock market in remarks to reporters afterward on Tuesday, but he avoided confirming if he, too, thought the situation with China was unsustainable as Bessent had said behind closed doors. “We’re doing fine with China,” Trump said. Despite his high tariffs, Trump said he would be “very nice” to China and not play hardball with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “We’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together,” Trump said. The U.S. president said that the final tariff rate with China would come down “substantially” from the current 145%.

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State Stories

Walmart mass shooter pleads guilty to state charges

Saying the only way he will leave prison will be in a coffin, a state district judge on Monday accepted the guilty pleas of El Paso Walmart shooter Patrick Wood Crusius and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Crusius, a North Texas resident, posted an online manifesto decrying the “Hispanic” invasion of Texas and drove 10 hours to El Paso, killing 23 people and wounding 22 with a rifle in the parking lot and inside the Walmart store near Cielo Vista Mall on Aug. 3, 2019. “As you remain locked up, remember this: You did not divide this city; you strengthened it,” Medrano told Crusius during the 409th Judicial District court hearing. “El Paso rose stronger and braver. The community you tried to break has become a symbol of resilience, love versus hate, and endurance” in the face of evil.

Several people involved in the case expressed hope Monday’s hearing, in which Crusius pled guilty to multiple capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, will bring closure to survivors and relatives of the victims of the mass shooting. Delays dogged the state case against Crusius, who in 2023 was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms on hate crime charges by a federal judge. Dressed in an orange-and-white jail uniform and a black bulletproof vest, Crusius only spoke when he was in court. Medrano repeatedly asked him if he understood the charges and his plea. His attorney, Joe Spencer, addressed the court at length to paint a picture of a mentally troubled young man who came to a peaceful community to inflict unimaginable horror. He said his client suffers from schizoaffective disorder, has “profound breaks” with reality, and suffers from hallucinations and delusional thinking. He said Crusius turned to “the darkest corners” of the internet and was influenced by the political rhetoric of the time – when illegal immigration was a flashpoint in the discourse.

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A $750M nuclear power fund advances in Texas House

The Texas House approved a bill that would create a nuclear power incentive program designed to jump-start a long-dormant energy industry. Its passage is a step forward in an energy arms race against China and Russia, the bill’s author said. The proposal would create a grant program for the development of a nuclear industry in Texas that could cost taxpayers as much as $2.75 billion if voters approve a related amendment to the Texas Constitution. “Investment in nuclear technology has now become a strategic and moral imperative for our country,” Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, said. “The global race for energy dominance is not just an economic competition. It is a geopolitical contest with immense national security implications.” The proposal was approved with bipartisan support on a voice vote.

House Bill 14 would create a Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office overseen by the governor. The office would manage the state’s grant program and assist nuclear development organizations in navigating the federal permitting process. The House budgeted $750 million for the program. Harris has a proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution that could increase its budget by $2 billion. Lawmakers haven’t voted on the amendment. Eligible projects could receive grants of up to $200 million for those that produce electricity. Businesses and universities researching and developing nuclear technology would be eligible for $12.5 million grants. Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, opposed the bill. He said he supports the nuclear industry but creating a new state office and an incentive program was not the way forward. “It creates more government. It creates more bureaucracy,” Harrison said. “It adds more bureaucrats and, guys, this is pure crony corporatism and corporate welfare.” The bill requires passage from the Senate before it can become law. A Senate companion to the bill has yet to advance in that chamber. Gov. Greg Abbott signaled he would approve a nuclear fund as large as $5 billion last year after a regulatory task force recommended creating similar incentive programs.

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Harris County leaders say mobility projects are at risk if this Texas bill becomes law

The tolls you pay in Harris County fix more than just toll roads. State lawmakers want to limit Harris County’s ability to spend the surplus money from the Harris County Toll Road Authority on neighborhood streets, and sidewalks. The political fight could potentially derail important safety solutions across Harris County. A resident of West Aldine says sidewalks are desperately needed in underserved areas. One project that could benefit from the HCTRA money is building sidewalks here in North Houston, where a child was hit by a truck. Resident Shirley Ronquillo, a community organizer remembers a difficult day.

“A couple years ago, a young man, Raul [Morales], was hit by a vehicle, and he fell face down into a ditch,” Ronquillo said. KHOU 11 spoke to Raul and his family days after the crash on West Gulf Bank Road near Airline. Since the crash, there’s been a push for safety changes at the spot where he was hit. “There is advocacy behind the incident, the family requested sidewalks, the child requested sidewalks,” Ronquillo said. Funding for that project, and others like it across the city, are at risk. “Currently I have $80 million worth of projects for the city of Houston that if this bill were to go through, it’ll put those $80 million into jeopardy,” Pct. 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia told KHOU. Garcia is concerned with a proposal to divert 30% of the Harris County Toll Road Authority’s surplus toll money, worth millions of dollars, to the city of Houston "for the cost of providing law enforcement and other emergency services" on toll roads, according to the bill. Two Harris County commissioners expressed opposition to the bill.

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Carol Iodice: For the rich, free speech — for others, a SLAPP in the face

(Carolyn Iodice is Legislative and Policy Director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a national free speech group.?) Fourteen years ago, the legislature passed vital protections for freedom of speech in the Texas Citizens Participation Act. This week, they’re looking to gut it. The TCPA addresses the common problem of “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” or SLAPPs. These are frivolous lawsuits brought by the wealthy or powerful against private citizens to stop them from exercising their free speech rights. For example, say your loved one is in an assisted living facility, and you think the facility is neglecting their care. You file a complaint with state regulators and then post honest, negative reviews of the facility online so that other people can make an informed choice about sending their family members there. Then the facility sues you, claiming that you defamed them. Even though the case is frivolous and your criticism is protected by the First Amendment, you have a tough choice: stop talking about the facility or hire an attorney to defend you. You don’t want to be silenced, but you don’t want to go through a lengthy, expensive, and exhausting legal battle. This was the choice facing Carol Hemphill when she was sued for criticizing the facility housing her brother, who needed daily care after a traumatic brain injury.

Thankfully, the TCPA helps people like Carol. It allows SLAPP victims to get cases dismissed quickly, without racking up huge legal bills. It also helps the victims get lawyers to stand up to the bullies trying to silence them through the courts. First, the TCPA lets a victim immediately move to dismiss the case if they can show the claim is meritless and targets their speech on issues important to the community. Then, if the court denies the motion to dismiss, there’s another layer of protection. The law automatically pauses any further court proceedings while the victim appeals the ruling, so that the case doesn’t turn into a sprawling legal battle before the court of appeals gets the chance to toss it out. When a victim successfully gets the case dismissed, the TCPA also requires the other side to pay their legal bills. This helps ensure SLAPP victims can afford legal representation to fight the case, and it deters people from filing SLAPPs in the first place. Plus, it’s just basic fairness: if someone deliberately brings a frivolous SLAPP against you, they should reimburse you for the costs of getting it dismissed. These protections ensure that everyone, not just those with money, can afford to fight for their rights. They helped Carol get her case dismissed and her legal bills paid. They helped Ken Martin, an independent local journalist, who was sued by a politician for reporting factual information about him. And they helped Dante Flores-Demarchi, who was sued by a wealthy school board member for publicly raising concerns about corruption.

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Texas water board will have to decide whether Marvin Nichols Reservoir creates conflict

State water leaders will now have to decide whether the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir, designed to be built in northeast Texas and pump water more than 100 miles back to Dallas-Fort Worth, is an interregional conflict — potentially causing water plans to be altered. On Tuesday, Region D Water Planning Group chairman Jim Thompson penned a letter officially asking the Texas Water Development Board to declare the inclusion of the reservoir as a conflict and resolve it. The reservoir is planned to be built in the Sulphur River Basin in portions of Franklin, Red River and Titus counties, where families have lived for generations and where timber, ranch and farming industries operate.

The dispute over the 66,000-acre manmade lake has been ongoing between the northeastern Texas region, where it would be built, and the greater Dallas area, which would receive the water, for at least 20 years. Despite officials from both regional groups meeting multiple times ahead the respective 2026 Water Plan drafts being submitted in March, the stalemate hasn’t been resolved. Region C included the reservoir as a recommended strategy while Region D included language vehemently opposing it. Region D’s stance is that the lake “would have substantial adverse effect” on their area, including economic, agricultural and natural resources, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Dallas Morning News. “We have also heard from a tremendous number of people that live in our Region, industry and business leaders, community leaders and others regarding the substantial adverse effects this proposed project would have on our Region,” Thompson wrote in the letter. “The amount of opposition from the citizens of Region D to Marvin Nichols Reservoir is simply unexplainable in words.”

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El Paso Walmart shooter receives rebuke and forgiveness as he gets 23 life sentences

Yolanda Tinajero stood up in court and walked over to the man who killed her brother. She wrapped her arms around him while he hunched over into her embrace. "I feel in my heart to hug you very tight so you could feel my forgiveness, especially my loss," Tinajero said. She had just offered her impact statement at the end of the case involving the man who in 2019 killed 23 people and injured dozens at a Walmart in what's considered one of the worst attacks on Hispanics in the U.S. in modern history. Judge Sam Medrano allowed her to approach the gunman after she said it would bring her peace, comfort and healing.

Adriana Zandri, whose husband Ivan Feliberto Manzano was murdered during the attack, also hugged the gunman, bringing an end to one of the most painful moments of this largely Hispanic city that borders Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. On Monday, Patrick Crusius was sentenced to 23 consecutive life sentences after he pleaded guilty to capital murder and nearly two dozen aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges in state court. The gunman drove more than 650 miles from his home in Allen, Texas, to this city and opened fire on shoppers at a Walmart on Aug. 3, 2019. The Texas gunman targeted people he thought were Mexicans, according to police. Hours before the shooting, Crusius published an online screed saying his actions were a response to the "Hispanic invasion of Texas." In 2023 a federal judge sentenced him to 90 consecutive life sentences, after he pleaded guilty to hate crimes and firearms violations.

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Texas storms are blowing up homeowners’ insurance premiums

It’s getting more expensive to protect your home in North Texas. Homeowners insurance premiums increased 22% in 2024, according to the Texas Department of Insurance, and insurance companies have had to pay out more claims because there have been more severe storms. The state has had more disasters causing $1 billion in damages in the last five years than the previous decade, according the National Atmospheric and Oceanographic Administration. While legislators in Austin are working to lower residential property taxes, insurance brokers, Realtors, and industry experts say not much can be done when it comes to insurance — the other major cost of a monthly mortgage payment. More storms and inflation have pushed rates higher. It’s making housing more expensive, and causing some to fear losing their homes.

The biggest cost driver in North Texas has been wind and hail, said Chandler Crouch, a Realtor known for helping his clients lower their property tax bills. Crouch even tried his hand at offering homeowners insurance a few years ago, but found many carriers were avoiding new business in North Texas because of storm losses. “I’ve been in the business since 2002 and I’ve seen a lot of market changes, and I’ve never seen insurance rates this bad,” he said. “It’s pretty bleak out there.” Texas ranks at or near the top of states that experience weather catastrophes, including hurricanes, hail, flooding, fire, wind, and tornadoes, said Richard Johnson, a spokesperson for the Insurance Council of Texas. The cost of materials is also going up, said Frank McArthur, a Tarrant County roofing contractor who primarily works on insurance claims. It’s not unusual to get a notice from suppliers twice a year that materials are going up 2% or 3%, but about a month ago, McArthur said one of his suppliers told him prices were going up 10%. He used to not think much of it, because insurance companies were always going to pay, but now McArthur is seeing how rising prices are having an impact on the broader market.

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Lockheed Martin gives outlook for F-35 fighter jet program

Lockheed Martin Corporation executives told analysts Tuesday they remain confident that the defense and aerospace manufacturer will be able to weather potential tariffs with minimal impact on business. The Trump administration issued a 90-day pause on new tariffs on almost every country in the world earlier this month, but the duties are still scheduled to go into effect on July 9. During a first quarter earnings call Tuesday, Lockheed CFO Evan Scott said the company expects it will be able to mitigate the impacts of tariffs. Scott, who was named chief financial officer on Thursday, said the gap between when Lockheed incurs a tariff cost and recovers it will be key. Lockheed’s sales were up 4% in the first quarter of 2025, hitting $18 billion. The F-35 program, which assembles the fighter jets in Fort Worth, saw a $215 million increase in sales.

The company did not adjust its 2025 earnings forecast to account for tariffs, Trump’s executive orders or Boeing being selected to develop the world’s sixth-generation fighter aircraft, the F-47. Other major defense manufacturers are split on how tariffs could hurt their business. Northrop Grumman also didn’t change its earnings forecast to account for potential tariffs. RTX Corp., previously known as Raytheon Technologies, said tariffs could cause an $850 million decline in profit this year, which led to a sharp drop in its stock price. Lockheed expects to maintain its F-35 Lighting II production rate of over 150 aircraft per year. Company leaders don’t expect the United States to cut back on purchasing the aircraft. But if it happens, they said, international demand would likely make up any decline in U.S. sales. Some experts say the defense industry may be more isolated from tariffs than others, due to the protected nature of its supply chains. Defense firms are banned from getting certain items from China. The U.S. has imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, while China has placed a 125% duty on American products. A 2023 report found Chinese products are still part of the Department of Defense’s supply chain. On April 9, the Trump administration ordered the Department of Defense to begin reviewing acquisition programs. The administration is also working to make it easier for U.S. defense companies to sell items to other countries. “I’m really encouraged and energized by what the administration is doing here,” Lockheed’s chairman, president and CEO James Taiclet said during Tuesday’s conference call.

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Details emerge in stabbing of Denton County commissioner and husband, as tributes pour in

Tributes poured in for Denton County Precinct 3 Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell and her slain husband, Fred, as more details emerged Tuesday about a stabbing that police say led to the arrest of the couple’s grandson Monday morning at their home in Lewisville. Fred Mitchell, 75, died from his wounds soon after the incident, police said, while commissioner Mitchell, 76, is expected to recover after undergoing surgery. The couple’s 23-year-old grandson, Mitchell Reinacher, is suspected of stabbing his grandparents and is facing charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Police have not said what might have led to the deadly attack but an arrest-warrant affidavit for Reinacher provided some details of the chaos and violence at the Mitchell residence early Monday.

A 911 caller notified authorities shortly before 4 a.m. of a possible knife attack in the 1000 block of Springwood Drive in Lewisville, according to an arrest-warrant affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News. “Lots of screaming” and “what sounded like a physical struggle” were heard over the phone, the affidavit stated. At the address, an officer saw a white vehicle parked on the street in front of the home. The driver’s side door of the vehicle was open and the headlights were on, according to the affidavit. The officer heard screaming from inside the home. When the officer entered the front door, they saw Reinacher in the hallway, standing “over the body” of Fred Mitchell, who was “bleeding severely from knife wounds to his chest,” according to the affidavit. Reinacher had been living with the Mitchells since late 2024, according to police. Bobbie Mitchell, who also had knife injuries, was found inside the same house. She told police “her grandson broke into their house” and that “he was going to kill them,” the affidavit stated. Police said a 6-inch serrated steak knife was used in the attack and authorities found evidence of forced entry of the home.

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Gov. Greg Abbott expands Texas border wall in new deal with Laredo, even as crossings plummet

Border crossings have plummeted in Texas, but that isn’t stopping Gov. Greg Abbott from building more border walls, even in areas that have traditionally resisted past efforts. Earlier this month, the Laredo City Council voted 6-2 to let Abbott and the state lease about 1,600 feet of city easements in an area northwest of the city to help the state build another three miles of border barrier. The state has targeted an area around Colombia Bridge — an international bridge about 25 miles from the city’s downtown. The vote has set off a cascade of criticism from locals who successfully blocked President Donald Trump from building border walls there during his first term in office. “This is a shocking move by our city leaders,” said Tannya Benavides, a local community organizer. “The state came in and bullied their way into city hall with threats and scare tactics, falsely making it seem like we had no options. It was very manipulative and shows how they see us: just some small town that can be pushed around. It’s a huge sign of disrespect shown to our border community.”

But city officials are defending the move, saying they are trying to maintain a working relationship with state officials to make sure they have input on barrier projects in more critical areas. City manager Joseph Neeb said that by giving the state access to a less populated area for a wall, it should give the city more influence over how the state approaches “more important, sensitive areas.” “I think the people who are impassioned in this don’t understand that side of it because they would rather have a ‘hell no, we don’t want it at all,’” he said, according to the Laredo Morning Times. While the Biden administration halted most border wall construction after the 2020 presidential election, Abbott instructed the state to start building its own border wall. The state has since built 60 miles with another 10 miles in the works, according to Abbott. During a meeting at the White House in February, Abbott told Trump the state secured another 100 miles of easements for more. And Abbott might have even more to build soon. The Texas Legislature is working on a budget deal that could set aside another $2.8 billion for barriers along the Rio Grande.

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Houston Rep. Al Green says Tennessee lawmaker's comments about cane, calling him 'boy' are racist

U.S. Rep. Al Green on Tuesday said a Tennessee lawmaker's comments about him were racist. Republican U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger last week referred to the congressman as "boy" and claimed he doesn't need a cane to walk in an interview with Christian media organization F.A.M.E. Ministries. "Gosh dangit, boy, put that cane — he does not need that cane," Harshbarger said. Green said he uses the cane for stability when walking and climbing stairs after temporarily losing function in his left foot. "This is an attempt to normalize, whether it's done wittingly or unwittingly, this type of slur, and it's something that we cannot tolerate," Green said during a Tuesday news conference. Members of Houston's City Council, the NAACP and local LGBTQ+ advocates also joined Green in condemning Harshbarger's comments.

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'No evidence' to support Republican-backed 2022 election challenge, says appeals court

The 14th Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that “no evidence” was found to support a Republican-backed challenge of the 2022 district clerk election results. Chris Daniel was one of 21 Republican candidates who filed election contest lawsuits after the results of the 2022 Harris County midterm elections. Daniel, who ran for Harris County District Clerk against Democratic incumbent Marilyn Burgess, alleged ballot paper shortages at several polling locations constituted "voter suppression," and asked the court to overturn the results. Following a November 2023 trial court ruling in favor of Burgess, Daniel's legal team filed an appeal. Republican chief justice for the 14th Court of Appeals, Tracy Christopher, wrote in an opinion that while some residents may have been prevented from voting, Daniel's attorneys did not provide sufficient evidence to prove he would have won the election had they been able to cast ballots.

"Daniel bore the burden to produce legally sufficient evidence from which a reasonable factfinder could infer that the mistakes or misconduct of Harris County election officials prevented at least 25,640 eligible Harris County voters from voting on November 8, 2022," the 14th Court of Appeals' opinion read. "Because he did not do so, we affirm the trial court’s judgment." The Harris County GOP did not respond to the Houston Chronicle's request for comment. Daniel told a reporter he was unaware of the court's decision, and needed to read it before he could provide input. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who was also the target of a since-dropped election contest filed by Republican challenger Alexandra Del Moral Mealer, took to X shortly after the ruling to celebrate Burgess' win. "We won!! The final surviving GOP-led lawsuit challenging Harris County’s 2022 (I know, still on that!) elections has been dismissed — upholding our District Clerk Marilyn Burgess’ win," Hidalgo wrote."This is one of many (failed) lawsuits, including one against my victory, that were filed on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection."

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Ted Cruz becomes first sitting senator with a talk radio show as his podcast hits AM radio

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is now the first sitting senator with a talk radio show after the Texas Republican’s podcast began airing nationwide over the weekend. Cruz’s podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” is being broadcast on AM radio stations under an extension of the senator’s deal with iHeartMedia, the massive radio network that has distributed the podcast online since 2022. “It’s a great opportunity just to take listeners behind the scenes, behind the curtain of what’s going on,” Cruz told his co-host, Ben Ferguson. Ferguson noted that Fox News host Sean Hannity, who also has a radio program distributed by Premiere Networks, texted Cruz to congratulate him on the deal.

The deal comes as the senator has pushed legislation to require car manufacturers to keep AM radio in their vehicles, calling the shift by some away from AM an effort to “silence conservative voices” that dominate the talk radio airwaves. It also follows the dismissal of ethics complaints related to iHeartMedia’s six-figure donations to a political action committee supporting the Texas Republican. Cruz’s office didn’t immediately respond to questions about the deal. On an episode this week, Cruz said the Friday installment of the three-times-a-week show will now air over the weekend via Premiere Networks, the iHeart subsidiary carrying the podcast. He said it has launched on 84 stations and he hopes more will pick it up. In Texas, the show is airing on KFXR-AM 1190 in Dallas-Fort Worth and KPRC-AM 950 in Houston, a spokeswoman for Premiere Networks said. “Sen. Cruz is a political insider whose views and opinions are valued by audiences,” Julie Talbott, president of Premiere Networks, said in a statement announcing the deal. “By harnessing the immense power of broadcast radio, we’re confident Verdict with Ted Cruz will reach millions more listeners across America every week.”

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National Stories

Tesla profit sinks, hurt by backlash over Elon Musk’s political role

Tesla’s net income slid 71% in the first quarter, as the company struggled to overcome competitive pressure overseas and a reputational hit from Chief Executive Elon Musk’s polarizing role in the Trump administration. Musk said he would be devoting significantly less time to his federal cost-cutting work at the Department of Government Efficiency starting next month, but struck a defiant tone against critics. “I believe the right thing to do is to fight the waste and fraud and try to get the country back on the right track,” Musk said on a call with analysts after the quarterly earnings report Tuesday. The electric-vehicle maker also reported adjusted earnings per share of 27 cents, which missed analysts’ expectations of 41 cents. Tesla said that shifting trade policies, exacerbated by the administration’s tariff regime, are stressing supply chains while adding to the automaker’s costs. Tesla imports some of its battery cells from China, but said it was looking to source them from the U.S. instead.

The trade fight and “changing political sentiment” could weigh on demand for its vehicles, the company said, leading it to potentially revisit its sales forecast for the year. Tesla previously said it expected vehicle sales to rise this year, after reporting a rare drop in 2024. Musk sighed deeply on Tuesday’s call before addressing the Trump administration’s trade war. The CEO said he has advocated for lower tariffs and would continue to do so. “I just want to emphasize that the tariff decision is entirely up to the president of the United States,” Musk said. “Whether he will listen to my advice is up to him.” Tesla shares were up more than 3% in after-hours trading on Tuesday, after gaining 4.6% ahead of the first-quarter report. Analysts attributed the rise to investors taking comfort in Tesla reaffirming plans to launch more affordable models later this year. The company’s first-quarter revenue fell after a steep decline in automotive sales, including double-digit percentage drops in crucial markets such as the U.S., China and Germany.

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Why MAGA World is so protective of Hegseth

As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth finds himself staring down yet another controversy and more calls from critics to resign, he has a potent ally not just in President Trump, but in Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. Influential MAGA voices have used their platforms to back Hegseth, who they see as a product of the movement. He is considered a dyed-in-the-wool Trump backer who is attuned to the president on culture war issues. Where critics see a lack of experience, supporters see a government outsider capable of enacting change. “Much like Trump himself, Hegseth is viewed by the base as a genuine outsider and disrupter,” one longtime Trump adviser told The Hill. “And because of the years he spent on Fox, they feel a real connection with him.”

Hegseth has faced questions from the time of his surprising nomination about his judgment and ability to manage the vast Department of Defense. Those questions have resurfaced following fresh public criticism from his former aides and new revelations about his use of the Signal app to share attack plans with family members. But the fierce reaction from Trump’s orbit underscores how Hegseth has a connection with the MAGA base like few others in the Cabinet. “The secretary of Defense is doing a tremendous job, and he is bringing monumental change to the Pentagon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. “And there’s a lot of people in this city who reject monumental change, and I think frankly that’s why we’ve seen a smear campaign against the secretary of Defense since the moment that President Trump announced his nomination,” she added.

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Supreme Court hears clash over LGBTQ storybooks and parent demands for opt-out

Do parents of public school children have a constitutional right to opt-out their kids from classroom lessons involving storybooks that feature LGBTQ themes or characters? The Supreme Court will tackle that question Tuesday in a closely watched First Amendment case that comes as the Trump administration moves to empower parents and root out diversity and inclusion initiatives across the U.S. education system. A group of parents, including Muslims, Orthodox Ukrainians, Christians and Jews from Montgomery County, Maryland, claim constitutional protections for religious exercise mean they must have an opportunity to exempt their children from any instruction on gender or sexuality that may be counter to teachings of faith.

“We’re under no illusion, they’ll learn about these things, but in the formative years, what ultimately we could not agree with [Montgomery County Public Schools], is where inclusion stopped and indoctrination started,” said Wael Elkoshairi, who is homeschooling his fourth-grade daughter because he says the books infringe on his Muslim faith. The school board, made up of locally elected representatives, says the purpose of education is to expose children to a broad mix of people and ideas -- and that the Constitution does not guarantee students the right to skip lessons inconsistent with their beliefs. Lower courts sided with the board. The justices will now take a closer look at whether the county’s refusal to grant an opt-out to parents illegally burdens their religious rights. “The case is a good illustration of the fact that public schools are at ground zero in the culture wars,” said Jim Walsh, a Texas lawyer who represents school boards and is a member of the National School Attorneys Association. “We all want the school to reflect our values, but we don’t agree on our values. And certainly issues about same-sex marriage, the rights of lesbians and gays, are right at the center of that,” he said.

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‘60 Minutes’ executive producer resigns, citing a loss of independence in the wake of Trump lawsuit

Bill Owens, the executive producer for CBS News’ flagship “60 Minutes” program, announced he will resign from the top job on Tuesday, saying he no longer has control over the show. In a memo obtained by CNN, Owens said to “60 Minutes” staff that the last few months have made it clear that he “would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it” or make “independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes.” “So, having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward,” Owens wrote, adding that “the show is too important to the country, it has to continue, just not with me as the Executive Producer.”

However, Owens praised Wendy McMahon, stressing that the CBS News chief executive “has always had our back, and agrees that 60 Minutes needs to be run by a 60 Minute (sic) producer.” Owens’ decision to step down, which was first reported by The New York Times, comes as media outlets’ credibility has hit a low and as outlets find themselves under attack — including frequent jabs from the White House. In November, President Donald Trump slapped CBS News and its parent company, Paramount Global, with a $10 billion lawsuit that claims a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris was grossly mis-edited by CBS at the Harris campaign’s direction. Since then, Trump has repeatedly called for the network to lose its license and urged the Federal Communications Commission to punish the broadcaster. Ultimately, “60 Minutes” handed over the full transcript and video of the contested interview to the FCC, and Trump and Paramount this month agreed on a mediator in the lawsuit.

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Rubio unveils a massive overhaul of the State Department that would cut staff and bureaus

Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a massive overhaul of the State Department on Tuesday, with plans to reduce staff in the U.S. by 15% while closing and consolidating more than 100 bureaus worldwide as part of the Trump administration’s “America First” mandate. The reorganization plan, announced by Rubio on social media and detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, is the latest effort by the White House to reimagine U.S. foreign policy and scale back the size of the federal government. The restructuring was driven in part by the need to find a new home for the remaining functions of the U.S. Agency for International Development, an agency that Trump administration officials and billionaire ally Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have dismantled.

“We cannot win the battle for the 21st century with bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources,” Rubio said in a department-wide email obtained by AP. He said the reorganization aimed to “meet the immense challenges of the 21st Century and put America First.” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce echoed that sentiment, saying the “sweeping changes will empower our talented diplomats” but would not result in the immediate dismissal of personnel. “It’s not something where people are being fired today,” Bruce told reporters Tuesday. “They’re not going to be walking out of the building. It’s not that kind of a dynamic. It is a roadmap. It’s a plan.” At a news conference, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce says the massive reorganization is aimed at trimming a bloated bureaucracy. It includes consolidating 734 bureaus and offices down to 602, as well as transitioning 137 offices to another location within the department to “increase efficiency,” according to a fact sheet obtained by AP. There will be a “reimagined” office focused on foreign and humanitarian affairs to coordinate the aid programs overseas that remain at the State Department.

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The New York Times didn't libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, jury finds

The New York Times did not libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a 2017 editorial that contained an error she claimed had damaged her reputation, a jury concluded Tuesday. The jury deliberated a little over two hours before reaching its verdict. A judge and a different jury had reached the same conclusion about Palin’s defamation claims in 2022, but her lawsuit was revived by an appeals court. Palin was subdued as she left the courthouse and made her way to a waiting car, telling reporters: “I get to go home to a beautiful family of five kids and grandkids and a beautiful property and get on with life. And that’s nice.” Later, she posted on the social platform X that she planned to “keep asking the press to quit making things up.”

Danielle Rhoades Ha, a Times spokesperson, said in a statement that the verdict “reaffirms an important tenet of American law: publishers are not liable for honest mistakes.” Palin, who earned a journalism degree in college, sued the Times for unspecified damages in 2017, about a decade after she burst onto the national stage as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Her lawsuit stemmed from an editorial about gun control published after U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, was wounded in 2017 when a man with a history of anti-GOP activity opened fire on a Congressional baseball team practice in Washington. In the editorial, the Times wrote that before the 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that severely wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords and killed six others, Palin’s political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence by circulating a map of electoral districts that put Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs.

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Lead Stories

Texas Lottery Commission director resigns amid controversy over jackpots

Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Ryan Mindell resigned Monday amid mounting criticism of the organization’s management and two controversial jackpots that included allegations of money laundering. Lottery Commission Chairman Robert Rivera of Arlington announced Mindell’s resignation late Monday.. The agency’s chief financial officer, Sergio Rey, was appointed acting deputy director. “The commission board will consider its selection process for a news executive director at its next open meeting,” Rivera said in a statement. That meeting is scheduled for April 29. Mindell had been executive director since longtime leader Gary Grief resigned in 2024 after questions emerged about the lottery commission’s operations and a jackpot award.

That scrutiny intensified under Mindell as Texas lawmakers grilled him and other agency officials in various Senate and House committee hearings. “I’ve been extremely frustrated with the Lottery Commission and their lack of regulating and addressing a Texas lottery that has become absolutely corrupt,” state Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Prosper, said. Shaheen authored legislation in the Texas House that would abolish the lottery, though it’s unclear whether the bill will move this session. The Lottery Commission is under routine review by the state and could be sunsetted at the end of August if lawmakers don’t act. Many Texas officials have voiced concern over how the lottery is operated, with much of the concern involving two controversial payouts. One jackpot, for $95 million paid in April 2023, went to an overseas entity that bought over 25 million $1 tickets, giving it access to “nearly every possible number combination,” Gov. Greg Abbott has said. A second winning ticket, which in February paid $83.5 million, was purchased from an Austin lottery store that is connected to a courier.

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Trump, upping pressure on Powell, again calls for rate cuts

President Donald Trump warned the US economy may slow if the Federal Reserve does not move to immediately reduce interest rates, in his latest broadside against Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Trump said in a social media post Monday that “there is virtually No Inflation,” pointing to lower energy and food prices. “But there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW,” Trump said, referring to Powell. Economists widely expect Trump’s tariffs to boost inflation and slow growth, even if just temporarily. While inflation has cooled notably in recent years, it remains elevated. Powell, along with several of his colleagues, has underscored the central bank must ensure new levies don’t lead to a more persistent bout of inflation.

Trump has rattled Wall Street by repeatedly criticizing Powell and suggesting he had the ability to remove the Fed Chair before the end of his term. US equities sank on Monday as traders weighed the chances Powell gets axed, with the S&P 500 Index falling more than 3%. Trump has privately asked his advisers about the possibility of removing Powell, while some administration officials have warned him against doing so, according to people familiar with the matter. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Friday told reporters that the president was studying the question of whether he’s able to fire Powell. While the US economy grew at a healthy clip last year — at a 2.4% pace in the fourth quarter — economists see a tariff-induced drop in business investment and consumption driving a slowdown later this year. Meanwhile, progress on cooling inflation back to the Fed’s 2% target had stalled, but price growth slowed again in March, with the consumer price index rising 2.4% from a year earlier. That cooling last month prompted a few Fed watchers, and Trump, to renew calls for the central bank to lower interest rates to get ahead of any slowdown in growth.

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What is "dark woke"? Just listen to Jasmine Crockett.

There was a time last summer when the Democratic Party was cool. Kamala Harris had just stepped in as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in the waning days of Brat summer. She went on the popular podcast “Call Her Daddy.” Tim Walz’s outdoorsy drip led to a Chappell Roan-inspired camo trucker hat. The memes were flowing, and the party’s mood was high. That moment has long passed. With Donald J. Trump back in the White House, the culture of dude-heavy pop-podcast programming, provocative insults and so-called masculine energy that helped him get there seems like the dominant one. And to some, the response from the left during the previous Trump era — defined by an earnest “resistance” to the president’s agenda — appears outdated and cringe. As liberals try to get their groove back, some party insiders say Democratic politicians have been encouraged to embrace a new form of combative rhetoric aimed at winning back voters who have responded to President Trump’s no-holds-barred version of politics.

It’s an attempt to step outside the bounds of the political correctness that Republicans have accused Democrats of establishing. And it requires being crass but discerning, rude but only to a point. Online, it has a name: “Dark woke.” “Republicans have essentially put Democrats in a respectability prison,” said Bhavik Lathia, a communications consultant and former digital director for the Wisconsin Democratic Party. “There is an extreme imbalance in strategy that allows Republicans to say stuff that really grabs voters’ attention, where we’re stuck saying boring pablum. I see this as a strategic shift within Democratic messaging — I’m a big fan of ‘dark woke.’” “Dark woke,” for now, is a meme that lives mostly online. But its roots have been sown throughout the party for years. In the waning days of the Biden administration, memes about “Dark Brandon” often referred to the version of the former president that conservatives most feared. Outside the party, the “dirtbag left,” the term for a cohort of leftists provocateurs who eschew civility politics, inspired headlines for their unrestrained derision of conservatives and liberals alike.

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Supreme Court appears to reject conservative argument over Obamacare provision by Hotze, Mitchell

A majority of the Supreme Court appeared inclined Monday to reject a conservative challenge to Obamacare, leaving in place the federal government’s authority to require insurers to cover everything from depression screenings to HIV prevention drugs at no cost to patients. And, in an odd twist, it was the Trump administration defending the health law that the president has spent more than a decade excoriating. Over an hour and a half of in-the-weeds arguments, the justices seemed to favor the administration’s position — that Obamacare’s coverage mandates are constitutional because the task force that recommends them is made up of members who can be ignored or fired at will by the health secretary.

But a favorable ruling will not necessarily be an unqualified win for Obamacare advocates, since it would still leave the current administration with significant sway over those requirements going forward. The high court’s decision, expected by June, could also jeopardize or even erase many of the preventive care requirements set since Obamacare’s inception — allowing insurance companies to charge co-pays for tens of millions of people. The Trump administration’s surprising defense of the Affordable Care Act, which President Donald Trump has long fought to repeal, seemed driven at least in part by a desire to maximize the authority of Trump’s Cabinet and avoid having a range of employees and advisers be subject to Senate confirmation. Deputy Solicitor General Hashim Mooppan said at least twice during Monday’s arguments that requiring the Senate’s involvement in such appointments would be unconstitutional. Notably, Jonathan Mitchell, who won a unanimous Supreme Court ruling last year that effectively ensured Trump remained on the 2024 ballot nationwide, represented the conservative Texas employers challenging the coverage requirements.

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State Stories

Colony Ridge gave Greg Abbott $1.5 Million. Here’s what Greg Abbott gave Colony Ridge.

When the Trump administration’s deportation raids began in Texas, the epicenter was Colony Ridge. In the first wave of raids alone, more than 100 illegals — including murder suspects, drug lords, sexual predators, and a confirmed cartel member — were nabbed by authorities in the infamous housing development, which ballooned as illegal immigrants flooded the state. The “fastest growing” development in the country markets cheap land to foreigners, and illegal immigrants took the bait: in an area where there was next to nothing less than a decade ago, there are now as many as 100,000 residents and more than 35,000 properties. Through its aggressive marketing of cheap land in the United States, it was projected to grow to a quarter of a million people. But the rapid growth of an illegal immigrant haven was not thanks to the marketing strategy alone: A Daily Wire investigation found that in 2018, Colony Ridge’s growth was supercharged by an Opportunity Zone designation awarded by the federal government following a direct plea from Texas Governor Greg Abbott

The Opportunity Zone program aims to spur development of low-income areas by offering investors significant tax breaks, including the deferral of capital gains taxes. Though Abbott has attempted to distance himself from Colony Ridge after its practices were exposed — his office was an active partner in the federal deportation raids — The Daily Wire found that the governor helped lay the economic groundwork that made the development’s explosive growth possible, and that developers donated to and built a relationship with Abbott as they worked to build Colony Ridge up to its current 34,000-acre footprint. This report is based on pages of previously unreleased communications, meeting logs, and other internal documents obtained by The Daily Wire through public records requests. It reveals that Abbott petitioned the federal government to secure the major tax incentive for Colony Ridge as the development’s backers made donations to his campaign, and paid multiple visits to the governor’s mansion. At least on paper, the relationship between Abbott and Trey Harris, the lead developer of Colony Ridge, began in 2018. On March 19 of that year, Celeste Harris, the developer’s wife, donated $100,000 to Abbott, according to state campaign finance records. That donation came just two days before the original deadline for states to nominate census tracts for opportunity zone status.

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What to know about Kevin Farrell, former Dallas bishop and acting head of the Vatican

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo and a former bishop of the Dallas Catholic Diocese, announced the death of Pope Francis early Monday. Farrell made the announcement, about two hours after Francis had died, from Domus Santa Marta, the apartment on Vatican grounds where Francis lived. As camerlengo, Farrell will take charge of the administration of the Holy See until a new pope is elected. Farrell spent nearly 10 years in Dallas, beginning in 2007, serving as the spiritual leader of the area’s Catholics. In 2016, he was elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis and appointed prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. He became the highest-ranking American clergyman in the Vatican when he took on his new role. On Jan. 1, 2024, he was appointed president of the Supreme Court of Vatican City. Here’s what to know about Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, in September 1947, Farrell is the second of four brothers and a graduate of the Irish Christian Brothers High School, according to the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. His brother, Bishop Brian Farrell, serves at the Vatican. Farrell joined the Legionnaires of Christ in 1966 and later earned degrees in philosophy and theology in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1978. He served as chaplain at the University of Monterrey in Mexico before joining the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., in 1984. There, he held various roles and was ordained auxiliary bishop in 2002. In 2007, he became bishop of the Dallas Catholic Diocese and served here for about 10 years. In Dallas, Farrell sought to bridge cultural and economic differences between Anglo and Latino Catholics. He delivered his first homily as bishop partly in English, partly in Spanish. (He is also fluent in Italian.) As he prepared to leave in 2016, he said Dallas had quickly became home to him, he had expected to retire here and that saying goodbye would be difficult. “The people are so friendly in Dallas. Coming from D.C., I really noticed that,” he told The Dallas Morning News as he was preparing to depart in 2016. “And some of the most generous people I have met in the United States live in Dallas. I’m going to miss that.”

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Texas Senate resurrects 'bathroom bill' barring trans people from using certain facilities

The Texas Senate is set to consider a bill that bars transgender individuals from using bathrooms and other private spaces aligning with their gender identity in public buildings, such as schools and government offices. Senate Bill 240 by Galveston Republican Sen. Mayes Middleton — dubbed the "Texas Women's Privacy Act" — directs state and local governments to prohibit people in public buildings from using restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities that do not correspond with the sex listed on their birth certificate. The provisions apply to spaces like the Texas Capitol, public schools and universities, city halls, county courthouses and public libraries. The bill also requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to house inmates in correctional facilities based on their sex as defined by the state. It also prohibits transgender women from accessing family-violence shelters designated for women.

The restrictions would not apply to single-occupancy spaces and the bill provides exceptions for young children and others who may need assistance for medical reasons. Any state or local government entity suspected to be in violation of SB 240 would be subject to investigation by the Texas attorney general and fines ranging from $5,000 up to $25,000 per day. The bill would also allow private citizens to sue over alleged violations. The Senate State Affairs Committee passed SB 240 earlier this month, and the full Senate could take up the bill as soon as Tuesday. Companion legislation across the Capitol, House Bill 239 by Spring Republican Rep. Valoree Swanson, has received the backing of 79 coauthors and four joint authors, a majority of the lower chamber. The House bill was referred to the State Affairs Committee but has not yet received a hearing. "What this bill does is protect women and children's safety and privacy in dedicated spaces," Middleton said while laying out the bill in committee. "Women and girls are finding their expectations of privacy increasingly compromised in spaces traditionally separated by sex." Proponents of so-called bathroom bills like SB 240 and HB 239 argue the legislation would protect women from encountering men in public restrooms, but such bills are often aimed at transgender people who would not be able to use facilities aligning with their gender identity.

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Texas purchases a 1,100-acre swath of land, with intent to create a new state park

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced Monday that it purchased 1,100 acres in Lampasas and Burnet counties, which will be used to create a new state park. The property is across the river from Colorado Bend State Park and includes 1.5 miles of Yancey Creek, limestone bluffs, and several natural springs, according to the announcement. This purchase comes just months after the agency acquired 2,020 acres in Burnet County to put toward the future park for a total of more than 3,000 acres in Central Texas. Both properties were purchased using a combination of a one-time funding appropriation and funds from sporting goods sales taxes, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The agency spent $35 million on the 2,020-acre swath of land and $12.1 million on the 1,100-acre property, according to a department spokesperson.

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Denton County commissioner wounded, husband killed in stabbing; grandson arrested

A Denton County commissioner was wounded and her husband was killed early Monday after police say they were stabbed by their grandson in their Lewisville home. Officers responded shortly before 4 a.m. to reports of an assault in progress at the home in the 1000 block of Springwood Drive. Lewisville Police Chief Brook Rollins said he believes the 911 call was made from someone inside the home — and that the dispatcher reported overhearing a struggle. When officers arrived at the scene roughly five minutes later, Rollins said they found Denton County commissioner Bobbie J. Mitchell and her husband, Fred Mitchell, wounded inside. Both were taken to the hospital, where Fred Mitchell, 75, died soon after, police said. Bobbie Mitchell, 76, was listed in stable condition.

Police identified the suspect as the couple’s 23-year-old grandson, Mitchell Blake Reinacher, who police said lived with his grandparents. Reinacher was taken into custody at the home without incident. He faces charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was being held at the Lewisville jail on $600,000 bond, according to jail records. It was not immediately clear what led to the attack. At a news conference, Lewisville Mayor TJ Gilmore said he visited Bobbie Mitchell in the hospital on Monday morning, and he expects her to make a full recovery. Gilmore described Fred Mitchell as a quiet but supportive husband who believed he had “married up.” “He was always there for Bobbie and the two of them were just such a dynamic couple,” Gilmore said. “She was the energy, but he was the power battery in the background, just making sure everything was running as it was supposed to.” Bobbie Mitchell was first elected to the Lewisville City Council in 1990, according to her biography on the city’s website. In 1993, she became the city’s first Black mayor, holding that office until resigning in January 2000 to run for the Precinct 3 post on the commissioners court.

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Brian H. Williams: Lowering age to purchase a gun in Texas is a lethal mistake

(Brian H. Williams is a trauma surgeon, former congressional health policy advisor who helped craft and pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill and a Moms Demand Action member.) Last week’s mass shooting at Dallas ISD’s Wilmer-Hutchins High School reminds us of the constant threat of gun violence Texas children and teens endure. This incident, thankfully without reported fatalities, happened against a grim reality. Since 2015, our state has been the site of three of the five deadliest mass shootings in the United States: Sutherland Springs, El Paso and Uvalde. While we await further details about the Wilmer-Hutchins High School shooting, the lethal combination of youth with easy access to firearms demands immediate attention. Unfortunately, there is a bill making its way through the Texas Legislature that may worsen the problem: House Bill 2470. HB 2470 would lower the legal age for carrying a handgun to 18 for those not otherwise restricted by law.

While proponents cite constitutional grounds and the ability of 18- to 20-year-olds to exercise other adult rights, including the Second Amendment, the potential risks are undeniable. Critics, myself included, believe this change will inevitably lead to more gun-related incidents within our communities such as suicides, homicides and mass shootings. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens aged 1 to 17, surpassing fatalities from motor vehicle collisions, cancer and drownings. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we reached this milestone in 2020, and firearms have remained the No. 1 cause of death in this age group through at least 2022, the last year with finalized data. Provisional CDC data indicates this trend continued into 2023. This makes the United States a tragic outlier, as the only high-wealth nation where firearms rank as the leading cause of death for its children and teens. Youth gun violence is a uniquely American crisis. Between 2014 and 2023, firearm suicides in the United States surged 40% among 18- to 20-year-olds, research shows. While precise figures for this vulnerable age group in Texas remain elusive due to inadequate state-level data collection, the trajectory of firearm suicide in our state suggests a similar increase. Overall firearm suicide rates in Texas climbed 40% from 1999 to 2021. The lack of specific data for young adults in Texas obscures a likely parallel crisis, hindering our ability to implement targeted prevention strategies for a demographic clearly at heightened risk nationwide. However, lowering the age to allow easier access to firearms to an already vulnerable group will likely worsen this trend.

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In city's most dramatic race, incumbent is called homophobic slur

Fort Worth council candidate Payton Jackson launched another salvo in her war of words against incumbent Chris Nettles, using a homophobic slur to describe the incumbent. Jackson’s attack came in a Facebook post accusing Nettles of a lack of toughness following an April 10 altercation between the two at a candidate forum in the Historic Southside neighborhood. Nettles acknowledged seeing the post in a text message to the Star-Telegram. “It has no merit. I don’t desire to fuel these false accusations. My priorities are on my family, District 8 and Fort Worth as a whole,” he said. Jackson’s post drew condemnation from the Tarrant County Democratic Party. Fort Worth’s mayoral and city council races are nonpartisan, however, Nettles has been associated with the Democratic Party in the past.

“This kind of rhetoric is not only deeply offensive — it is disqualifying for anyone seeking to serve in public office,” a party spokesperson said in a statement. The statement went on to condemn Jackson’s use of the slur, arguing she did not demonstrate the “maturity, integrity and respect” required to be a leader. Jackson sent a statement in response to a Star-Telegram question about her use of the slur. She accused the Tarrant County Democratic party of hypocrisy for its apparent support of Nettles. “This isn’t about decorum — it’s about control. They can’t handle that a candidate like me exists outside their leash,” Jackson said in her statement. She also posted a response to the Tarrant County Democrats on Facebook. “Save your selective outrage! I promised transparency! He IS EXACTLY WHAT I CALLED HIM,” Jackson said in her post. Both statements referenced Jackson’s December 2024 release of a 2-year-old audio clip of Nettles in which Nettles could be heard calling some of his colleagues racist. Nettles acknowledged his comments after the clip was released. In a statement he said the recording “may have been heavily edited” and was taken during a deeply emotional time for him.

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Why doesn't Texas law regulate police chases? State lawmakers, experts explain

Police chases, at their worst, are deadly. They tend to damage property. They can leave communities grieving. Most states — including Texas — have no idea how many chases happen within their own state beyond how highway troopers engage. Despite their prominence in policing and the risk they pose, there are no laws dictating how most Texas law enforcement agencies should carry out chases. In his 12 years as a state representative, Houston Democrat Gene Wu said he hasn’t heard much discussion among his colleagues seeking to address that. “The way I perceive it is that most cities have good policies on chases because it affects their bottom line,” Wu said. “When those chases go wrong and it kills innocent people, they pay, and they pay a lot. So, I think from my perspective — I won't speak for everyone — but the perspective is that it seems like something that the cities would take care of themselves to protect themselves.”

KERA News spoke to Wu and other state lawmakers in Austin last month as the clock ran out to file bills in the Texas Legislature. They, along with outside experts, offered some insight into what drives the lawmaking process in Texas and whether police chases – which killed nearly 100 people in Texas in 2022 – will ever be regulated statewide. Wu and others said it could happen — it’s just a matter of figuring out how and why. “If we could do something simple without ruining law enforcement, without making the public less safe, if we could make small changes that could save, I don't know, half the people out of the 100, we should, right?” Wu said. “Because if it's easy, it's cheap and it saves people's lives, we should absolutely do that.” The major existing police pursuit laws that apply statewide are the broad guidelines that govern troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety. They say troopers have a duty to drive safely, may be granted exceptions to traffic laws in emergency situations and can park their vehicles on medians. Other statutes indirectly address what law enforcement can and cannot do during pursuits. The Texas Transportation Code states anyone driving an emergency vehicle is not immune from the duty to drive “with appropriate regard for the safety of all persons” nor “the consequences of reckless disregard for the safety of others.”

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Plan for San Antonio-to-Austin trail is picking up steam, organizers say

A continuous walking trail from San Antonio to Austin is still years away, but the people behind the ambitious plan say progress is being made and the idea is now closer to reality. Called the Great Springs Project — and managed by a nonprofit with the same name — the plan envisions a 100-mile trail between the two cities, connecting the San Antonio Springs, Comal Springs, San Marcos Springs and Barton Springs, conserving open space over the Edwards Aquifer’s recharge zone and creating recreational opportunities in the fast-growing Interstate 35 corridor.

“The work has really accelerated over the last couple of years,” said Garry Merritt, CEO of the Great Springs Project. “We’ve been very grateful that there’s so much interest in local parks and trails. In every community, people are asking for places to be outside.” While the goal is to create an uninterrupted trail throughout the region, it will be made up of individual segments, building new trails to connect existing ones and working with cities, counties and individual landowners to connect the dots. More than 40 miles of trail are already in place, Merritt said. Another 30 miles have been planned, “and we are working with local governments on finding the funding to build those trails,” he said. “We are working with private landowners, developers and the Texas Department of Transportation for the trail on the remaining 30 miles,” he said.

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Texas legislation could weaken protections against frivolous lawsuits, warn free speech advocates

Free speech advocates in Texas are warning about new bills being considered in the state that they say would weaken protections for ordinary citizens and journalists against intimidating lawsuits. Lawsuits launched by powerful and deep-pocketed interests for the purpose of silencing and effectively harassing people exercising free speech rights are known as SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press describes SLAPPs as being filed "for intimidating and silencing criticism through expensive, baseless legal proceedings." The 2011 Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) was passed as a way to empower defendants against such suits, advocates say, but now they say it's under attack in a threat to free speech across the political spectrum.

The current law allows defendants who feel they are the victims of unfair SLAPP lawsuits to move to quickly dismiss them and be awarded attorneys' fees if successful. HB 2988, which is set to proceed to a hearing on Wednesday in the state's House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence committee, is being criticized as a way to gut the TCPA. "Any time someone exposes an uncomfortable truth or an opposing view, they can easily be a SLAPP victim, and these laws are the only things that give them power against the bullies in the courtroom," First Amendment attorney Laura Prather told Fox News Digital. "It's a form of judicial harassment, where you're really just trying to lock somebody up in a lengthy legal battle because they expressed an opinion that you didn't like or they exposed wrongdoing that you didn't like," she added. In journalism, anti-SLAPP laws are meant to protect journalists from being besieged by defamation or other lawsuits as a means of intimidation, given the expense and difficulty involved in being wrapped up in lengthy court proceedings. Under the TCPA, a speaker who had been sued in a SLAPP case that was dismissed would receive attorney's fees and costs, and the law also allowed the court to award sanctions against the plaintiff. However, HB 2988 would make the awarding of attorney's fees discretionary instead of mandatory, and potentially put a defendant on the hook for the plaintiff's legal fees at a judge's discretion.

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Life in prison for credit card skimming? How one Texas county took tough-on-crime laws to the next level

Edward Estrada’s client already had admitted to skimming — installing devices inside gas pumps to steal customers’ credit card information. But the Tyler lawyer wanted to make sure jurors understood that it didn’t rank with more serious financial crimes. As he prepared for the 2019 sentencing hearing, Estrada settled on a comparison. His client wasn’t nearly as bad as Enron, the giant Houston energy company whose executives misled investors for years, he stressed. While his client’s crimes cost victims collectively more than $150,000 — much of it reimbursed by banks — Enron lost billions. The Smith County jury apparently took the differences into account, but not in the way Estrada hoped. Enron executives faced sentences of 45 and 24 years. For his skimming, the jury sentenced Felipe Manuel Nieves-Perez to life in prison — “striking and alarming,” Estrada said.

The sentence wasn’t an outlier. In recent years, East Texas skimmers have received prison terms more commonly associated with violent criminals who commit murder or sexual assault. Jorge Rondon-Martinez was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his skimming crimes. Nelson Fernandez-Lopez received 45 years. Duniesky Gonzalez got 50. Yoelvis Herrera, 65. In addition to Nieves-Perez, at least two other men in Smith County — Fabrizio Slatineanu and Yoerlan Suarez-Corrales — have received sentences of life in prison for credit card skimming. Local law enforcement have trumpeted the stiff punishments as justice done right — an aggressive response to a problem that needed concentrated attention. Responding to a rash of local incidents, Smith County officials pushed for tough new state laws. A committed local prosecutor used them vigorously. And a new state-funded financial crimes center located in Tyler helped.

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National Stories

Pope Francis’ funeral to take place on Saturday

The funeral of Pope Francis will take place on Saturday morning, the Vatican said, announcing an event that is expected to draw tens of thousands of Catholic faithful, as well as world leaders including President Trump. Cardinals began meeting on Tuesday to prepare the funeral rites of the 88-year-old pontiff, who died on Monday morning in his apartment in the Vatican’s Santa Marta guesthouse. Pope Francis, still suffering from the effects of a life-threatening bout of pneumonia, died of a stroke and cardiac arrest. Francis’ passing set in motion centuries-old rituals. His death was ceremonially certified on Monday evening by the Vatican’s camerlengo, or chamberlain, who called the deceased pope’s name three times and broke his signet ring, the Fisherman’s Ring. The camerlengo, American Cardinal Kevin Farrell, also sealed the pope’s apartments with ribbon and red wax.

The Argentine-born Francis decreed that his funeral and the rituals that precede should be simpler than the elaborate affairs held for his predecessors. On Monday, his body was placed in a plain wooden coffin lined with zinc, as he requested. Past popes were placed in three coffins nested into each other. On Wednesday morning, the coffin will be carried from the chapel in Santa Marta chapel in a procession through the Vatican to St. Peter’s Basilica, where it will be put on display until the funeral. In another break with tradition, the pope asked to be buried outside the Vatican at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, a church in Rome that is home to an icon of the Virgin Mary he often prayed to. He asked for a simple tomb with a single-word inscription: Franciscus. The funeral will begin a nine-day mourning period. On Tuesday, cardinals arriving in Rome from around the world began a series of meetings known as the General Congregations, where the prelates will discuss the church’s priorities and assess who among them is best-placed to succeed Francis as head of the global Catholic Church and its estimated 1.4 billion faithful. The meetings are followed by the conclave in the Sistine Chapel, where the 135 cardinals who are eligible to vote, having not yet reached the age of 80, will enter seclusion until they elect a new pope. The conclave is expected to take place in early May.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene declares ‘evil is being defeated by the hand of God’ in apparent celebration of Pope Francis’s death

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) declared that “Evil is being defeated by the hand of God” on Monday morning in an apparent celebration of the death of Pope Francis on Monday morning. The 88-year-old pontiff passed away at his residence early Monday morning after a bevy of recent health struggles. “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church,” said the Vatican in a statement. “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”

Both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance — the latter of whom met with Francis on Easter Sunday — issued statements mourning the late pope, with Vance observing that he “was happy to see him yesterday” and Trump ordering that American flags on public grounds be flown at half-staff “as a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis.” But Greene, who has long been counted as one of Trump’s most steadfast allies in the House of Representatives, appears to hold another view. “Today there were major shifts in global leaderships,” she observed obliquely in a post on X. “Evil is being defeated by the hand of God.” The apparent meaning was not lost on observers. “Did not have ‘Thank God the Pope is finally dead, evil has been vanquished’ on my Bingo card of reactions, but MTG always aims to grab the headlines,” mused National Review‘s Jeff Blehar.

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Millionaire tax would generate about $400 billion in revenue

A Republican proposal to impose a tax hike on millionaires offers to generate about $400 billion over a decade, according to two new estimates provided to Bloomberg News, providing fresh revenue to partially offset the cost of the party’s multi-trillion-dollar tax package. The Budget Lab at Yale projects that taxing income over $1 million at a 40% rate would generate $420 billion over a decade. The Tax Foundation in its own preliminary analysis finds that the new bracket would raise $358 billion over the same 10-year period, according to Garrett Watson, the director of policy analysis for the think tank.

The two estimates from non-partisan think tanks differ slightly because each group uses different assumptions about economic performance. But the figures suggest that the creation of a millionaire tax bracket could help President Donald Trump enact some of his campaign trail pledges, including eliminating taxes on tips, which is estimated to cost $118 billion over ten years. Lawmakers are slated to return to Washington next week following a two-week recess, with their top priority crafting a package to renew Trump’s 2017 cuts for households and closely held businesses. They’re also discussing new priorities, including ending taxation on overtime pay and new tax breaks for seniors and car buyers. No taxes on overtime pay would cost at least $680 billion over ten years, according to the Tax Foundation.

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Pete Hegseth, isolated and defiant, has Trump’s backing for now

President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed a deepening controversy surrounding Pete Hegseth, declaring the embattled defense secretary is “doing a great job” despite seismic dysfunction within the Pentagon amid political infighting, numerous firings, and reports he divulged to his wife, brother and lawyer the highly sensitive details of an imminent military operation. The turmoil elicited a rebuke from at least one Republican lawmaker, who labeled the situation a “meltdown,” and called into question how long Trump’s affection for the increasingly isolated and defiant Cabinet pick will last. Pentagon officials have watched the unraveling of Hegseth’s inner circle with alarm, concerned how it would function in a national security emergency and wondering whether the president may be forced to act. “The president always expresses support for his team — right until he doesn’t and you read about it in the tweet the next day,” said one person familiar with Trump’s thinking, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the crisis.

Speaking outside the White House, Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and National Guard veteran, defended himself angrily. He lambasted the news media for publishing “a bunch of hit pieces” that were seeded, he suggested, by the officials whom he had fired for leaking to reporters. The anonymous sources in those stories, Hegseth assessed without providing evidence, are “disgruntled former employees” colluding with journalists to “slash and burn people, and ruin their reputations.” “It’s not going to work with me,” Hegseth vowed on the sidelines of the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, saying the newly surfaced accusations about his advance disclosure of attack plans “doesn’t matter.” He added that he and Trump had spoken and that they are “on the same page all the way.” The uproar follows a report Sunday by the New York Times indicating Hegseth on March 15 had shared the timing and other key aspects of a bombing campaign in Yemen with a small group of people that included his wife, Jennifer, brother, Phil, and personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, using the encrypted — but unclassified — messaging application Signal. That coincided with a related controversy in which Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, unwittingly included the Atlantic magazine’s top editor in a separate Signal group used by numerous senior administration officials to coordinate the Yemen strikes. Hegseth disclosed highly sensitive details there, too — information that former defense officials have assessed typically would be highly classified and restricted to only a small number of people.

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135 cardinals will elect the next pope. Francis picked 108 of them.

As more than a billion Catholics mourn the death of Pope Francis, cardinals around the world are preparing to travel to Rome to begin the solemn tradition of choosing a new pontiff. And when the prelates gather at the Vatican in the coming weeks to elect a new Bishop of Rome, Francis, who died at age 88 on April 21, stands to have an outsize impact on the vote. That’s because, unlike some of his predecessors, Francis has appointed the overwhelming majority of clerics who can cast a ballot in the conclave — namely, members of the College of Cardinals who are under age 80. He crossed a crucial threshold in September 2023, when he finally appointed enough voting-eligible cardinals over the course of his papacy to constitute more than two-thirds of voting members in a conclave, the margin required to elect a pope under the current rules.

And according to an analysis by Religion News Service, as of April 21, of the 135 members of the College of Cardinals eligible to vote, 108 — 80% — were appointed by Francis. An additional 16.3% were appointed by Pope Benedict, and only 3.7% were tapped by Pope John Paul II. By comparison, when Francis was elected pope in 2013, 57.9% had been appointed by his recently retired processor, Pope Benedict. An additional 42.1% were appointed by Pope John Paul II. The current electorate is also more geographically diverse than in years past. In 2013, for instance, Italian cardinals alone made up nearly a quarter of voting members at the conclave, but they only constitute 12.6% of those eligible in the coming conclave. Meanwhile, prelates hailing from Asia expanded from 8.8% in 2013 to 17% today, and representatives from Africa have also increased their numbers from 8.8% to 13.3%.

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Hundreds of scholars say U.S. is swiftly heading toward authoritarianism

A survey of more than 500 political scientists finds that the vast majority think the United States is moving swiftly from liberal democracy toward some form of authoritarianism. In the benchmark survey, known as Bright Line Watch, U.S.-based professors rate the performance of American democracy on a scale from zero (complete dictatorship) to 100 (perfect democracy). After President Trump's election in November, scholars gave American democracy a rating of 67. Several weeks into Trump's second term, that figure plummeted to 55. "That's a precipitous drop," says John Carey, a professor of government at Dartmouth and co-director of Bright Line Watch. "There's certainly consensus: We're moving in the wrong direction."

Carey said the decline between November and February was the biggest since Bright Line Watch began surveying scholars on threats to American democracy in 2017. In the survey, respondents consider 30 indicators of democratic performance, including whether the government interferes with the press, punishes political opponents and whether the legislature and the judiciary can check executive authority. Not all political scientists view Trump with alarm, but many like Carey who focus on democracy and authoritarianism are deeply troubled by Trump's attempts to expand executive power over his first several months in office. "We've slid into some form of authoritarianism," says Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard, and co-author of How Democracies Die. "It is relatively mild compared to some others. It is certainly reversible, but we are no longer living in a liberal democracy."

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Government watchdog drops inquiries into mass firings of probationary workers

The independent government agency charged with protecting federal workers’ rights will drop its inquiry into the more than 2,000 complaints that the Trump administration had improperly fired probationary employees, according to emailed notices received by five workers and reviewed by The New York Times. The agency, the Office of Special Counsel, told affected employees that it had concluded that it could not pursue the claims of unlawful termination in part because they were fired not for individual cause, but en masse as part of President Trump’s “governmentwide effort to reduce the federal service.” The decision effectively eliminates one of the few avenues government employees had to challenge their terminations. It comes as Mr. Trump has forced out the office’s leader and replaced him for now with a loyal member of his cabinet, Doug Collins, the secretary of veterans affairs.

The office is charged with protecting whistle-blowers from retaliation, which is the reason for its independent status and a Senate-confirmed leader. But it also scrutinizes other employment-related issues, including investigations into claims of prohibited personnel practices, or PPPs, such as discrimination, nepotism or an attempt to coerce political activity. Reached for comment, the Office of Special Counsel declined to say how many of the more than 2,000 fired probationary employees with pending complaints actually received the notice. Experts in federal employment law said the justifications to end the investigations were baffling at best. Nick Bednar, an administrative law expert at the University of Minnesota, said that on one hand, the office argues that it is not moving forward with investigations into whether these probationary employees were removed unlawfully for poor performance because they were fired as a class and not as individuals.

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Lead Stories

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff who ministered with a charming, humble style, dies at 88

Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change, died Monday. He was 88. Bells tolled in church towers across Rome after the announcement, which was read out by Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta, where Francis lived. “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,? Ferrell said. Francis, who suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14, 2025, for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.

But he emerged on Easter Sunday — his last public appearance, a day before his death — to bless thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square and treat them to a surprise popemobile romp through the piazza, drawing wild cheers and applause. Beforehand, he met briefly with U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Francis performed the blessing from the same loggia where he was introduced to the world on March 13, 2013 as the 266th pope. From his first greeting that night — a remarkably normal “Buonasera” (“Good evening”) — to his embrace of refugees and the downtrodden, Francis signaled a very different tone for the papacy, stressing humility over hubris for a Catholic Church beset by scandal and accusations of indifference. After that rainy night, the Argentine-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio brought a breath of fresh air into a 2,000-year-old institution that had seen its influence wane during the troubled tenure of Pope Benedict XVI, whose surprise resignation led to Francis’ election.

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Texas utility regulators could make grid history with 'superhighway' lines

Texas is facing a $30 billion question about the future of its electric grid: Is it time to create a new, stronger backbone that can grow along with the booming demand for electricity? Or should it stick with the current system and run the risk of playing catch-up a short time later? Utility regulators this week could decide between expanding the grid with more of the 345,000-volt power lines that have crisscrossed Texas for 65 years or starting a new system that can carry more than twice as much voltage. In simpler terms, they’ll be considering whether the grid should start moving more electricity across Texas on a new system of high-speed multi-lane superhighways or keep expanding its system of smaller, two-lane roads.

It’s a key question. Texas already is dealing with overcrowded transmission lines that pose risks to reliability and could even cause cascading blackouts from a single overtaxed circuit near San Antonio. It comes as data centers are flocking to the state in search of massive amounts of power — and as population growth and increasingly severe weather are already testing the grid’s limits. The latest estimates suggest demand will grow an unprecedented 75% by the end of the decade. Grid experts worry that without the new approach, the state risks seeing its grid falling further behind its pace of growth. “We’re at a pivotal point to decide,” Kristi Hobbs, a system planner with state grid operator the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, told regulators earlier this year. “Do we want to continue building the system the way we always did, or do we want to consider a higher voltage that will set us up for the future?”

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Texas tort reform proposal could curb pricey verdicts in personal injury cases. Here's why

Texas Republican lawmakers are pushing to overhaul how juries award damages in personal injury and wrongful death cases, generating a flurry of spending on advertisements for and against the proposal by business and legal groups. Senate Bill 30, by Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, aims to restrain a “rise in substantial verdicts” by limiting the medical costs that plaintiffs can claim to 300% of Medicare reimbursement rates and raising the standard of evidence for noneconomic damages for mental anguish and physical pain and suffering. The tort reform bill would address “a fundamental unfairness in civil trials over torts” and “an unstable legal environment that is driving up costs for Texas families and businesses,” Schwertner, an orthopedic surgeon, told his colleagues on the Senate floor.

The Senate passed the measure by a 20-11 party-line vote Wednesday evening, advancing the bill to the House. Introduced soon after the state’s new business courts began operating, SB 30 is part of a broader effort by Republican state leaders to make Texas more attractive to corporations by limiting avenues for costly litigation against businesses. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the three-term Republican who presides over the Senate, has designated the bill a priority alongside SB 31, which would make it harder for shareholders to sue publicly-traded companies, and SB 39, which would change how and when trucking companies can be held liable for accidents involving their drivers. All three bills are supported by Texans for Lawsuit Reform, an influential political action committee that received $1 million from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in October. Musk moved both companies’ headquarters to the Austin area last year.

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How Texas officials invited the rigging of the State Lottery

In 2023, professional bettors in Europe were trying to find an American partner to help pull off an audacious plan to buy up virtually every ticket ahead of just the right lottery draw in the United States. Then something remarkable happened in Texas. Officials in Austin essentially blessed the rigging of their own state lottery. “What we had was a criminal enterprise within our government,” said State Senator Bob Hall, a Republican investigating the caper. In a state known for its aversion to government regulation, the successful manipulation of a Texas lottery has taken on deep meaning. The Texas Senate has held hearings. Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered investigations. The Texas House zeroed out the funding for the state lottery in its budget this month. Still, with their winnings in the tens of millions of dollars, the perpetrators remain very much unscathed. Just how the Texas lottery was fixed in 2023 has been explored by news outlets and in state capitol hearing rooms. But less understood is the key role of state regulators. The Times has unearthed new details and video evidence that underscore just how integral the state’s lottery commission was in helping to secure a jackpot. In plain view of the authorities, the founders of Colossus Bets, a British bookmaker, worked with a struggling American start-up called Lottery.com and two other firms to buy virtually every combination of possible numbers and ensure a win that April.

But they could only do so because lottery officials looked the other way when it came to potential violations of lottery rules and expedited the delivery of dozens of new lottery terminals to print out tens of millions of paper tickets. They hit the jackpot, $95 million, after purchasing nearly 26 million tickets for $1 each. The state lottery commission presented it as a win-win: The bettors in Europe ensured every ticket would be sold, a boon worth tens of millions of dollars to the state’s public schools, which get a cut of the proceeds. Editors’ Picks Our 17 Most Lemony Recipes It’s Springtime on Polaris-9b, and the Exoflowers Are Blooming Hitting the Trails on the Wilder Side of a Party Island But some elected officials see the lottery scheme differently, as an international conspiracy with the collusion of state officials. “It just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” Mr. Hall said. To high-stakes international gamblers looking for a big play, the Texas lottery was a good bet. Lotto Texas had a relatively low number of possible ticket combinations, around 25.8 million number mixes, and a low price per ticket, $1. (In comparison, the odds of the Powerball are about one in 300 million.) Buying them all could be worth it for a large enough jackpot.

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State Stories

Texas legislators say abortion clarification bill will help. Advocates, survivors disagree

Texas legislators, along with anti-abortion rights advocates and some medical providers, have applauded two bills aimed at clarifying the exceptions to the state’s abortion ban. Proponents of the bill say it would help doctors provide necessary medical care to patients experiencing pregnancy complications or emergencies. But a number of abortion rights activists, including Texas women who have been denied abortion care, say the clarification bills aren’t all they’re made out to be — and could usher in a new era of abortion crackdowns. “Any risk that Texans could be prosecuted as a result of this bill is too high and a risk we are not willing to take,” Yaneth Flores, public policy director at abortion advocacy group Avow Texas, said at a virtual news conference.

The two identical bills — Senate Bill 31 and House Bill 44 — are known as the “Life of the Mother Act.” They have garnered support from an unusually broad array of people, including anti-abortion rights advocates, some medical groups and medical providers. At public hearings, some speakers criticized the bills for not including additional exceptions. Texas’ abortion ban does not allow for abortions in cases of rape, incest or fatal fetal anomalies, and clarifying language would not change that. But advocates say it’s more than just the lack of exceptions. They worry that, by modifying the language of a century-old abortion ban, the clarification bills could effectively resurrect the old law. And that could mean renewed criminalization of women who seek abortions, as well as those who support those individuals. “Texas has become a dangerous place for pregnant women and for the people who love them,” said Hollie Cunningham, who went out-of-state twice for abortion care, at a virtual news conference. “And now, this new bill with the 1925 language intact could open the door to prosecuting women or their loved ones for seeking care.” Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth and the author of House Bill 44, said at a public hearing in early April that it is “not my intent to backdoor the 1925 law.”

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Texas says measles cases rise to 597 since late January

The Texas Department of State Health Services on Friday, reported 597 measles cases in the state since late January, an increase of 36 since the update on Tuesday. The department said the outbreak is primarily in West Texas and added that 4% or fewer than 30 of the confirmed cases are estimated to be actively infectious since their rash onset date was less than a week ago.

Earlier this week, the department reported 561 cases in the state, as the U.S. government said it was sending seven people to the state to help battle the outbreak of the childhood disease. The total number of patients hospitalized since the outbreak rose by four to 62 and the total deaths remained at two, which were school-aged children living in the outbreak area. The Texas department also added that additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities, due to the highly contagious nature of this disease.

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John Moritz: Cecile Richards unsettled the Texas House four months after her death. Here's why.

The Texas House on Thursday passed up the opportunity to honor the life and memory of former Austin Mayor and Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton. The same day it also declined to honor the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston. And there was no formal House remembrance for George William Strake Jr., the former Texas secretary of state who later chaired the state Republican Party when it was just starting to get a toehold on state government. Nor was there one for L. Clifford Davis, a pioneering Black judge from Fort Worth who 71 years ago helped outlaw segregation in the nation's public schools. The events that led to those four and 14 others who had recently died not getting honored had nothing to do with their politics, the quality of their accomplishments or how they chose to live their lives.

But those events had everything to do with the one other person whose name was also listed on the House Memorial Resolutions Calendar for April 17: Cecile Richards. State Rep. Donna Howard, an Austin Democrat, in February filed a resolution to honor Richards, the daughter of the late Gov. Ann Richards, who died Jan. 20 at 67 after battling brain cancer. In her own right, the younger Richards was best known for being the national president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund for 12 years ending in 2018. As is the Texas House custom, sets of memorial resolutions are bundled together and adopted without much controversy in the early moments of the daily floor sessions. And typically, there's no common theme among the names bundled together, other than they had belonged to people of some prominence with a Texas connection. But Richards' presence on the list was a nonstarter for a cadre of Republican House members because Planned Parenthood operates clinics that perform legal abortions in other states. It also provides such health services as cervical and breast cancer screenings, but the objection to Richards focused on abortion.

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Ted Cruz is taking aim at daylight saving. But should the country have darker evenings or mornings?

President Donald Trump wants Republicans to institute permanent daylight saving time so the country has forever-lighter evenings, but he could face a problem with politicians like U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. The Texas Republican, who represents a state that spreads almost 800 miles from east to west, says he's all for doing away with the twice annual changing of the clocks but is not sold on where to set the time. As chair of the Senate Commerce, Transportation and Science Committee, Cruz has opened discussion on the merits of permanently shifting clocks back an hour amid studies showing dark mornings in places that sit on the far end of their time zone - like West Texas - leads to higher rates of mental and other health problems.

"There are very real and complicated issues and countervailing arguments on both sides. I think there is widespread agreement on locking the clock but where to lock it? That's the reason we're holding these hearings," he said last week. For years, Congress has debated the pros and cons of a more than century-old practice that people universally complain about, but politicians have largely been reluctant to take action on. But the topic has gained momentum in recent years, with Trump frequently opining on the issue and state legislatures around the country, including Texas, considering an end to the time changes. In 2022, the U.S. Senate passed legislation from now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio that would have made daylight saving time permanent, meaning darker mornings and lighter evenings. But the bill failed to gather momentum in the U.S. House — some senators later said they voted for it unknowingly as part of the unanimous consent process where senators vote for large volumes of bills at once. That bill was reintroduced this year by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. with bipartisan support. It got a boost on Friday when Trump urged Congress on Truth Social to "push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day." But there remains a significant divide, with Cruz and other senators representing areas on the western edges of their time zones — like Sen. Mike Young, an Indiana Republican — questioning whether settling on standard time makes more sense. The choice has the potential to make a lot of difference to constituents.

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Houston-Dallas high-speed rail line moving ahead even after Trump pulls grants

Texans could ride high-speed rail from Houston to Dallas as soon as 2032. The new investors behind Texas Central offered that positive outlook to state lawmakers on Thursday, saying the beleaguered bullet train is still viable and shovel-ready even after the Trump administration pulled a $64 million grant this week and cancelled a partnership with Amtrak. John Kleinheinz, the CEO of Fort-Worth based Kleinheinz Capital Partners that recently assumed a controlling interest in the project, cast the latest developments as a good thing. “Amtrak has been trying to get control of our deal and it would have been terrible for Texas,” Kleinheinz said in an interview. “ It would've been terrible for us because government procurement rules make it so expensive to do a project like this.”

Kleinheinz said he believes the Trump administration is “interested in this deal” if it comes from the private sector. On Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy appeared to agree. “I love high-speed rail,” he told Fox News. “Let’s try to find projects in America where we can build high-speed rail but do it efficiently and bring in the private sector to make those investments, not the taxpayer.” A major question has been whether the project, which has been trying to connect Houston and Dallas since 2009, can get off the ground without any taxpayer support. Before Amtrak’s involvement, the high-speed rail project appeared all but dead. In 2022, shortly after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Texas Central could use eminent domain to acquire property for the project, its CEO resigned and the board disbanded. Peter LeCody, the president of Texas Rail Advocates, a nonprofit dedicated to developing rail service across the state, said Kleinheinz’s involvement puts “the high-speed rail project back in the game again. They're down to the 10-yard line.” The last play of that game, LeCody said, is securing financing for the project — last estimated at $30 billion — and getting final approval from the federal Surface Transportation Board. The project already has completed a full environmental review, required by federal law.

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Texas bill requires oil drillers to tell landowners about toxic waste pits

A bill in the Texas Legislature would require oil and gas drillers to notify landowners before burying toxic waste on their property. In addition, House Bill 4572 would strengthen other regulations for reserve pits, where oil and gas companies permanently bury waste next to drilling sites. The Texas House Energy Resources Committee heard testimony on the bill this week. The bill builds on a change the Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates the oil and gas industry, completed late last year to update the state’s oilfield waste regulations. State Rep. Penny Morales Shaw, who filed the bill, said it would introduce “safeguards” for the state’s groundwater and property owners. Landowners, advocates and an oilfield waste professional spoke in favor of the bill this week at the state Capitol. A representative of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association spoke in opposition to the bill.

“Ranch owners can pour their life savings into their dream homestead, only later to find out that they bought a toxic waste reserve,” said Morales Shaw, a Democrat who represents parts of Houston and northern Harris County. “This bill will afford landowners the opportunity to make an informed decision and to know when their interests are at risk.” The waste streams from the oil and gas industry have evolved since the widespread adoption of fracking. Oil-based muds and lubricants are now used to frack wells. Waste from wells can be laced with carcinogens including benzene and arsenic. The bill is pending in the Energy Resources Committee and faces several hurdles to passage by the full House, if it is voted out of committee. A companion bill, Senate Bill 3017, was introduced by state Sen. José Menéndez, a Democrat from San Antonio. The Senate bill has not yet received a hearing. The clock is ticking to June 2, the last day of the Texas legislative session.

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Tesla cut jobs, faced fines — here’s why it still calls 2024 a growth year

Employment at Tesla Inc.’s headquarters and factory in Austin fell 7% in 2024 after companywide layoffs last spring dented the electric-vehicle maker’s big workforce. Though the company later added back 6,378 jobs, Tesla said it finished the year with 21,191 employees at the sprawling complex where it assembles the Model Y, Cybertruck and advanced batteries. That was down from 22,777 jobs at the end of 2023. The numbers from Tesla’s annual compliance report to Travis County show that as job totals fell, investment in the complex about 10 miles east of downtown Austin continued. The company said it spent about $1.35 billion last year, pushing total investment in the 2,514-acre development legally known as Colorado River Project LLC to $5.75 billion. About $3.8 billion of that was for construction, improvements and equipment, while another $1.9 billion was to acquire land.

Tesla said the spending and hiring are evidence it “has made progress in fulfilling its goal of building Gigafactory Texas into one of the most sustainable and productive clean energy manufacturing facilities in the world.” The company is off to another rough start in 2025, with share prices tanking and vandals attacking dealerships amid backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s activities in far-right politics and his role as head of the Trump administration’s job-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. Tesla vehicle sales slumped 13% in the first three months of the year, its slowest quarter since the first half of 2022. Amid slow sales last April, Musk said the company was cutting 10% from its global workforce of about 140,000 people, a reduction it later reported removed 2,700 people from its Austin operations. The subsequent job growth also was slower than the pace in 2023, when the company added 10,500 jobs as it geared up to produce Cybertruck and increase work on batteries.

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Jay Blazek Crossley: Want cars to slow down on your neighborhood street? Support this bill.

(Jay Blazek Crossley is the executive director of Farm&City, a statewide nonprofit think-and-do tank dedicated to high-quality urban and rural human habitat in Texas, in perpetuity.) We live in a time when it often feels like we’re being forced to pick sides — urban vs. rural, drivers vs. cyclists, liberal vs. conservative. But traffic deaths don’t pick sides. We are all vulnerable, whether we’re crossing the street, driving to work, using a wheelchair or biking to school. And most Texans, regardless of politics, agree on one thing: we want a transportation system that protects our lives. That’s why there is potential for a bipartisan suite of actions to improve traffic safety at the Texas Capitol this session around traffic safety. Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have proposed bills and are advancing some to prevent crashes and give local governments the tools they need to make streets safer. That includes much needed funding for separating at-grade rail crossings, which was championed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state Sen. Carol Alvarado. However, any bills that do not move through committees soon will not make it into law, squandering another opportunity for the Legislature to play its crucial role in reducing the high rates of deaths and injury on our streets and roads.

One set of companion bills that deserves immediate passage is the Safe Neighborhood Streets bill: HB 5253 by Representative Rafael Anchia and SB 2725 by Senators Molly Cook, Royce West, and Judith Zaffirini. This legislation would allow Texas cities to more easily lower speed limits to 20 or 25 miles per hour on narrow, two-lane neighborhood streets. These are the small local streets where kids play, neighbors walk their dogs, and residents live their daily lives. Counties already have this authority in unincorporated areas. Cities don’t. That makes no sense and has real consequences. Over 15 years ago, I was told by Houston Public Works that they had studied the issue and determined that lowering residential street speeds to 25 mph would reduce crashes and improve traffic flow. But city leaders realized that under current state law, they’d have to install costly signs on both ends of every block — an effort estimated to cost millions. As a result, the plan was shelved. Houston neighborhoods were left with 30 mph speed limits, even though local engineers knew 25 mph would save lives. Why does that matter? Because small changes in speed have massive effects on survival. If I’m driving and I hit a pedestrian while going 23 mph, they have a 75% chance of survival. At 31 mph, their chances drop to just 50%. At 58 mph, it’s 10%. The science is clear: lower speeds save lives.

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As Texas weighs banning consumable hemp containing THC, Austin shop sees 'stock buying'

Smoke shops in Austin are seeing customers panic-buy consumable hemp products after two proposals in the Texas Legislature threaten to upend Texans' right to "puff, puff, pass" smokable and edible products containing low levels of THC. Senate Bill 3, authored by state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, would ban Texas businesses from selling or manufacturing “a consumable hemp product that contains any amount of a cannabinoid other than cannabidiol (CBD) or cannabigerol (CBG),” both of which are non-psychoactive compounds, meaning they don't produce the "high" feeling. The Senate last month passed SB 3, which is priority legislation for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the upper chamber. The House State Affairs Committee heard testimony on the bill April 7 and left the proposal pending.

Estella Castro, who owns Austinite Cannabis Co. on East Cesar Chavez Street, has seen many senior citizens and veterans “stock buying” consumable hemp products since SB 3 and House Bill 28, which also seeks to restrict the products, move through the Legislature. The House State Affairs Committee also heard testimony on HB 28 on April 7. “It’s terrible to have somebody thinking that (these products) are going to go away and they're on a fixed income, and they have to budget that gummy or that tincture in there,” Castro said. “So we've been giving some veterans ... discounts because we've had such a huge amount of people coming out and stock buying because they're scared.” In 2019, a law sponsored by Perry legalized the production, manufacturing and sale of hemp in Texas, and inadvertently approved consumable products with up to 0.3% THC, the primary psychoactive component in the cannabis plant. In just six years, the Texas hemp industry created over 53,000 jobs and represents an estimated economic impact of $10 billion, according to Austin Monthly. More than 8,000 businesses, including everything from gas stations, convenience stores, vape shops, dispensaries and apothecaries, sell a similarly wide range of THC products in the state. SB 3, however, would ban all consumable hemp products, including gummies, pre-rolls, smokable flower and infused drinks. HB 28, authored by Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, would ban all smokable and edible consumable hemp products except for infused drinks. The bill would bring the regulation of those drinks under the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

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IRS investigated church led by Trump advisor Robert Jeffers

President Trump told reporters on Thursday (April 17) that multiple pastors who gathered for a White House Easter service this week had complained about being investigated by the IRS over the past four years. “They said, ‘Sir, I was targeted by the IRS, and the FBI came in, sir, and I’ve been going through Hell for years,'” Trump said in a discussion in the Oval Office about his threat to revoke the tax exempt status of Harvard University. Religion News Service reached out to the pastors who attended the service to corroborate Trump’s account. Most did not immediately respond, but Pastor Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, confirmed in an email that he told Trump at the event that he had been investigated by the IRS.

“I told the President that our church was the subject of an IRS investigation launched under the Biden administration that spanned several years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars due to complaints from the Freedom From Religion Foundation,” Jeffress wrote. “The case was ultimately resolved in our favor.” For years, advocates for the separation of church and state have urged the Internal Revenue Service to hold churches that endorse political candidates accountable, saying that such endorsements violate a provision of the U.S. tax code, known as the Johnson amendment, that bars nonprofits from taking sides in electoral campaigns. Little has come of those concerns, as the IRS has long been reluctant to investigate churches. Asked for documentation proving that the investigation occurred, Jeffress said his church is turning all of the documentation regarding the investigation over to the White House, adding that “any release of that information will come from them.” The White House did not immediately provide documentation when asked by RNS, saying they were looking into the matter.

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New White House COVID website pushing Ted Cruz's pandemic views attacks Fauci on virus origins

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has publicly feuded for years with former top infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the White House and President Donald Trump are pushing Cruz’s view that the pandemic stemmed from a “lab leak” in Wuhan, China. The White House on Friday launched a new website replacing covid.gov, which previously held information on vaccines and at-home testing, that now touts the lab leak theory and points to "failures" of governmental responses to the pandemic. The new site criticizes mask mandates, social distancing and lockdowns.

The lab leak theory pushed by the president — which proposes that the COVID-19 virus was released, intentionally or unintentionally, while Chinese scientists were experimenting with such pathogens — is disputed in scientific articles at a National Institutes of Health website. The idea has been named a conspiracy theory by numerous scientists who say the pandemic originated from animals at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. Throughout the pandemic, Cruz and GOP lawmakers targeted Fauci and accused him of lying about the origins of COVID. In an emailed statement, a Cruz spokesperson said: "Both the FBI and the U.S. Department of Energy — under Joe Biden — explicitly concluded that a Chinese lab leak was the most likely cause of the COVID-19 pandemic." In 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy and the FBI said that COVID-19 was the result of a lab mishap, though the Energy Department's conclusion was made with "low confidence" and the FBI's with moderate confidence, according to the Wall Street Journal, who reported the story first at the time.

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Austin Metcalf’s father tells ‘Protect White Americans’ leader he’s creating racial divide

Bruce Carter had a message to deliver. At a protest in the parking lot of David Kuykendall Stadium, Carter pulled out his phone and dialed Jeff Metcalf, the father whose 17-year-old son was fatally stabbed in the stadium’s bleachers weeks earlier — a case that has sparked racist discourse online and thrust two grieving families into the national spotlight. Carter wanted Jake Lang to hear from Metcalf himself, after Lang came to Frisco from Florida to rally around the death of Metcalf’s son. Lang, a U.S. Senate hopeful, said Metcalf’s son was now a symbol of a “violent Black culture” being perpetrated against “white America.” “You’re trying to create more race divide than bridging the gap,” Metcalf told Lang over speakerphone, addressing Lang and the protest held by his organization, Protect White Americans.

“I do not condone anything you do,” the father continued, asking Lang to remove his son’s school portrait from the group’s website. The rebuke from Metcalf — who confirmed to The News he was on the other side of the phone call — marked the father’s sharpest pushback yet against the racially-charged narratives that have proliferated online since the April 2 stabbing. The day after his son’s death, he appeared on Fox News to urge the public to avoid speculation along racial lines. Austin Metcalf was white. The teenager facing a murder charge in connection to the stabbing, Karmelo Anthony, 17, is Black. The father’s remarks come days after his home was “swatted” due to a false emergency call to law enforcement and after he was escorted out of a news conference where Anthony’s family spoke publicly about the case for the first time. Carter and Metcalf met at the Thursday news conference, and Carter later decided to speak with Lang on Metcalf’s behalf at the protest. Carter is a Dallas entrepreneur who owns a public relations firm, according to his website. He has been active in local politics and has campaigned for President Donald Trump. In the past, he ran a group called Black Men for Bernie, referring to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.

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Infertility rates continue to rise, experts say early fertility education could help

Experts say infertility numbers continue to rise each year, and studies show 7 in 10 women still have not spoken with their physician about their fertility health. In 2023, the fertility rate in Texas was 60.6 per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44. In Texas, birth rates declined significantly; in 2007, Texas had a 79.2 birth rate compared to 61.9 in 2022. “Infertility numbers are increasing; we know that there’s a lot of reasons for that, but probably the biggest one is that people, and for a lot of good reasons, are waiting longer and longer to start their families,” said Dr. David Prokai, a Fertility Specialist with Aspire Fertility in Austin. Prokai said the drop might be linked to education, explaining that most patients don’t think to ask about their fertility until they’re ready to start a family.

“Infertility is estimated to affect one in six couples, which is so crazy if you think that you have at least six friends, you know, and per the odds, at least one of them is having some issues with fertility,” Prokai said. Prokai said when discussing fertility with patients, the number one thing he and other physicians stress is that nobody is immune to age-related decline. It is normal, natural, and affects all. “We need to know that potentially, we could be facing some difficulties if we’re trying to grow our family above the age of 35 or if we’re closer to 40. I think that’s not emphasized enough, certainly in fertility education,” Prokai said. Prokai said that age-related infertility is a case-by-case situation. Yes, there will be women who conceive at age 40 or even older, but every woman’s body is different, and conceiving from the age of 35 and above can have its difficulties. “I think the perfect time to discuss fertility with your physician is, if you think about it, if it’s even like a small inkling or twinkling that you’re like, should I ask? You definitely should,” Prokai said.

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Thousands across Texas join ‘50501’ protests against the Trump administration

Demonstrators filled cities across Texas over the weekend as part of the 50501 Movement. The coordinated, nationwide protest against President Donald Trump’s administration saw major turnouts in Houston, Austin, Fort Worth and San Antonio. The 50501 Movement — short for “50 protests, 50 states, one movement” — was born in late January and has since evolved into a widespread protest campaign. Organizers say the effort is aimed at pushing back against what they characterize as authoritarian and anti-democratic ambitions tied to Trump and Project 2025, a policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation that critics say would erode civil liberties and concentrate power within the executive branch. Since its first national day of action on Feb. 5, the movement has expanded rapidly. According to the group's website, more than 900 demonstrations were scheduled nationwide this weekend alone, many of which drew large crowds in New York and Washington D.C.

In Texas, the turnout was significant. More than 1,000 people gathered at Houston City Hall on Saturday morning, as speakers repeatedly condemned Trump over a wide range of concerns, including his administration's mass deportation push, sweeping efforts to gut federal departments and Trump’s recent comments on the idea of testing the Constitution's presidential term limits by seeking a third term. “If we stand up, maybe democracy has a chance,” said 75-year-old Houston resident Karen Bell, before joining the crowd in a march through the city. Among the Houston crowd was a man named Richard, a subcontractor working with NASA who declined to give his last name out of fear of professional retaliation. He was dressed in an orange astronaut costume, his beard dyed to match, while holding a sign that read “Hands Off NASA.” “I'm here to make my voice heard, one sign at a time, to support the space program,” he said. “We are all gonna be affected by the changes at NASA.” After Trump took office in January, billionaire Elon Musk has pushed for the reduction of government spending as the head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. According to an ongoing tally by the New York Times, at least 12% of the country’s federal workforce has been fired, taken early retirement or taken buyouts since Trump took office – that’s more than 288,000 jobs across multiple federal agencies. Hundreds of NASA employees have already accepted deferred resignation offers as the space agency’s workforce braces for potential cuts.

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National Stories

Judge strikes down Utah’s school choice program

A Utah judge ruled the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program was unconstitutional in a decision delivered Friday, leaving thousands of children who were beneficiaries of the program in limbo. Gov. Spencer Cox said Friday the state would appeal the ruling, as legislative proponents of the program reacted angrily to the judge’s decision. The state was sued by the Utah Education Association, along with plaintiffs Kevin Labresh, Terra Cooper, Amy Barton and Carol Lear, in 2023, after the voucher program was enacted. The Utah Fits All Scholarship Program gives eligible K-12 students up to $8,000 a year for private school tuition and other costs. It went into effect in the fall of 2024.

The teachers’ union argued the program violated the Utah Constitution because it diverts income tax revenue to fund private schools. Third District Judge Laura Scott agreed with the union and other plaintiffs, saying the program violated sections of the state constitution that require the state to fund a public education system open to every student that is free of charge, and to use state income tax to fund public schools and to support children and people with disabilities. In her decision, Scott said that “because the Program is a legislatively created, publicly funded education program aimed at elementary and secondary education, it must satisfy the constitutional requirements applicable to the “public education system” set forth in the Utah Constitution. The legislature does not have plenary authority to circumvent these constitutional requirements by simply declining to ‘designate’ the Program as part of the public education system.” Proponents of the program argued the program did not affect the state’s system of public schools, but was in addition to that constitutional requirement, and that it cleared the bar of using income tax to support children. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown said his office is “actively reviewing the ruling and assessing the state’s next steps.” Cox said the state was reviewing the ruling and “preparing to appeal.”

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Hegseth said to have shared attack details in second Signal chat

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed information about forthcoming strikes in Yemen on March 15 in a private Signal group chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, according to four people with knowledge of the chat. Some of those people said that the information Mr. Hegseth shared on the Signal chat included the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen — essentially the same attack plans that he shared on a separate Signal chat the same day that mistakenly included the editor of The Atlantic. Mr. Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, is not a Defense Department employee, but she has traveled with him overseas and drawn criticism for accompanying her husband to sensitive meetings with foreign leaders. Mr. Hegseth’s brother Phil and Tim Parlatore, who continues to serve as his personal lawyer, both have jobs in the Pentagon, but it is not clear why either would need to know about upcoming military strikes aimed at the Houthis in Yemen.

The previously unreported existence of a second Signal chat in which Mr. Hegseth shared highly sensitive military information is the latest in a series of developments that have put his management and judgment under scrutiny. Unlike the chat in which The Atlantic was mistakenly included, the newly revealed one was created by Mr. Hegseth. It included his wife and about a dozen other people from his personal and professional inner circle in January, before his confirmation as defense secretary, and was named “Defense | Team Huddle,” the people familiar with the chat said. He used his private phone, rather than his government one, to access the Signal chat. The continued inclusion following Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation of his wife, brother and personal lawyer, none of whom had any apparent reason to be briefed on operational details of a military operation as it was getting underway, is sure to raise further questions about his adherence to security protocols. The chat revealed by The Atlantic in March was created by President Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, so that the most senior national security officials across the executive branch, such as the vice president, the director of national intelligence and Mr. Hegseth, could coordinate among themselves and their deputies ahead of the U.S. attacks.

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America’s second-richest elected official is acting like he wants to be president

If JB Pritzker runs for the Democratic presidential nomination, he will be betting his party’s best prospect is a political punch-throwing heavyset billionaire who inherited massive wealth. While that sounds like President Trump, the two-term Illinois governor would be wagering on himself. Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, has become one of the most-outspoken critics of Trump at a time Democrats are struggling to counter him. Wealth has long opened doors for Pritzker and there are signs he wants the next one to be into the Oval Office. The 60-year-old is visiting New Hampshire, traditional home of the nation’s first presidential primary, to speak April 27 at a party fundraiser about what he sees as Trump’s authoritarianism and to call Democrats to action. The trip is likely to boost speculation that Pritzker, among those vetted by Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign as a possible running mate, is interested in the 2028 nomination.

“There is no doubt that he is going to run,” said Chicagoan Bill Daley, who served as President Bill Clinton’s commerce secretary and President Barack Obama’s chief of staff. “The real question is whether he runs for re-election first or just runs for president.” The governor, who declined an interview, has yet to say whether he will seek a third term. An announcement is expected in the next few months, with the March 2026 primary less than 11 months away. Daley said he would recommend against another gubernatorial bid because a crisis or scandal can pop up at an inconvenient time. Pritzker, he said, has the financial wherewithal to do something most candidates couldn’t: announce a presidential bid in 2026 and lock down the best available campaign staff talent. Pritzker has never shied from confronting Trump. “Take it from an actual billionaire, Trump is rich in only one thing: stupidity,” he said in his Democratic National Convention speech in August.

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Supreme Court temporarily pauses deportations under Alien Enemies Act

The Supreme Court early Saturday morning paused the deportation of immigrants potentially subject to the Alien Enemies Act, freezing action in a fast-developing case involving a group of immigrants in Texas who say the Trump administration was working to remove them. The court’s brief order drew dissents from conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. Attorneys for the Venezuelans at issue in the case filed an emergency appeal at the high court on Friday, claiming they were at immediate risk of being removed from the country and had not been provided sufficient notice to challenge their deportation. The court’s brief order on Saturday did not explain the court’s reasoning. The court ordered the Trump administration to respond to the emergency appeal once a federal appeals court in Louisiana takes action in the case.

In the meantime, the court said, “The government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this court.” The Trump administration responded later Saturday, telling the Supreme Court it wants the authority to remove the Venezuelans detained in Texas under laws other than the controversial Alien Enemies Act while the litigation over their potential deportations continues. “The government has agreed not to remove pursuant the AEA those AEA detainees who do file habeas claims,” wrote US Solicitor General D. John Sauer, the Trump administration’s top appellate attorney. “This court should dissolve its current administrative stay and allow the lower courts to address the relevant legal and factual questions in the first instance – including the development of a proper factual record.”

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Trump officials blame mistake for setting off confrontation with Harvard

Harvard University received an emailed letter from the Trump administration last Friday that included a series of demands about hiring, admissions and curriculum so onerous that school officials decided they had no choice but to take on the White House. The university announced its intentions on Monday, setting off a tectonic battle between one of the country’s most prestigious universities and a U.S. president. Then, almost immediately, came a frantic call from a Trump official. The April 11 letter from the White House’s task force on antisemitism, this official told Harvard, should not have been sent and was “unauthorized,” two people familiar with the matter said. The letter was sent by the acting general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sean Keveney, according to three other people, who were briefed on the matter. Mr. Keveney is a member of the antisemitism task force.

It is unclear what prompted the letter to be sent last Friday. Its content was authentic, the three people said, but there were differing accounts inside the administration of how it had been mishandled. Some people at the White House believed it had been sent prematurely, according to the three people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions. Others in the administration thought it had been meant to be circulated among the task force members rather than sent to Harvard. But its timing was consequential. The letter arrived when Harvard officials believed they could still avert a confrontation with President Trump. Over the previous two weeks, Harvard and the task force had engaged in a dialogue. But the letter’s demands were so extreme that Harvard concluded that a deal would ultimately be impossible. After Harvard publicly repudiated the demands, the Trump administration raised the pressure, freezing billions in federal funding to the school and warning that its tax-exempt status was in jeopardy. A senior White House official said the administration stood by the letter, calling the university’s decision to publicly rebuff the administration overblown and blaming Harvard for not continuing discussions.

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Trump is taking on America’s institutions but resistance is building

In moving to accumulate unprecedented power, President Trump has bulldozed his way through the traditional constraints of presidential authority with such force that institutions including universities, law firms and parts of Congress have been left reeling. This week, some started fighting back. Harvard University refused to comply with the Trump administration’s demands for changes to address alleged bias. Columbia University, facing criticism for acquiescing in negotiations over federal funding, took a tougher tone. Federal courts raised the prospect of holding Trump officials in contempt. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has resisted calls to pre-emptively lower interest rates to cushion any economic fallout from Trump’s trade war. Former cybersecurity official Chris Krebs, targeted with a federal investigation for not going along with Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, quit his private-sector job so he could more freely battle the White House.

Voters are more loudly voicing opposition to some Trump policies, criticizing Republican lawmakers during town-hall meetings. “The embers are alive, and there are even some flames of resistance growing,” said Peter Wehner, a Trump critic who served in three earlier Republican administrations. So far, the president and his top advisers are unbowed. They say the pushback presents an opportunity to paint Democrats, courts and universities as out of touch with voters who sent Trump to the White House a second time. A senior White House official said Trump’s team was eager for Democrats to stay focused on Trump’s deportation policies. The official said advisers to the president think fights with Harvard and the judiciary are similarly politically advantageous. Trump has moved to strip power from opponents whom the White House sees as constraining his authority, presenting alternative viewpoints or deferring to liberal priorities. The president and his team have said some universities have privileged some viewpoints and racial groups over others or failed to rein in antisemitism. Trump has reached around $1 billion in deals with law firms he views as hostile to his causes.

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House Democrats land in El Salvador, demand Abrego Garcia's return

Four House Democrats were scheduled to land in El Salvador Monday to demand the release and return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who lived in Maryland and was deported by the administration to a prison in El Salvador due to what the Trump administration an "administrative error." The group — Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., and Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore. — said in a statement they hope "to pressure" the White House "to abide by a Supreme Court order." "While Donald Trump continues to defy the Supreme Court, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being held illegally in El Salvador after being wrongfully deported," Rep. Garcia said. "That is why we're here — to remind the American people that kidnapping immigrants and deporting them without due process is not how we do things in America."

The Trump administration has refused to bring back Abrego Garcia despite a Supreme Court order to "facilitate" his return — and is receiving bipartisan criticism for it. The Salvadoran citizen entered the country illegally; an immigration judge said he should not be deported to El Salvador because Abrego Garcia was able to prove he was likely to suffer persecution in his home country. The Trump administration says it deported him because he was a member of MS-13; his lawyers deny that Abrego Garcia belongs to the gang. The White House has said it can't force the Salvadoran government to release one of its citizens, while El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele called the idea of Abrego Garcia's release "preposterous." On Thursday, a federal court denied the Trump administration's appeal of the court's return-order. Last week, Reps. Garcia and Frost requested congressional travel funds and security for the trip to El Salvador. Rep. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, rejected the request. Rep. Mark Green, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said Thursday he'd also deny any such request.

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Supreme Court to hear religious freedom case involving LGBTQ+ storybooks

The debate over parental rights and religious freedom returns to the Supreme Court this week in a case testing whether families have a right to pull their kids from public school lessons featuring LGBTQ+-themed books at odds with their religious beliefs. The lawsuit over story time and books with titles such as “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” and “Love, Violet” touches on the type of diversity and inclusion efforts the Trump administration has targeted on college campuses, and in government and private businesses. It is one of three major religious-rights cases on the Supreme Court’s docket this term. The court will consider next week whether states can directly fund religious schools, in a closely watched case involving a proposed Catholic charter school in Oklahoma. The justices are also set to decide whether Wisconsin must extend a tax exemption to the social services arm of the Catholic Church — a decision that could have implications for other large, religiously affiliated employers such as hospitals.

For the past decade or so, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the court’s conservative majority have consistently ruled in favor of strengthening religious freedoms and expanding the role of faith in public life. The court has recognized that parents have an interest in directing their children’s religious and educational upbringing and affirmed parents’ rights to choose alternatives to public schools. But the court has not previously recognized a broad right to pick and choose aspects of a public school’s curriculum based on religious objections, which is the issue they will consider Tuesday. What the court decides in the trio of cases “could continue to effectuate its program of remaking our laws on religious freedom, further strengthening statutes that protect religious freedom while weakening the separation of church and state,” said Cornell Law School Professor Nelson Tebbe, who has filed briefs in two of the cases. A key question for the court in the Maryland case is whether public school systems violate the religious rights of parents when they require children to participate in lessons that conflict with their families’ faith. Maryland’s largest, most religiously diverse school system expanded its English Language Arts curriculum in 2022 to include books with LGBTQ+ characters to better reflect the diversity of its families.

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Lead Stories

School vouchers won in Texas. Next up, the nation.

With a big win for school vouchers in Texas in the early hours of Thursday morning, the private-school choice movement conquered the last major Republican-led state. Next up, the rest of the country. Voucher advocates will now turn their attention to Washington, D.C., where Republican allies are advancing a bill that could force the concept even on Democratic states that have resisted for decades. In President Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, voucher proponents have friends in the highest of places. They also have a plan for a federal private-school choice program that could pass this year with simple majorities in the House and the Senate. “It’s a monumental and cascading moment for the school choice movement,” said Tommy Schultz, chief executive of the American Federation for Children, a private-school choice advocacy group.

In recent years, the nation’s Republican-dominated and Democratic-dominated states have gone their separate ways on fundamental issues such as abortion rights, health insurance, climate change and energy policy. On education, red states, in a remarkable procession, have adopted measures to use taxpayer dollars to finance private school tuition and home-schooling. In many cases, Washington has let the states drift apart. Vouchers might be different. A national bill would bring private-school choice to states where Democrats and teachers’ unions have always been successful in quashing the concept, contending that vouchers could drain resources from public education, diminish learning standards and leave the most disadvantaged children warehoused in poorly funded public schools. The federal legislation is structured as a $10 billion tax credit for donations to nonprofit groups that offer private-education scholarships, and as such, it could be included as part of a giant budget reconciliation bill expected to be assembled this summer. If so, it would need only 51 votes in a Senate where Republicans hold 53 seats.

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Abrego Garcia's deportation case exposes a rift among Democrats over how to take on Trump

A controversial deportation case has opened up a rift within the Democratic Party over how aggressively to go after President Donald Trump on an issue that has been one of his biggest political strengths. Some members of the party are leaning heavily into Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia's deportation to El Salvador without due process, accusing Trump of defying a court order. But others, while still objecting to Trump's actions, have sought to shift the focus to economic concerns amid the whiplash of the president's tariff policies and persistently high prices. Trump officials initially conceded that Abrego Garcia, who was subject to a withholding order preventing his expulsion to El Salvador and wasn’t convicted of a crime, was removed to his home country due to an “administrative error.” The administration has alleged he was a gang member and deserved deportation.

The Supreme Court didn’t accept that rationale, and last week it ordered the administration to “facilitate” his return to the U.S., which led a judge to demand daily updates on any progress. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., has been among the outspoken Democrats on Abrego Garcia's case, visiting El Salvador this week to push for his release. In addition, other congressional Democrats like Reps. Maxwell Frost of Florida, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Delia Ramirez of Illinois have offered to help Van Hollen or even travel to El Salvador themselves. “The Trump administration is clearly in violation of American court orders,” Van Hollen said. But other Democrats have avoided weighing in on the issue — or offered muted responses when asked about it. As California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, rolled out a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Trump’s sweeping tariffs, he had little to say about the Abrego Garcia case when asked to weigh in.

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Why some Texas House Republicans felt forced to back Gov. Greg Abbott's school vouchers plan

Pearland Republican Jeff Barry has long been skeptical of school vouchers, but on Thursday morning he voted to create what could become the largest voucher program in the nation. Barry, a freshman House lawmaker, said it felt like he had no choice. “If I voted against it I would have had every statewide and national political…figure against me – not to mention all of my bills vetoed,” Barry wrote in a post responding to one user who called his support for the measure a “betrayal.” He added: “The consequences were dire with no upside at all.” Barry wasn’t the only Republican House member who felt cornered after an unprecedented, years-long pressure campaign by Gov. Greg Abbott to bend the chamber to his will.

Only two GOP members joined Democrats in opposing the measure on Thursday, a remarkable turnaround from their widespread opposition to vouchers just a few years ago. It was a major vindication of Abbott’s governing approach of strong-arming lawmakers into submission. Where his predecessors, including Gov. Rick Perry, often cozied up to members of the Legislature, Abbott has looked to exploit their weaknesses. His success on what was once seen as an impossible issue marks a potentially major power shift in state leadership, where lieutenant governors have long been seen to hold as much or more power than the governor, because of their control over the Senate. “What Perry got by finesse, Abbott gets by force — and that definitely matters for the power structure,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston. “He, through expending a tremendous amount of political capital and money, was able to reshape the Republican party in his image. That’s something very few governors have been able to do.”

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Trump lashes out at Powell, says ‘termination cannot come fast enough’

President Trump lashed out at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, hinting at potentially dismissing the central bank leader, one day after Powell warned that the Fed could face a difficult trade-off as tariffs raise prices and weaken the economy “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” Trump said in a social-media post on Thursday morning. Later Thursday, in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he had the power to dismiss Powell as Fed chair—a position that is at odds with Powell’s view of the law. “If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me,” Trump said. On Wednesday, Powell repeated his longstanding view that the law didn’t permit his removal. During Trump’s first term, Powell told the president’s advisers that he would challenge his removal in court.

Trump is upset that the Fed isn’t lowering interest rates to cushion the fallout from his trade war. Powell is “too late. He’s always too late, little slow,” Trump said. Inflation in the U.S. could rise more than in other countries in the coming months because Trump has imposed a range of tariffs. Whether the Fed chair can be removed before the end of a four-year term is an open question because it has never been attempted. Trump is trying to dismiss several other Biden appointees who have challenged their removal by citing a 90-year legal precedent that has shielded them from dismissal over a policy dispute. Trump’s Justice Department has said it would seek to overturn the landmark 1935 legal precedent that has provided that legal protection. Legal scholars have said that court ruling, which unanimously held that President Franklin Roosevelt lacked the authority to fire a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, offers the strongest legal guardrail to back up Fed independence.

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State Stories

Texas House GOP derails resolution to honor the late Cecile Richards

A resolution honoring the late Cecile Richards — president of the nonprofit women’s health organization Planned Parenthood and daughter of the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards — was derailed Thursday in the GOP-dominated Texas House. House Resolution 236, by Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, was on a list of bills that were set to be approved with a single vote — standard procedure for the typically innocuous resolutions sponsored by members from both parties. It ended up in a legislative waiting room, unlikely to get passed by a decidedly anti-Planned Parenthood chamber. “We all deserve the opportunity to come before this chamber to recognize [and] celebrate … our constituents and know that we and they will be given the utmost respect,” Howard said in remarks to the chamber after her resolution was pulled down without a vote. “That is what I expected when I filed HR 236. I expected to have the opportunity to honor my former constituent and be met with the respect that moment commands.

“Our political backgrounds and beliefs may differ, but we cannot allow those differences to cross the line of common decency, especially when it comes to honoring the lives of those we have lost.” The political backlash to the resolution was so strong, Howard said, that Richards’ family didn’t feel welcome in the House Gallery that day to watch, as the families and loved ones of other honorees typically do. Resolutions don’t carry the weight of law, but they enshrine the chamber’s support for those who want to memorialize deceased Americans and celebrate living people who have made contributions to Texas and to the nation. A handful of Republicans objected to going on record with a “yes” vote to honor Richards — who died in January at age 67 — saying she symbolized the deaths of unborn babies. “We are a pro-life state that has passed legislation that lines up with our Biblical values, that says life begins at conception, and that is why we protect the unborn in this state,” said Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth. “And yet we have the audacity, as the Texas House, to bring forth a resolution that honors a woman that perpetuates the murder of children.”

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Dallas Rep. Jasmine Crockett raises nearly $1.7M, posting best fundraising quarter

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, raised nearly $1.7 million for her reelection campaign in the first three months of the year, according to federal finance records. The sum speaks to the meteoric rise of the fiery second-term congresswoman and the resonance of her blunt politics with donors across the country as Democratic voters search for new leaders willing to fight for the party’s base. Crockett, who represents a safe blue district, raised $1.68 million from January through March, marking the best fundraising quarter of her young career as a federal candidate. She donated $2,000 each to the campaigns of more vulnerable incumbent Democratic Reps. Andrea Salinas of Oregon and Dave Min of California as well as $500 to Dallas Independent School District candidate Byron Sanders.

Her campaign entered April with more than $2.5 million in the bank, records show. A campaign spokesperson did not respond to an emailed request for comment on her fundraising haul. Crockett raised $3.1 million in the 2024 cycle, records show. She brought in $970,000 in her first congressional campaign, which began in November 2021 after then-Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, announced her retirement. Crockett is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party. She was named a national co-chair of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign last year after the former vice president became the Democratic nominee. She’s had viral clashes on Capitol Hill with GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Mace of South Carolina. But she was heavily criticized last month for calling Gov. Greg Abbott “Governor Hot Wheels.” Abbott has used a wheelchair since he was partially paralyzed in 1984 after a tree fell on him. A House resolution to censure Crockett for her comments was referred to the Ethics Committee last month.

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North Texas transit leaders want 'new vision' for regional transportation

North Texas transportation leaders want to restructure transit in the region to solve a dispute with some cities dissatisfied with the system. The Regional Transportation Council voted last week to push for legislation that would see the organization spending the next two years working on a “new transit vision,” said transit director Michael Morris. “I think we need a whole different transportation authority way to deliver transit in the region,” he said. “I think the DART cities are paying more than their fair share for transit. I think there’s lots of communities that aren’t paying any share to transit.”

This comes as a handful of member cities are pushing for state legislation that would cut funding for Dallas Area Rapid Transit by 25%. Two bills would direct a portion of tax contributions to the agency into a general mobility program cities could use for other transit projects. "I think there needs to be legislative change,” Morris said. “I happen to think it’s not the legislation that was introduced.” He suggested gathering the three regional transportation authorities – DART, Trinity Metro and Denton County Transportation Authority – as well as cities, the RTC and the state to file legislation directing the RTC to come up with a new approach to regional transportation ahead of the next legislative session. “The legislature would be instructing the Regional Transportation Council to pull together over the next two years a new vision to deliver transit,” he said. The council also voted to continue mediation between DART and some of its member cities, despite some leaders saying the talks had reached an impasse.

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Miriam Pearsall: Behavioral health center in West Texas need support from Austin

(Miriam Pearsall is chief of staff for policy at Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.) My cousin Daryl was funny, kind and generous — but at 37, when he needed lifesaving behavioral health care, his options were limited and insufficient. Throughout his too-short life, Daryl retained his warm humor and deep love for his family, even as his health declined. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 25, Daryl suffered from diabetic nerve pain and turned to controlled substances for relief. Over time, he developed substance use disorder (SUD), causing his already fragile health to deteriorate further. For over five years, Daryl cycled in and out of hospitals, battling pain, substance abuse and, eventually, depression. His chronic illnesses made steady employment and health insurance difficult to maintain. Lacking coverage, his options for the inpatient treatment he needed in Midland were nearly nonexistent — an all-too-common reality. Nationwide, over a third of people with a mental health condition also experience substance use disorder, but fewer than 19% receive treatment for both. In Daryl’s case, the closest inpatient facility able to help him was hours away. Without that care, Daryl succumbed to his illnesses at age 37.

Tragedies like this may soon become history in Midland. Opening in April 2026, the Permian Basin Behavioral Health Center will provide a vital treatment resource for West Texas – one that might have saved Daryl’s life had it been available when he needed it most. Midland and Ector County hospital districts will co-manage the 200-bed facility, providing inpatient treatment, court-ordered evaluations and family counseling services. Notably, the center will accept patients regardless of insurance status, filling a major gap in care for the region’s 500,000 residents. The center will also create career opportunities for behavioral health professionals at a time when workforce recruitment and retention plague our health systems. Even before its doors open, the Permian Basin Behavioral Health Center has already partnered with local colleges including the University of Texas Permian Basin, Midland College, Odessa College and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center to train and build out the next generation of our homegrown healthcare workforce.

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RAICES, the San Antonio nonprofit that helps migrants, sees more layoffs

The number of layoffs at the San Antonio office of the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) grew to 220 this month. The organization provides legal and social services to migrants, the largest such provider in Texas. Federal funding cuts by the Trump administration were blamed for two large rounds of layoffs this year. The Texas Workforce Commision reported 159 were laid off this month. That followed 61 layoffs reported in February. The group explained on its website that it assists about 10,000 migrants each year.

"Without free and low-cost legal services and access to holistic, trauma-informed care, most of our clients, including children of all ages, would have to go to court alone, with zero representation," the statement read. "We fight in the courtroom, the halls of Congress, and alongside our community for a more just immigration system," the statement added. The layoffs came several months after a union contract went into effect that included raises, more paid parental leave, more employer support for health insurance, professional development pay, and more.

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Tiny Texas cities rush to cut San Antonio tax deals as lawmakers eye changes

As Texas lawmakers move to crack down on them, government agencies created by elected officials in tiny cities in the Rio Grande Valley are hustling to strike deals with developers to snap up apartment complexes in San Antonio. Under the law that allows for such transactions, the housing finance corporations ostensibly are aiming to increase the supply of lower-priced housing at a time when residents are grappling with soaring costs. But their actions are wiping out chunks of annual tax revenue not for their communities but for San Antonio entities, including school districts, University Health and the Alamo Colleges District, and the affordability of the apartments provided in exchange for the tax breaks is questionable. The Legislature could close the loopholes that allow the deals, but the agencies may be rushing to acquire properties — and collect the fees stemming from the transactions — in case the changes are not retroactive.

The La Villa Housing Finance Corp., a nonprofit set up by officials in a city more than 200 miles away, acquired the Elevate at Huebner Grove complex in North San Antonio from a company affiliated with Viking Capital of Vienna, Va., in April, deed records show. The company would have been expected to pay about $445,000 this year in property taxes, according to the Bexar Appraisal District, but the deal would eliminate that bill because the nonprofit’s ownership means it’s publicly owned. The Edcouch Community Housing Finance Corp., an agency based in a city next to La Villa, also in April acquired two apartment complexes in North San Antonio from limited liability companies affiliated with David Shippy of Austin-based Quantum Leap Property Management. Without the deal, the companies would pay nearly $1.7 million worth of property taxes this year, according to the appraisal district.

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Family feud erupts over vast fortune amassed by San Antonio businessman

Longtime San Antonio businessman and rancher Ronald Herrmann was never the subject of eye-popping headlines, but he amassed a fortune worth “tens of millions of dollars” over the course of his career. His ventures included Columbia Industries, once the world’s largest maker of bowling balls, and Grady’s Bar-B-Q, a San Antonio staple until the restaurant chain abruptly closed its doors two years ago. He co-founded the Western Beverages liquor store chain and acquired ranches all over Texas. Rents and royalties from the assets primarily acquired by Herrmann, 90, account for most of the income produced today. Now, the vast empire he accumulated is at the heart of a family feud that’s spilled into the 4th Business Court Division in San Antonio.

Hermann’s wife Karen and their two adult children have sued his only son from a prior marriage, accusing David Hermann of “unlawful conduct and self-dealing” in managing the family’s assets. At some undisclosed point Herrmann, 90, ceded management control of the family businesses — collectively referred to in the complaint as “Herrmann Enterprises” — to David Herrmann, 59, with the expectation he would operate them responsibly, the suit says. The younger Herrmann also was expected to make “wise acquisitions and investments” while being “fair to and honest with all the family.” It’s gone poorly, his stepmother and step-siblings allege. “David has failed to live up to his father’s expectations and the example set by Mr Herrmann,” the trio allege. “Under David’s leadership, various businesses, including Grady’s Bar-B-Q … and the bowling ball manufacturing assets of Columbia Industries, had to be sold due to David’s mismanagement of the assets.”

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Houston has new rules for operating short term rentals. Here’s what you need to know.

The reality of living near an Airbnb rental property in Houston, for some, has been a nightmare. At a recent Quality of Life Committee at Houston City Council, more than 50 people showed up to vent their complaints, which ran the gamut from scary and sad to outright gross. One neighboring home was sprayed with 20 bullets. Another was left with vomit all over the driveway, leaving the owner to clean it up the next morning. One couple dealt with loud noise from a short-term rental for two years, forcing them to move out of their home. The extensive resident concerns ultimately persuaded Houston City Council to approve a series of sweeping changes to the city’s short-term rental laws Wednesday.

The new rules passed by council include the following measures: Placing the burden of applying for a short-term rental certification on the building’s operator or owner, instead of just the owner; Revoking certification for owners of multi-family, short-term rentals when violations occur at 25% of their certified properties; Requiring annual human-trafficking training for all short-term rental owners or operators. The newly passed ordinance also prevents short-term rentals from being advertised as event spaces, and anyone who wants to run a rental will have to pay $275 annually. The ordinance requires 24-hour emergency contacts for properties. Property owners and operators can also have their certifications revoked if two or more citations are issued on two or more occasions at a property within the span of a year. Once the new rules were passed on Wednesday, some were quick to applaud the effort. “We did it,” said Council Member Abbie Kamin.

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AG Ken Paxton sues Dallas over gun policy at the Majestic Theater and Music Hall

After vowing to fight a ban on firearms at the State Fair of Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton has two other Dallas facilities in his sights: the Majestic Theater and the Music Hall at Fair Park. “The law is clear. Cities like Dallas have no authority to override state statutes that enable license holders to lawfully carry their handguns and protect themselves from potential threats,” Paxton said in a news release. “I will always do everything in my power to defend Texans’ gun rights from cities that would strip us of our legal rights.” Nick Starling, the city’s spokesperson, said the city declined to comment due to the pending litigation. Broadway Dallas, the tenant overseeing Music Hall, also declined to comment. Paxton had sued the city last year after the State Fair of Texas banned attendees from carrying firearms. The ban did not include elected, appointed or employed peace officers.

The change was sparked by a shooting during the fair in 2023 when a man shot three people. In his latest lawsuit against the Majestic Theater, Paxton has cited the experiences of one resident, Grant Walsh, who first complained about the policy in 2023. Residents Heath Garner, Grant Walsh and Joshua Clark also filed similar complaints against Music Hall between 2023 and 2024. Paxton is seeking penalties that could cost millions of dollars. “Plaintiff should be awarded $1,500 in civil penalties for the first day of the City’s violation,” the filings said, as well as additional penalties of $10,500 per day for each subsequent the alleged violation has continued to the present day. State lawmakers are already working through a bill that would remove the recent gun ban policy at the State Fair of Texas. A Senate bill mandates that contracts between a municipality and contractors allow licensed handgun holders to carry handguns on such properties, except where state law explicitly prohibits firearms.

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Tarrant County PAC loses nearly $7,000 in check fraud.

Onetime Dallas Morning News scribe Dave Levinthal, who now writes for OpenSecrets, spent some time looking into how various political action and candidate election committees have been defrauded during the last election. That would include the Tarrant County Republican Victory Fund PAC, which lost $6,980 in late November after someone swiped a mailed check and changed the recipient’s name and added a six to a $980 check before cashing it. The PAC’s treasurer told Levinthal that while the police were unable to find a suspect, the bank refunded the money because it agreed it shouldn’t have cashed it.

Levinthal says that the problem was pretty pervasive. More than a dozen elected officials and federal political committees lost up to five-figure sums from campaign accounts because of theft. Analysis of federal campaign finance records filed since the November election found the sticky fingers sometimes came in the form of the check swiping that happened in Tarrant County, but also included embezzlement, unauthorized charges, “or other shenanigans.” The Tarrant County GOP says that their accounting procedures caught the issue quickly. But Levinthal says that in many cases, political committees spin up quickly and don’t set up proper internal controls and practices, which makes them an attractive to thieves.

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TCU reveals major expansion with $500M in private investment

TCU plans to add over 3,200 beds to its campus with new student housing through a partnership with private developers that includes over $500 million in outside investment, the university announced Thursday. The project was approved by the private university’s board of trustees during its most recent slate of meetings held last week. Construction is expected to be complete prior to the fall 2027 semester. The partnership developers — American Campus Communities and Endeavor Real Estate Group — were chosen by a national competitive process, the university said. TCU President Daniel Pullin characterized the developments as key to the university’s growth. He said the university expects to receive over 20,000 applications this year from prospective students seeking a spot in its roughly 3,000 person first-year class.

TCU’s growth momentum makes it attractive to investors interested in supporting Fort Worth, university leaders say. The administration has been exploring private development options for over two years. “We’re proud to partner with organizations that share our vision for thoughtful, student-centered growth,” said Kit Moncrief, the chair of TCU’s board of trustees, in a statement. “This level of outside investment reflects deep confidence in the strength of our plans and the enduring value of a TCU education.” Construction of some of the housing is already underway. Along West Berry Street, a $82.9 million mixed-use development, named Morado on Berry, will add 780 beds for students and 25,000 square feet of street-level retail space, “further transforming Berry Street into a vibrant, walkable corridor and extending the valuable campus experience,” TCU said. Developed by Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group, the building will offer students luxury apartment-style units and a range of amenities, including a rooftop pool. It is expected to be complete by August 2027, according to state records.

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Texan who suggested Amber Alerts says: change phone tones

A mother’s call to a North Texas radio station almost 30 years ago has helped rescue 1,200 children. But her 1996 suggestion for the Amber Alert now often sounds a sour note. Finally, Diana Simone couldn’t take it anymore. From her modest home in Hood County, the mother who pushed for the child abduction alert is now a grandmother calling for changes in the system. “Number one, the sound of the alert itself,” she says in a video posted to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. “It so jarring and unpleasant that the majority of people have turned it off.” The dire prediction of years ago has come true: The Amber Alert has become a punch line. There are too many alerts. They’re too vague, or too late to stop an abduction. And they are too easily ignored on smartphones..

The alert was created after a tearful four-day search across Dallas and Fort Worth found the body of abducted Arlington 9-year-old Amber Hagerman. Simone, a massage therapist, and a client, the late Rev. Tom Stoker of Fort Worth, were in Fort Worth, listening to the news bulletin in tears. Simone wondered if an alert could be sounded whenever a child is grabbed and in danger. Stoker said, “Why not radio?” Simone called and then typed a letter to a KDMX/102.9 FM midday host. In 2002, station managers confirmed that it was Simone’s letter they showed to other regional managers as an idea, patterned after the National Weather Service warning system. Simone ended her 1996 letter: “My one request is that it be known as Amber’s Plan.” Now, she’s worried that the Amber Alert needs a tuneup.

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716,000 meals canceled for Austin-area food bank as federal funding is cut

The Central Texas Food Bank is feeling the effects of the Trump administration's funding cuts after the U.S. Department of Agriculture slashed more than a billion dollars in funding for programs that support food banks and help schools buy goods from local farmers. Within two weeks following the decision, 39 loads of food were canceled, said Beth Corbett, Central Texas Food Bank's vice president of government affairs and advocacy. Those deliveries included pantry staples, dairy products and vegetables, as well as turkey, pork and chicken. “That equates to nearly 913,000 pounds of food. For perspective, that’s the equivalent of about 716,000 meals,” she said. The cuts are happening as demand for food assistance grows and grocery prices remain high.

The Central Texas Food Bank, which is headquartered in Austin, serves more than 93,000 families each month within a 21-county region. Corbett said the organization expects demand to rise. “We’re actually serving more people now than we did at the peak of the pandemic and really don’t see any signs of that slowing,” she said. In Texas, the food insecurity rate is 16.9%. That is the second highest rate of food insecurity in the U.S. and nearly 5% higher than the national average. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, the state lost more than $107 million for programs that allowed food banks and schools to buy food locally. Corbett said these changes and cuts could mean people who visit a food pantry see less variety in the products available. “We’re currently spending about a million dollars a month to purchase food to make up for where we have shortfalls,” she said.

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UT Austin professors fear Trump administration's funding cuts will derail life-saving research

Andrea Gore, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at UT Austin, knew from a young age that she wanted to be a scientist. She said she always loved watching birds and bugs. “Even as a kid, I would watch the nature programs instead of the sitcoms my friends were watching,” she said. John Wallingford was in a similar boat. The UT molecular biology chair took a life sciences class in seventh grade and knew he wanted to be a biology professor. “There’s no scientist in my family. Nobody knows where it came from,” he said. “And [I] literally never deviated.” Now though, Gore and Wallingford — who spoke on their own behalves and not on behalf of the university — are worried their students will not have the same opportunities to pursue science. Since President Trump took office, the National Institutes of Health — the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world — has significantly cut grant funding. The federal agency could also see more cuts to its overall budget, as reported by Politico.

More than 80% of NIH grants go to researchers in the U.S. — including the labs that Gore and Wallingford run at UT Austin. The cuts have prompted outcry and protests from the scientific community as well as legal challenges. Sixteen state attorneys general sued the Trump administration earlier this month for canceling NIH grants. Professors at UT Austin have not been left unscathed by the cuts. Take Jason McLellan, who did groundbreaking work to help develop a COVID-19 vaccine and is set to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. An NIH grant he had received for research on antiviral drug development was canceled on March 24. “All research and spending had to cease that day,” McLellan said in an email. “This leaves several projects stranded and jeopardizes the further development of the exciting compounds that our consortium developed.” UT Austin did not respond to a request for comment about the impact of NIH funding cuts on research at the university. The university has been tracking changes to federal funding for research, including a court ruling earlier this month that has prevented the Trump administration from lowering reimbursement rates related to NIH grants. While Gore and Wallingford have not yet lost funding, uncertainty created by changes at the NIH have permeated their labs.

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National Stories

US will abandon Ukraine peace efforts ‘within days’ if no progress made, Rubio warns

The United States could end its efforts on ending the Ukrainian conflict within “days” if there are no signs of progress, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday. “If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on,” he told reporters before departing Paris, where he had held high-level talks with European and Ukrainian officials. “We need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable,” he said. Rubio’s comments point to mounting frustration within the Trump administration at the lack of progress at bringing the three-year full-scale war to a halt. Moscow has stalled on negotiations and rejected a ceasefire proposal agreed by Kyiv. Having promised on the campaign trail to end the fighting in a day, US President Donald Trump more recently said “Russia has to get moving.”

Despite US officials holding talks with Ukrainian and European counterparts on Thursday in what the State Department touted as an “excellent exchange,” and progress being made toward a landmark minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv, peace still feels out of reach. Meanwhile, a partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure brokered by the US came to an end on Thursday, an agreement both sides frequently accused each other of violating. A US-authored outline of a peace plan had received an “encouraging reception” at the talks in the French capital, according to a State Department readout, which did not give details on the outline. Rubio also spoke with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and conveyed the same outline, the readout said. Speaking Friday, Rubio said he and Witkoff had come to Paris to “begin to talk about more specific outlines of what it might take to end the war” and whether or not this is a war that can be ended. “If it’s not possible, if we’re so far apart that this is not going to happen then I think the president is probably at a point where he’s going to say we’re done,” he said.

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Sen. Chris Van Hollen meets with Kilmar Abrego Garcia as Trump fights to keep him in El Salvador

Sen. Chris Van Hollen confirmed Thursday night that he has met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man whom the Trump administration said it mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March. "I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return," Van Hollen, D-Md., wrote on X. Images of Van Hollen’s meeting with Abrego Garcia were first posted online by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who has rebuffed calls to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. Bukele said on X after the meeting that Abrego Garcia will remain in El Salvador’s custody “now that he’s been confirmed healthy.”

At an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday, Bukele argued that he didn't "have the power to return him to the United States." Attorney General Pam Bondi said the same day that the United States would provide a plane for Abrego Garcia to travel back to the country should El Salvador allow his release, framing the decision as being solely in Bukele's hands. In a statement Thursday night, the White House called Van Hollen's efforts in support of Abrego Garcia "disgusting" and said Trump will "continue to stand on the side of law-abiding Americans." Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador on Wednesday to push for Abrego Garcia's release after the Trump administration did not demonstrate any efforts to "facilitate" his return, despite a Supreme Court ruling last week requiring just that.

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Two killed, 6 injured in Florida State University shooting

Two people were killed and six others injured at Florida State University in Tallahassee on Thursday, authorities said, after a college student opened fire on campus. The deceased victims were not students, officials said at a late-afternoon news conference, where they identified the suspect as Phoenix Ikner, whom they described as the 20-year-old son of a sheriff’s deputy in Leon County, where FSU is. Ikner, who was allegedly using his mother’s gun, was shot by police who had swarmed to the campus and was later hospitalized. Authorities did not release the names of those killed and hurt, but university president Richard McCullough said multiple students were among the wounded. Five of the six victims were transported to hospitals with gunshot wounds. The terrifying scene unfolded in the waning days of spring semester at one of the state’s oldest institutions, where some 40,000 students were scattered across the sprawling campus, sitting in classrooms, studying for finals and lounging outside in the bright Florida sun.

Just before noon, the sound of gunshots at the student union shattered the serene scene. Students scrambled for cover. Inside academic buildings, they transformed lecture halls into fortresses, closing windows, turning locks and barricading doors with heavy metal desks. In an age when gun violence can seemingly strike any corner of American life, active-shooter drills in U.S. schools have become nearly as ubiquitous as standardized testing. Florida State students not only knew what to do when gunfire rang out, some had been through it before — having endured campus shootings at previous schools. “We’ve grown up in this era where school and campus shootings aren’t common but regular enough that when you see people panic and running you say, ‘Oh, that’s not right,’” said Ryan Cedergren, a 21-year-old junior who was in the student union when he saw classmates fleeing. He and dozens of others took cover in the building’s bowling alley. “I think it’s been kind of hardwired into our brains,” Ana Martins, a 19-year-old freshman, said of her years of drills and shooting preparation. The suspect’s identity sent shock waves through local law enforcement and the campus community.

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Appeals court excoriates Trump administration in illegal deportation case

In a legal battle with escalating tensions, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit on Thursday excoriated the Trump administration for its defiance of a federal judge’s orders that it show how it is facilitating the return of Kilmar Abrego García, a Maryland man who was illegally deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. “It is difficult in some cases to get to the very heart of the matter. But in this case, it is not hard at all,” the appeals court said in its quick denial of a Department of Justice motion to pause U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’s orders, a request the appeals court called “extraordinary and premature.” “The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order,” the appeals court decision said. “Further, it claims in essence that because it has rid itself of custody that there is nothing that can be done.”

The ruling, from a three-judge panel and authored by Reagan appointee J. Harvie Wilkinson III, came after the Justice Department argued in its motion that Xinis’s orders have “flouted” a Supreme Court mandate last week to act with deference toward the administration in the case of Abrego García when it comes to foreign affairs. The Trump administration’s request to stay the case, which it may now appeal to the Supreme Court, hinges largely on the meaning of the word “facilitate.” Xinis and the Justice Department have disagreed on the definition in a case with far-reaching implications surrounding the Trump administration’s argument that, once it illegally removes someone to a foreign country, that person is beyond the reach of the U.S. federal court system for any recourse. “The federal courts do not have the authority to press-gang the President or his agents into taking any particular act of diplomacy,” the Justice Department said in a Wednesday court filing that was posted online Thursday. In this case, the Trump administration alleges that Abrego García, 29, is a member of the MS-13 transnational gang, which it has designated a foreign terrorist organization — an assertion administration officials have aggressively pushed on social media and other venues in recent days. Abrego García’s family and lawyers deny this, and he appears to have no criminal record in either the United States or El Salvador.

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Once a champion for Venezuelans, Rubio endorses Trump decision to end Venezuela TPS

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, once a stalwart champion of Venezuelan immigrants, supports President Donald Trump’s decision to end the deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of people already in the United States who fled dictatorship and humanitarian crises in their home country. Newly released court documents show that Rubio, the Miami-born child of Cuban exiles, endorsed the Trump administration’s move to end Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan nationals shortly after the president took office. “Designating Venezuela under TPS does not champion core American interests or put America and American citizens first. Therefore, it is contrary to the foreign policy and the national interest of the United States,” Rubio wrote in a Jan. 31 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Over half a million Venezuelan nationals in the United States have TPS.

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Harvard sees ‘grave consequences’ as Trump pushes IRS action

Harvard University pushed back against the US government after President Donald Trump said the school should lose its tax-exempt status, warning that such a move would endanger its ability to carry out its mission and threaten higher education in America. “There is no legal basis to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status,” university spokesman Jason Newton said in a statement, adding that such a move would damage Harvard’s medical research efforts and ability to offer financial aid for students. He also cautioned that using this “instrument” would have “grave consequences for the future of higher education in America.”

Trump has escalated his fight with the oldest and richest US university after the school refused to bow to his administration’s demands. The US froze more than $2.2 billion of multiyear grants this week, Trump suggested the Internal Revenue Service should tax the university as a “political entity” and then his homeland security chief threatened to prevent the school from enrolling foreign students. The White House has sought to overhaul elite education arguing that schools need to combat antisemitism after protests against Israel broke out on campuses across the US in the wake of Hamas’s attack on the Jewish state and the resulting war in Gaza — but its efforts have sparked concern the administration is trying to suppress free speech and imperil academic freedom.

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Meet MAGA’s favorite Communist

Christopher Rufo is perhaps the most potent conservative activist in the U.S. Last year, he led the campaign that pressured Harvard University into replacing Claudine Gay as its president. His crusades against critical race theory and DEI in higher education have shaped President Trump’s aggressive policies toward elite universities like Harvard, which the administration targeted this week with a $2.26 billion funding freeze. For the past year, Rufo has been working on a book called “How the Regime Rules,” which he describes as a “manifesto for the New Right.” At its core is a surprising inspiration: the Italian Communist thinker Antonio Gramsci, a longtime boogeyman of American conservatives. “Gramsci, in a sense, provides the diagram of how politics works and the relationship between all of the various component parts: intellectuals, institutions, laws, culture, folklore,” said Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Gramsci died in 1937, but he can be seen as the godfather of today’s culture wars.

A dedicated opponent of Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, he spent most of his last decade in prison, where he developed a highly influential new way of thinking about politics that put culture, rather than economics, at the center of the class struggle. In his “Prison Notebooks,” Gramsci reckoned with why so much of the Italian working class supported Mussolini’s far-right Fascist party, exactly the opposite of what Marxist economic theory predicted. He found the answer in what he called “cultural hegemony,” a form of power that convinced ordinary people to embrace ideas and policies they otherwise wouldn’t support. Gramsci “offers a way to think about how intellectual and moral legitimacy are maintained and enforced through cultural practices, which is useful,” said Jonathan Keeperman, the founder and managing editor of Passage Press, which publishes books by writers on the far right. In particular, Gramsci stressed the importance of universities in shaping culture. That makes him a model for American conservatives in their “fight against critical race theory, against trans ideology, against captured higher education institutions, against DEI,” Rufo believes. The right’s struggle against what it sees as left-wing cultural hegemony has become increasingly central to President Trump’s education policy. During the first Trump administration, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos focused on less ideological issues such as supporting charter schools and dialing back investigations into for-profit colleges.

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Lead Stories

Texas House passes $1 billion school voucher bill on largely party line vote

Texas House lawmakers approved a voucher bill on April 17, following a debate that started late in the afternoon on April 16 and stretched past 1 a.m. Democratic House members presented amendment after amendment after amendment, but each failed as they tried to craft a version of the proposal they find more agreeable. Ultimately the bill, Senate Bill 2, was given initial approval on a 85-63 vote. The House is expected to vote on the bill once more, then it heads back to the Senate. There are still steps ahead before the bill arrives at Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, but Thursday’s vote marks a key hurdle in a chamber that has in the past resisted vouchers. The bill creates a voucher-like program called education savings account, allowing parents to use state dollars to that pay for their child’s private school education or home schooling. The money could go towards tuition and other costs, such as school supplies and tutoring.

Supporters say education savings accounts are needed to give parents more say in their child’s education, while opponents say the money is better used on public schools. Some Republicans have also opposed the bill because they see it as a government subsidy. “Yes, we’re delivering positive improvements in the lives, in the education of our school children, but we have to understand that the enactment of school choice in the year 2025 by this legislature means that Texas is vital and strong and free in the year 2050,” said Rep. Helen Kerwin, a freshman Republican from Glen Rose, speaking in support of the bill as lawmakers prepared to vote. Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat, offered a different perspective. Passing this law endangers schools and lawmaker support is politically motivated, he said. “To the people of this state, nothing will change until you do something,” Wu said. The voucher-like program in Texas has been years in the making. Abbott made “school choice” a priority in 2023 but similar proposals have previously stalled in the House, facing opposition from Democrats and some Republicans. Several of the Republicans who have previously voted against school vouchers lost reelection bids — with the help of Abbott — leaving the House better positioned to approve the governor’s marquee issue.

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Texas House gives initial OK to $7.7 billion school funding package

The Texas House gave initial approval to a $7.7 billion education finance package Wednesday that would give public schools, many of which are grappling with massive deficits, the largest increase in state funding since 2019. The House passed the funding bill on first reading with overwhelming bipartisan support — with a 144-4 vote — indicating it might clear the chamber and advance to the Senate at a time when many school districts across Texas are in the red because of inflation, stagnant revenue and a confluence of other factors, which include a lack of major financial investments in public education by the state. House Bill 2 proposes to increase the base-level funding per student by almost $400 — from $6,160 to $6,555 — and ties future increases to the basic allotment to property tax increases, offering an option to raise this index. The bill would also pay for teacher raises, teacher training and invest $1.8 billion in special education funding.

In a news conference hours before the House gave the bill an initial OK, House Speaker Dustin Burrows vowed to work with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate, and Gov. Greg Abbott to “find a way to land the plane on this.” “There is a reason this is House Bill 2,” said Burrows, a Republican lawmaker from Lubbock who was flanked by several superintendents, including the Austin district's Matias Segura, during the conference. “The only thing that has been more of a priority for the Texas House is the budget, that we are constitutionally obligated to pass.” The Senate has passed Senate Bill 26, a $4.3 billion proposal to increase teacher pay and incentives, but the upper chamber doesn’t have a bill similar to HB 2. Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Republican from Conroe who chairs the Senate Committee on Education, has said his strategy to invest in schools is to put money directly into teacher pay, school safety and other targeted priorities. Rep. Diego Bernal, who is vice chairman of the House’s Education Committee, said that while there was more work to do on school finance, HB 2 provides good support for schools. “We’re in an environment where there’s always more that we can do,” said Bernal, a San Antonio Democrat. “I want to take stock of the good progress that we’ve made.” Despite overwhelming support from both sides of the aisle, many Democratic members said the bill didn’t do enough to help with the inflationary pressures many districts have been dealing with. “This bill is not a breakthrough,” said Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin. “It’s barely a stopgap. The pie is not big enough, and when it’s not big enough, we end up fighting one another.”

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The impossibly expensive plan to save Texas's water supply

The year is 1969, and revolution is in the air. Protests clog American campuses and streets. Richard Nixon enters the White House on behalf of his “silent majority.” NASA puts men on the moon. And the hippie counterculture threatens to remake the world in its image. It’s a kaleidoscopic time in which all things seem possible. Even the Texas Legislature—that citadel of chest-forward corruption and gleeful reactionaryism—is dreaming big. Lawmakers advance, with little debate or fanfare, an almost fantastical proposal. Problem: Texas is projected to run out of water by 1985 if something isn’t done, according to a state water plan developed in 1968. Solution: a modest proposal to divert an ocean of water from the Mississippi River below New Orleans, move it across Louisiana, and then harness nuclear energy to pump it more than three thousand feet uphill, in some cases, in open-air canals stretching as far away as Lubbock and the Rio Grande Valley. To store the bounty, vast reservoirs with as much watery acreage as Connecticut’s landmass would emerge from flooded river bottoms in East Texas. The price tag: about $90 billion in today’s dollars, just for capital costs. To help finance this grandiose vision, called the 1968 Texas Water Plan, the Legislature asks voters in 1969 to approve $3.5 billion in bonds, or about $30 billion adjusted for inflation.

Critics blast the proposal as costly, destructive, and unnecessary. The Sierra Club describes the plan, with only a little hyperbole, as “the largest altering of the face of the earth ever yet proposed by man.” There’s also the small matter that, apparently, no one has asked the Mississippi River states whether they’re willing to part with their water. The bond proposal narrowly fails, by about 6,300 votes out of 625,000 cast. And Texas manages to escape calamity. But the idea doesn’t die. It has been kicking around, zombielike, ever since. The year 2025 is too young to call it revolutionary yet. But the Texas Water Plan—or at least a modern facsimile of it—is back. Pointing to looming water shortages, one state senator has made it his mission to scare up vast new supplies, including quantities from neighboring states, and feed the bounty into a state-owned, state-run grid of pipelines. The idea is to move water from where it is to where it ain’t, generally from wet East Texas to the drier west. Instead of a mostly local patchwork of water systems—the reservoirs, treatment plants, and distribution networks that dot Texas—state Senator Charles Perry, a Lubbock Republican, envisions a multibillion-dollar statewide “water grid” to make sure Texas never worries about the resource again. He is proposing investing in desalinating salty Gulf water, cleaning up the chemical-laden fracking water used to coax oil from the ground in the Permian Basin, and injecting fresh water underground for later use. Meanwhile, he is involved in mysterious dealmaking with other states for their reserves. During debate over his legislation in early April, Perry alluded to talks with “one or two” neighbors—probably Louisiana and Arkansas—to contract for water. Perry, who did not respond to an interview request, brings a crusading spirit to his cause.

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Powell indicates tariffs could pose a challenge for the Fed between controlling inflation and boosting growth

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed concern in a speech Wednesday that the central bank could find itself in a dilemma between controlling inflation and supporting economic growth. With uncertainty elevated over what impact President Donald Trump’s tariffs will have, the central bank leader said that while he expects higher inflation and lower growth, it’s unclear where the Fed will need to devote greater focus. “We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension,” Powell said in prepared remarks before the Economic Club of Chicago. “If that were to occur, we would consider how far the economy is from each goal, and the potentially different time horizons over which those respective gaps would be anticipated to close.” The Fed is tasked with ensuring stable prices and full employment, and economists including those at the Fed see threats to both from the levies. Tariffs essentially act as a tax on imports, though their direct link to inflation historically has been spotty.

In a question-and-answer session after his speech, Powell said tariffs are “likely to move us further away from our goals ... probably for the balance of this year.” Powell gave no indication on where he sees interest rates headed, but noted that, “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance.” Stocks hit session lows as Powell spoke while Treasury yields turned lower. In the case of higher inflation, the Fed would keep interest rates steady or even increase them to dampen demand. In the case of slower growth, the Fed might be persuaded to lower interest rates. Powell emphasized the importance to keeping inflation expectations in check. Markets expect the Fed to start reducing rates again in June and to enact three or four quarter percentage point cuts by the end of 2025, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch gauge.

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State Stories

Women warn bills in front of Texas lawmakers to clarify state's abortion ban could make it far more severe

Women denied care under Texas' near-total abortion ban are sounding the alarm about a pair of bills moving through the Texas Legislature. Both pieces of legislation purport to fix uncertainty in the state's existing laws about the procedure but could have dangerous consequences, they warn. AD During a Tuesday press call, the women — all plaintiffs in the Zurawski v. Texas lawsuit — warned that House Bill 44 and Senate Bill 31, both of which are now in committee, would enable Texas to invoke a 1925 law allowing prosecutors to bring stiff criminal charges against patients, providers and families seeking abortion care.

Both pieces of legislation have picked up bipartisan support because they appear to clarify when doctors can legally perform abortions to save a pregnant patient's life or prevent catastrophic injury. However, the Zurawski plaintiffs argue the bills, as written, amount to a bait-and-switch ploy by anti-abortion lawmakers. "When these bills were filed, some of us thought that there was hope, and that maybe our stories did something — and then we read them,” said Kaitlyn Kash, who was forced to travel out of state to terminate a pregnancy that would have delivered a child with severe abnormalities. “We realized this legislation is not what it is being sold as, and as storytellers who have come forward publicly, we knew we had to speak out. We are fed up and tired of the state treating us this way.” In Zurawski v. Texas, more than 20 women sued to overturn the state’s near-total abortion ban, saying it prevented them from getting medical care for their complicated pregnancies. The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court ultimately rejected their challenge. While the language in HB 44 and SB 31 appears to offer to more clarity on when doctors can provide abortions, it still doesn't expand exceptions under the existing law. That means patients with problem pregnancies that would cause the fetus to be born dead or die shortly after being delivered still would be forced to carry to term, the women said.

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Austin developer central to Ken Paxton's impeachment case avoids prison time after bank fraud plea

An Austin real estate developer who was central to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment case was sentenced on Wednesday to supervised release and a $1 million fine for bank fraud. A judge allowed Nate Paul to avoid prison time after he pleaded guilty in January to lying to a lending institution as part of a deal with federal prosecutors. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop 11 other charges against him. U.S. District Judge David Ezra could have imposed a sentence of anywhere from zero to six months. The probation office had recommended six months. He chose to sentence Paul to a one-day sentence, but he applied 10 days that Paul served in state court as part of a separate civil case, meaning he will not have to serve any additional time.

“Mr. Paul has been a very active, and I should say, quite successful real estate developer in this community,” Ezra said. “Unfortunately, at some point, Mr. Paul lost his way. I have no evidence to indicate that Mr. Paul has been doing this all along throughout his entire career.” Paul, whose attorneys declined to comment after court on Wednesday, was first indicted in June 2023. He was originally accused of overstating his assets and understating his liabilities to several lending institutions between March 2017 and April 2018. He was also accused of obtaining money from business partners by falsely claiming that he would use their money only for the benefit of the partnership. Instead, prosecutors alleged, Paul used the funds to pay expenses of other companies that he controlled. Paxton was impeached by the Texas House in 2023 for abusing the power of his office to help Paul with a number of the real estate investor’s legal problems, but the Senate acquitted him months later.

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The Mavs media roundtable was even more awkward than I imagined.

The invite flashed across my phone at 6:45 p.m. Monday night. I was invited to what the Dallas Mavericks termed a “roundtable” with Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and team president Rick Welts the following morning at 10 a.m. The subject matter was undisclosed, although the lure was obvious: an audience with Harrison, who had not done any interviews since the morning after he traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in early February. The invitation came with conditions. An ultra limited guest list. No live tweeting. No live streaming. No cameras or audio recording. A transcript of the discussion would be provided by the team afterward. The team would later amend the policy about audio recording; recorders could be used but no audio clips could be released from the session. It was all bizarre. I walked into the American Airlines Center bracing myself for a very weird morning.

It turned out to be even weirder—and not just because no one touched the breakfast spread of coffee and croissants the Mavs offered us. The air was heavy. Harrison, stiff as a board in a blue checkered suit, made it heavier. To Harrison’s left was Rick Welts. The CEO seemed loose. He’d spent decades in NBA front offices, which has provided decades of lessons in how to say the right things. So he did his best to say them. Welts discussed his optimism for the future. He mentioned that, while it might not look like it, Patrick Dumont played basketball as a child. (Because his boyhood love for a sport qualifies him to own and steward an NBA franchise?) Welts claimed that about 75 to 80 percent of Mavs season ticket holders have already renewed for next season. He outlined broad concepts for a new arena, which the team intends to have ready after its lease with the AAC expires in 2031. The team is looking to secure 30 to 50 acres of land within the Dallas city limits to build on. He made no mention of the former Texas Stadium site that it already owns in Irving. Then it was Harrison’s turn. His eyes wandered around the room, shifting from one person to the next. He thanked us for being there in a fashion that felt like someone reminded him beforehand to thank us for being there. He knew what lay ahead. “Hopefully I can answer your questions up to the best of my ability,” he said. “I’m here to provide you with a blueprint of how we move forward.”

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House budget defunds the Texas Lottery Commission. Here's why.

The budget for the Texas Lottery Commission, which brings about $2 billion a year to the state treasury, has been reduced to zero in the 2026-27 spending plan the Texas House approved last week. And the chamber on Tuesday signaled it was serious about ending the 34-year-old agency. The decision to defund the lottery, which for the much of this year has been a magnet for criticism in the Legislature on multiple fronts, was seen as legislative gamesmanship when the House in the wee hours of Friday morning passed its version of the state budget. That's because several amendments were filed by some House Republicans that would have tapped into the lottery's budget to fund other projects. Rather than opening the door to potentially protracted debates on those projects, budget managers quietly cut the lottery's funding and transferred it to a special fund that is managed by the governor's office, which was also eyed as a funding source for some members.

Therefore, any amendments targeting the lottery funds were moot and not acted upon. State Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, who was among the House members who had sought to tap the lottery funds, told the American-Statesman on Tuesday that House budget leaders had acted with a heavy hand. "It was the uni-party," said Little, who is among a cadre of conservative lawmakers who have said that the Democratic members, who are outnumbered in the House, have outsized influence in the GOP-dominated chamber. "Republicans and Democrats were working together to shut down conservative government." But before Little's comment, the House appeared to double-down on its decision to defund the lottery. Because the House's budget differs from the one the Senate has passed, the competing versions will have to be reconciled by a conference committee. The House, by an 89-57 vote, largely along party lines, instructed its conference committee members to keep the lottery stripped of its funding. On Friday, state Rep. Andy Hopper, R-Decatur, asked the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Republican Gregg Bonnen of Angleton, if he would commit to keeping the lottery's budget at zero during the upcoming House-Senate haggling. Bonnen, however, was noncommittal.

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Houston ISD reports 20% decline in student disciplinary incidents in 2024-25 academic year

Houston ISD reported Wednesday that the number of student disciplinary incidents in the 2024-25 academic year has declined by more than 20% compared to the previous year. State-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles told the HISD Board of Managers during its regular monthly meeting that the district has seen “remarkable” declines in the number of students reported for incidents like fighting, insubordination, drug-related violations, terroristic threats, cursing, and bullying. “We are looking at discipline data all the time, and at this point last year to this point this year, the number of incidents are down quite a bit — 20.86% as a district. That's huge,” Miles said. “If you look at it by elementary, middle and high (school,) same thing, mostly in the high schools that we're down.”

According to HISD, districtwide reports of fighting decreased by 17%, chronic insubordination decreased by 23%, drug-related violations decreased by 19%, terroristic threats decreased by 20%, cursing at staff decreased by 16% and bullying declined by 10%. The majority of the decrease occurred among the district’s high schools, according to Miles’ presentation. High schools reported that the number of disciplinary incidents decreased by 26%, from 13,442 to 9,905, while elementary schools reported a decrease of approximately 3%, going from 894 to 871 incidents. HISD schools in the New Education System reported that the number of incidents had declined by about 27% compared to 10% at non-NES schools. NES campuses reported 14,743 incidents in 2024 and 10,717 in 2025, while non-NES schools reported 8,951 last year and 8,035 this year. “What's happening here on the incidents, especially in NES (schools,) is a more safe and orderly environment,” Miles said. “It is about making sure there are some strict rules, not unfair rules, and that we don’t suspend kids right away.” However, while nearly all of the listed disciplinary incidents had declined, the number of “possession of firearm” incidents increased by 133%. The district reported that 18 people had been found to be in possession of a firearm last year compared to 42 this year.

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Texas bill would make universities suspend, expel students on visas who support terrorism

After the Trump administration's push to deport international students who have participated in pro-Palestinian activism, the Texas Senate Education K-16 Committee faced resistance Wednesday over a proposal to encourage and require public universities to punish visa holders who engage in expression that appears to support terrorist organizations. The pro-Palestinian protests held at the University of Texas and at other college campuses across the state in April 2024 were repeatedly highlighted by those who testified in favor of Senate Bill 2233, though the proposal doesn't specifically mention those demonstrations. Trump administration officials have vowed to deport foreign-born students who were involved in the protests, and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, issued interim legislative charges in 2024 to investigate free speech and antisemitism on college campuses.

More than 260 international students in Texas have had their visas revoked or legal status changed by the federal government since Trump returned to the White House, the American-Statesman previously reported. Nationally, more than 1,000 students have had their visas revoked or legal statuses changed, not just for activism, but also with little to no reason given or for minor violations such as a parking ticket, according to media reports. SB 2233 would help enforce the Homeland Security Department's efforts, the bill's author, freshman Sen. Adam Hinojosa, R-Corpus Christi, said at the hearing Wednesday. The proposal would give universities a clear mechanism and charge to remove students and employees whom, after an investigation, are found to have supported a terrorist organization. "It's requiring the institutions to develop that policy, a clear policy, and it would be incumbent upon those institutions to let their students know and understand those policies clearly," Hinojosa said. In response to criticism casting the bill as too vague, Hinojosa said there are terrorism "definitions that are already established and well established" by the U.S. government. The federal government designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1997, according to the U.S. State Department.

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The tactics Elon Musk uses to manage his ‘legion’ of babies—and their mothers

Ashley St. Clair wanted to prove that Elon Musk was the father of her newborn baby. But to ask the billionaire to take a paternity test, the right-wing social-media influencer had to go through Musk’s longtime fixer, Jared Birchall. “I don’t want my son to feel like he’s a secret,” St. Clair told Birchall in a two-hour phone call in December. Birchall offered St. Clair some advice. His boss was a “very big-hearted, kind and generous person,” he said. But Musk had a different side. When a mother of his child goes “the legal route” in these discussions, “that always, always leads to a worse outcome for that woman than what it would have been otherwise,” Birchall told the 26-year-old. Plus, he said, Musk wasn’t sure the child was his. It wasn’t the first such conversation for Birchall. His public job is running Musk’s family office, and he recently helped organize Musk’s more than $250 million push in support of Donald Trump’s election.

Behind the scenes, Birchall also manages the financial and privacy deals Musk wants for the women raising the world’s richest man’s babies. Musk has had at least 14 children with four women, including the pop musician Grimes and Shivon Zilis, an executive at his brain computer company Neuralink. Multiple sources close to the tech entrepreneur said they believe the true number of Musk’s children is much higher than publicly known. Musk offered St. Clair $15 million and $100,000 a month in support in exchange for her silence about the child, whom they named Romulus. Similar agreements had been negotiated with other mothers of Musk’s children, Birchall told St. Clair. The fight with St. Clair over the terms of the deal for their baby has been going on as Musk has assumed one of the most influential roles in the U.S. government. As a top adviser to President Trump, he has been slashing staff and billions of dollars from the federal government as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, with massive benefit programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare in the crosshairs. Musk’s baby-making project is relevant to his ambition for NASA, which he wants to move faster to go to Mars. He said on X that making people multiplanetary is “critical to ensuring the long-term survival of humanity and all life as we know it.” In Musk’s dark view of the world, civilization is under threat because of a declining population. He is driven to correct the historic moment by helping seed the earth with more human beings of high intelligence, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Former Texas Rep. Mayra Flores is hospitalized hours after announcing 2026 run, campaign says

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas on Tuesday launched a bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar in 2026, followed by her campaign announcing just hours later on social media that she had been hospitalized with no further details. Flores was the first Mexican-born congresswoman in the U.S. House after winning a 2022 special election in another Texas border district. She served about six months in Congress but lost her bid for a full term. Her campaign did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment about why she was hospitalized. “We pray that Mayra will return stronger than ever, ready to continue her unwavering commitment to serving our country,” her campaign said in a statement posted on X.

Flores’ challenge highlights Republicans’ growing confidence in making gains in South Texas, a region once a stronghold for Democrats but has slowly chipped away its support for the party in recent elections. President Donald Trump flipped several counties near the border — including the two most populous, Hidalgo and Cameron — in November. Starr County, with a predominately Hispanic and working-class population, broke generations of precedent when it flipped for Trump in 2024. Cuellar, who has represented Texas’ 28th Congressional District for two decades, won reelection last year against a Republican newcomer who had little outside support. It was a test of Cuellar’s resiliency after he and his wife were indicted in 2024 on bribery charges. Prosecutors allege the couple accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar has said that he and his wife are innocent, and the case remains ongoing. Cuellar’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

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Texas DOGE considers bill to prohibit ‘surveillance’ by state contractors

A committee of Texas lawmakers will consider prohibiting state contractors and vendors from conducting “unauthorized surveillance” of lawmakers, state employees or anyone raising concerns or complaints about state operations. House Bill 5061 also aims to prevent contractors from engaging in “intimidation, coercion, extortion, undue influence, or other similar conduct intended to influence, silence, or retaliate against” those people. The proposal explicitly prohibits the use of private or confidential information to “manipulate or influence a state contracting decision or proceeding.” The bill’s author, Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, said he hopes to curb any illegal data collection and the unlawful sale of private data, too.

“It must stop,” he told the Texas House Committee on the Delivery of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Wednesday. While he did not mention the company by name, Leach said the bill was directly related to allegations made by the DOGE committee in March against a state Medicaid contractor, Superior HealthPlan. At that hearing and in the days that followed, state lawmakers and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the company of hiring private investigators to gather information and reports on lawmakers, who influence Medicaid policy, as well as on health care providers and private citizens. “All of you did an incredible job of shining a light on a dark place and on some dark things happening,” Leach said. “This bill is meant to come alongside the work you have already done, and to put some safeguards in place so that this doesn’t happen again – and if it does, to crack down in a really real way on the wrongdoers.”

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Houstonians express strong desire for a major theme park

Houston residents are eager for more entertainment options, with a majority expressing enthusiasm for a major theme park and new professional sports teams, according to a new survey by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs. The survey, conducted between March 29 and April 4, polled 1,400 registered voters in Houston about their preferences for entertainment and news sources. The results reveal a strong desire for attractions similar to those found in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which boasts a range of sports teams and theme parks. A whopping 64% of Houstonians are either very or somewhat enthusiastic about the possibility of a major theme park, such as a Disney World or Universal Studios-style resort, coming to Houston. This comes as Houston has been without a major theme park since AstroWorld closed in 2005.

Enthusiasm is also high for new professional sports teams. Sixty percent of residents would welcome a WNBA team, while 57% are keen on the idea of an NHL team. A Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) team garnered 45% enthusiasm, and a Major League Cricket (MLC) team drew interest from 29% of those surveyed. Demographic differences play a role in these preferences. Women are more enthusiastic about a WNBA and MASL team. Black and Latino residents show more interest in a WNBA team, a MASL team, and a major theme park. Additionally, younger residents are more excited about an NHL team, while those with children are more enthusiastic about a major theme park. If Houston were to get a major theme park, 29% of Houstonians say they would visit it more than once a year. The report suggests that Houstonians are hungry for more entertainment options and that city leaders should consider these desires when planning for the future. Houstonians want more entertainment options, particularly a major theme park and new professional sports teams. The survey highlights the potential for these attractions to boost the city’s appeal and quality of life.

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Texas bills could hide unfounded police complaints

Civil rights advocates who oppose a pair of bills in the Texas legislature meant to protect law enforcement officers from unsubstantiated complaints of misconduct say the bills would also stymie efforts for transparency. Police, public officials and legislators who support the bills say they will protect officers and agencies from reputational harm due to unfounded claims of misconduct. SB 781 and its companion bill HB 2486 would compel law enforcement agencies to create a “department file” for each officer that would contain reports of misconduct “for which the agency determines there is insufficient evidence to sustain the charge of misconduct.”

The bills exempt an officer’s department file from being released “to any other agency or person” under the Texas Public Information Act with two exceptions. The file can be viewed by another law enforcement agency looking to hire an officer or by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement when it is investigating an officer. But an outside agency such as the Texas Rangers would not have access to unsubstantiated claims of misconduct by jailers when investigating a death in the Tarrant County jail. Records related to substantiated charges would still be considered public documents. The Senate bill was written by state Sen. Phil King, whose district includes much of southern Tarrant County. The House bill was written by state Rep. Cole Hefner of Mount Pleasant, about a 2-hour drive east of Dallas. Hefner has framed the bill as a statewide extension of a provision of civil service protections already in place in over 130 Texas cities. Criminal justice reform advocates say that provision has disrupted efforts for transparency in local law enforcement agencies and that expanding it to all state law enforcement agencies would hamper independent investigations into jail deaths. Law enforcement agencies would have to create department files on any employee holding a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement license, which includes police, sheriff’s deputies, constables, corrections officers and others.

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Texas Senate passes largest film incentive bill in state history

Local filmmakers and Fort Worth Film Commission staff rejoiced Wednesday, April 16 after the Texas Senate passed a bill that would increase the state’s film incentive fund. Senate Bill 22, filed by Sen. Joan Huffman (R- Houston), calls on the Texas Comptroller to deposit $500 million into the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Fund every two years until 2035. This would more than double the $200 million biennium that Texas lawmakers passed in 2023. The bill passed 23-8 in the Senate and now goes to the Texas House for approval. Fort Worth film commissioner Taylor Hardy said Wednesday’s news is exciting and a step in the right direction. “This is really history in the making,” Hardy told the Star-Telegram. “We’ve never seen this level of support for film in Texas.” Film incentives are essentially tax credits that motivate film and television productions to work in certain states.

In addition to Texas, more than 30 states have film incentive programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Texas has slowly added more to the incentive fund over the last decade, with SB 22 being the largest allocation thus far. Texas has had its fair share of film productions in-state, including Taylor Sheridan projects like “Landman” and “Lioness.” But if this legislation passes and ends up on Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, Hardy says it will bring much more business to the state. “I think that’s gonna lead to additional infrastructure and really help support local business and create jobs for Texans that want to work in film,” Hardy said.

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Trump’s fight against international students hits home at Baylor

The Trump administration’s unexplained revocation of international student visas hit Baylor University April 9. The Waco, Texas, school currently is among a select few faith-based private universities affected by the unannounced revocations of hundreds of study visas at 120 schools across the nation. Other faith-based universities known to be affected so far include Southern Methodist University, Duke University, Emory University, Gonzaga University and George Washington University. To date, the vast majority of students whose visas are being revoked without explanation are enrolled in public schools, which tend to be larger. However, all U.S. colleges and universities rely heavily on foreign students to enhance their enrollment and boost their income.

At Baylor, as at other schools, officials did not know of the change in student visa status until a staff member did a routine system update of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System database. “Baylor University is aware of three students who have had their student immigration status terminated in the government database known as SEVIS — an evolving situation that is affecting colleges and universities across the country and deeply concerning to our campus community,” said Baylor spokeswoman Lori Fogleman. “Baylor’s ISSS learned of these terminations during a routine records review, as neither universities nor students received advanced notification of a change in status. The university has no authority to reverse these terminations. Baylor cannot disclose the identity of the students involved as we are committed to protecting student privacy.” The Baylor Lariat reported the situation on Monday, April 14. “We remain strongly committed to fostering a caring Christian community that includes and supports international students and scholars.”

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Ben Ferguson: Texas Bill undermines First Amendment and silences conservatives

(Ben Ferguson is a podcaster & talk radio host. He is the co-host for the 'Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz' podcast, and the radio host for 47 Morning Update.) In today’s America—where woke ideology dominates our institutions, schools, and even our courts—conservative voices are not just helpful; they’re essential. We are the ones holding the line against an aggressive agenda that seeks to erase our values, rewrite our history, and silence anyone who dares to stand in the way. Texas, for years, has been a refuge—a place where truth-tellers and bold voices had the protection of the courts, thanks to the Texas Citizens Participation Act, a strong anti-SLAPP law designed to defend free speech. But that refuge is now under threat. Senate Bill 336, currently being considered by the Texas Legislature, would strip away key protections in that law—exposing outspoken conservatives to relentless legal harassment. And I’m not speaking in theory. I know exactly what’s at stake here because I’ve lived it.

Politically motivated lawsuits have personally targeted me—weaponized not to correct wrongdoing but to punish me for speaking the truth. These lawsuits weren’t about justice; they were about silencing me. They were deliberate, strategic, and designed to hurt. The goal wasn’t to win in court. The goal was to break me financially. They wanted to bankrupt me into silence. And they almost did. This is what lawfare looks like. It’s not about proving someone wrong; it’s about bleeding them dry. When you go up against well-funded liberal institutions, when you challenge their sacred cows—whether it’s radical gender ideology, the abortion industry, or the indoctrination of children—they don’t debate you. They sue you. And they don’t need to be right. They must keep you tied up in court long enough to drain your bank account and wear you down. That’s where Texas’ anti-SLAPP law made a difference. It allowed me—and others like me—to get baseless lawsuits thrown out before the damage was done. More importantly, it allowed legal proceedings to pause while an appeal was underway, giving me breathing room to fight back without being financially buried in the meantime. SB 336 would take that pause away. If this bill passes, anyone targeted by a SLAPP lawsuit in Texas will have to battle in trial court and appeal court simultaneously. That’s not just a procedural change—it’s a death sentence for small media outlets, grassroots conservatives, and people like me who rely on that protection to survive the legal attacks hurled our way.

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National Stories

CBP says latest tariffs have generated $500 million, well below Trump’s estimate

U.S. Customs and Border Protection appears to be contradicting President Donald Trump’s comments on the daily revenue generated by his latest slate of tariffs. The agency said in a statement to CNBC on Monday, “Since April 5, CBP has collected over $500 million under the new reciprocal tariffs, contributing to more than $21 billion in total tariff revenue from 15 presidential trade actions implemented since Jan 20, 2025.” The update comes after a 10-hour glitch in the finance system prevented U.S. importers from inputting a code that would have exempted freight that was already on the water from being subject to the higher duties. “Even during the brief glitch, CBP’s average $250 million/day revenue stream remained uninterrupted,” CBP said in its statement.

Trump has repeatedly said the United States is taking in $2 billion per day from tariffs, including revenues directly resulting from his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs. The most recent data released Monday by the Treasury Department shows the department’s daily statement of total deposits listed under “Customs and Certain Excise Taxes” as $305 million. All tariffs are collected by U.S. Customs at the point of entry. In early April, the Trump administration imposed steep tariffs on dozens of countries. Hours later, it temporarily lowered most tariff rates to a universal 10%, except for tariffs on China, which it ratcheted up. Meanwhile, the administration maintained sector-specific tariffs on the automotive industry and is expected to announced new trade policies for the pharmaceutical industry.

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Judge Boasberg to launch contempt proceedings into Trump administration

Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday said that he would launch proceedings to determine whether any Trump administration officials defied his order not to remove Venezuelan migrants from the country based on the wartime Alien Enemies Act and should face criminal contempt charges. “The Constitution does not tolerate willful disobedience of judicial orders — especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it,” the judge said in a written ruling. Allowing political leaders to defy court judgments would make “a solemn mockery” of “the constitution itself,” he said. Boasberg’s order is the latest development in a broader showdown between the Trump administration and the federal judiciary, which has blocked or slowed many of the White House’s far-reaching actions. The Supreme Court ruled this month that the plaintiffs in the Venezuelan migrants’ case filed their lawsuit in the wrong venue, taking the central legal issues of the case away from Boasberg.

Still, Boasberg said that ruling did not excuse Trump administration officials from following his orders while they were still in place. He characterized the administration’s decision to proceed with removal flights on March 15 and 16 despite his order not to as “a willful disregard … sufficient for the Court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt.” Criminal or civil contempt proceedings against the federal government for disobeying a court order are complex and rare, and significant penalties even rarer. Any officials convicted of criminal contempt could be fined or jailed up to six months under a statute and federal court rule cited Wednesday by Boasberg. Boasberg has pressed the Justice Department for weeks on why the administration deposited more than 130 Venezuelan deportees in a Salvadoran megaprison without due process, hours after he ordered the administration not to do so and said any planes that had already taken off should be turned around and returned to the United States. His Wednesday decision has few modern parallels and embarks the court on a multistage and potentially weeks-long process. First up will be fact-finding to determine who in the administration knew about his order at the time, and who, if anyone, gave instructions for the planes transporting the migrants to El Salvador not to turn around.

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Republicans consider increasing taxes on the rich in break from party orthodoxy

Republicans in Congress are considering increasing taxes on the rich as a part of President Trump’s “big beautiful bill” of ambitious legislative priorities, a striking development that breaks with decades of party orthodoxy and is spurring alarm bells from traditional conservatives. The discussions are in the early stages, and lawmakers say it is possible that no tax hike makes it in the final legislation. But the once-inconceivable consideration of tax increases underscores the tricky task that Republicans have in meeting competing demands from fiscal hawks, moderates, and tax slashers for the ambitious party-line bill — as well as the rise of populist instincts in the party. One idea being discussed is a roughly 40 percent top tax bracket on income over $1 million, one House Republican confirmed to The Hill. Bloomberg News first reported that proposal.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also confirmed that the idea is being discussed in a town hall on Tuesday when asked about increasing taxes on billionaires. “It might surprise you that the list of possibilities we have on our working sheet that the members of the Finance Committee — and I’m a member of that committee — are going to discuss is raising from 37 to 39.6 on the very group of people you talk about,” Grassley said. “Now, that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen,” Grassley added. “And the rationale for it is we can take that money and use it for increasing child tax credit.” Raising the top marginal tax rate to 39.6 percent from its current level of 37 percent amounts to almost the same thing as reverting to the pre-2017 tax code — and a rate that the code would return to at the end of the year if Republicans do not pass an extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.

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An influential GOP senator is contradicting Trump’s team — and getting away with it

Sen. Roger Wicker, the high-profile Armed Services Committee chair, has proven a reliable ally to President Donald Trump by shepherding through his most controversial Defense Department choices and unabashedly praising many of his decisions. But even as he provides support, Wicker is quietly emerging as the Pentagon’s unlikely foil. And it seems to be working. The Mississippi Republican, in recent months, has swatted down a potential withdrawal of U.S. troops from Europe (others now warn against it); criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for undercutting Ukraine in peace talks (a rare public shaming of a top Trump official); and sought an investigation into officials’ use of Signal to discuss military operations in Yemen (the Pentagon’s inspector general has since launched a probe).

Wicker’s actions — unusual from a top lawmaker in any administration — are especially rare under Trump, who now wields unfettered influence over the GOP. But the longtime lawmaker has made himself integral to Trump’s agenda — such as seeing through Hegseth’s contentious confirmation — and carefully placed blame on “mid-level officials” for Pentagon policies with which he disagrees. Wicker’s delicate dance reflects how traditional GOP defense hawks are learning to navigate the administration’s isolationist moves while trying to achieve their own more traditional agendas. The approach could give fellow Republicans a model as they strive to balance dissenting ideologies with a president who demands ultimate loyalty. Wicker “has put himself in a very powerful place,” said a Republican senator granted anonymity to speak candidly about a sensitive issue. “The Pentagon, the White House need him.” The Armed Services chair has also enlisted Trump in his own goals. The two met at the White House in January and discussed a boost to defense spending, which Wicker calls a “generational investment” to deter China. Wicker’s plan would raise military spending to 5 percent of GDP, rocketing the annual defense budget well above $1 trillion. Trump announced this month he would push a record $1 trillion defense budget.

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El Salvador refuses to allow senator to meet with mistakenly deported man

El Salvador’s government rebuffed a request Wednesday from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) to free Kilmar Abrego García, whose case has become a flash point in the battle over President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign since the administration mistakenly deported him last month. Van Hollen flew to El Salvador on Wednesday to lobby for the release of Abrego García, a Salvadoran-born man living in Maryland who fled that country more than a decade ago. Abrego García is one of hundreds of migrants whom the Trump administration has deported to El Salvador, where they have been imprisoned without due process in El Salvador’s notorious megaprison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. The Trump administration has said it can’t do anything to secure Abrego García’s release and has accused him of being an MS-13 gang member despite his lawyers denying the charge. A federal judge has said there is no evidence of his membership in the group, which the Trump administration designated a foreign terrorist organization.

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The next phase of DOGE

When President Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency, its mandate was to modernize “federal technology and software.” It has done a lot more than that. But today, my colleagues Ryan Mac and Hamed Aleaziz reported that Elon Musk’s outfit is doing something entirely new: building a system to sell $5 million “special immigration visas.” Musk, whose exact government job description remains unclear, has been working on building the software, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on a recent podcast. Musk and his team are trying to speed up the typical vetting process for immigrants so that rich applicants can obtain U.S. residency in a matter of weeks. They have been working with employees from the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to create the website and application process.

It’s a story that reveals how DOGE’s functional power has seemingly expanded, with the group going so far as to rework a corner of the nation’s immigration system. Ryan and Hamed noted that it also shows how the Musk outfit is not only trying to cut jobs and contracts but also generate revenue. And it’s an example of how its staff members are building structures and systems that might outlast them. Many of DOGE’s employees — and Musk — are “special government employees,” who are allowed to perform “important, but limited” services to the government for 130 days a year. Eighty-six days into the Trump administration, the clock on those special government employees is ticking. Musk and Trump have both alluded to the idea that the tech billionaire’s time in government could soon wind down, though they are not expected to cut ties. Musk and DOGE have made a lot of changes so far. Members of the department are building new systems like this one. They are leading an effort to consolidate government data more broadly, despite the objections of career staff members and national security experts.

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A Supreme Court case would take a wrecking ball to separation of church and state in schools

The Supreme Court’s Republican majority certainly seems eager to make taxpayers fund religious education. Over the past few decades, the Court has slowly expanded the ability of religious schools to access public money. Most recently, in Carson v. Makin (2022), the Court held that states that provide tuition vouchers that pay for private education must allow those vouchers to be spent on religious private schools. Thus far, however, the Court has tolerated the separation of church and state in public education. That separation could be eroded in a case the Court will hear oral arguments for on the last day of April, however.

That case, Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond concerns a proposed Catholic school — St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School — which seeks to become the first religious public charter school in the country, dealing a severe blow to separation of church and state in public schooling in the process. Traditional public schools are state-owned institutions that are operated by the state. Private schools are owned and operated by someone other than the government. Charter schools are a kind of hybrid institution that are created by states and have always been understood to be part of a state’s public school system, but that are often operated by third parties under strict state control. As Oklahoma argues in its brief, both a 1994 federal law and the laws of 46 states not only classify charter schools as public institutions, they also require them to be nonreligious. St. Isidore rejects this classification, and it challenges a state constitutional provision forbidding the state from spending public money “for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion.” St. Isidore and key officials within Oklahoma ask the Court to bypass this constitutional prohibition by reclassifying the state’s charter schools as private entities.

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Lead Stories

Here's what to watch for as the Texas House votes on Gov. Abbott's $1B private school voucher plan

The Texas House is set to square off Wednesday on a $1 billion private school voucher bill, teeing up perhaps the most consequential vote of this year’s legislative session and one that could transform education in the state for years to come. House lawmakers have been the lone holdouts on vouchers despite intense pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott and other proponents. The governor spent millions last year to oust GOP House members who crossed him on the proposal in 2023, and he will likely be looking to do so again if any of them help sink the effort this time around.

Vouchers won’t become law if the House passes them, but they will be very close to the finish line. The Senate has already passed a similar measure, and Abbott has vowed to sign it if it has his major requirements – namely that it’s eligible to all students. Abbott in particular has a lot riding on the vote. He has been the face of vouchers in recent years in Texas, taking millions in out-of-state donations from voucher backers and targeting voucher critics in the House even when they voted in favor of his other priority items like billions of dollars in border security funding. A vote in favor of vouchers on Wednesday, after all the time and effort Abbott has put into it, could be legacy-defining for a governor who is among those rumored to be considering a run for president. Democrats are outnumbered in the chamber but could still prove key, with some floating a last-ditch plan to give voters the final say on the proposal in a statewide referendum.

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Trump’s AI infrastructure plans could face delays due to Texas Republicans, including Dan Patrick

Donald Trump’s plans to expand infrastructure to produce artificial intelligence in the US could face years of delays with the Republican-controlled Texas statehouse poised to pass legislation that imposes regulatory hurdles on data centers. The Trump administration earlier this year announced that a joint venture called Stargate would construct a total of 20 data centers to provide computing power for AI as part of an effort to help the US compete against China for leadership of the technology and spur investors to pursue AI projects. The companies behind Stargate – OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle and MGX, an investor backed by the United Arab Emirates, which together have pledged up to $500bn – chose Texas, with its loose regulation and pre-existing energy infrastructure for the first data center.

But the construction of future data centers to support Trump’s AI agenda faces headwinds as a result of the Texas legislation SB6, which introduces new regulatory measures including a six-month review process in addition to the existing 6-18 month evaluation period with the goal of protecting its own power grid in the face of storms. The effects of the proposed bill are two-pronged: the regulatory measures could result in a maximum 24-month approval process, while the requirement to pay additional fees to the Texas grid operator and install backup generators would dramatically raise construction costs. That could lead tech companies to scale back planned construction of data centers in the state, according to equity analysts. Stargate, for instance, has started building its first 10 data centers in Abilene, Texas, but it is unclear if the second set of 10 would be subject to the bill. And if tech companies do not build in Texas, they might not build the data centers at all, directly hampering Trump’s AI initiative. Other states, from Wyoming to Wisconsin to Tennessee, have courted those construction projects, but lack the infrastructure that exists in Texas.

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Why Trump’s heir apparent will come out of the trade wars

The most dramatic of tariffs are paused for now, but a different trade war is already underway — the battle to use the tariff debate as a springboard to the GOP presidential nomination in 2028. Consider Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. “I worry, there are voices within the administration that want to see these tariffs continue forever and ever,” Cruz said recently on his podcast. He said the goal of President Donald Trump’s shock maneuvers should be to “dramatically lower tariffs abroad and result in dramatically lowering tariffs here.” With his comments, Cruz implicitly contrasted himself with trade hardliners in the new administration, such as Trumpist trade point man Peter Navarro and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. But the ambitious Texan also broke ranks with some key, would-be 2028 contenders: JD Vance and Steve Bannon, the top two vote-getters in the recent Conservative Political Action Committee straw poll, for one.

Bannon, the former Trump adviser, has long assumed the role of vanguard “economic nationalist.” But the new vice president has also staked out his own distinctive turf, becoming the favorite of the “new right” that rejects Reagan and Bush-era economic dogma, and is anchored around institutions such as the protectionist-minded American Compass, Zoomer-filled American Moment, and the Buchananite The American Conservative magazine (which I edit). Both Vance and Bannon are likely to run in the next presidential cycle, all bluster about a third Trump term aside. With the trade nationalist market seemingly cornered, other aspirants have been buying real estate in the dilapidated ruins of free-market, movement conservatism. Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, has been doing this for years. In a February 2024 op-ed, Donald Trump’s then-opponent ripped his tariff plan as a joke: “Imagine if a presidential candidate promised to raise taxes on every American. Imagine if he promised to make life even harder for the middle class and the least fortunate. That candidate … should be laughed off the stage and defeated at the ballot box.”

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Trump’s tariff fight upsets the ports that bring Texas $700 billion a year in business

Leaders of Texas ports and the companies that rely on the ports have spent the past two weeks of tariff upheaval doing what the ship captains do practically every minute of every day: Study the information and keep an eye on the horizon. The one thing they agree on is nobody really knows for sure what the conditions will be for very long at the 23 Texas ports that by many estimates generate more than one-quarter of the state's gross domestic product. A few predict calm seas. Others see nothing but icebergs. More still cannot even predict what waves and thunderstorms lie ahead. “We’re trying to assess the situation,” Port of Freeport Executive Director Phyllis Saathoff told the crowd at a Greater Houston Port Bureau luncheon on April 10.

Despite the uncertainty of global trade markets as the Trump administration announces American tariff policy, then alters it, and then alters it again, port officials in Freeport and Houston have so far declined to elaborate on what immediate steps they are taking — including the possibility of slowing investment on their own docks or reducing their workforces. Citing the uncertainty and near-daily changes in what tariffs will be in effect and what specific goods will cost, they said it is too soon to either sound an alarm or give the all-clear. “Looking ahead, we will approach our work as we always have,” Port Houston public relations director Lisa Ashley said in a statement. Companies, however, are not waiting to take action, and have been doing so since before tariffs were even discussed, said Tim Sensenig, CEO of TMSfirst, a Spring-based transportation management company whose software helps companies with some 20 million shipments globally each day. Many companies — Sensenig noted the apparel industry — have already changed their patterns to get inventory moved in before tariffs can take effect. Others, such as Apple’s widely reported last-minute flight of Iphones, were temporary measures as they examined the long-term possibilities. “The last thing they want to do is be caught with their pants down with no inventory,” he said of retailers. Other sectors are taking more decisive steps. The impacts of proposed tariffs on auto imports and exports are already leading to layoffs at some automotive factories, as well as declines in the number of cars arriving at Texas ports.

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State Stories

As the border wars recede, a park on the Rio Grande reopens to the public

On Monday morning, as temperatures rose toward sweltering, Dora Flores warily approached the entrance of a modest park in the border city of Eagle Pass, Texas, wanting to see for herself whether the armed guards and concertina wire that had kept residents out for over a year had actually disappeared. “Is the park really open?” Ms. Flores, 73, wondered aloud. “This used to look like a jail.” The sudden reopening of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass this month was another sign of the changing of the guard in Washington, D.C., being felt far, far beyond the Beltway. In the last year, the large but humble tract along the U.S.-Mexican border had served as a backdrop for political fights. Republicans had used it to showcase the “invasion” of migrants. Democrats converged to decry what they saw as overly aggressive immigration tactics. In January 2024, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas took it over in a show of force, castigating the border policies of President Joseph R. Biden Jr. while keeping people like Ms. Flores away.

In recent days, to the relief of local residents, Shelby Park — with its soccer and baseball fields and a boat ramp into the Rio Grande — has become just a park again, almost. Citing record-low crossings, the state of Texas has quietly abandoned the park gates, rolled up most of the concertina wire there and left only a small crew by the river. “We’re happy the park has returned to the city,” said the town’s mayor, Rolando Salinas Jr. The semblance of normalcy underscores how the battle over immigration has migrated inland, to street corners of university towns, Democratic-led cities far from the southern border and courtrooms all over the country — as well as one enormous prison in El Salvador. During the height of the immigration surge under Mr. Biden — when more than 1,000 migrants were crossing a day — Eagle Pass became ground zero for testing Texas’ limit in enforcing immigration law. Governor Abbott angered many locals when he kicked out federal Border Patrol agents, directed National Guard troops to take over the park and proclaimed it private property so that anyone who entered it could be charged with trespassing.

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James Bopp, Jr.: Hypocritical bill targets Texans’ free speech

(James Bopp, Jr. is the General Counsel for the National Right to Life Committee.) Texans for Lawsuit Reform’s mission statement says it was founded to “fight back against job-killing, abusive lawsuits” and “shut down new abuses of the legal system.” But the so-called tort reform group makes an exception when it comes to one kind of tort: the kind that lets the powerful silence their critics through lawfare. Advertisement TLR is leading the charge at the Texas Legislature to weaken the Texas Citizens Participation Act, a 13-year-old law designed to stop frivolous SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). SLAPPs are often baseless defamation suits filed to punish individuals or organizations for speaking out on matters of public concern. The TCPA provides a critical safeguard by allowing defendants to seek early dismissal of these lawsuits and to appeal immediately if a judge refuses to dismiss the case. That’s precisely the protection TLR wants to eliminate through Senate Bill 336 and its companion House Bill 2459.

Why would an organization that claims to fight frivolous lawsuits want to gut a law that does exactly that? Their position is hypocritical. TLR’s millionaire backers are all for reforms that prevent ordinary Texans from suing them, but they’re happy to dismantle protections that stop them from using lawsuits to silence their critics. The Mohamed v. Center for Security Policy case, often referred to as the “Clock Boy” lawsuit, is a prime example of why the TCPA matters. In 2015, Ahmed Mohamed’s arrest for bringing a homemade clock to school became a national controversy. His family then sued several conservative commentators and media organizations for defamation after they criticized the incident and questioned the motives behind the ensuing media frenzy. Among the defendants was conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who had simply discussed the case on air. Thanks to the TCPA, the defendants were able to secure a quick dismissal and full reimbursement of their attorney’s fees. Without the TCPA, they could have been dragged through years of litigation simply for talking about a major news story. A recent column by ProPublica editor Charles Ornstein illustrates the dangers of weakening the TCPA. Ornstein spent six years fighting a frivolous libel claim filed by a Texas surgeon. Even with the TCPA in place, the ordeal left him “acutely aware how even when you win a lawsuit, you can still lose.” His case underscores how critical this law is to protecting those who don’t have deep pockets to fund endless legal battles. Ornstein was lucky – ProPublica covered his legal fees – but journalists spent countless hours working with lawyers rather than reporting news, which left the public without information it would have otherwise received. The nonprofit news organization’s insurance costs skyrocketed. Ornstein was even denied a mortgage because he truthfully answered a question about whether he was a defendant in a lawsuit. All of this happened, even though he ultimately won.

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Women denied abortions in Texas speak out against new bill, warn of greater harm

Several women who were denied medical care under Texas' strict abortion ban spoke out Tuesday against a bill advancing through the legislature that they say could criminalize pregnant patients. The plaintiffs behind Zurawski v. Texas, a landmark case that asked Texas to clarify the scope of the "medical emergency" exception under its abortion ban, rallied against the bill SB 31 at a press conference Tuesday. The advocates say the bill would open a backdoor for a 1925 abortion ban that could allow for the prosecution of pregnant patients and does not include an exemption for fatal fetal diagnosis. The women behind the case come from different backgrounds, but are united in their opposition toward this bill. Throughout their experiences, they said the state has reduced them to "collateral damage," "a shattered heart," and "a walking casket."

If the bill passes, advocates say that the landscape for reproductive rights in Texas could turn from "darkness into a black hole." In validating old statutes, the women who fled Texas to get an abortion say the bill paves the way for them to be "hunted." Hollie Cunningham, one of the plaintiffs in that case, is a mother of two boys. She had to leave Texas twice in one year to access care after both of her pregnancies were diagnosed with anencephaly—a fatal condition in which parts of the brain and skull do not form. "Let me be clear, we wanted both of our daughters. We named them, we loved them deeply. But we also understood the reality," Cunningham said. "This is not freedom," Cunningham said. "This is not what family values look like." But this bill could pave the way for the prosecution of pregnant patients and the loved ones who help them by reviving a century-old abortion ban. By amending the 1925 abortion ban, Texas lawmakers could argue that this makes pre-Roe bills once again enforceable. Attorney General Ken Paxton signaled after the fall of Roe that he would follow pre-Roe statutes, until a federal judge blocked prosecutors from pursuing charges against pregnant patients. "Are we serious right now? This bill could prosecute a marine for helping his pregnant wife get care in Texas, care for babies who had no chance of survival," Cunningham said. Meanwhile, Taylor Edwards, another plaintiff in the case, paid for everything in her own name when she left Texas to receive medical care out of fear that her loved ones could be criminalized.

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Bill banning LGBTQ, other advocacy flags in public schools clears Texas Senate

A proposal to ban public school displays of unapproved flags is heading to the Texas House after passing the Senate on Tuesday in a 23-8 vote. Public schools would only be allowed to display a dozen specific flags, including those of the United States, Texas, the armed forces, flags representing colleges and universities, a school’s official flag and flags that are temporarily displayed as part of required class curriculum. The list of approved flags do not include flags representing LGBTQ pride or transgender people. If enacted, schools that violate the bill and fail to report a remedy within a certain timeframe would be subject to a $500 daily fine. Shortly before the vote, Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, told her colleagues she would oppose the bill because it targets LGBTQ students and teachers.

“It’s truly devastating to me that this bill fails to distinguish between messages of hate and those of community,” Cook said on the Senate floor. “If pride flags are political, then so are the values of respect and belonging. Our students deserve better than a false neutrality.” In a committee report released earlier this month laying out the bill’s intent, Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, said her proposal addresses concerns over political or ideological classroom displays — such as pride flags, Confederate flags, Blue Lives Matter flags and Black Lives Matter banners — that have led to administrative bans, protests and lawsuits. Campbell cited as an example a North Texas high school where students staged a walkout after administrators removed rainbow “safe space” stickers and pride flags. “Similar incidents across the state illustrate the divisiveness and disruption that competing political symbols can generate in school settings,” Campbell wrote. “S.B. 762 ensures schools prioritize education and shared civic values by establishing a uniform standard that prevents political symbol conflicts, maintaining a neutral learning environment.”

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Wilmer-Hutchins High School: What we know about the shooting incident

Multiple law enforcement agencies responded Tuesday afternoon to a “shooting incident” at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas in which four people were hurt. Dallas schools Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde confirmed at a 5 p.m. news conference the number of injuries and other information about the incident. DISD Assistant Chief of Police Christina Smith said during the news conference that investigators have identified a suspect. A few hours later, the school district announced in a news release Tuesday night that the suspect was in custody. Tracy Haynes, 17, was booked into Dallas County Jail at 9:32 p.m. and is facing a charge of aggravated assault mass shooting. According to online jail records, his bail was set at $600,000. It was not immediately clear if he has an attorney.

Officers were dispatched about 1 p.m. to the school in the 5500 block of Langdon Road in southern Dallas County. A police call log showed 19 units at the scene. Dallas ISD officials confirmed on X that there was a “shooting incident” at the school. Several agencies responded to the scene, Elizalde said, including police from Dallas, Wilmer and Hutchins, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, Dallas Fire-Rescue, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Multiple students told The Dallas Morning News they heard gunshots before hiding in their classrooms and contacting family. Who was injured? Elizalde said Tuesday evening that at least four students were injured. The four victims hurt during Tuesday’s incident, most of their ages ranging between 15-18, were taken to area hospitals for treatment, Dallas Fire-Rescue officials said. Their injuries ranged in severity from non-life threatening to serious, according to officials. No further updates were available as of Tuesday evening.

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Houston Landing to cease operations in face of financial challenges

The board of Houston Landing has voted to shut down the nonprofit newsroom in the face of financial challenges. Although Houston Landing launched with significant seed funding, it has been unable to build additional revenue streams to support ongoing operations. The newsroom anticipates it will cease publishing by mid-May of this year. This timeline will enable Houston Landing to facilitate a thoughtful transition. “We are proud of the Landing’s coverage of Greater Houston and continue to believe deeply in the need for more free, independent journalism in our region,” said Ann B. Stern, board chair of Houston Landing. “This decision was difficult but necessary. Houston Landing’s reporting has made a meaningful impact in the community, but it struggled to find its long-term financial footing.”

The Houston Landing board continues to believe there is a strong need for nonprofit local news in Houston and a viable path to sustaining it. The board has entered into discussions with The Texas Tribune, which is exploring the possibility of establishing a Houston news initiative as part of its broader strategy to expand local journalism and serve more Texans. “We have great respect for Houston Landing’s work in delivering high-quality, nonpartisan journalism to its readers,” said Sonal Shah, CEO of The Texas Tribune. “We also understand the profound challenges facing local newsrooms today — journalism is a public service and needs a strong ecosystem to thrive. We look forward to exploring how we can learn from what the Landing started and create a sustainable model that serves the Houston community. We will take time to explore the right path forward to ensure sustainability.” The Texas Tribune recently announced plans to expand its network of local newsrooms. The Waco Bridge, its new initiative in Waco, is scheduled to launch in 2025, and a newsroom in Austin, where The Texas Tribune is headquartered, will follow later in the year. Through its Texas network model, The Texas Tribune offers local newsrooms shared support — including fundraising, marketing, human resources, technology, legal and business services — so that local editorial teams can focus on high-impact reporting and serving their distinct audiences.

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City Hall outsiders vying for mayor see their support climb in latest UTSA poll, with Gina Ortiz Jones leading

Three mayoral candidates from outside City Hall are climbing in UTSA’s latest poll. And the City Council members on the May 3 ballot are struggling to break 5% voter support — except for District 9 Councilman John Courage, who jumped back into the race in mid-February after suspending his campaign late last year.

Yet, with early voting set to begin April 22, 45% of voters either still didn’t know who they’ll support or were unfamiliar with any of the 27 mayoral candidates. Former Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones had the most support. Nearly 13% of the 685 likely San Antonio registered voters that the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Center for Public Opinion Research surveyed from April 7-9 said they would likely vote for her. The poll’s margin of error was 3.7%. The other outsiders, tech executive Beto Altamirano and former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, also saw their support increase. Altamirano had just under 7% support in the recent poll, up from 4% in mid-February, while Pablos’ support grew from 1% to 5%. Courage had edged out Altamirano, with just over 7% support. This time around, pollsters presented respondents with the candidate names in the order they’ll appear on the ballot rather than randomizing the names. Bryan Gervais, director of the Center for Public Opinion Research, said it’s hard to say whether that benefited Pablos, who is first on the long ballot. “There’s no question ballot order can matter to some extent. However, we see a few folks at the bottom of the ballot who are relatively unchanged from February as well,” Gervais said.

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Judge denies injunction against ICE raids sought by Fellowship Southwest and others

iAn ICE agents arrests an immigrant in Georgia on Sunday. (Screencap from Atlanta First News) A federal judge has ruled against Fellowship Southwest, the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and more than two dozen other plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the legality of immigration raids in churches and other sensitive locations. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C., refused to grant a preliminary injunction to block U.S. Immigration and Enforcement and Customs Enforcement from arresting undocumented immigrants in houses of worship, schools and health care facilities. “While we are disappointed, this is not the end of the litigation,” said Stephen Reeves, executive director of Fellowship Southwest. “We met with our attorneys and fellow plaintiffs late Friday afternoon to review the judge’s opinion and discuss next steps. We are still currently weighing our options for the best path forward.”

The April 11 decision stands in stark contrast to the February ruling in a separate lawsuit barring immigration enforcement actions in places of worship affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and other religious organizations. The earlier relief was granted by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chang in Maryland. Both lawsuits stem from a Jan. 21 decision by the Department of Homeland Security to lift a decades-old prohibition against ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducting raids in sensitive locations. The directive coincided with the launch of President Donald Trump’s massive campaign of rounding up and deporting undocumented immigrants. “This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murderers and rapists — who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” DHS said.

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Texas professor David Brockman outlines three common rebuttals to church-state separation

The principle of church-state separation is not a myth even though those exact words don’t appear in the U.S. Constitution, according to scholar David R. Brockman. Brockman, nonresident scholar in religion and public policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute and adjunct professor at Texas Christian University, was among panelists speaking at an April 8 symposium on religion and journalism in Texas. The one-day event at Southern Methodist University was sponsored by the Texas Tribune and Religion News Service. One tenet of Christian nationalism is that Christianity should be privileged in American law and public policy, he explained. “That’s where it runs up against the concept of separation of church and state. In fact, it runs headlong into the concept of separation of church and state.”

Critics of separation often will base their arguments on the language of the Constitution, he noted. “The words ‘separation of church and state’ are not in the constitution,” but the concept is. “The words are not found anywhere in the Constitution, but they’re there. … It’s a constitutional principle and you can find it in its most basic form in a couple of places. One is in the main body of the Constitution and that is in the prohibition on religious tests for public office. You don’t have to confess a belief in the Holy Trinity for example, in order to serve as secretary of state.” “The second place, probably more important for our purposes, is the First Amendment to the Constitution, the two religion clauses in that first amendment, first the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from establishing an official or state religion. And second, the Free Exercise Clause, which basically … prohibits the government from interfering with people freely exercising their religion. “So these are the aspects, the minimal aspects of what we call separation of church and state. As with any part of the Constitution, there are lots of different interpretations of that separation of church and state, but it ain’t a myth.” The phrase “wall of separation” originated with Thomas Jefferson in a letter written to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut in 1802.

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Fort Bend ISD adopts gender policy, requiring teachers to inform parents of change in kids' pronouns

A Fort Bend ISD high schooler pleaded with board members as their mother waited outside in the car, unaware that she drove her child to a meeting about a highly contested gender policy. If approved, the student said, their teachers would be required to tell their parents that they identify as nonbinary. They believed they would be kicked out of the house with nowhere to go. “I’m incredibly scared,” the student said at the Monday night meeting. “Please have compassion in your hearts when you are voting.” Trustees of the 79,000-student district still approved the policy, 5-2. They rejected the concerns of roughly 30 parents, teachers, students and community members who opposed it in public comment – instead siding with three people who testified in support of the changes.

The vote makes Fort Bend ISD the latest Houston-area district to adopt such a policy, following Cy-Fair ISD earlier this year and Katy ISD in 2023. Publicly voiced opposition outweighed support in those decisions as well, and in Katy, concerns about discrimination followed. The Office of Civil Rights opened an ongoing federal investigation into Katy’s policy during the Biden administration, after a student advocacy group filed a complaint. The five Fort Bend trustees who voted for the policy said they felt that parents have the right to be informed about what is happening with their children at school – and that they cannot raise parents’ children for them. "At the end of the day, it's our job to balance the rights of all students and ultimately, to defer to parents," Board President Kristin K. Tassin said. "I may disagree with the way a lot of parents parent or how they treat their children, and I do, but it's not my job to intervene in that."

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Kendleton mayor removed from office after pleading guilty for refusing to comply with record request

The mayor of Kendleton pleaded guilty in a Fort Bend County court Monday after being accused of abusing his position as the head of local government in a fight with an RV park owner, according to a news release by the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office Mayor Darryl Humphrey was convicted Monday for refusing to provide access to public information, a Class B misdemeanor, with charges of his abuse of power being dismissed, the release states. Refusal to provide public information is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and, or a fine up to $1,000. Humphrey, who has been at City Hall since 2009, was arrested April 2 after a grand jury indictment for abuse of official capacity based on charges he unlawfully raised water and sewer charges for an RV park owner. The mayor was also indicted earlier this year for refusing to comply with public records requests about the water bills, prosecutors said.

Between December 2021 and April 2023, Humphrey used his status as mayor to harm or defraud Todd Doucet, the owner of Lazy K RV Park in Kendleton. Doucet said issues with the water billing arose after he got into an argument with Humphrey about a permit. In October 2024, Humphrey agreed to resign, pay restitution of $5,000 and avoid conviction. However, the mayor refused to honor his agreement to resign, the release states. He then tried to recover the $5,000 he paid in restitution, but the court denied his request and Doucet was able to keep the funds, the release states. "Today the mayor voluntarily pled guilty, the court accepted his plea, the court convicted him of the offense," said District Attorney Brian Middleton in a written statement. "The mayor's conviction resulted in his immediate removal from office by operation of law. We wish the best for the community of Kendleton as it moves forward."

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University of Houston confirms visa revocation of faculty member who taught upper-level math course

A University of Houston assistant professor is among the foreign scholars whose visas were revoked in recent weeks, officials at the institution confirmed Tuesday. "We are aware that one University of Houston faculty member has been affected by the SEVIS visa terminations based on his recent status as a doctoral student at another institution," a UH statement reads. Hyeongseon Jeon informed students of the change to his legal status in a message on Sunday, which was subsequently shared on social media. Jeon said that the upper-level mathematics course, called Statistics for the Sciences, would transition to a new instructor for the remainder of the semester. He apologized for the sudden change.

Jeon's most recent curriculum vitae posted to the UH website showed that he was a postdoctoral scholar at Ohio State University from September 2022 to June 2024. He began teaching at UH in fall 2024, according to the resume. UH officials said they were not aware of other faculty affected by visa terminations. "Due to the unexpected termination of my visa – an issue that has recently impacted many international scholars – I must return to Korea immediately to resolve my immigration status," he wrote. "As a result, I will no longer be able to continue teaching." Universities are tracking the terminations in a federal database of international students and exchange visitors called SEVIS, which is managed by the Department of Homeland Security. The change means that they no longer have legal status, regardless of whether their visa was revoked. People with terminated records in the system are required to leave the U.S. immediately and not return, though some circumstances could provide them a grace period.

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Texas bills threaten current credit card system impacting consumers and small businesses

The Texas House Committee on Pensions, Investments and Financial Services recently heard two bills that some say could significantly alter the state's credit card system. The proposed legislation, called the Credit Card Chaos bill (HB 4061/SB2056) by opponents, could dismantle the current credit card acceptance system in Texas. They claim this change would require businesses to negotiate individual agreements with 280 banks, potentially affecting an estimated 12.7 million daily transactions and risking over $1.2 billion in consumer spending. Donna Finley, a restaurant operator from Nacogdoches, expressed concerns about the bill's impact on small businesses: "Let me be clear: HB 4061 is not about transparency or fairness. It’s about who can afford the chaos. Big-box stores might be able to handle it. We can’t." Another bill under consideration, HB 4124/SB2026, could prohibit using credit cards for sales tax and tips, necessitating costly technology upgrades for small businesses and potentially reducing income for tipped workers, according to opponents.

Brad Schweig of Sunnyland Furniture in Dallas highlighted the burden these bills could place on small business owners: "Taken together, these bills lead to massive amounts of red tape for the 3.2 million small business owners like me that are the lifeblood of the Texas economy." Rex Solomon, President of Houston Jewelry, warned against policies he views as favoring large corporations at the expense of small businesses: "Proposals to bring credit card chaos to Texas threaten the convenience and security of our business processes and raise costs for local establishments at a time when we can least afford it." Local credit unions also voiced their concerns through Melodie Durst, Executive Director of the Credit Union Coalition of Texas: "Many small businesses in this state successfully secure their financing and loans through their local credit unions or community banks," said Durst. "It's important to consider the impact, and unintended consequences, on a trusted system that consumers and businesses rely on."

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City Stories

Huffman ISD superintendent appears to be leaving the district in vague communication to the community Tuesday

Huffman ISD Superintendent Benny Soileau appears to be out at the 3,646-student northeast Harris County district, according to a communication about a "new chapter of leadership" posted on the district's social media pages and sent in an email to staff Tuesday. The announcement came after a special board meeting Monday night, where the board voted unanimously following a four-hour closed session discussion to "proceed with related actions regarding the superintendent's evaluation." The motion did not specify what actions would be taken, but Soileau was not present at the time of the vote despite being at the meeting earlier that evening. The agenda for the special meeting under closed session included legal advice for personnel decisions and "superintendent performance evaluation and related actions."

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‘You are lying’: North Texas city leader publicly reprimanded

A North Richland Hills City Council member has been publicly reprimanded and stripped of his position as deputy mayor pro tem for calling the mayor a “liar,” writing about employees on social media and violating rules and procedures. Blake Vaughn, a one-term councilman who is not seeking reelection in May, was disciplined by his colleagues April 9 after a closed meeting that lasted over an hour. The matter came out of a disagreement over language in a resident survey about carports. The vote to reprimand Vaughn was 6-1, with Vaughn in opposition. City attorney Bradley Anderle read a seven-page resolution listing the council’s findings against Vaughn. Vaughn said he wasn’t given adequate time to respond to the accusations because he received the resolution minutes before it was read.

Some of the accusations included making comments during a public meeting that were not relevant to what was being discussed, calling the mayor a “liar” and accusing him of misleading the public, disrupting a meeting by abruptly leaving, discussing personnel matters publicly on social media, and acting independently without council authorization. Vaughn said in an email to the Star-Telegram that he questioned why he was removed as deputy mayor pro tem and reprimanded just weeks before he was leaving office. Vaughn had called for an investigation of the city manager, Paulette Hartman, over the carport survey. The council found there was no wrongdoing on her part. “I want to be very clear,” Vaughn told the Star-Telegram, “this was not a debate about the city manager’s performance or an attack on her character. This was a factual dispute about whether a directive had been given. That distinction matters.” The controversy grew out of a heated March 24 meeting where the council discussed a FlashVote survey gauging residents’ thoughts on changing an ordinance regulating carports. Vaughn said he and other council members wanted to see the survey language before it was presented to the public, and objected that the wording didn’t refer to limited government and property rights.

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National Stories

U.S. plans to use tariff negotiations to isolate China

The Trump administration plans to use ongoing tariff negotiations to pressure U.S. trading partners to limit their dealings with China, according to people with knowledge of the conversations. The idea is to extract commitments from U.S. trading partners to isolate China’s economy in exchange for reductions in trade and tariff barriers imposed by the White House. U.S. officials plan to use negotiations with more than 70 nations to ask them to disallow China to ship goods through their countries, prevent Chinese firms from locating in their territories to avoid U.S. tariffs, and not absorb China’s cheap industrial goods into their economies. Those measures are meant to put a dent in China’s already rickety economy and force Beijing to the negotiating table with less leverage ahead of potential talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The exact demands could vary widely by nation, given their degree of involvement with the Chinese economy.

The White House and Treasury didn’t respond to requests for comment. U.S. officials have broached the idea in early talks with some countries, people familiar with the discussions said. Trump himself hinted at the strategy on Tuesday, telling the Spanish-language program “Fox Noticias” he would consider making countries choose between the U.S. and China in response to a question about Panama deciding not to renew its role in the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s global infrastructure program for developing nations. One brain behind the strategy is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has taken a leading role in the trade negotiations since Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most nations—but not China—on April 9. Bessent pitched the idea to Trump during an April 6 meeting at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s club in Florida, said people familiar with the discussion, saying that extracting concessions from U.S. trading partners could prevent Beijing and its companies from avoiding U.S. tariffs, export controls and other economic measures, the people said.

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Stocks tumble as tech investors pull back

Stock markets tumbled on Wednesday on renewed signs that the global trade war could dent the financial results of some of the world’s largest technology companies. Nvidia, the American chip giant, revealed that the U.S. government would restrict sales of some of its chips to China, marking the first major limits that President Trump’s administration has put on semiconductor sales abroad. Nvidia dominates the market for chips used in building artificial intelligence systems and will now require a license sell A.I. chips to China. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Nvidia said it would take a $5.5 billion hit because of piles of chips it would not be able to sell and orders it would not be able to fill. Shares of Nvidia, which exert great influence over market indexes because of the company’s size, was down about 6 percent in after-hours trading.

And in Europe, shares of ASML, the Dutch company whose machines are essential for manufacturing the most advanced semiconductors, sank more than 6 percent after it said that orders for its equipment had fallen short of expectations. Christophe Fouquet, the company’s chief executive, said the Trump administration’s tariffs have “increased uncertainty.” The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell about 1 percent, with most markets in the region trading lower. Stock market benchmarks in Japan fell 1 percent on Wednesday. Share prices were down 2 percent in Hong Kong and 2 percent in Taiwan, a hub of global chip manufacturing. The maker of most of the world’s advanced chips, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which gets a lot of business from Nvidia, dropped 2.5 percent. Its South Korean chipmaker rivals, Samsung and SK Hynix, each fell over 3 percent. In the United States, S&P 500 futures, which let investors bet on how the index might perform when trading begins in New York, were down more than 1 percent.

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Toy industry CEO on Trump’s China tariffs: ‘Christmas is at risk’

The Toy Association president and CEO said President Trump’s 145 percent tariffs on China will likely jeopardize the Christmas holiday for children as the world’s two largest economies remain entangled in a trade battle. “No toys are currently being produced in China. And there are reports that major retailers here in the U.S. are starting to actually cancel orders. So, Jake, Christmas is at risk,” Greg Ahearn said in a Tuesday appearance on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” The toy industry leader said American companies can’t generate the same production scale as factories in China as 96 percent of United States manufacturers are considered small or medium-sized businesses. “There are some toys that are made here in the U.S., but they’re mostly paper goods or highly automated goods. And it represents a small portion of the toys that are manufactured,” he told CNN.

Ahearn said it would take a significant amount of time for American manufacturers to catch up to the pace of their counterparts in China. “It would take three to five years to be able to build out the capacity, the specialization. Again, a lot of the toys that are made in China, as you said, 80 percent are hand labor made toys,” he said. “It’s the face painting on a doll. It’s the hair decorating. It’s placing them the correct way and packaging. A lot of this is hand labor that can’t be automated here in the U.S.,” Ahearn concluded. Billionaire Bill Ackman warned of similar turmoil for small business owners amid tariffs that could cut net profits and reduce a company’s ability to break even. “I am receiving an increasing number of emails and texts from small business people I do business with or have invested in, expressing fear that they will not be able to pass on their increased costs to their customers and will suffer severely negative consequences,” he wrote on X before the president issued a 90 day pause on reciprocal tariffs with the exclusion of China.

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China girds for economic stress of Trump’s tariffs

President Trump’s tariffs have been good for China’s economic growth. At least they were over the first three months of the year, as the country’s factories raced to ship exports ahead of the trade restrictions. China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday that the country’s gross domestic product grew 1.2 percent from the last three months of 2024. If that pace continues, the Chinese economy will expand at an annual rate of 4.9 percent. But whether China can maintain that growth is shrouded in uncertainty. Pinned down by tariffs that threaten to freeze trade with its biggest customer, China’s economy is facing one of its greatest challenges in years. Growth in the early months of this year was propelled by rapidly rising exports and the manufacturing investment and production necessary to support those exports.

Sales of electric cars, household appliances, consumer electronics and furniture were also strong because of ever-widening government subsidies for buyers. Then on April 2, Mr. Trump started escalating tariffs, which reached an extraordinary 145 percent for more than half of China’s exports to the United States. Mr. Trump’s first two rounds of tariffs on Chinese goods, 10 percent in February and again in March, had little immediate effect on exports. China’s overall exports in March rose 12.4 percent in dollar terms from a year earlier, as some exporters appeared to rush shipments to docks before tariffs could go even higher. But the tariff increases this month are likely to have a substantial effect on China’s exports going forward. Mr. Trump also placed, and a week later paused, heavy import taxes on goods from Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries that assemble Chinese components for shipment to the United States. Those countries still face a 10 percent base-line tariff that applies to nearly all U.S. trading partners. Some factories in southern China have already suspended operations since the start of April as American tariffs have reached prohibitive levels. That has raised concerns about whether unemployment may increase in China. Chinese officials and economists agree that the best way to strengthen the economy would be to increase domestic consumer spending. That would make the economy less dependent on foreign markets. Many countries, and not just the United States, are becoming concerned about China’s tsunami of exports from recently built factories and are raising tariffs in response. China’s leaders have vowed to take big steps to bolster consumers. They have adopted some measures, notably by providing subsidies for households to buy manufactured products mostly made in China, ranging from rice cookers to electric cars.

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The little-known bureaucrats tearing through American universities

Columbia University’s president had already been hounded out of office, but her ordeal wasn’t over. Four days after she stepped down under government pressure during fraught federal funding negotiations, Katrina Armstrong spent three hours being deposed by a government attorney in Washington, D.C. The lawyer grilled Armstrong over whether she had done enough to protect Jewish students against antisemitism. As she dodged specifics under questioning, the lawyer said her answer “makes absolutely no sense” and that he was “baffled” by her leadership style. “I’m just trying to understand how you have such a terrible memory of specific incidents of antisemitism when you’re clearly an intelligent doctor,” he said. The attorney in the room during the April 1 deposition, a senior Health and Human Services official named Sean Keveney, is part of a little-known government task force that has shaken elite American universities to their core in recent weeks.

It has targeted billions of dollars in federal funding at premiere institutions such as Columbia and Harvard, with cascading effects on campuses nationwide. Now it is pressing to put Columbia under a form of federal oversight known as a consent decree. Called the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, the group’s stated goal is to “root out antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses,” a mission that emerged from pro-Palestinian protests that disrupted campuses last year. But along the way, the task force is taking on university culture more broadly in ways that echo the MAGA dreams for remaking higher education—including ending racial preferences in admissions and hiring. The task-force leaders have unprecedented leverage, thanks to a financial assault on higher education by the Trump administration that has no equal since the federal government began pumping money into research at universities during World War II. The Trump administration has pulled or frozen more than $11 billion in funding from at least seven universities. The tactics and agencies have varied but the top-line intent, Trump said on the campaign trail, is to wrest control of universities from the far left.

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Trump plans order to cut funding for NPR and PBS

The Trump administration has drafted a memo to Congress outlining its intent to end nearly all federal funding for public media, which includes NPR and PBS, according to a White House official who spoke to NPR. The memo, which the administration plans to send to Congress when it reconvenes from recess on April 28, will open a 45-day window in which the House and Senate can either approve the rescission or allow the money to be restored. The official, who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity, confirmed the existence of the draft. In a statement on Monday that did not refer to the memo, the White House said: "For years, American taxpayers have been on the hook for subsidizing National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news.'" The statement includes examples of what the White House said is "trash that passes as 'news" and "intolerance of non-leftist viewpoints."

NPR produces the award-winning news programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered, while PBS is best known for its nightly PBS News Hour and high-quality children's programming, such as Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Earlier this month, on social media platforms, Trump blasted the two primary public broadcasting networks, posting in all caps: "REPUBLICANS MUST DEFUND AND TOTALLY DISASSOCIATE THEMSELVES FROM NPR & PBS, THE RADICAL LEFT 'MONSTERS' THAT SO BADLY HURT OUR COUNTRY!" President Trump is expected to propose rescinding $1.1 billion — two years' worth of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or CPB, a congressionally chartered independent nonprofit organization that in turn partially funds NPR and PBS. In making the move, the president appears to be drawing impetus from a House Oversight subcommittee hearing in late March. The panel called NPR and PBS' chiefs to testify, alleging the networks' news coverage is biased against conservatives. In a statement, NPR said: "Eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would have a devastating impact on American communities across the nation that rely on public radio for trusted local and national news, culture, lifesaving emergency alerts, and public safety information."

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Via porn, gore and ultra-violence, extremist groups are sinking hooks online into the very young

Across Europe and further afield, the picture is similar: Counterterrorism agencies are grappling with a new generation of attackers, plotters and acolytes of extremism who are younger than ever and have fed on ultraviolent and potentially radicalizing content largely behind their screens. Some are appearing on police radars only when it’s already too late — with knife in hand, as they’re carrying out an attack. Olivier Christen, France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor who handles the country’s most serious terror investigations, has a firsthand view of the surging threat. His unit handed terror-related preliminary charges to just two minors in 2022. That number leapt to 15 in 2023 and again last year, to 19. Some are “really very, very young, around 15 years old, which was something that was almost unheard of no more than two years ago,” Christen said in an interview with The Associated Press. It “demonstrates the strong effectiveness of the propaganda disseminated by terrorist organizations, which are quite good at targeting this age group.”

The so-called “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing network that usually shuns the limelight, comprising U.S., U.K., Canadian, Australian and New Zealand security agencies, is so alarmed that it took the unusual step in December of calling publicly for collective action, saying: “Radicalized minors can pose the same credible terrorist threat as adults.” In Germany, an Interior Ministry task force launched after deadly mass stabbings last year is focusing on teenagers’ social networks, aiming to counter their growing role in radicalization. In France, the domestic DGSI security agency says 70% of suspects detained for involvement in alleged terror plots are under the age of 21. In Austria, security services say a 19-year-old suspect arrested in August, with an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old, for an alleged ISIS-inspired plot to slaughter Taylor Swift concertgoers, was radicalized online. So, too, was a suspected ISIS supporter, aged 14, detained this February for an alleged plan to attack a Vienna train station, Austrian authorities say. Counterterror investigators say the online radicalization of a child can sometimes take just months. Digitally nimble, kids are adept at covering their tracks and skirting parental controls. The 12-year-old’s mother had no inkling that her boy was consulting extremist content, the family’s lawyer, Kamel Aissaoui, told The AP. And unlike previous generations of militants who were easier for police to track and monitor because they interacted in the real world, their successors are often interacting only in digital spaces, including on encrypted chats to mask their identities and activities, investigators say.

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Lead Stories

Texas House expected to vote on school choice bill Wednesday

In what could portend a sweeping change for education in Texas, the state House is set to vote on a school choice bill Wednesday that would create a $1 billion fund for parents who could then use taxpayer dollars to pay for private school education. The vote is one of the few remaining hurdles for the legislation, which has been a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott and passed in the Senate on Feb. 5. The proposal, Senate Bill 2, has been at the center of one of the most intense political fights at the Legislature over the past two years. The bill appears to have enough support to pass the House. More than half of the chamber signed on as sponsors of the bill. Still, school districts and advocates will be paying close attention Wednesday to see if that support holds. Passage in the House would give the bill a clear path to the governor’s desk. Changes could still be made to the bill in a conference committee of lawmakers from the Senate and House who would work out differences between the versions of the bill each chamber passed.

Similar proposals in previous years have failed in the House after rural Republicans sided with Democrats to block school voucher-like proposals. This year could be different after Abbott successfully campaigned to unseat several Republican members of the House who voted against a similar bill in 2023. House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said that the bill will pass during a March 25 news conference alongside the governor and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. “We can fully fund public education and do school choice at the same time,” Burrows said, adding that he was “excited” to send the bill to the governor’s desk. The House will also take up a bill Wednesday that will provide teacher pay raises and increase the per-student funding for public schools. It is expected to pass with bipartisan support. The voucherlike proposal the House will consider Wednesday would create a program to provide education savings accounts of roughly $10,000 for participants. Public education advocates generally oppose any legislation that would send public dollars to private education for fear that it will siphon money from the public education system that educates the vast majority of Texas children.

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Susman Godfrey files federal lawsuit against President Trump

Texas litigation powerhouse Susman Godfrey filed a federal lawsuit late Friday accusing President Donald Trump of issuing unconstitutional executive orders against it and other law firms. The law firm calls the president’s actions a violation of the rule of law and “a grave threat to this foundational premise of our Republic.” The 66-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges that President Trump “is abusing the powers of his office” and “is engaged in an unprecedented and unconstitutional assault on those bedrock principles [found in Article I and in the First and Fifth Amendments] and on the independent bar.” “In recent weeks, the president has issued multiple executive orders targeting law firms and their employees in an express campaign of retaliation for representing clients and causes he disfavors or employing lawyers he dislikes,” the lawsuit states, “If a president can with impunity seek to destroy a law firm because of the clients it represents, then the rule of law itself is in grave danger.”

“The executive order makes no secret of its unconstitutional retaliatory and discriminatory intent to punish Susman Godfrey for its work defending the integrity of the 2020 presidential election,” the Houston-based firm states in the complaint. Susman Godfrey served as legal counsel for Dominion in its defamation lawsuit against Fox News and other media outlets, which broadcasted claims by President Trump and his supporters that the Dominion electronic voting machines helped rig the 2020 election. Fox News settled the lawsuit for $787.5 million instead of going to trial. And the very same day that the White House released the executive order against Susman Godfrey, lawyers for the firm won a huge court victory for Dominion in a billion-dollar defamation case against the conservative news channel Newsmax Media in another 2020 presidential election dispute. On Wednesday, President Trump issued an executive order that accuses the firm of “egregious conduct and conflicts of interest” and representing “clients that engage in conduct undermining critical American interests and priorities.” The order by the president suspends “security clearances held by individuals at Susman Godfrey pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest.” “Susman spearheads efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrade the quality of American elections,” President Trump wrote in the executive order. “Susman funds groups that engage in dangerous efforts to undermine the effectiveness of the U.S. military through the injection of political and radical ideology, and it supports efforts to discriminate on the basis of race.”

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Trump administration pulls support for Dallas-to-Houston bullet train.

The Trump administration is pulling nearly $64 million in support for a proposed Dallas-to-Houston bullet train project, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calling the project “a waste of taxpayer funds.” The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday that it would terminate a $63.9 million grant for the project led by Texas Central, the company behind the planned high-speed rail line. The funds were awarded to Amtrak, a public rail provider that Texas Central said in 2023 would help move the project forward. The Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak agreed to terminate the $63.9 million previously awarded under the Corridor Identification and Development Program, according to Monday’s announcement. “This project was originally announced as a purely private venture, but as the cost estimates dramatically ballooned, the Texas Central Railway proposal became dependent on Amtrak and federal dollars for development work,” the DOT said in a statement.

“The project capital cost is now believed to be over $40 billion — making construction unrealistic and a risky venture for the taxpayer," the statement added. The company announced plans more than a decade ago for a proposed train to shuttle passengers from Dallas to Houston in about 90 minutes compared to the 3½-hour car trip on Interstate 45. Texas Central planned to model the bullet train after partner Japan Central Railways’ Shinkansen system. The project has faced many delays and leadership changes since, and uncertainty about the final costs remain. In a hearing before the Texas House Transportation Committee earlier this month, a Texas Central representative said details about how the rail line would be funded and the project timeline remains in flux. The company also expressed doubt that Amtrak would continue to lead the effort.

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Trump gave automakers a tariff break. It’s causing more confusion.

The White House sought to give car companies a break on a hefty auto tariff enacted this month by offering a deduction for American-made parts. The problem is industry executives are puzzled over how to collect it. And that is in large part because it hinges on a simple yet loosely defined phrase they are struggling to interpret: “U.S. content.” When President Trump enacted the 25% tariff on all vehicle imports, he gave automakers some relief: They would be allowed to pay a lower tariff based on the percentage of U.S.-produced parts and materials used in a foreign-built vehicle. The White House, however, has yet to provide many details on what exactly constitutes “U.S. content” or how it might be determined, for now leaving it up to the companies to figure it out on their own. Meanwhile, they have been left to pay the full tariff.

“We’re all waiting to better understand how this is supposed to be done,” said Jennifer Safavian, president and chief executive of Autos Drive America, an industry group representing foreign-based automakers. “It’s not really been clear to us.” On Monday, Trump said he was considering some short-term tariff exemptions for car companies looking to relocate parts production to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico. He didn’t offer further specifics, only saying “they need a little bit of time because they’re going to make them here.” New tariffs specifically targeting auto parts go into effect May 3. The lack of clarity on the U.S.-content provision has triggered frustration and confusion across the auto industry, which imports about 7.5 million vehicles into the U.S. each year. Automakers will need to trace the origin of a lot of components: Safavian noted that each vehicle typically has 20,000-30,000 parts.

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State Stories

Texas progressives might need ‘Trump’s favorite Democrat’ to stop Trump

The Democratic Party’s chances of winning back the U.S. House and stopping President Donald Trump’s agenda might hinge on a Democrat that the progressive wing has long been frustrated with: U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar. For years, Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat whose district includes part of San Antonio, has had to fend off more liberal Democrats in primaries and has been slammed by progressives for opposing legislation to protect abortion rights. In fact, his 2022 Democratic primary opponent Jessica Cisneros called him “Trump’s favorite Democrat” because of his penchant for crossing the aisle and voting with Republicans. But now, Democrats might very well need him more than ever as they eye the 2026 elections, when they’ll need to flip just three Republican-held seats to retake the majority. History is on their side, as the party of the president typically loses an average of more than 20 seats in the first midterm election.

But they can’t afford to lose any of their current seats, which is why Cuellar is important to their plans. He is one of 14 congressional Democrats representing a district that Trump won in 2024 and is considered one of the GOP’s best pick up opportunities. Already three Republicans have filed to challenge Cuellar next year. Law clerk Juan Esparza, Navy veteran Jay Furman and Hays County GOP chair Michelle Lopez already are in the race and Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, who just changed parties to become a Republican, is also weighing jumping in. It means Democrats might have to put time and money into protecting Cuellar, who is still fighting federal corruption charges. That’s a tough pill to swallow for some in the party. A left-leaning website called Progressive Punch, based in California, rated Cuellar as the most conservative of all the current 213 Democrats in the U.S. House on big votes in Congress. Even the ultra-conservative Heritage Action gave Cuellar a score of 17 out of 100 for his past votes. While 17 is low, it is higher than the 0 average for the rest of the Democrats in Congress.

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Texas Senate gives initial OK to bill restricting some flags in schools: 'Education and not advocacy'

The Texas Senate has given its initial approval to a bill that would ban all flags, except those from a specified list, in schools in an effort to keep political activism off public campuses. Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, filed Senate Bill 762 because she wants to remove the distractions of political symbols from classrooms, she said. The bill, which gained initial Senate approval with a 23-8 vote Monday, would prohibit the display of fabric flags, other than those representing the United States, a state or a college or university, among others, in schools. The bill is meant “to make sure we are focusing on education and not advocacy,” Campbell said. "Flags are powerful symbols that play a critical multifaceted role in the life of our nation or in our state," Campbell said. "It visually represents identity and values of our nation or state."

Flags allowed under SB 762 include those related to military units or branches, Native American tribes, an official school flag, a political subdivision and temporary displays related to curriculum. Though the bill spells out which flags would be allowed, Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, noted that defining what a flag is could be confusing for some schools. The bill defines a flag as being fabric, or similar materials, and Eckhardt questioned whether paper displays were also governed by this bill. “So, rainbow wall art on paper would not be subject to this?” Eckhardt asked. Campbell said paper images wouldn’t be considered a flag and acknowledged that “it might be” confusing to schools. During an April 1 Senate Committee on Education hearing for SB 762, Miriam Laeky, the governmental affairs director for Equality Texas, told senators that the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization opposed the bill because it would ban the display of Pride flags in schools.

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Dawn Buckingham: Investments and new technologies will keep Texas the energy capital of the world

Texas is proud to be the energy capital of the world. However, our vast resources and sprawling infrastructure network are driving policy achievements far beyond the energy arena. Energy dominance is the cornerstone of President Trump’s agenda, and he is committed to strengthening U.S. energy independence and reclaiming the mantle of global energy leadership. That means reversing disastrous Biden-era decisions such as the “pause” on American liquefied natural gas exports, expediting infrastructure projects that have been snarled in regulatory delays, and encouraging domestic producers to accelerate exploration and production activities. It also means pursuing permitting reform and greenlighting more projects that will improve our energy supply chain. Developing an abundant energy supply here at home lessens our nation’s reliance on nations such as China, Russia, Iran and Venezuela for the oil, gas, uranium and critical minerals that our economy relies on.

Texas serves as a model for the responsible development of diverse and reliable energy that keeps costs low for hardworking families and attracts businesses of all sizes. We are the top producer of oil and gas in the nation and possess its largest refining capacity — approximately one-third of the national total. We also rank first and second in wind and solar production, respectively, and boast two nuclear generating stations. Our state is growing our nuclear capacity by embracing exciting technological advancements like small modular reactors. Additionally, Abilene Christian, a university I was proud to represent and work with as a state senator, is leading the way in researching and developing salt-cooled nuclear energy. Meanwhile, thanks to cutting-edge research at Texas A&M University, Texas is making incredible strides in graphene technologies. Graphene is a nanomaterial with countless applications in electronics and energy storage. Our state also has a supply of many of the world’s most precious rare earth minerals in the Round Top Mountain property, which I manage as your Texas land commissioner. This balanced energy approach helps Texas prepare and respond to severe weather events and other emergencies. It has also played an increasingly important role in bolstering our national security as Texas leads the way in developing critical technologies. China has placed a premium on overtaking the U.S.’s technological leadership in areas such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Texas is doing its part to stand in the way of China’s ambitions. We have established ourselves as a top destination for data center development, which provides the backbone for these critical technologies.

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What’s at risk for North Texas families as child care deserts expand?

The stakes are high for North Texas’ young children, as the latest analysis by advocacy nonprofit Children at Risk shows thousands of available openings at child daycare facilities have vanished statewide since last September. Texas lost nearly 75,000 child care seats last year, creating a 15% increase in child care deserts, said Kim Kofron, senior director of education at Children at Risk. This means several areas with at least 30 children under age 6 have a demand for quality child care that is three times greater than the current capacity. It also means that although Texas has added over 300,000 new child care seats, 56% of low-income children under age 6 with working parents still live in an area where there is inadequate daycare, according to the nonprofit.

“The steep loss in overall capacity, the continued decline of home-based care and the overwhelming number of families left without access, especially our low income families, make it clear that we’re in a crisis,” said Kofron during a virtual Monday morning press conference. In both Dallas and Tarrant counties, families lost 14,341 child care seats last year, Kofron said. Dallas added an additional 13 child care deserts last year, an 8.33% increase from the previous year, according to the nonprofit. However, the number of Texas Rising Star child care desserts in Dallas decreased by 33.33%, meaning a few more low-income families are obtaining quality child care. In Fort Worth, there are now 11 more child care deserts, a 37.5% increase from the previous year, though the number of Texas Rising Star deserts decreased by 15.63%, according to the nonprofit. “I’m so alarmed that the number of deserts have gone up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” Bob Sanborn, CEO of Children at Risk.

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A viral video of a student assault in Katy ISD raises a question: When is self-defense justified?

A video showing what appears to be a male student assaulting a female student in a Taylor High School classroom has gone viral, causing the Katy ISD board of trustees to review the district’s code of conduct. Both students in the altercation were suspended from school, causing public outcry in defense of the female student who, in the video, appears to be struck without warning by the male student. The board at Monday’s meeting heard a report from Sherry Ashorn, director of Student Affairs for Katy ISD, who explained that the district punishes any children involved in a physical altercation — even if they act in self-defense.

The video, filmed by another student, began making the rounds on the internet on March 25. The Houston Chronicle isn’t republishing the video, as the original poster has not given permission for its circulation. The video shows a male student in a classroom punching a female student in the face. He then tackles her and holds her down while another student attempts to pull the male student off her. A teacher appears to leave during the fight. He later returned but did not take any steps to break up the fight during the video. The district has not identified the students in the fight, but Danny Gianfrancesco said he’s the father of the female student, identifying her as a 15-year-old freshman. Gianfrancesco said that his daughter suffered a concussion from the assault, and she was given a three-day suspension for “disorderly conduct.” The school also attempted to remove her from the volleyball team, he added, but allowed her to stay after Gianfrancesco showed the volleyball coaches his copy of the video.

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New Deer Park ISD superintendent responds as pastor wages anti-gay campaign against her

After being targeted by a local pastor's discriminatory, anti-gay campaign, Deer Park ISD’s new Superintendent Tiffany Regan said Monday that she hopes families will focus on her vision for the district that she has loved since she was a child. Regan told the Chronicle in an exclusive interview Monday that she is both excited and nervous to be confirmed as the southeast Harris County district’s next leader, following a month of highlights and low points that started when she was announced as the lone finalist in mid-March.

“It's been challenging and wonderful, really, all at the same time. You know, it's difficult when people you've never met or don't know your work make negative comments. But it's also wonderful to hear students you taught 30 years ago and people who you've grown up with make positive comments,” Regan said. The 52-year-old assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction is a Deer Park ISD native, from attending school there as a child, graduating high school in 1991 to begging her advisers at the University of Houston-Clear Lake to place her in Deer Park ISD for student teaching while earning her degree in early education. Her son graduated from the district and her daughter attends middle school there.

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What can Texas counties do when it comes to regulating noise ordinances? Turns out, not much.

While cities can regulate and control noise ordinances, it’s not so simple in Texas counties. Texas law requires counties to follow state criminal statutes to manage noise outside the city limits. But there’s no law that currently allows counties to set more stringent noise standards that would help residents deal with noisy neighbors. “Counties constitutionally are an extension of the state government,” said Jason Smith, deputy chief of staff for County Judge Mark Keough. Why do counties have no authority to regulate noise? According to Montgomery County officials, Texas lawmakers would have to pass legislation to give counties the authority to enact noise restrictions. “It’s no simple task,” Smith said. “You’ve got to get it through the House and the Senate and get the governor to sign it. Then, we will have the ability to come in and pass the ordinance.”

In previous legislative sessions, politicians have introduced various bills hoping to give counties the power to pass noise ordinances. However, none of the proposed bills survived. “We get these complaints all of the time about noise ordinances and so we have to explain to folks all of the time that it’s not that we wouldn’t do it, we just don’t have the legal authority to do it,” Smith said. “Counties are kind of set up, as we like to call it, as the 'Land of the free,' because you can pretty much, for the most part, do what you want on your own property,” he added. Smith said the only way to enforce noise regulations is through the Texas Penal Code’s disorderly conduct statute. The law says an offense has been committed if one “makes unreasonable noise in a public place other than a sport shooting range or in or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy.” The Texas Penal Code says "a noise is presumed to be unreasonable if the noise exceeds a decibel level of 85 after the person making the noise receives notice from a magistrate or peace officer that the noise is a public nuisance." “It’s very intricate,” Smith said. “They have to have a decibel meter where they can measure how many decibels that the sound is and it has to be at a certain place. Whoever is complaining about the noise, they would essentially have to get on that person’s property and measure what the decibels are at their property line.”

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Kathryn E. Kanzler: I'm a scientist. Research to prevent diabetes in Latinos isn't woke. It's efficient.

(Kathryn E. Kanzler, PsyD, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical health psychologist who served in the U.S. Air Force for over eight years before joining academic medicine in 2015. She is an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine. The views and opinions expressed here are Dr. Kanzler’s and do not necessarily express the official policy or position of Baylor College of Medicine.) Since Jan. 20, budget cuts directed at the U.S. government have dominated the news. Entities that fund science, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have been accused of wasting our tax dollars on “woke” and wasteful research. As a clinical health psychologist and scientist partially funded by the NIH, I believe these accusations stem from a misunderstanding of what researchers like me actually do — and the real-world impact our work has on people’s lives. Unfortunately, we scientists are generally terrible at describing our work — what it is, how it’s funded and how it impacts lives. My husband and I recently moved from our beloved San Antonio to Houston for a faculty position at Baylor College of Medicine. The first question people ask is: Why the move? The second: And what do you do there?

It’s hard for me to share what I do in less than two hours: Scientists like to be precise, detailed and comprehensive. But taking pity on my audience, and after years of practice, I’ve learned to do it in a few sentences. I explain that I study behavioral interventions to help people manage chronic health conditions, focusing on those who struggle to get the care they need. Ten years ago, I left a successful career as an active-duty Air Force psychologist because I wanted to make a greater impact in my field. For me, that meant shifting into health services research. One of my NIH-funded projects involves helping patients with Type 2 diabetes improve their blood sugar management and quality of life. The data are clear: Hispanic/Latino people, especially those with fewer resources, face significantly higher rates of Type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic/Latino white people. They are also more likely to suffer severe complications such as the loss of limbs and eyesight, heart disease and even death. This disparity is especially pronounced in Texas, where cities like San Antonio — home to a large Hispanic population — bear the brunt of the crisis, making targeted interventions both urgent and essential. So yes, my work aims to improve health equity. “Equity” has become an unpopular term, but in matters like this, equity equals efficiency.

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Antonio Garza and Caitlin Yates: Trump’s deportations will be felt most directly in America’s food security

(Antonio Garza is the former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, and Dr. Caitlyn Yates is the program officer at the NGO Labor Mobility Partnerships.) If you eat American grown produce or meat, then you should be concerned about the current status of America’s food security. We’re not talking about scarce water supplies or Chinese investment in American farms. What we’re talking about is what it takes to plant, nourish, harvest, and prepare the food we consume on a daily basis. And what is takes is the hard work of millions of people spread out across farms from Alaska to Florida and everywhere in between. Since his inauguration, president Trump has begun making good on keys pillars of his political agenda, chief among them his focus on migration. From downtown Chicago to orange farms in Bakersfield, sweeping immigration raids are having an impact throughout towns and cities, but perhaps most acutely on American farms.

With an estimated 40% of farmworkers and 50-70% of food producers in the United States being undocumented, president Trump’s immigration policy priorities will have a direct impact on American food security. That is to say that the detention or removal of thousands of farm workers will lead to chain reactions of lost crops, skyrocketing labor costs, higher food prices, and ultimately the deterioration of our American agricultural sector. Even before the recent uptick in deportations, labor shortages were considered the single most pressing issue facing the U.S. agricultural sector. In 2023, of the more than 380,000 positions requested, farmers received fewer than 10,000 job applications from American workers. In 2024, the U.S. agricultural sector estimated a 2.4 million worker deficit across the United States. Simply put, there are not sufficient numbers of American workers to meet the labor needs of American farms. Without U.S. based workers, some farms are giving automation a try. From cotton picking robots in Texas to AI trained apple harvesters in Oregon, technological solutions are finding their way to the fields. However, in addition to often being more expensive than hiring people, the machines frequently damage produce, can’t distinguish ripeness, and are slower than their human counterparts. Automation has proven particularly tricky for delicate crops like strawberries which are often damaged by the machines rendering the fruit unattractive to American consumers.

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‘Doing the right thing cost my family’: Denton man says Whistleblower Act failed him in committee

A former Denton employee who was fired after reporting a city council member for leaking documents to a reporter told Texas lawmakers Monday that the state’s Whistleblower Act failed him. “I am exactly the type of person the Whistleblower Act and this legislation should protect,” testified Mike Grim, former executive manager of Denton Municipal Electric. Grim spoke at a House State Affairs Committee on a bill that would expand whistleblower protections to prevent retaliation against public employees who report a good-faith violation of law against an elected officer of an employing governmental entity. Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, said House Bill 1232 is needed as Texas has strong protections for public employees who report violations by a government entity or another employee but not for those involving elected officials.

“This means, for example, that if a city employee reports a city council member or a county staffer flags misconduct by an elected supervisor, they may not receive the same legal protections,” Turner said. Grim and Jim Maynard, who also worked at Denton Municipal Electric, reported a then-city council member to the city attorney in 2016 for allegedly unlawfully leaking private vendor information on a controversial new power plant to a reporter. Grim and Maynard were fired 10 months later. Grim’s termination letter cited a loss of confidence in him as a manager and said he was not candid with investigators who were probing whether he and Maynard improperly accepted fishing or hunting trips from the new power plant’s vendors. Maynard was fired for giving investigators inaccurate information on a fishing trip, his termination letter said. Both men argued in court that the investigations were a sham and that their firings were in retaliation for reporting the council member. Grim and Maynard won a $4 million judgment after a jury trial in 2020. An appeals court affirmed the lower-court ruling in August 2022, but the Texas Supreme Court held in May 2024 that Grim and Maynard were not protected by the whistleblower law. “

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UT students want more communication, action from school after West Campus crimes spike

Students at the University of Texas are concerned about a spike in crime in West Campus after a man accused of being a "violent offender" who was arrested three times in three days last week was again released from jail, the university said in a statement. UT police confirmed that Aymen Labidi, 23, was arrested three times within three days after the county attorney's office rereleased him. On Wednesday, Labidi is accused of attacking a 19-year-old male outside of a restaurant in West Campus about 4:32 p.m., according to a police report in which officers classified the incident as an assault. Later that evening, about 7:09 p.m., UT police arrested Labidi for disorderly conduct on West 25th Street, another report said. Officials said Labidi is accused of a committing third incident later in week, though that police report was not available by Monday afternoon.

Diana Melendez, senior counsel for communications at the Travis County attorney's office, said safety is the office's "top priority." She said the office does not comment on pending cases, but generally, a suspect can be released from jail after a court order or posting bond while their case is pending. "We have been in contact with law enforcement for the situations that occurred close to the UT campus last week and will continue to coordinate efforts to achieve the best possible results for all involved," Melendez said in a statement. "County Attorney (Delia) Garza has always met with members of our community and continues to engage to answer questions and provide correct information on how the criminal justice system operates." Interim UT President Jim Davis implored local officials to take greater action in phone calls Friday, including reaching out to Mayor Kirk Watson and Travis County Judge Andy Brown. “This must change," Davis said Friday. "We must find a solution. Our students and their families are counting on it." Hector Nieto, a Travis County spokesperson, said Brown looks forward to working with UT on systematic solutions, such as a "mental health jail diversion center that helps meet the needs of the campus community and Travis County."

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An Austin drag queen is teaching people about the Texas Legislature — in the club

One night a week, a gay dance club in downtown Austin transforms into a lecture hall. There’s still flashing lights. Bone-shaking bass. Drinks flowing from the bar. Then a six-foot-tall drag queen with a hot pink wig and thigh-high boots steps onto a stage — holding a lecture stick. On the screen are two words: “LegiSLAYtion & Liberation.” That’s the name of the event Austin drag queen Brigitte Bandit hosts at Oilcan Harry’s on West Fourth Street. Every Tuesday, a crowd gathers to hear her talk about the week in politics, from President Trump’s latest executive actions to bills that state lawmakers are debating just up the road. The show aims to help LGBTQ+ Austinites and allies keep up with news relevant to their community and find resources for political advocacy.

Bandit held the first LegiSLAYtion & Liberation in late January to coincide with the start of the 89th state legislative session. “The Texas Legislature is confusing,” she said. “They intentionally make it as difficult as possible for people to make their voice heard and for [lawmakers] to listen to their constituents. And so I was like, how do I make this information accessible and break it down to people?” Her desire to help people sort through the noise became even greater, she said, as President Trump began to issue a whirlwind of orders reshaping the federal government and targeting LGBTQ+ Americans. LegiSLAYtion & Liberation is a natural extension of Bandit’s drag career, which has gone hand-in-hand with politics. The Austin native has testified at the Legislature in drag, and she was part of a lawsuit against a 2023 Texas law restricting drag performances, which was ruled unconstitutional. “I've used drag to fight for First Amendment rights. … I've talked about reproductive rights, I’ve talked about gun control,” Bandit said. “Drag is a way to get people's attention.”

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City Stories

Houston attorney and philanthropist died in Mexico this month, according to friend

Houston attorney and businesswoman Jessica Rossman was found dead in Mexico this month, according to a close friend and media reports. She was 56. Rossman died April 1 after experiencing an undisclosed health issue while visiting her home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, her friend Edward Sanchez wrote on Instagram. "Jessica was loved by so many and we know everyone will want to reach out — but we ask everyone to be patient while plans are made to celebrate her life in a proper way," Sanchez wrote on Instagram. Rossman was a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California Boalt Hall School of Law. An avid traveler and philanthropist, Rossman co-chaired the Bering Omega gala and served as the honorary chair of the Planned Parenthood Young Leaders "Party Like a Rock Star" fundraiser. She was named a 2017 Houston Chronicle Best Dressed honoree and said her "effortlessly elegant aunt," Maria Teresa Loiseau, was her style icon.

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Southern Dallas civic leader Edna Pemberton, ‘Mrs. P’ dies after decades of public service

A longtime Oak Cliff civic leader and community volunteer, Edna Pemberton, died Sunday. She was 81. Pemberton, said to be “the soul” in the redevelopment of the area around what is now the Shops at RedBird, carried the Olympic torch through Dallas. She has influenced business and politics throughout the city. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett on Sunday called Pemberton “a fierce advocate, a fearless voice, and a true community leader.” “She didn’t just believe in change—she was the change,” Crockett wrote in a social media post. “North Texas and the world are better because of the work she did and the lives she touched.

Pemberton, also known as “Mrs. P,” was committed to public service for decades, receiving praise from elected officials, community and religious groups. Council members and other local officials heard from Pemberton regularly as she worked to create change in her community. She tried running for council in 1993 but later said she was grateful she lost, pushing for change as an outsider. “I know a lot of influential people and high-profile people, but my work is done in the trenches,” Pemberton told The Dallas Morning News in 2016. Pemberton volunteered for humanitarian work, disaster relief and to help homeless people, including providing aid to evacuees after Hurricane Katrina. Federal officials credited her with helping about 84,000 who had evacuated, many of whom relocated to Dallas, according to a report from The News. In 1996, she carried the Olympic torch through Dallas. Pemberton said her husband, DarNell Pemberton, was her “possee buddy.” They had four kids, and when her sister died, they added six more children to their family. The family was active with Concord Missionary Baptist Church in the 1990s, volunteering for disaster relief and humanitarian work. Brodney Williams, Pemberton’s 27-year-old grandson, told The News on Monday his grandmother would have him look to DarNell Pemberton — who died in 2005 — as inspiration. Edna Pemberton was transparent and blunt, but not mean, about what she wanted. She instilled strength, Williams said.

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Dallas may spend $52 million on old DMN campus to keep convention center project on track

Dallas might purchase the old Dallas Morning News building for nearly $52 million to save the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center project, according to the draft agenda for the April 23 City Council meeting. Two agenda items call for the city to buy the newspaper campus downtown and portions of its surrounding area from developer Ray Washburne, who purchased the property for $28 million in 2019. One of the items could authorize the city to use eminent domain — a tool governments use to acquire private property for public use — if necessary. The city wants to use the convention center to revamp an otherwise blighted part of downtown, and Washburne wants to convert the area into an entertainment district.

If Dallas council approves the items, Washburne said he would move forward with the district. The real estate developer said he would invest “at least $150 million” into the project, anchored by a roughly 200-room hotel. Washburne said he wishes he could get more for the properties, but he’s happy that they’ve found a potential solution. “I’ll be happy with that,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do for the city, the convention center and everything else. ... [The city manager] has been fantastic.” The deal was threatened earlier this year. In February, Washburne told The News he was planning on selling the downtown site to an unnamed data firm because he had not heard an update about the city’s design plans for the $3.7 billion convention center. In later interviews, Washburne said he could move the data firm to another site he owns if the city was interested in purchasing the property from him. If the deal is approved, Washburne said he will move the data center to a different, undisclosed location. The latest draft agenda shows that both parties, who were caught up in a “test of wills,” may have come to a compromise.

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National Stories

Housing affordability issues show few signs of easing

U.S. house prices are out of reach for millions of Americans, and the Federal Reserve’s pause in interest rate cuts means that financing costs will likely dog the real estate market for months to come. Affordability metrics show housing costs squeezing household finances, pressures made more intense by a long-term shortage of lost-cost housing. Affordability in general was a top issue in the 2024 election, with dueling strategies coming from Democrats and Republicans about how to deal with it. Concerns about the staying power of inflation and uncertainties about the Trump administration’s macroeconomic policies suggest the issue — particularly in the housing market — could persist for the foreseeable future. The median price of a new single-family home in the U.S. is about $460,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), a trade group for residential construction companies.

Based on mortgage rates at 6.5 percent and current underwriting standards from banks, that price is out of range for about three-quarters of all U.S. households, the NAHB found in March. Mortgage rates are currently above that level at 6.65 percent for the most popular 30-year mortgage. Even houses that cost $300,000, which is substantially less than the median sales price of $398,000 for existing homes in February, are too expensive for 57 percent of households, the NAHB found. The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) housing affordability index, as reported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is well-below the 30-year trend line. Households with a median income of about $80,0000 are just able to afford a mortgage for the median-priced home. That number popped up to a break-even at the end of last year after falling into negative territory in the back half of 2024.

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AP journalists held out of White House events despite judge’s ruling

Last week, a federal judge in D.C. ordered the White House to stop preventing Associated Press journalists from attending presidential events because of the news organization’s decision to continue using the name Gulf of Mexico. Judge Trevor N. McFadden decided to lift the ban — which had been in place since Feb. 11 — while the AP’s lawsuit against the White House plays out, arguing in a scathing ruling that blocking the news organization’s journalists over a stylebook decision violated their constitutional rights. He stayed his own ruling for five days to allow an appeal, meaning it expired Sunday. But on Monday, it was as if nothing had changed. The AP was not included in the limited pool of journalists covering the president, as it had been before the ban. And when AP journalists attempted to cover Trump’s Oval Office meeting with the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, they were rebuffed.

“Our journalists were blocked from the Oval Office today,” AP spokesperson Lauren Easton said. “We expect the White House to restore AP’s participation in the pool as of today, as provided in the injunction order.” While AP photographers were permitted to cover a 3 p.m. presidential event with the Ohio State University football team on the South Lawn, a print journalist was not. McFadden issued the injunction on April 8, arguing that the White House had improperly discriminated against the AP and had caused “significant, concrete harms.” Lawyers for the White House have appealed the judge’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which so far has declined to extend an emergency stay. On Thursday afternoon, the White House will have an opportunity to argue to a three-judge panel why the stay should be reissued while the case plays out, with both sides given 15 minutes to make their case.

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DOGE is collecting federal data to remove immigrants from housing, jobs

The Trump administration is using personal data normally protected from dissemination to find undocumented immigrants where they work, study and live, often with the goal of removing them from their housing and the workforce. At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for example, officials are working on a rule that would ban mixed-status households — in which some family members have legal status and others don’t — from public housing, according to multiple staffers who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution. Affiliates from the U.S. DOGE Service are also looking to kick out existing mixed-status households, vowing to ensure that undocumented immigrants do not benefit from public programs, even if they live with citizens or other eligible family members. The push extends across agencies: Last week, the Social Security Administration entered the names and Social Security numbers of more than 6,000 mostly Latino immigrants into a database it uses to track dead people, effectively slashing their ability to receive benefits or work legally in the United States.

Federal tax and immigration enforcement officials recently reached a deal to share confidential tax data for people suspected of being in the United States illegally. The result is an unprecedented effort to use government data to support the administration’s immigration policies. That includes information people have reported about themselves for years while paying taxes or applying for housing — believing that information would not be used against them for immigration purposes. Legal experts say the data sharing is a breach of privacy rules that help ensure trust in government programs and services. “It’s not only about one subgroup of people, it’s really about all of us,” said Tanya Broder, senior counsel for health and economic justice policy at the left-leaning National Immigration Law Center. “Everyone cares about their privacy. Nobody wants their health-care information or tax information broadcast and used to go after us.” The White House did not reply to a request for comment. In response to questions, a DHS official said, “The government is finally doing what it should have all along: sharing information across the federal government to solve problems.”

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El Salvador's president says he won't return mistakenly deported man to U.S.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele told reporters during a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday that he wouldn't return a man the Justice Department said it had mistakenly deported to his country. "How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States?" Bukele said, sitting beside Trump in the Oval Office, when he was asked whether he’d return Kilmar Abrego Garcia. "Of course I'm not going to do it. The question is preposterous." Asked whether he’d be released in his own country, he said, “We’re not very fond of releasing terrorists.”

Trump then turned to Bukele and said of the assembled reporters: "They'd love to have a criminal released into our country. These are sick people." Trump also said he wants Bukele to take in as many criminals "as possible." Abrego Garcia has never been charged criminally in the United States or El Salvador, according to court filings. Justice Department officials have acknowledged that Abrego Garcia shouldn't have been sent to El Salvador because of an immigration judge's 2019 order barring him from being sent there, and the Supreme Court has called his removal illegal and directed the administration to "facilitate" his return while being respectful of the president's authority. In a court filing later Monday, the administration, which has maintained it doesn't believe the United States has the authority to get Abrego Garcia back, cited Bukele's comments at the White House.

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U.S. businesses sue to block Trump tariffs, say trade deficits are not an emergency

A group of five small businesses sued President Donald Trump on Monday, seeking to block new tariffs he has imposed on foreign imports in recent weeks. The lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade alleges that Trump has illegally usurped Congress’ power to levy tariffs by claiming that trade deficits with other countries constitute an emergency. “Congress has not delegated any such power,” the suit says. “The statute the President invokes — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (‘IEEPA’) — does not authorize the President to unilaterally issue across-the-board worldwide tariffs.” The Liberty Justice Center, which is representing the owner-operated companies, said Trump’s new tariffs of at least 10% on imports from most countries and higher rates for scores of other nations are devastating small businesses across the country.

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Kristi Noem’s made-for-TV approach to homeland security

Just days after Kristi Noem took office as President Trump’s head of Homeland Security, she accompanied U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on a predawn raid of several neighborhoods in New York City. “Live this AM from NYC. I’m on it,” she posted on Jan. 28 at 4:43 a.m. on X, with a photo of herself sporting an ICE baseball cap and getting into a car. The problem: The raid was still ongoing when Noem posted about it, undercutting the element of surprise, according to people familiar with the operation. Noem’s handling of that early raid was emblematic of the made-for-TV style she has brought to Homeland Security, an approach that often places her at center stage as the face of the president’s push to get tough on illegal border crossers, deport millions and scare more migrants from coming to America. The administration’s strategy is yielding some early successes: Illegal border crossings are at the lowest point in decades. Before Trump took office, crossings had returned to the levels of his first administration, and they have fallen even lower since then.

But Noem’s approach is rankling ICE officials, who grumble that her desire for publicity interfered with the operations of the agency she is in charge of running. Though the New York raid went ahead, it resulted in fewer arrests than officials had hoped for, the people familiar with the operation said. Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security’s top spokeswoman, said the raid was near its end when Noem’s post went up. On her first day on the job, Noem held a town-hall meeting to introduce herself to the workforce—and came onstage to the Trace Atkins song “Hot Mama.” She has donned Border Patrol fatigues, toted a gun and posed with airplane controls in the cockpit of a Coast Guard plane. Framed photos of the secretary, including one of her wearing a cowboy hat on horseback with border agents around her and another of her on an ATV, have gone up in different offices around DHS, according to photos seen by The Wall Street Journal. Under her watch, the department has allotted $200 million to air an ad campaign featuring Noem warning immigrants in the country illegally—in English—to “leave now.” The ad, which aired on national networks and cable, has cost an estimated $9 million so far, according to data from AdImpact.

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Trump administration sued after taking down public spending tracker

The Trump administration was accused of breaking the law in a recent lawsuit after taking down a website meant to show the public how federal funding is disbursed to agencies. A new lawsuit filed in federal court in D.C. accused the Trump administration of violating federal law last month when the online database overseen by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “went dark, without explanation.” “Congress mandated prompt transparency for apportionments to prevent abuses of power and strengthen Congress’s and the public’s oversight of the spending process,” the complaint reads. “Absent this transparency, the president and OMB may abuse their authority over the apportionment of federal funds without public or congressional scrutiny or accountability.”

The suit cites legislation enacted during the Biden administration that required the budget office to make such “apportionments” of congressionally approved funding public. Under the apportionment process, agencies are given limited authority to spend funding allocated by Congress in installments. The Hill has reached out to the OMB for comment. The lawsuit, brought by nonprofit Protect Democracy Project, names OMB and its director, Russell Vought, as defendants. The group argued Monday that the apportionment disclosures provide “the only public source of information on how DOGE (Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency) is being funded — information that Congress and journalists have used in reporting and oversight.” The move comes as Democrats have been sounding alarm over the removal of the website in recent weeks, accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully hiding how agencies are directed to spend allocated funding. Vought said in a letter last month that was shared and criticized by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, that the agency determined it could “no longer operate and maintain this system because it requires the disclosure of sensitive, predecisional, and deliberative information.”

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Lead Stories

Texas, built around free trade, shudders under Trump's tariff limbo

Along the Gulf Coast petrochemical plants load plastic pellets on ships destined for factories in China and India. Around Lubbock, cotton farmers sell their crops to brokers working with clothes manufacturers in Bangladesh and Vietnam. And in San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth, vehicles roll off assembly lines with parts made in Mexico and Canada. Texas has thrived under the proliferation of free trade agreements signed in recent decades, drawing companies and investors from around the globe seeking to take advantage of the steady flow of goods and services across borders and oceans. But it also means the state's economy is particularly susceptible to trade wars.

That has become increasingly clear as President Donald Trump this month rolled out near-universal tariffs on goods made abroad and provoked countries to hike their own levies on U.S.-made products. While the president has since pulled back many of the steepest tariff hikes, goods imported from China now face a whopping 145% levy and the roller coaster has set off a panic among Texas companies large and small. Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas projected a $47 billion hit to the Texas economy from just the tariffs on Mexico, Canada and an earlier, smaller tariff on China, writing Texas is, "the No. 1 trading state in the nation, with more than $850 billion in total U.S. trade." Alan West, a cotton farmer outside Lubbock who said he supports Trump's efforts to reduce barriers to U.S. goods overseas, said he also fears existing customers in China would turn to farmers in countries with which they have more favorable trade relationships. "The real concern about all of this is Brazil moving in and establishing relationships with people who need the product we've been selling," he said. "It might be hard to get those people back."

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Risk of failure looms large as GOP starts drafting the ‘big, beautiful bill’

They know it’s going to be big. They want it to be beautiful. Now congressional Republicans need to decide what’s going to be in it — and they’re confronting the very real possibility they might not be able to figure it out. A Thursday House vote might have finalized a fiscal framework for the GOP’s domestic policy megabill, but completing that intermediate step exposed huge fissures between the House and Senate over a range of issues crucial to finishing the sprawling legislation that’s expected to span tax cuts, border security, energy and more. Speaker Mike Johnson made big promises to a band of fiscal hawks about steep spending cuts, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune has left himself maximum flexibility to placate his own conference. Competing GOP factions, meanwhile, have drawn all sorts of red lines for the bill — many of them wholly incompatible.

And that has some Republicans worried about what’s ahead. “I know the dialectic is supposed to produce a final result, but sometimes it doesn’t — many times up here, it doesn’t,” said Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. “We can spend an entire year getting nothing done.” Looming large over the GOP’s sprint toward a “big, beautiful bill,” as President Donald Trump has demanded, is what happened last time Republicans tried to sprint out of the gate and pass a big party-line policy priority after a Trump inauguration. Their 2017 effort to remake American health care ran aground after dominating the first seven months of Trump’s tenure as president. Many Republicans, particularly in the Senate, warned against lumping the party’s entire legislative agenda into one must-pass package — calling it a recipe for division and delay. Now many of those same voices are urging GOP leaders to move fast and not let the process get bogged down. Kennedy said he wants a 60-day deadline to hash out a bill before calling in Trump to resolve their differences, while Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said last week he’s aiming to get the bill to Trump by Memorial Day.

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Laredo needs water beyond the Rio Grande. It’s looking at a costly alternative that may benefit Texas.

Near where Interstate 35 and U.S. 83 meet in southwest Texas, a few cattle roam among scrub brush and cacti on a vast, rugged expanse of ranch land. The family that owns the property envisions a 13,000-acre, $7 billion logistics and housing development rising on the site, which is about 20 miles north of Laredo. The project is named Talise, which promotional brochures say is a Native American word that means "beautiful water" — and as is often the case in Texas, water-related issues will play a key role in determining the project's future. The Walker family, the project's developers, created Legacy Water Supply Corporation to develop a drinking water supply for Talise. Legacy Water Supply Corporation is "a nonprofit water supply corporation formed under Chapter 67, Texas Water Code, serving retailers and special districts in Webb County," according to its website.

Legacy's plans call for drilling into the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer to access that groundwater — but surveyors and environmental advocates say the water is slightly saline and will need a costly treatment process to make it safe for drinking or cooking. Facing that challenge, the developers have asked the city of Laredo and Webb County to join the endeavor — and promise to sell water to both the city and county if the project becomes a reality. Plans call for building a water treatment plant and a 20-mile pipeline to Laredo. The developers have not provided specific estimates for how much that would cost. It's an intriguing option for leaders in Laredo, which gets all its drinking water from the Rio Grande and has long sought a secondary water source as it deals with a growing population and a deepening drought. The situation is also a microcosm of the challenges facing metro areas across Texas — many of which are also grappling with population increases and dwindling water supplies. Water rights to rivers and reservoirs in Texas have already been claimed, sometimes decades ago, leaving groundwater as the most viable new water source. Water importation projects are sprouting from San Antonio to Fort Stockton to El Paso, as the Texas Legislature debates how to spend billions of dollars to bolster the state's water resources.

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Trump’s endorsement kicks off Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s reelection bid

After getting a much-coveted endorsement from President Donald Trump, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced Friday his reelection bid for 2026. Patrick leads the Texas Senate, making him the most powerful lawmaker in the Capitol, and a fourth term would allow the Houston Republican to continue dictating the legislative agenda through 2030. “The campaign will begin soon enough, but with seven weeks still to go in the Legislative Session, my focus remains on the work to be done at the Capitol for the people of Texas,” Patrick said in a statement. Since taking office in 2015, Patrick has steered the Senate rightward by working to unseat those he deemed insufficiently conservative or disloyal to his agenda. He’s championed increasing homestead exemptions, dismantling university DEI programs and adding voter ID requirements.

Patrick tightly controls the Senate, where Republican members hold a 20-to-11 advantage over Democrats. It’s allowed him to pass GOP-favored policy with little deliberation or compromise. While running for a third term, Patrick, now 75, said that he would not seek a fourth term. He reversed course shortly after his inauguration. Still, several at the Capitol continued to speculate that this year’s legislative session might be his last. “Walking away from it’d be pretty hard to do,” said Bill Miller, a veteran lobbyist and political consultant. “He likes the legislative process. He’s taken control of it. So, what’s not to like?” Patrick has touted this year’s Senate wins that include red-meat GOP policy, such as protections for prayer in schools, requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom and proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration.

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State Stories

Ron Hutchison: Don't overregulate small businesses

(Ron Hutchison is chairman of the board of the Network Family of Companies in Longview.) When government intervenes in the free market, no matter how “well-intentioned” that intervention might be, consumers and businesses tend to lose. And with the introduction of new legislation at the Texas Capitol targeting “credit card swipe fees,” this is exactly what we’re seeing. In reality, these proposals do nothing to help consumers and instead create a regulatory nightmare for small businesses like mine. If Texas is not careful, it could likely become embroiled in litigation like we’ve seen in Democrat-run Illinois that has upended consistency for businesses trying to comply with conflicting sets of state and federal laws.

The first set of proposals — SB 2026 and HB 4124 — would carve sales tax and tips from credit and debit card transactions, disrupting a reliable payment system that gives certainty and consistency for my business. Meanwhile, another proposal — SB 2056 and HB 4061 — appears to be nothing more than a government takeover of the card payment system, which we should all be concerned will functionally disrupt the reliability and safety of credit and debit card payments at great cost to businesses and consumers. Like so many other small business owners in our state, I know the reality of implementing new government regulations on business is more costly and complicated than it appears. I also know that it will only create headaches for those of us trying to navigate already convoluted regulations while just trying to stay afloat. Any legislation that makes it more complicated for me to process a single transaction is not going to help me grow my business, save money or offer more competitive prices to my customers. Why would Texas, where more than 99% of businesses are considered small businesses, want to implement something like this?

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6 injured in Northwest Austin explosion that damaged 24 homes

Six people were injured in an explosion that rocked Northwest Austin Sunday morning, damaging two dozen homes in a blast that was heard more than 15 miles away in Georgetown, according to the Austin Fire Department. Firefighters were called to the neighborhood at 11:23 a.m., finding a 2-story home on Double Spur Loop that had been leveled to the ground by the explosion, AFD Division Chief Wayne Parrish says. A neighboring home suffered "severe collapse damage," he says. Photos shared widely on social media showed a dark cloud of smoke billowing from the explosion, located a few miles northwest of The Domain.

The cause of the blast is currently under investigation by the Travis County fire marshal. Officials at the scene said the neighborhood has no underground gas lines, but the newly constructed home that exploded did have propane tanks. Two patients were taken to the hospital from the home where the explosion took place, Austin-Travis County EMS Captain Shannon Koesterer says. One patient is in critical condition, while the other is in serious but stable condition, she says. A patient from a nearby home was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

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Sorry, Kyle. City says it won't try to break same-name gathering record this year.

This time last year, hundreds of Kyles were getting ready to travel to Kyle, Texas, in an attempt to surpass the Guinness World Record for the largest same-name gathering. Some Kyles flew from as far as Germany and Australia to attend. But this year, they’re taking a break. “?We are not doing an official gathering of the Kyle, as far as the Guinness World Record attempt,” said Rachel Sonnier, assistant director of communications for the City of Kyle. “We're gonna hold off and plan it for another year down the line.” The city has been hosting the gathering since 2017 but has fallen short. The closest they got was in 2023 when 1,490 people named Kyle gathered for the event. The number to beat was 2,325.

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Texas Health Resources sues insulin manufacturers, pharmacies over price inflation

Texas Health Resources is suing major insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers over alleged artificial price inflation. The North Texas hospital system joins the list of over 400 private companies that have filed similar suits in New Jersey District Court. The defendants include pharmacy benefit managers CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx and insulin manufacturers Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. The lawsuit claims the companies colluded to drive up insulin prices by as much as 1,000% over the past two decades despite stable production costs. “These price increases do not derive from the rising cost of goods, production costs, investment in research and development, or competitive market forces,” the lawsuit reads. “Instead, defendants engineered them to exponentially increase their profits at the expense of payors like [Texas Health Resources].”

More than 300 of the 400 companies that have filed their own lawsuits have done so since early December. Attorney Mark Pifko with Baron & Budd, who represents the plaintiffs in the multi-district litigation, said the initial wave of cases may have influenced others to join. “I think people are waking up to this issue,” Pifko said. The lawsuit seeks to recoup the excess millions of dollars that Texas Health Resources says it spent per year to “provide overpriced insulin to its 40,000 health plan beneficiaries,” according to a press release. Asked for comment, Texas Health Resources directed KERA News to attorneys representing them. Companies implicated in the lawsuits have called them “baseless” and “meritless” in separate statements to Benefitspro.com. Insulin pricing litigation is also the subject of four class action suits and 16 lawsuits filed by state attorneys general, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He alleges the businesses violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

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Tarrant County gears up for an unusual mid-decade redistricting fight. What are the rules?

Tarrant County is starting the redistricting process, and even before any new maps are drawn, Democrats are warning about lawsuits. Tarrant County Republican commissioners recently outvoted the Democrats, 3-2, to hire a conservative law firm to reconsider the boundaries of the county commissioners precincts. Democrats are accusing Republicans of trying to redraw Democratic County Commissioner Alisa Simmons’ Precinct 2 to make it harder for her to win reelection next year. Simmons represents Arlington, and her precinct flipped from Republican to Democrat in 2018. Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez, though, says redistricting must happen to make sure the four precincts are balanced by population. Experts say redistricting is always a controversial — and deeply political — process. In Tarrant County, the rules that govern how maps can be drawn are about to get a lot of scrutiny.

At the contentious commissioners court meeting where Republicans voted to start the redistricting process, Simmons wondered if that was even allowed. Redistricting usually happens after the U.S. Census every ten years. "Tarrant County doesn't possess the authority to redraw the commissioners court map for the remainder of this decade,” she said. In 2021, a different set of commissioners decided the precincts were in balance by population, and they left the map the same. Any new redistricting should happen in 2031, Simmons argued. The Voting Rights Act bans discrimination against racial or ethnic groups when drawing districts. The most common forms of discrimination are called cracking and packing, Heath explained. Cracking is when someone takes a minority group that could dominate one district and spreads it out over several, diluting that group's political power. Packing is the opposite. Instead of letting a group have electoral influence in two districts, it gets shoved into one, “so those votes are essentially wasted,” Heath said. Simmons and other opponents to this mid-decade redistricting say it's an act of discrimination, designed to dilute the voting power of people of color in Tarrant County’s majority-minority districts, including her Precinct 2 and Miles’ Precinct 1. According to the 2020 Census data, Ramirez's Precinct 4 is also majority-minority. Precinct 3 in northeast Tarrant County, represented by Republican Matt Krause, is the only precinct where non-Hispanic white people make up more than half the population.

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7% of Houston ISD teachers recommended for contract nonrenewal

About 7% of Houston ISD's teacher workforce was recommended for contract nonrenewal due to performance, the district shared in a Saturday statement. Out of around 10,400 teachers, HISD determined 733 teachers will be recommended for contract nonrenewal. This number takes into account an adjustment following the district's discovery of a mistake in their teacher rating calculations on Friday. The district had an additional 162 teachers slated for nonrenewal because of this, and 67 of those teachers already had nonrenewal talks. An HISD spokesperson said its leaders informed those 67 teachers their contracts will actually be renewed.

Of those teachers sent to nonrenewal, 203 teachers were rated in the evaluation system's lowest tier of Unsatisfactory. The state's largest district is seeking to remove all teachers who received this rating. A share of teachers in the second lowest category, Progressing 1, was also recommended for nonrenewal — 392 teachers who received this rating will not return next year, pending board approval of nonrenewal. Teachers are largely evaluated by Quality of Instruction, covering classroom observations and walkthroughs. The remaining 35% of a teacher's evaluation is derived from student achievement. The district announced in 2023 that it would follow the state's evaluation system, the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System. (It expects to shift to a new system, the Teacher Excellence System, next school year.) The remaining 138 teachers did not meet professionalism requirements. Any teacher who receives a failing score in what's called Domain 4 "Professionalism Practices and Responsibilities" cannot be renewed, the district commented.

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How University of Texas LBJ School is adapting public affairs programs amid Trump policies

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Annabella Ruiz's hometown of McAllen, her world changed. Her community didn't have enough soap to keep up with panicked residents' demand for products to guard themselves from the novel, infectious disease. Called to act, she went to her computer and researched how to make a cleanser. She got to work, and her organic soap business, "A Little Ray of Sunshine," was born out of care for her neighbors. She was 13 years old. "From then on, I've been super interested in helping my community," she said. This fall, Ruiz will join about 90 other classmates in pursuing a bachelor's degree at the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs — the first undergraduate offering by the school. At a welcome event March 29, she was hopeful and overjoyed to visit her future campus.

Public servants, as Ruiz hopes to become, are the "muscle and bone" that carry out the political promises by politicians to improve communities, said JR DeShazo, dean of the LBJ School, in an exclusive interview with the American-Statesman. As President Donald Trump's administration quickly slashes hundreds of thousands of government jobs ? including positions held by LBJ alums ? as part of Elon Musk's federal efficiency efforts, the LBJ School doesn't see it as a conflict, but an opportunity, DeShazo said. The school is adjusting its programming to help students and graduates best become part of the solution in a rapidly changing landscape and to assert the value of a public affairs degree. Since DeShazo became the school's dean four years ago, LBJ has initiated three new programs, doubling its offerings. Its new undergraduate program alone will eventually double the school's size. But if Trump's job cutting trend continues, graduates will have a smaller pool of available federal work opportunities. The federal government employs more than 2 million workers, but about 120,000 have lost their jobs since Trump took office. Although some terminations have been temporarily reversed by the courts, about 75,000 workers took a voluntary buyout pushed by Musk. Benjamin Taulli, a fellow in LBJ's Washington D.C. program who will graduate in May, said students were hit hard by the workforce changes. "It's been traumatic for the student body here," Taulli said. "People are pretty shaken up." But as the dean watched the changes unfold, he had one thought: "I am so glad that I chose this leadership opportunity." "What we're seeing as a country is that Americans are dissatisfied with the state of the country, and I think the opportunity we have is to make government work better for the American people," DeShazo said. "Our faculty are responding by asking, 'How can we make sure that the public policies and the policy problems that we all see as important to meeting the needs of the American people, how do we do better in designing those programs?'"

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Houston police called ICE on woman reporting crash, despite claims they aren't cooperating

A woman last month flagged down a Houston police officer to tell them about a car crash on Washington Avenue. The officer responded by calling federal immigration authorities on her. While ICE agents didn't respond and detain her, as they have in some similar instances, her story is one of at least 22 such cases, including calling agents on a woman stranded with her child at Hobby Airport, according to records obtained by the Chronicle. Experts say the reports reveal a growing sense of cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials and could disincentivize people reporting crimes in the future.

The reports have been authored since Jan. 1 using an internal code, “Immigration Inquiry,” that department leaders have mandated for any interaction with one of 700,000 names with administrative ICE warrants — generally for those with an outstanding order for deportation — recently added to a national database. The reports include varying levels of detail, with some even lacking a narrative entirely, and don’t provide a comprehensive picture of immigration enforcement under the second President Donald Trump administration. “I think from a public safety perspective, this makes little sense,” said Travis Fife, a staff attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project. “… This policy could deter hundreds of thousands of Houstonians who have questionable or no immigration status from doing the community work of keeping the neighborhood safe.” Amid the national crackdown over immigration during the second Trump administration and the rapidly changing ways in which ICE officials are steering deportation operations, many local law enforcement officials have long been reticent to delve into immigration enforcement. “The issue of enforcing immigration law by a local officer is a concern because if local law enforcement is given powers and authority of an immigration officer, we have long been worried we’d instantly create a victim class,” said Jay Coons, an assistant professor at Sam Houston State University who retired as a captain at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in 2018.

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San Antonio doctor with dementia, medical group prevail in negligence case

A San Antonio doctor, diagnosed with dementia 2½ months after performing surgery, and the medical practice where he worked have prevailed in a medical negligence case brought by a former Uvalde High School student. A jury deliberated about three hours Friday before unanimously deciding that Dr. Marvin Brown did not fail to use ordinary care in treating the fractured right ankle of Shelby Colvin, now a senior at Texas A&M University in College Station. The verdict came a day after state District Judge Tina Torres granted the San Antonio Orthopaedic Group LLP’s motion for a directed verdict, finding that there was no evidence that it knew Brown had dementia on Feb. 14, 2019, when he operated on Colvin. As a result of the judge’s ruling, the 12 jurors were not asked to decide if the group was negligent.

Chris Kean, chief operations officer for the group, now known as TSAOG, declined to comment after the verdict. San Antonio attorney Matthew Edwards, who defended Brown and the group, also declined to comment. Colvin, 22, had sued Brown and the group in 2021, alleging that he had operated on her ankle despite having Alzheimer’s disease. She had fractured the ankle while playing high school soccer. Colvin said she now lives in continuing pain and no longer can play soccer or other sports at the level she played before the surgery. She had hoped to earn an athletic scholarship to college. She wanted jurors to award her damages for physical pain, mental anguish and disfigurement, as well as punitive damages. She had alleged that Brown’s colleagues at the practice “covered up” his “obvious impairment,” never warning her of his condition.

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Rex Solomon: Texas should say “I don’t” to flawed proposal to end guaranteed acceptance of credit cards in Texas

(Rex Solomon is president of Houston Jewelry.) As the president of Houston Jewelry, a fifth-generation family business that has served Texans since 1866, I’ve seen plenty of proposals that were ill-fated from the start. The Texas Legislature is considering a set of disastrous proposals that would make it impossible for consumers and businesses to continue using credit cards with the ease and convenience they have today. Under the guise of helping small businesses, proponents of so-called swipe fee legislation are pushing for changes that could devastate my business and cause serious heartache for my customers. The issue involves what merchants pay for service called interchange, which enables businesses to process credit cards instantly and securely for their customers. Today, merchants have one service agreement in place that covers the interchange service charge for all credit cards.

Whether a customer has a card from a national bank, their local bank, or an overseas bank, they can be assured their card will work in my store. This universal access to credit cards is good for customers and good for my business. But Senate Bill 2056 by Sen. Kelly Hancock and House Bill 4061 by Rep. Jared Patterson would force me to negotiate credit card processing agreements with more than 200 banks, one by one. I would only be able to accept credit cards from banks with whom I’ve struck a deal. My customers will not know if their cards will work at my store until their card is declined at check out. This plan may benefit large retailers who have teams of lawyers to negotiate hundreds of fee schedules for them; not so for small businesses like mine. The second proposal to invite chaos into my store is Senate Bill 2026 by Sen. Donna Campbell and House Bill 4124 Rep. Drew Darby would carve out sales tax and tips from overall card processing costs on every transaction – meaning my credit card-paying customers may have to pay sales taxes in cash.

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Nehls sues for $2.5 million over 2021 Capitol Police office search

A House Republican is suing the federal government for $2.5 million, claiming he was retaliated against by the Capitol Police four years ago for his vocal criticism of the department’s leadership after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Rep. Troy Nehls’ unusual lawsuit, filed in federal court in his home state of Texas, accuses the Capitol Police of improperly entering his office in November 2021 and taking pictures of a whiteboard that had notes related to legislation. The Capitol Police declined to comment on the lawsuit, but the department has long denied the allegations that leadership targeted Nehls for his criticism. An officer indicated he entered the office during a regular security sweep, according to a department report, because the door was left ajar and took pictures of the notes because he found them concerning.

“If a Member’s office is left open and unsecured, without anyone inside the office, USCP officers are directed to document that and secure the office to ensure nobody can wander in and steal or do anything else nefarious,” Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said after Nehls first surfaced his allegations in 2022. “The weekend before Thanksgiving, one of our vigilant officers spotted the Congressman’s door was wide open. That Monday, USCP personnel personally followed up with the Congressman’s staff and determined no investigation or further action of any kind was needed.” But Nehls called the actions part of an attempt to chill his criticism of the department. His lawyer, Terrell Roberts, has represented the family of Ashli Babbitt, a Jan. 6 rioter who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she attempted to enter the lobby near the House chamber. A spokesperson for Nehls did not immediately return a request for comment. It’s unclear why Nehls filed the civil claim in Texas rather than Washington, where his office is located and where the alleged breach took place. It’s also unclear why he waited more than three years to file the lawsuit.

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John D. Foster: The Texas school voucher boondoggle

(John D. Foster is a Carthage resident and regular contributor.) While Washington, D.C., is awash with chaos and mass confusion over Trump administration policies gutting the federal government, our state Legislature in Austin is full speed ahead in passing perhaps the biggest boondoggle in Texas history. I’m referring to school voucher plans that will pump billions of dollars into private education but won’t have a fraction of the promised benefits that Republicans are arguing to pass these bills. Gov. Greg Abbott is calling the House bills on vouchers the “Texas Two-Step,” which Texas Democrats call a clever marketing label. Here’s what the party is saying about these measures: “Texans should know the truth: these bills are yet another choreographed deception that would drain billions from neighborhood schools and leave Texas kids even further behind. House Democrats are united in opposition to voucher scams, and stand ready to fully fund our public schools to the level they deserve,” according to a press release from party officials.

The legislative package, combining House Bills 2 and 3, represents the largest and most expensive private school voucher scheme ever proposed in the Texas House. However, the package would fill just 20% of the $18 billion funding gap facing our neighborhood schools, according to estimates. This funding crisis was created by Abbott’s years of holding the basic allotment hostage while cynically tying teacher pay raises to passage of a voucher bill. Despite claims that this package will benefit Texas students and educators, the numbers tell a different story: The voucher program would provide up to $10,500 per student, yet the average private school tuition in many cities across Texas ranges from $14,000 to $25,000, leaving working families unable to bridge the gap. Despite claims of prioritizing low-income students, HB3 includes no minimum number of seats that must go to low-income families. When low-income families can’t use their “priority” spots due to cost barriers and lack of access, those seats automatically roll over to wealthy families, becoming a taxpayer-funded subsidy for families who already pay for private school. The bottom line? A program claiming to help low-income students but requiring nothing to guarantee their access is a program designed to subsidize private school tuition for wealthy families. And who would benefit the most from voucher plans? Not students, but the billionaires who are creating for-profit private schools in some cases and pumping money into state races to elect voucher supporters.

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National Stories

Trump signals new tariffs on chips, calling exclusions temporary

President Trump signaled on Sunday that he would pursue new tariffs on the powerful computer chips inside smartphones and other technologies, just two days after his administration excluded a variety of electronics from the steep import taxes recently applied on goods arriving from China. The push came as Mr. Trump’s top economic advisers scrambled to explain their shifting strategy, after having insisted for weeks that they would shield no company or industry from any of the fees they have levied in a bid to reset U.S. trade relationships. The reprieve for technology companies arrived in the form of a Customs and Border Protection rule issued late Friday that spared high-tech imports from Mr. Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, including those on China. While the president paused a set of punishing levies on nearly 60 countries last week, his administration has forged ahead with a new 145 percent tax on Chinese exports, announcing it after Beijing retaliated against the United States.

The exclusions in the C.B.P. rule covered a wide slate of products, such as computers, smartphones, modems and flash drives, and it represented a major victory for Apple, and other U.S. technology giants, which rely on Chinese factories to help manufacture important components and popular devices. Apple executives had even been in contact with Trump administration officials about the Chinese tariffs in recent days, according to two people with knowledge of the company’s efforts. The company declined to comment. But on Sunday, Mr. Trump and his top aides cast the exemptions in a different light, framing them as only a temporary break while the government prepares more targeted import taxes on key technologies. The administration is expected to take the first step toward enacting the new tariffs as soon as next week, opening an investigation to determine the effects of semiconductor imports on national security. The approach appears to mirror the process that yielded Mr. Trump’s tariffs on other specific products and sectors, including the high fees he imposed on foreign cars and auto parts this year. On social media, the president signaled Sunday that the scope of his next inquiry would be broad, “taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations.”

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Justice Dept. says it’s not required to bring back wrongly deported man

The Trump administration said Sunday that it is not required to engage El Salvador’s government in efforts to facilitate the return of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to a notorious prison there, striking a defiant tone in responding to a federal judge’s order that plans be made to bring him back to the United States. Federal officials said Sunday that the high court’s ruling required only that the administration allow Kilmar Abrego García to return should he be released by the government of El Salvador. The administration also argued, in filings Sunday evening in U.S. District Court in Maryland, that Abrego García “is no longer eligible” for the protection from deportation that should have prevented him from being sent to El Salvador in the first place. The contentions set the stage for another test of the ability of the federal judiciary to rein in an administration that has moved to aggressively expand its executive power in ways courts have deemed illegal and unconstitutional.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers had no immediate comment on the court filings. But the lawyers have repeatedly said he is danger of being tortured and killed in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a mega-prison where dozens of inmates share a cell. On Saturday, they argued that the government should face contempt of court for failing to lay out efforts to repatriate Abrego García after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the administration must facilitate his return. The Trump administration said Sunday that it had “no updates” on those efforts, according to a letter to the court Sunday evening. While noting that the president of El Salvador “is currently in the United States and will be meeting with President Donald Trump,” Justice Department officials wrote, “the federal courts have no authority to direct the Executive Branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner.” Any further order from the court would “interfere with ongoing diplomatic discussions” and result in the release of “classified documents,” the officials argued, describing Abrego Garcia’s lawyers’ request for more detailed information as “micromanaging” U.S. foreign relations. Moreover, the government argued that “facilitate” means only “allowing an alien to enter the United States” by “taking all available steps to remove any domestic obstacles that would otherwise impede the alien’s ability to return here,” not removing him from the custody of another country. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis initially ruled that the Trump administration must “effectuate” Abrego García’s return; the Supreme Court said that part of her order was “unclear” and might overstep the judiciary’s power.

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Bernie Sanders thrills Coachella crowd with surprise appearance

US senator Bernie Sanders became one of Coachella's top cameos so far, drawing a massive crowd on Saturday as he made a pit stop at the premier music festival. Screaming fans sprinted over, camera phones in hand, to capture the politician's unannounced speech that followed a blockbuster set from superstar Charli XCX at a neighboring stage. "I'm not gonna be long but this country faces some very difficult challenges and the future of what happens to America depends on your generation," Sanders said to raucous cheers at the major California desert double weekend that marks the unofficial start of music festival season.

"You can turn away and ignore what goes on but you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up and fight for justice, to fight for economic justice, racial justice and social justice." Earlier in the day Sanders and Democrat representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held a rally that organizers said drew 36,000 people, a stop on their own "Fighting Oligarchy" tour that featured musicians including Neil Young, Maggie Rogers and Joan Baez. Speaking under a full moon at Coachella, Sanders urged crowds to stand up against billionaires, health insurance companies, and US President Donald Trump's administration. "Now we've got a president of the United States," Sanders began, before the crowd's boos quickly drowned out Trump's name. "I agree," Sanders continued. "He thinks that climate change is a hoax. He is dangerously wrong, and you and I are going to have to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and tell them to stop destroying this planet."

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Critics accuse President Donald Trump of insider trading. Experts say that’s a stretch.

A social media post, followed by a market-moving tariff announcement, led President Donald Trump’s critics to speculate that he might have profited from inside information. At 9:37 a.m. EDT on April 9, after a nearly 20% downturn in key market indexes, Trump posted on Truth Social, "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT." Then, at 1:18 p.m., Trump announced a 90-day pause in country-by-country tariffs he had unveiled a week earlier. While Trump did not lift the nearly universal 10% tariffs or country-specific tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, his reprieve on some tariffs produced a stock market boom for the rest of the day. The S&P 500, a broad stock market index, climbed 9.5% by the close of trading April 9, a sign that investors were relieved at the tariff backtracking. Trump’s own company — with the ticker symbol DJT — rose by roughly twice that percentage April 9, raising Trump’s net worth by an estimated $415 million in one day.

On social media, users posted a video taken in the Oval Office showing Trump celebrating the stock market’s gains. "He made $2.5 billion today and he made $900 million — that’s not bad," Trump says in the clip, referring to two other men in the room. The caption on one of the X posts sharing the video and Trump’s comments said, "Sounds like market manipulation to me." News outlets reported that one of the men was Charles Schwab, founder and chairman of the eponymous financial services firm. Democratic lawmakers also took issue with the timing. "An insider trading scandal is brewing," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., posted on X. "Trump's 9:30am tweet makes it clear he was eager for his people to make money off the private info only he knew." Legal and financial experts downplayed the idea that Trump’s message ran afoul of the law. "The federal case law on insider trading is fatally ambiguous," said Kevin R. Douglas, a Michigan State University law professor.

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Suspect arrested in arson fire that forced Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, family to flee residence

A man scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion where he set a fire that left significant damage and forced Gov. Josh Shapiro, his family and guests to evacuate the building, authorities said Sunday. The man, captured later in the day, will face charges of attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault, authorities said. Shapiro said he, his wife, their four children, two dogs and another family had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover at the residence on Saturday and were awakened by state troopers pounding on their doors at about 2 a.m. Sunday. They fled and firefighters extinguished the fire, officials said. No one was injured.

At a Sunday evening news conference in front of the badly damaged south wing of the governor’s residence, Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris identified the man in custody as Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg. Paris emphasized that the investigation is continuing. Authorities did not disclose the man’s motive, but an emotional Shapiro, who is viewed as a potential White House contender for the Democratic Party in 2028, said he is unbowed. Shapiro said that if Balmer was trying to stop him from doing his job, then he’ll work harder, and he added that Balmer will not stop him from observing his faith. “When we were in the state dining room last night, we told the story of Passover” and the exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt to freedom, Shapiro said. “I refuse to be trapped by the bondage that someone attempts to put on me by attacking us as they did here last night. I refuse to let anyone who had evil intentions like that stop me from doing the work that I love.”

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Meta faces historic antitrust trial that could force it to break off Instagram, WhatsApp

Meta Platforms Inc. faces a historic antitrust trial beginning Monday that could force the tech giant to break off Instagram and WhatsApp, startups it bought more than a decade ago that have since grown into social media powerhouses. The looming antitrust trial will be the first big test of President Donald Trump’s Federal Trade Commission’s ability to challenge Big Tech. The lawsuit was filed against Meta — then called Facebook — in 2020, during Trump’s first term. It claims the company bought Instagram and WhatsApp to squash competition and establish an illegal monopoly in the social media market. Meta, the FTC argues, has maintained a monopoly by pursuing CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy, “expressed in 2008: ‘It is better to buy than compete.’ True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive threats.”

Facebook also enacted policies designed to make it difficult for smaller rivals to enter the market and “neutralize perceived competitive threats,” the FTC says in its complaint, just as the world shifted its attention to mobile devices from desktop computers. “Unable to maintain its monopoly by fairly competing, the company’s executives addressed the existential threat by buying up new innovators that were succeeding where Facebook failed,” the FTC says. Facebook bought Instagram — then a scrappy photo-sharing app with no ads and a small cult following — in 2012. The $1 billion cash and stock purchase price was eye-popping at the time, though the deal’s value fell to $750 million after Facebook’s stock price dipped following its initial public offering in May 2012. Instagram was the first company Facebook bought and kept running as a separate app. Up until then, Facebook was known for smaller “acqui-hires” — a type of popular Silicon Valley deal in which a company purchases a startup as a way to hire its talented workers, then shuts the acquired company down. Two years later, it did it again with the messaging app WhatsApp, which it purchased for $22 billion.

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Trump’s retribution sends a chilling message to dissenters

Donald Trump’s White House has a threatening message for anyone who might even be perceived to disagree with the president: Don’t. Or else. Even though he has promised to end what he viewed as “weaponization” of the Department of Justice, Trump is treating people who disagree with him more like the “enemy from within” he talked about during the presidential campaign. The president took the unusual step this week of issuing official proclamations ordering the federal investigations of people who worked in his first administration. He’s demanding free work from law firms who represented his perceived enemies, threatening to impeach judges, deporting campus protesters and so much more.

The underlying message, for anyone who hasn’t put all these things together, is that dissent will not be tolerated under Trump 2.0. Chris Krebs oversaw the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA, during Trump’s first term and affirmed the election Trump lost was free of fraud or tampering. That’s exactly why Trump wants him investigated. As Trump puts it in the proclamation, Krebs “falsely and baselessly denied that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen.” There is still zero compelling evidence the 2020 election was rigged or stolen, but the effect on Krebs’ cybersecurity business could be real. And the message to anyone currently working to secure American elections is unmistakable: There will be consequences for crossing the president, even when the president is alleging election fraud that does not exist.

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Lead Stories

Trump’s tariffs make it harder for Texas companies to export more liquefied natural gas

Even before tariffs rattled markets and hobbled supply chains, would-be liquefied natural gas developers were struggling to line up funding for costly export projects that can cost as much as $15 billion. Energy Transfer told investors in February that due to rising costs, it was renegotiating long-term contracts with customers of its Lake Charles LNG project — contracts that lock in revenue for decades, making it possible for projects to secure the financing they need to begin construction. “We don't like those prices,” Marshall McCrea, the company’s co-chief executive, said during an earnings call. “We are renegotiating those.” LNG developers in Texas and Louisiana are now making similar adjustments as they contend with accelerating costs made worse by Trump’s seesawing orders on tariffs, analysts said.

Tariffs on materials needed to build the massive export projects along the Gulf Coast are just the latest snag. Post-pandemic inflation, labor and equipment shortages have made it challenging for projects to advance. Now, specialty steel, electronics and highly complex equipment are subject to international trade negotiations, adding even more uncertainty to their financial outlook as developers aim to secure financing and begin construction, clouding the picture for future projects expected to employ thousands of people in the coming years. Darlings of the Trump administration, LNG projects have enjoyed new political support. But that support is counterbalanced by market forces caused by the administration’s international trade maneuvers. “The tariffs had this dual effect. They raise the cost of U.S. LNG construction and, at the same time, they create jitters about global economic growth to bring down the prices that people can get for their wares,” said Clark Williams-Derry, an energy finance analyst with the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “Rising costs, falling prices. That's a squeeze for the LNG industry.”

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Elon Musk's attorney aims for Ken Paxton's Texas attorney general seat

John Bash, attorney for billionaire tech magnate Elon Musk, is the first to announce he’s running for Ken Paxton’s seat as Texas’ attorney general. Here’s what to know about Bash, as well as Paxton’s next political move. Bash, an El Paso native, graduated in 2006 from Harvard Law School. He went on to clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, appointed by Ronald Reagan, and Brett Kavanaugh, appointed by Donald Trump. From 2017 to 2020, Bash served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas.

Throughout his career, Bash has continually aligned himself with the Republican party, and served as President Donald Trump’s special assistant and associate counsel in 2017. Additionally, he played a key role in implementing the Trump administration’s family separation policy while he served in the Western District of Texas. Currently, Bash is a partner at the Austin-based firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, where he represents Musk. In a Wednesday statement to The Hill, Bash said he was running for state attorney general because it’s at the “forefront of all the critical legal issues facing the country, and that office should be led by the strongest possible attorney — one who is battle-tested and will be ready on Day 1.” Paxton’s next political move is the Texas Senate. He is challenging incumbent and GOP colleague Sen. John Cornyn. “I’m announcing that I’m running for U.S. Senate against John Cornyn, who apparently is running again for his fifth term, which would put him there three decades,” Paxton said in a Tuesday campaign announcement on Fox News. “It’s definitely time for a change in Texas.”

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How a secretive gambler called ‘The Joker’ took down the Texas Lottery

In the spring of 2023, a London banker-turned-bookmaker reached out to a few contacts with an audacious request: Can you help me take down the Texas lottery? Bernard Marantelli had a plan in mind. He and his partners would buy nearly every possible number in a coming drawing. There were 25.8 million potential number combinations. The tickets were $1 apiece. The jackpot was heading to $95 million. If nobody else also picked the winning numbers, the profit would be nearly $60 million. Marantelli flew to the U.S. with a few trusted lieutenants. They set up shop in a defunct dentist’s office, a warehouse and two other spots in Texas. The crew worked out a way to get official ticket-printing terminals. Trucks hauled in dozens of them and reams of paper. Over three days, the machines—manned by a disparate bunch of associates and some of their children—screeched away nearly around the clock, spitting out 100 or more tickets every second. Texas politicians later likened the operation to a sweatshop.

Trying to pull off the gambit required deep pockets and a knack for staying under the radar—both hallmarks of the secretive Tasmanian gambler who bankrolled the operation. Born Zeljko Ranogajec, he was nicknamed “the Joker” for his ability to pull off capers at far-flung casinos and racetracks. Adding to his mystique, he changed his name to John Wilson several decades ago. Among some associates, though, he still goes by Zeljko, or Z. Over the years, Ranogajec and his partners have won hundreds of millions of dollars by applying Wall Street-style analytics to betting opportunities around the world. Like card counters at a blackjack table, they use data and math to hunt for situations ripe for flipping the house edge in their favor. Then they throw piles of money at it, betting an estimated $10 billion annually. The Texas lottery play, one of their most ambitious operations ever, paid off spectacularly with a $57.8 million jackpot win. That, in turn, spilled their activities into public view and sparked a Texas-size uproar about whether other lotto players—and indeed the entire state—had been hoodwinked. Early this month, the state’s lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, called the crew’s win “the biggest theft from the people of Texas in the history of Texas.” In response to written questions addressed to Marantelli and Ranogajec, Glenn Gelband, a New Jersey lawyer who represents the limited partnership that claimed the Texas prize, said “all applicable laws, rules and regulations were followed.”

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Investors are growing concerned about a U.S. asset exodus as Treasuries and the dollar decline

The April sell-off for financial markets has been wider and more volatile than typical pullbacks, fueling concern that the aggressive and constantly changing trade policy from Washington, D.C. could be doing long-term damage to the financial standing of the U.S. The S&P 500 has now dropped 5.4% since President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement, with day-to-day moves that are drawing uncomfortable comparisons to infamous financial periods like 2008 and 1987. The drop over the past seven trading days comes after the stock market had already had a rocky start to 2025, and other major U.S. asset classes have also started to slide, including the dollar and Treasurys.

“The big takeaway from this year, from the Trump presidency, from everything that’s happened, is that there’s a rotation out of the U.S. And obviously that’s become vicious now — with bond yields staying high and the dollar falling, it’s become the story. But that exodus started well before Liberation Day. ... U.S. is the bubble. U.S. All of it,” Marco Papic, BCA Research strategist, said Friday on “Squawk Box.” The big swings in the stock market are eye-popping on their own, but Wall Street pros are becoming increasingly concerned about the moves in the currency and bond markets. Treasurys and the dollar typically benefit from flight-to-safety environments, a function of the U.S.' historical financial strength. But on Friday, falling bond prices pushed the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield briefly above 4.5%, up from 3.99% just a week prior. Meanwhile, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index hit its lowest level in three years. The greenback has seen particularly sharp drops against safe-haven currencies like the Japanese yen and Swiss franc, as well as the euro.

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DOGE is far short of its goal, and still overstating its progress

Last week, Elon Musk indicated for the first time that his Department of Government Efficiency was falling short of its goal. He previously said his powerful budget-cutting team could reduce the next fiscal year’s federal budget by $1 trillion, and do it by Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year. Instead, in a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Mr. Musk said that he anticipated the group would save about $150 billion, 85 percent less than its objective. Even that figure may be too high, according to a New York Times analysis of DOGE’s claims. That’s because, when Mr. Musk’s group tallies up its savings so far, it inflates its progress by including billion-dollar errors, by counting spending that will not happen in the next fiscal year — and by making guesses about spending that might not happen at all.

One of the group’s largest claims, in fact, involves canceling a contract that did not exist. Although the government says it had merely asked for proposals in that case, and had not settled on a vendor or a price, Mr. Musk’s group ignored that uncertainty and assigned itself a large and very specific amount of credit for canceling it. It said it had saved exactly $318,310,328.30. Mr. Musk’s group has now triggered mass firings across the government, and sharp cutbacks in humanitarian aid around the world. Mr. Musk has justified those disruptions with two promises: that the group would be transparent, and that it would achieve budget cuts that others called impossible. Now, watching the group pare back its aims and puff up its progress, some of its allies have grown doubtful about both. “They’re just spinning their wheels, citing in many cases overstated or fake savings,” said Romina Boccia, the director of budget and entitlement policy at the libertarian Cato Institute. “What’s most frustrating is that we agree with their goals. But we’re watching them flail at achieving them.”

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State Stories

Poll: GOP voters in key districts oppose voucher bill

A new grassroots-funded poll of Republican primary voters in three Texas House districts shows strong opposition to school voucher legislation, complicating the statewide narrative that GOP voters broadly support the issue. The poll surveyed nearly 1,800 Republican voters across the Mike Olcott (HD60), Caroline Fairly(HD87), and Wes Virdell (HD 53) districts over the weekend. Respondents were asked their views on Senate Bill 2, which would create Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), commonly referred to as school vouchers. Poll organizers said the questions used both terms and were phrased in plain, neutral language to ensure clarity. In the Olcott District, 74% of respondents said they oppose vouchers, with 75% saying they would vote against SB2 and an equal percentage reporting they would be less likely to support a candidate who votes for it. The Fairly District showed even stronger opposition, with 78% opposed, 78% against the bill, and 77% saying it would negatively affect their vote.

In the Virdell District, 71% opposed vouchers, 72% would vote against SB2, and 72% said they’d be less likely to support a legislator who backs the bill. “This effort was 100% grassroots—funded by small-dollar donations from Republican voters who want their voices heard,” said Amy Fennell a spokesperson for the polling project. “Our data shows school choice still has support in principle, but voters do not back the current proposal.” With pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott and others to pass the bill, some Republican lawmakers may find themselves at odds with their own constituents. Organizers say the results offer legislators political cover to oppose SB2 or support a compromise amendment that would send the issue to voters via a referendum. Education is expected to be a major issue in next year’s Republican primary elections.

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As Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick hold onto power, fresh faces in Texas must wait their turn

Once upon a time in Texas politics, one or more of the top statewide elected officials would decide not to run for reelection to seek a higher office. That would set off a mushrooming scramble of other statewide officeholders who were down the food chain to forgo reelection for a chance to win a higher prize. Another scramble would follow as even lower-level leaders would step forward to compete for those newly created vacancies. The process assured that ambitious up-and-coming politicians would always have their antennas up for new opportunities. That meant consultants and image-makers were always on the prowl to sign up new talent, and would-be campaign donors would have to gauge which candidates would be worth investing in and which ones would have to go begging.

Reporters in the Capitol press corps would always be scrounging for intel so they could be first to break the news that this candidate had just hired that consultant to test the waters to determine which of the statewide offices were the most influential, or at least the most winnable. Such freewheeling jockeying seldom happens in the modern era of Texas politics. Consider that only once since 1990 were the offices for governor and lieutenant governor open at the same time. And never since the 1990 election were the offices of governor, attorney general and comptroller all open at the same time. Attorney General Jim Mattox decided to make an ill-fated run for the Democratic nomination for governor rather than to seek a third term. Four-term Comptroller Bob Bullock ran for lieutenant governor and won. And an otherwise obscure state representative named Dan Morales was elected attorney general. It wasn't until 2014 that Texas would see an open race for governor. Greg Abbott won the governor's office after deciding not to seek reelection for attorney general. Ken Paxton, then a state senator, won Abbott's old job. The sitting lieutenant governor, David Dewhurst, did seek reelection but lost the Republican primary to Dan Patrick, who had also been a state senator. Not only did Patrick take down Dewhurst, he beat two other statewide officeholders who had also challenged the incumbent. The successful 2018 GOP statewide ticket was pretty much a carbon copy of the one four years earlier. And 2022 was pretty darn close to a three-peat. The exception was the race for land commissioner because incumbent George P. Bush made the mistake of challenging Paxton in the primary.

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Will a Texas bill shield trucking companies from crash lawsuits? It depends on who you ask

A Buda educator who was injured last year when a concrete pump truck crashed into a school bus is among more than two dozen survivors and family members who are opposing a bill that could change how and when commercial vehicle companies are liable for such collisions. “I closed my eyes, and I held my daughter really tight,” Victoria Limon, a special education aide and mother at Tom Green Elementary, told members of the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday as she recalled the school bus crash in which she was injured and which also killed a 5-year-old child and a 33-year-old doctoral student. “If the trucking company had only done its due diligence and known to do a background check and known that its driver was on drugs that day,” Limon added.

Critics of Senate Bill 39, including the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the consumer watchdog group Texas Watch, argue that the legislation would allow trucking companies to avoid liability by hiding behind their drivers. But proponents, including the trucking industry and the influential group Texans for Lawsuit Reform, say the bill protects trucking companies from frivolous and costly lawsuits that have risen dramatically in recent years. The bill repeals an amendment to a 2021 law that was intended to be a compromise among trial lawyers, victims and the trucking industry on civil lawsuits. House Bill 19 allowed trucking companies to request civil lawsuits filed against them to be split into two parts. In the first, a jury rules on the negligence of the driver and the company, and decides on compensatory damages, which are meant to cover the plaintiff’s medical and psychological costs. In the second part, the jury rules on punitive damages, which are meant to punish a company if it is found to have recklessly or intentionally cut corners. The compromise amendment allowed plaintiffs’ lawyers to present evidence to juries about a driver’s condition — like being drunk or ineligible to drive — as proof of a company’s negligence. But the trucking industry has argued that if companies are paying compensatory damages based on their drivers’ missteps, their own safety records should not be introduced until the second part of the trial.

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It’s a hard time for interfaith work. D-FW Jewish leaders say they’re not giving up.

At the American Jewish Committee’s annual diplomatic Seder in Dallas, a room full of local officials and diplomats grew quiet for a reading of “A Prayer for this ‘Different’ Seder.” “At this Seder, the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust remains a fresh, open wound which continues to bleed,” went the prayer, which was written by AJC’s director of interreligious affairs, Rabbi Noam Marans, and read by AJC volunteers. “The abducted of diverse faiths and nationalities, dead or clinging to life, linger in brutal, inhumane captivity,” the prayer continued. “The innocents, Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Christians, and Muslims, are too many victims to bear.”

As the Jewish community celebrates the holiday of Passover, which starts on Saturday and runs through April 20 this year, the Israel-Hamas war is top of mind for many. Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to The Associated Press. Israel and Hamas have been at war, barring a few temporary ceasefires, since then. Hamas still holds 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, according to the AP. The war has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the health ministry there. The health ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says more than half of the dead are women and children, according to the AP. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. In the three months after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli civilians, the Anti-Defamation League said it tracked a 361% increase in antisemitic incidents compared to the same three months in the year prior. Of the incidents, 56 were physical assaults and 554 were acts of vandalism, according to the ADL, and 1,307 were rallies that included expressions of anti-Zionism, antisemitic rhetoric or support for terrorism. In a time of increased fear, grief and division, North Texas Jewish leaders told The Dallas Morning News that conversations, especially those about the war, between the Jewish community and those outside of it have been challenging and rare. Local and national Muslim-Jewish interfaith work has been under stress. Rabbi Andrew Paley, who chaired a multifaith council affiliated with the Dallas Police Department, said the months since Oct. 7 have been “among the most challenging” times for interfaith work in the city.

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David Simpson: Out with the old and in with the same at water district?

April 1 marked a new day for the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District (NETMWD) — or at least it would seem. Executive Director Wayne Owen from Tarrant County was gone. Two weeks prior at a NETMWD board meeting, the directors authorized entering into a “mutual separation agreement” with Mr. Owen and named Osiris Brantley, its chief financial officer, as interim general manager. How appropriate that these changes were made effective on April Fools’ day. The directors may have severed their relationship with Owen, but they are still operating in the dark. No agreement was presented, nor were its terms discussed, at the aforementioned board meeting. So how did the board determine the terms of the agreement, including severance pay of $140,000? Yet it was consummated without public deliberation and action.

A job application was posted on the NETMWD website for the general manager’s position March 31. The qualifications are markedly different than those posted in 2021 for the same position. Some qualifications are broader and some are more narrow. Strangely, Walt Sears, who served in the position for more than two decades, would not even qualify for the job now. How were the qualifications determined? Who authorized the job posting and determined the deadline for applications? Were these responsibilities delegated to Ms. Brantley? Did a district employee frame the qualifications to fit himself or herself for the highest paid position of $220,000? Maybe. Did the board engage in an illegal “walking quorum” where a director engages a quorum of directors privately, querying their thoughts and polling their positions on these matters? Most likely. This commonly known loophole, used to circumvent the Texas Open Meeting Act, was closed in 2019 when Senate Bill 1640 became law to ensure greater transparency of governmental bodies.

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Lawmakers push to revive fund inspired by Sylvester Turner to help low-income Texans with power bills

Session after session, then-state Rep. Sylvester Turner introduced legislation to force Texas lawmakers to spend hundreds of millions of dollars collected from utility ratepayers for the money’s intended purpose: Helping low-income families pay their electricity bills. Session after session, Turner’s bill proposals died in the Texas House or the Senate — and lawmakers used most of those dollars to fill gaps in the state budget instead. Finally, in 2013, Turner struck a deal that consumer advocates called a victory and a defeat. The remaining money in the "System Benefit Fund" was spent on assisting low-income Texans. But the minimal surcharge on electricity bills financing the program was eliminated — causing the fund itself to shutter when the money ran out in 2016. Now, nearly a decade later, some lawmakers want to re-establish a similar program inspired by Turner, who unexpectedly died from health complications last month.

One legislator floated naming the new law, if it passes, after Turner, in remembrance of the late Houston state representative, mayor and congressman’s years of advocacy on what became known as one of his signature issues. Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, author of the Senate bill, said a new fund is needed because electricity rates are “not likely to fall back to previous levels.” “Electricity is just going to be either a little or a lot more expensive in Texas than it has been, and people aren't able to adjust their budgets as quickly as electricity rates have risen,” Johnson said in a recent interview. Whether Johnson’s bill and its House companion have enough political momentum to become law is uncertain. But the effort comes at a time when electricity rates are likely to increase, further burdening the millions of Texans who told the U.S. Census Bureau last summer they'd reduced spending on basic necessities, such as food or medicine, to pay an energy bill. Utilities want to charge customers more than ever for disaster-related costs, while pitching historically-expensive plans to strengthen their power infrastructure from worsening extreme weather. Plus, the already-strained power grid will need to be expanded to accommodate unprecedented growth from data centers and other power-intensive facilities.

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Harris County Administrator Diana Ramirez to retire after two years on the job

Harris County Administrator Diana Ramirez will retire from her position at the end of April, according to a Friday news release. Ramirez was the second person to head the Office of County Administration, which Harris County commissioners voted to establish it in 2021. Ramirez previously worked more than 20 years in the Travis County Planning and Budget Office before becoming interim county administrator in April 2023. She was appointed to the position in November of that year. "This morning I informed Commissioners Court of my intent to retire effective April 30," Ramirez said in a statement. "It has been an extraordinary honor to serve as county administrator and to work alongside the members of commissioners court to help advance their vision for the residents of Harris County."

The Office of County Administration was established to oversee 16 county departments, with the administrator handling day-to-day operations including personnel management, accounting and strategic planning. Ramirez was responsible for firing Barbie Robinson, the former head of the Harris County Public Health Department, after she was charged with funneling contracts to companies with which she had previous connections with. The intent was for the office to improve efficiency and cohesiveness for the departments overseen by the county, but it proved controversial among Republicans. Commissioners voted along party lines to establish the office, with the then-two Republicans dissenting on the grounds the office granted too much power to an employee who would be appointed by a Democratic majority. The remaining Republican commissioner, Tom Ramsey, has continued to speak out against the Office of County Administration overspending concerns.

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Former HISD official said he never met board president in Walmart parking lot for cash handoff

Houston ISD's former Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby denied meeting a former board president in a Walmart parking lot for cash payoffs despite her testimony this occurred. Busby's lengthy testimony capped off week three of a federal trial that has so far featured 30 witnesses called by prosecutors. He and former district vendor Anthony Hutchison face a 33-count indictment that includes conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, wire fraud, witness tampering, and willfully filing false tax returns. If convicted, they could face up to five years for conspiracy, up to 10 years for bribery, up to 20 years for wire fraud, up to 20 years for witness tampering, and up to three years for each tax count.

Busby wanted to put his perspective on the record and characterized his silence following charges as "five years of pain." His testimony — beginning with his background and his experience with FBI raiding his home — did not match what other witnesses testified. Rhonda Skillern-Jones, who entered a guilty plea to a conspiracy charge in 2021, said she accepted $5,000 and later $12,000 in cash at a Walmart parking lot after Hutchison completed campus projects with leftover school bond money allocated to her trustee area. Prosecutors even produced a gray drawstring bag that Skillern-Jones said held the money. But Busby under oath stated he has never been to a Walmart with her, and the only time he gave her cash from Hutchison was in 2017 at the district's headquarters so that Skillern-Jones could use that money to buy giftcards for Hurricane Harvey victims. He said Skillern-Jones asked for the money while she, Busby, and others were at a Pappadeaux with Hutchison on speaker phone.

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James B. Milliken: Texas can revolutionize dementia care. UT is ready to help.

(James B. Milliken is chancellor of The University of Texas System.) Imagine a Texas where Alzheimer’s disease can be treated like diabetes. It might look like a series of preventative shots a person gets in their 40s, or a pill they take in their 60s to mitigate and control symptoms, just like one might with a host of conditions. This is the future as envisioned by University of Texas researchers like Dr. Marc Diamond at UT Southwestern, whose work is dedicated to ending what he calls the “neurological nightmare” of dementia. Thanks to a new legislative effort at the Texas State Capitol, we may be closer to ending this nightmare than ever before. Senate Bill 5 — sponsored by state Sen. Joan Huffman — has been designated a legislative priority by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. A companion House bill authored by state Rep. Tom Craddick — has 119 co-sponsors. The bills would give Texans the chance to vote on the creation of a $3 billion fund to support the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT.)

If passed, DPRIT would revolutionize Alzheimer’s care and research in Texas. As lawmakers continue to deliberate this proposal, the University of Texas stands ready to do its part. We are already deeply immersed in leading research and clinical efforts in the battle against dementia, and we’re ready to do more. Nearly 7 million Americans aged over 65 are currently living with Alzheimer’s. That number is expected to double by the 2060s. Here in the Lone Star State, nearly half a million Texans live with Alzheimer’s, and a million more provide them with unpaid care, often at great personal cost. Many caregivers report symptoms of depression. The economic costs associated with dementia are sky high. Nationally we spend an estimated $360 billion per year on dementia care — 120 times the cost of DPRIT over the next decade. The promise of DPRIT is that the discoveries, innovations and technologies it will catalyze can revolutionize the lives of those who live with Alzheimer’s and those who care for them. But how do we know DPRIT can deliver? Thankfully, the concept has been tried and tested in Texas over the last decade.

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Family demands Tarrant sheriff’s removal over jail deaths

The family of a man who died in the Tarrant County Jail last December sent a letter to Tarrant County commissioners on Saturday asking them to petition for a trial to remove Sheriff Bill Waybourn from his post. Mason Yancy, 31, died in the jail on Dec. 27, 2024, from what the medical examiner later ruled to be a pulmonary thromboembolism, or a blood clot in the lungs. Members of Yancy’s family told the Star-Telegram that they believe the medical examiner’s ruling confirmed their theory that Yancy was not given medication for his diabetes while in custody. Diabetes increases the risk for blood clots, according to the American Heart Association.

Yancy’s family is demanding that Tarrant County commissioners create an agenda item and hold a vote on seeking Waybourn’s removal, according to a news release. The family cited a Texas local government code that creates a process via trial by a jury in which an elected official such as a sheriff can be removed in cases of incompetence or official misconduct, the statement reads. The legal process would begin with a county resident filing a petition to be reviewed by a district court judge, according to the Chapter 87 law. At a January commissioners’ meeting, tensions erupted during a briefing about recent deaths in the jail, including Yancy’s. A group of Second Amendment activists attended the Jan. 14 meeting to join calls for Waybourn’s resignation, in an episode that ended with two arrests, the Star-Telegram previously reported. At that meeting, Yancy’s brother Darren told commissioners that the fault for the jail deaths lies with Waybourn. “The challenge we have is you’ve got a number of deaths under various employees since 2017 that keep occurring, and there’s one man at the top, and that’s Bill Waybourn,” he said.

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Elon Musk wants control of a public beach. The state of Texas is preparing to give it to him.

On the road to Boca Chica Beach sits a huge bronze sculpture of Elon Musk’s head. The thing is nine feet tall and probably weighs half a ton. Alone on the side of State Highway 4 on the way out of Brownsville, it’s a herald with a clear message. You are now entering Musk Country. Drive a few more miles through the yucca and native brush and, suddenly, SpaceX’s Starbase looms ahead. Musk’s massive rocket production and testing complex dominates the land here on the Texas-Mexico border, its glass buildings dwarfing the tidal flats below. Starship, the rocket meant to ferry humans to Mars, takes off from here. The last thing you see before you hit the Gulf is the rocket launch pad. Boca Chica Beach is open to the public. At least, it is in theory. Every time SpaceX launches a rocket, the area must be cleared for safety reasons.

Launches at the site could be about to increase five-fold. And now, Musk wants the power to close the beach on his schedule. GOP legislators are behind him. Local leaders and environmentalists stand in opposition. The right to access public beaches is enshrined in the Texas Constitution, they say, and should not be handed to Musk. This fight marks the latest show of power in Texas from Musk, one of the wealthiest people in the world. As he continues to flex his power in Washington, DC, his influence is expanding more quietly here. Musk’s footprint is growing at his corporate complex in rural Central Texas. He plans a massive new park at the Tesla gigafactory near Austin. And his foundation plans to start its own education system, starting with a single Montessori-style school. But first, Musk is coming for the beach. The battle for Boca Chica is set.

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National Stories

One of the country’s leading Alzheimer’s projects is in jeopardy

Andrea Gilbert thought she knew what would happen to her brain. The 79-year-old retired attorney, who has Alzheimer’s disease and receives care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, agreed to donate it for research in 2023. She hoped to help scientists unlock the keys to a disease that had left her writing notes to remind herself if she’d already brushed her teeth. The fate of that program is now in limbo because the Trump administration has upended the system that funds biomedical research. “It’s going to go one way or another. I’m not taking it with me,” Gilbert said from a hospital bed as she received an infusion of a drug designed to prevent the disease from worsening. “I hope it gets used well. But, you know, you can’t guarantee anything.”

Thousands of grants, including many at public universities and on topics as politically benign as Alzheimer’s, have been caught in what critics say is an unprecedented slowdown of the American research system that is threatening to upend universities and halt progress toward medical innovations, treatments and cures. Even the temporary slowdown threatens to hamper or scuttle programs that have been decades in the making — and some of which are also actively treating patients. The National Institutes of Health has been the primary funder of the University of Washington’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) since 1985. The program supports a brain bank that accepts more than 200 donations yearly and is preserving more than 4,000 brains. The center’s grant funding, which is waiting for renewal, expires at the end of April. But grant decisions across the nation have slowed to a crawl, according to court filings. The program has focused on unraveling the basic biology of the disease and factors that counter it. It discovered or helped identify three genes in which mutations cause Alzheimer’s.

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Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from new tariffs

President Donald Trump exempted smartphones, computers, and other tech devices and components from his reciprocal tariffs, new guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows. The guidance, issued late Friday evening, comes after Trump earlier this month imposed 145% tariffs on products from China, a move that threatened to take a toll on tech giants like Apple, which makes iPhones and most of its other products in China. The guidance also includes exclusions for other electronic devices and components, including semiconductors, solar cells, flat panel TV displays, flash drives, and memory cards. The White House said on Saturday the exemptions were made because Trump wants to ensure that companies have time to move production to the U.S.

White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai said in a statement that Trump “has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops.” “At the direction of the President, these companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible,” Desai said. The 20 product categories listed in the CBP guidelines are apparently exempt from the 125% tariff imposed by Trump on Chinese imports and the 10% baseline tariff on imports from other countries. A 20% tariff on all Chinese goods remains in effect. CNBC has asked the White House and CBP to confirm the total effective tariff rate on the exempted products but so far has received no definitive answer. The exemptions are a win for tech companies like Apple, which makes the majority of its products in China. The country manufactures 80% of iPads and more than half of Mac computers produced, according to Evercore ISI.

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Dozens of DHS staffers, including top FEMA officials, given lie detector tests over alleged leaks

The Department of Homeland Security has administered lie detector tests to about 50 staffers in recent weeks, including FEMA’s acting administrator and roughly a dozen officials at the disaster relief agency, as part of an intensifying effort to root out what the department alleges are leaks of national security information. Acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton, an appointee of President Donald Trump, was given a polygraph just days after taking part in a meeting with top DHS officials for a policy discussion on the future of FEMA and how to potentially dismantle the agency in the coming months. That closed-door meeting was reported by CNN and other media outlets. At least one FEMA official has been placed on administrative leave and was escorted out of the agency’s office this week after being administered a polygraph test, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

“We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant — we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in an email to CNN. The investigations at DHS have raised concerns that the lie detector tests may be used on federal workers accused of leaking non-classified information to the media, particularly at FEMA where sources say classified information is handled in very limited circumstances. Whistleblower support organizations tell CNN it would be unusual, alarming and potentially illegal for the tests to be used in such cases. One FEMA official, who declined to be identified out of fear of retribution, said: “They’re going after rank-and-file employees and instilling this culture of fear.” The Trump administration, including at DHS and the Department of Defense, has launched various investigations involving polygraphs into unauthorized disclosures of classified and national security information.

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Trump authorizes Pentagon to take over public land at southern border

President Trump authorized the U.S. military to take jurisdiction over a strip of public land at the border that spans three states, a key step toward having U.S. troops play a larger role enforcing immigration laws at the southern border. In a presidential memorandum released Friday evening, Trump ordered the Defense Department to have authority over the Roosevelt Reservation, among other public lands. American-Indian reservations are exempt from the order. “Our southern border is under attack from a variety of threats,” Trump’s order read. “The complexity of the current situation requires that our military take a more direct role in securing our southern border than in the recent past.” The move would ultimately mean that the military’s massive budget can be more directly tapped for border security. The administration had been planning for weeks to transfer control of such lands to the military and potentially use the zone as a place to temporarily hold migrants who enter the U.S. illegally, according to defense officials.

Many U.S. detention centers have been at their highest levels in years, creating a bottleneck for the White House goals of mass deportations. The order, however, doesn’t spell out that temporary detention facilities will be built on the lands. The Roosevelt Reservation, which is referenced in the order, is a narrow strip of land along the border that goes through California, New Mexico and Arizona. The order authorizes the military to construct a border barrier and install detection and monitoring equipment on the lands, according to the memo. The military’s initial phase of activities will be assessed in 45 days. Upon taking office, Trump quickly declared a national emergency at the southern border, rushing thousands of active-duty soldiers there. They arrived to join thousands of Texas National Guard members and state troopers deployed under a state disaster order, plus the thousands of agents permanently working for Border Patrol and other agencies. Trump, who campaigned on cracking down on illegal immigration, inherited a border where unlawful crossings, after peaking at record levels in late 2023, had been steadily dropping for a year. Before he took office, such crossings had returned to the levels of the first Trump administration. Since then, they have fallen even lower. During a lengthy cabinet meeting this week Trump had touted how illegal crossings have dipped significantly. “The numbers are incredible,” Trump said Thursday, referring to the drop in crossings. “Where they used to have hundreds of thousands of people standing there, going through the border in Tijuana, Mexico—this weekend they had nobody,” he said.

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Trump’s tariffs are taxation without representation

It’s time for Congress to reclaim the power it never had the authority to give away. ‘No taxation without representation” was the rallying cry for the American founders as they threw off the shackles of unaccountable rule. Among the grievances levied against King George III in the Declaration of Independence was that he had “cut off our Trade with all parts of the world” and imposed taxes on us “without our Consent.” When the Founders met for the Constitutional Convention in 1787, one of their primary motivations for replacing rather than merely reforming the Articles of Confederation was the need for the national government to raise revenue to fund the limited scope of its operations. As Chief Justice John Marshall famously wrote in 1819, “The power to tax involves the power to destroy.” President Calvin Coolidge, about a century later, said, “Taxes take from everyone a part of his earnings and force him to work a part of his time for the government.” The Founders understood these things and so vested in Congress alone this incredible power to deprive people of the fruit of their own labor.

In Congress, any proposal to raise taxes would have to survive a deliberative process and would be considered by representatives from the entire country. Senators Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) and Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) and Representatives Don Bacon (R., Neb.), Jeff Hurd (R., Colo.), Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.), and Gregory Meeks (D., N.Y.) have introduced legislation that would begin to reassert that authority, the Trade Review Act of 2025. Our Constitution creates a government of limited powers, restricting Congress and the president to only those powers specifically listed. Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the exclusive power to tax. The president has no such power. Therefore, he cannot legally exercise it. However, Congress has illegitimately yielded to the president some of its power to tax. It cannot do that, and this week’s tariff announcement exemplifies why. Before the 90-day reduction to 10 percent across the board, President Donald Trump’s tariffs represented the largest peacetime tax hike in American history. Neither the original tariffs nor the reduced rate were the result of careful congressional consideration but the whims of one man.

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Mistakenly deported man is alive and detained in El Salvador, Trump admin says

The Trump administration, in a filing posted to the docket several minutes after a 5 p.m. Saturday deadline, said a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador is alive and remains detained there. The late-in-the-day filing is in an effort to comply with Maryland-based U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’ order from Friday, which demanded the government provide a daily status report on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s whereabouts and conditions, along with any efforts being taken to bring him back to the United States. ADVERTISING “It is my understanding based on official reporting from our Embassy in San Salvador that Abrego Garcia is currently being held in the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador,” Michael G. Kozak, a senior bureau official in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the State Department, wrote in a two-page sworn declaration. “He is alive and secure in that facility. He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.” In a separate filing also submitted Saturday evening, asking for additional relief, attorneys for Abrego Garcia used President Donald Trump’s words against him.

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The battle for the Senate takes shape, with both parties waiting on governors to boost their chances

The fight for the Senate in 2026 is beginning to take shape, with more candidates launching campaigns in recent days and additional announcements expected in the coming weeks. But both parties are still waiting to see if they can convince a governor to try to flip one of their top targeted states next year. Democrats will have to reach into GOP territory to net the four seats they need to flip the chamber, while also defending competitive seats they currently hold in Georgia, Michigan and elsewhere. Republicans, meanwhile, are looking to grow their 53-47 majority in next year’s elections while defending blue-leaning Maine, battleground North Carolina and some redder states. It’s no surprise that both parties are eyeing governors as top recruits, since they have proved they can win statewide races and come with strong personal brands and fundraising bases — though, as some recent governors have learned, past wins do not always translate to Senate victories.

Republicans’ top target is Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, the only Democratic senator running for re-election in a state President Donald Trump won in November. (Democrats are also defending a Senate seat in Michigan, now an open-seat contest with Sen. Gary Peters retiring.) While the GOP is eager to take on Ossoff, the party’s field has been frozen while Gov. Brian Kemp weighs whether to jump into the race. Kemp, who is barred by term limits from running for governor again in 2026, has not made a decision on a Senate run and has just started the process of evaluating a potential campaign now that the state legislative session has concluded, according to a source familiar with his thinking. The source said there is no specific timeline for Kemp to make a decision — but that the governor is “not going to needlessly keep people waiting.” Democrats, meanwhile, are waiting on a former governor to decide whether to take on one of their top targets: GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Democrats have not won a Senate race in the state since 2008, but former Gov. Roy Cooper, who could not run for re-election last year due to term limits, is seen as a strong recruit with proven statewide appeal.

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Lead Stories

Texas House passes $337.4B state budget plan

A $337.4 billion state spending plan that funnels money to schools, the border, health services and other state needs for the next two years was approved by the Texas House after a 12-hour debate just after midnight on Friday. The budget plan also includes new money for teacher pay raises, property tax cuts, medical research, and a private school voucher-like program. Senate Bill 1, also known as the General Appropriations Act, passed on a vote of 118-26, following more than 14 hours of debate on the House floor. Exactly 19 Republicans and 7 Democrats voted against the bill. “[The bill] stays well under all spending limits and grows less than population and inflation—ensuring we protect taxpayers while meeting the needs of a growing Texas,” said House Appropriations Chairman Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood.

SB 1 now goes into negotiations for the next several weeks as the House attempts to reconcile its spending plan with the Texas Senate, which passed its version of a 2026-27 budget last month. The final budget bill will be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it in June. The House was also set to consider a separate spending bill, House Bill 500, that would earmark some of the $23 billion in unspent tax money still in state coffers to close out the current cycle. Some targets for that money include a $2.5 billion investment in water infrastructure and $394 million to the Texas A&M Forest Service Agency to increase the state’s firefighting capabilities with wildfire suppression aircraft. Two Republicans and two Democrats spoke against the measure, each with different reasons for why they oppose the bill. Republican Reps. Mike Olcott of Fort Worth and Brian Harrison of Midlothian, said they would vote against the bill because it does not spend more money to cut property taxes for Texans. Harrison went further and said the budget was the most liberal spending plan in the state’s history, to jeers from lawmakers in the chamber. “I’ve knocked on more than 10,000 doors in my district over the last three years, and other than the border, property taxes comes up over and over and over again,” Olcott said. “I meet so many people that are struggling every year to make that annual payment.”

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Stock futures rise as traders assess latest tariff-related developments as China raises tariffs on US goods

Stock futures rose Friday as traders weighed the latest developments on the tariff front and tried to end a week of wild market swings on a high note. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 253 points, or 0.6%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 0.8% each. Tariff fears remain at the forefront of investors’ minds after President Donald Trump temporarily slashed his country-specific duties to a universal rate of 10% — except for China. Goods from Beijing will see a rate of 145%, a White House official confirmed to CNBC. China on Friday retaliated by raising its levies on U.S. products to 125% from 84%. “Even if the U.S. continues to impose higher tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense and will become a joke in the history of world economy,” the Chinese finance ministry said in a statement, according to a CNBC translation.

Stock futures initially dropped on China’s move. However, they recovered after the European Union said its trade representative was flying to Washington on Sunday “try and sign deals.” Wall Street is coming off a losing session. The S&P 500 fell 3.46% on Thursday, while the 30-stock Dow tumbled 1,014.79 points, or 2.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the day lower by 4.31%. The S&P 500 over the past five trading days Thursday’s declines wiped a chunk of the gains the major averages saw on Wednesday after Trump announced a 90-day reprieve on some of his high “reciprocal” tariffs. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 surged 9.52% for its third-largest gain in a single day since World War II and the 30-stock Dow skyrocketed more than 2,900 points. Stocks resumed their losing ways on Thursday as traders went into risk-off mode, with trade policy uncertainty weighing on sentiment. The “lower tariff level is still a huge problem, and deadlines three months out offer no certainty for consumers, business, and investors,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “This set of policies will leave the U.S. with higher inflation, lower economic growth, and a frustrated stock market.” Here are the U.S. tariffs currently in place: 145% duty on all goods from China; 25% tariffs targeting aluminum, autos and goods from Canada; and Mexico not under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement 10% levy on all other imports.

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Texas job market was feeling DOGE's pinch. Then tariffs hit.

The Texas job market was humming along. Even as first-quarter job cuts surpassed the tally from a year-earlier by more than 40%, the unemployment rate in Texas held steady over the past year at around 4.1%. Still, signs were emerging that policies imposed by the Trump administration were starting to take their toll. An analysis by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas released last week found American companies slashed more than 275,000 jobs in March, a staggering 60% increase over February’s cuts and more than 200% greater than the 90,309 jobs lost during the same period a year earlier. Challenger data for Texas shows first-quarter job cuts in 2025 were more than 41% greater than the year-earlier period. Yet job growth outpaced losses to start the year.

“The job market has remained robust year to date for Texas,” Pia Orrenius, a vice president and labor economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said. “Our growth number is like 1.9%, which is right under trend growth, so we've actually seen a little bit of improvement in the first two months of the year relative to last year. But this is backward-looking data.” Of the nearly 17,500 jobs lost in the state during the first quarter, Challenger found, the services sector took the biggest hit, losing 8,242 jobs, up from 1,053 a year earlier. “In March, Orrenius said, “the Texas service sector outlook survey slowed revenue growth to zero. So there was no growth in March according to our survey.” The impact on the jobs market of the sweeping tariffs announced last week by President Donald Trump has yet to be felt, and their effect will depend in large part on how long they stay in place. Meantime, the impact of cuts across the federal government are rippling across the Texas economy. “Job cut announcements were dominated last month by Department of Government Efficiency plans to eliminate positions in the federal government. It would have otherwise been a fairly quiet month for layoffs,” Andrew Challenger, the firm’s senior vice president, said in the statement accompanying the report.

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Glenn Hegar: Texas' looming economic threat: Not enough affordable housing

As Texas Comptroller, I’ve seen firsthand how our state’s economic vitality depends on tackling challenges decisively. My office’s recent Housing Affordability Challenge report reveals a harsh truth: Texas is grappling with a housing affordability crisis that threatens our prosperity. With median home prices jumping 40% between 2019 and 2023, and mortgage rates soaring to a 23-year high of 7.79% in October 2023, homeownership is slipping away for too many Texans. The solution lies in restoring a core property right: the freedom to build more homes. State lawmakers must step up with bold action. Texas has proudly led the nation in new building permits since 2008, yet we’re still falling behind. Our population, especially in thriving metro areas, is outpacing our ability to construct homes. In 2023, Texas faced a shortage of 306,000 homes, according to Up for Growth.

Elevated housing costs impede hiring and retention, influencing where companies locate. While few firms have relocated solely due to these expenses, rising housing costs force businesses to raise wages, increasing operating expenses and prompting moves to more affordable areas. The crisis stems from artificial barriers. Local regulations often choke development, inflating prices by limiting supply where Texans want to live. My report shows broad agreement that easing these rules could help. Yet, some resist, fearing disruption to neighborhoods or property values. While these concerns merit discussion, the status quo is untenable. Texas must prioritize our collective economic strength. This isn’t just a Texas issue — it’s national. Economists Chang-Tai Hsieh and Enrico Moretti estimate restrictive land-use policies cost the U.S. economy $1.6 trillion annually in lost wages and productivity. Texas’ metro areas — including Austin, Dallas and Houston — are growth engines facing similar hurdles. If we don’t act, we’ll lose our edge. While many of the issues are local, the fix can start at the state level. Lawmakers should pass laws to simplify permitting and construction rules, empowering property owners to build more homes — whether single-family houses, duplexes or apartments — where demand exists. This isn’t about stripping local authority but establishing a framework that restores the right to develop responsibly.

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State Stories

Can a new Hill Country program help drug offenders stay clean, out of jail?

Nonviolent drug offenders and some drunk drivers in Hays County will soon have the option of going through a rehabilitation program instead of serving jail time. The Hays County Commissioners Court voted 5-0 this week to create the Driving While Intoxicated & Drug Court Program, to be overseen by Judge Alicia Key of the 483rd District Court and Judge Jimmy Hall of the County Court-at-Law. Key and other supporters say the program will help those struggling with addiction to get sober and will save the county money by reducing jail populations.

Key, who was elected in August, said that in her short time on the bench she has seen many people with repeated charges for drug possession. “They end up just filling up our jails. A lot of the people in our jails are either mentally ill or addicted,” she said. “It’s kind of a cycle. They get out, they get back in. It’s bad for the taxpayers.” The program is expected to begin in December, according to the county. The focus will be on offenders who show a willingness to reform their lives, said Mathew Hammons, who was hired hired in February to be the program’s facilitator. For DWI offenders, the focus will likely be on those facing charges for the second or third time, Key said. They will be ordered to use blowing devices to keep them from operating vehicles after drinking. The Hays County District Attorney’s Office will recommend offenders for the program, and the judges will decide whom to accept, Hammons said. The offenders will be assigned a caseworker and might be required to go into residential treatment or attend meetings, he said.

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Chip Roy backs down on budget opposition after spending cut assurances from Trump, House speaker

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy backed down on Thursday from his promise to vote against a Senate budget resolution, saying he had gotten assurances from President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders that the final budget would include trillions of dollars in spending cuts. The turnaround came a day after Roy, R-Austin, criticized the Senate budget bill as failing to reduce spending to match proposed tax cuts, likely resulting in a $3 trillion increase in the federal deficit.

In a post of X Thursday, Roy said Trump had assured him on $1 trillion in cuts to mandatory spending programs included in former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and to Medicaid. He also said House Speaker Mike Johnson guaranteed him that the tax cuts central to Trump's budget plan would be tied to a reduction in spending and that Senate Majority Leader John Thune had committed to a minimum of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. "I would have preferred we amended the Senate bill to reflect these commitments. But, in the interest of comity, I will take them at their word," Roy wrote. "But, to be clear, failure to achieve these baselines including deficit neutrality will make it impossible for me to support a final reconciliation product." After delaying a vote Wednesday, House Republicans passed the Senate budget resolution 216-214, with just two Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Victoria Spartz, R-Ind. — voting against it. Now the Senate and House Republicans must do the hard work of deciding what's in and what's out of the federal budget, which they can pass without any Democrats' support through the reconciliation process.

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After legal wrangling, crews resume demolition of Texan Cultures Institute, future Spurs home

A preservation group trying to save the former Institute of Texan Cultures — the proposed site of a new San Antonio Spurs arena — said demolition work has resumed at the property, despite efforts to forestall its destruction at least until a court hearing next week. The razing of the structure appeared to have been paused on Wednesday in response to protests by the Conservation Society of San Antonio, which is suing the city and the University of Texas at San Antonio to stop the demolition. But the organization said in a statement Thursday that crews "ripped huge sections of concrete wall" from the building Wednesday and Thursday even as Conservation Society lawyers were in court trying to negotiate a halt to the work.

The society said attorneys from UTSA and the city asserted that the two entities enjoy "sovereign immunity" from its lawsuit. The preservation group mocked that argument in its statement, saying, “There are no kings in San Antonio (except maybe during Fiesta).” Society officials provided photos of crews removing joints between the landmark building's exterior concrete panels on the south end of the structure. "Demolition is continuing in a patently destructive manner,” Conservation Society President Lewis Vetter said Thursday. “Opposing counsel said they only removed panels to access areas for remediation, but those panels were smashed.” UTSA had no comment in response to the society's statement. The university has administrative control of the property on behalf of the UT System, which owns it. The city and UTSA are working together to redevelop the 13.5-acre site at Hemisfair. The city has the exclusive option to lease or buy the property.

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Kim Kofron and Audrey Rowland: Texas lawmakers must address the child care crisis that's holding families back

(Kim Kofron is the senior director of education at Children at Risk, a Texas-based, nonpartisan research and advocacy group. Audrey Rowland is the president of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children.) The alarm bells are ringing. Texas faces a child care crisis that demands immediate action. It's time raise our voices and demand that our state leaders prioritize the needs of working families and invest in the future of our economy. The stakes are simply too high to ignore. Consider these stark realities: Nearly 95,000 Texas children languish on waiting lists for the state subsidies they need to access child care services. This isn't just a number. It represents tens of thousands of families across 70% of Texas' counties struggling to balance work and parenthood. It represents 95,000 missed opportunities for early childhood development and 95,000 potential setbacks for our state's future. The impact of this child care shortage ripples far beyond individual families. The child care sector is a powerful economic engine.

In 2022, child care generated a staggering $12.6 billion in economic impact in Texas, according to The Conference Board — Committee for Economic Development 2024 report. This includes $4.9 billion in direct child care revenue and an additional $7.66 billion in spillover effects across other industries. We're talking about $4.86 billion in household earnings and 210,544 million jobs. To put it bluntly, child care isn't just a social issue; it's a critical economic issue. In Texas, more than 140,000 people are employed by the child care industry, generating millions in purchases of goods and services, further fueling economic activity. Yet, this vital sector is teetering on the brink of collapse as rising costs outpace what families can afford, making the business unsustainable. That means businesses and nonprofits alike are struggling to retain employees who are forced to reduce hours or leave the workforce entirely due to a lack of affordable and accessible child care.

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TCU cuts Diversity & Inclusion office amid Trump funding cut threats

TCU has eliminated its Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and several web pages related to DEI and LGBTQ services have been scrubbed from the university’s website. Universities are under a political microscope as the Trump administration threatens funding cuts to schools that have diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In the same vein, the president has ordered federal contractors to roll back DEI initiatives. Across the country, the move has led to the scaling back and elimination of programs and web pages that could be in violation of the president’s orders. TCU in Fort Worth, a private university with more than 10,500 undergraduate students and 1,800 graduate students, appears to be no exception. TCU is expected to receive $17.4 million in federal grants and $23.6 million in direct payments from the federal government in fiscal year 2025, which runs from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30.

“I don’t see this ending,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor, of the Republican push to end DEI in higher education. “This seems to be more of a crusade than a battle.” TCU’s website had promoted its DEI initiatives on its homepage under the “About TCU” section. The Star-Telegram reported on Feb. 3 that the page had disappeared from its prominent position on the page and that the university’s main DEI page was now a broken link. At the time, the Star-Telegram reported that the university’s web page for its TCU’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion was still active, but as of April 9, it links out to a page for the Center for Connection Culture founded in 2013. The center was created to “protect and strengthen TCU’s commitment to building and sustaining a connected community,” according to its web page. Holly Ellman, a spokesperson for TCU, confirmed late April 8 that the university no longer has an Office of Diversity and Inclusion. There were no job losses, Ellman said in a follow up email. The university did not make a representative available for an interview on the office’s closure and did not say why the office was closed. “TCU fosters a community of growth where all Horned Frogs feel included and supported,” the web page for the Center for Connection Culture reads.

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International students ‘panicked’ as more in Texas have visas revoked

Dallas-area international students are struggling to navigate why they were told to leave the country immediately after visas were suddenly revoked by federal officials, lawyers working with some of them said. In some instances, the students had faced criminal charges but those charges were dismissed, the lawyers said. The lawyers — criminal defense attorney Bruce Anton and immigration attorney Stefka Stoyanova — said they are working with several students who had their visas revoked. They declined to share the students’ names because of privacy concerns. At least 110 international students at Texas universities had visas terminated by U.S. government officials as of Thursday afternoon, according to university administrators.

Locally, students from University of North Texas (27), the University of Texas at Arlington (27), the University of Texas at Dallas (19) and Texas Woman’s University (6) had visas revoked, university administrators confirmed. Officials from Southern Methodist University said some students were affected but didn’t release numbers. Texas school officials did not release details of the students’ names, backgrounds or reasons why the federal database that tracks their statuses terminated the records, signaling that the students’ statuses changed. Federal privacy laws limit what information schools can share. “They’re panicked,” said Anton, who said he has five former clients he is assisting. “They’re in absolute panic.” They are among hundreds across the country who had their statuses suddenly changed in recent weeks, according to local and national media reports. The revocations come as President Donald Trump’s administration vows to crack down on immigration and on student protests over the war in Gaza, such as the ones in Texas last year.

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Could immigration fears cripple Texas agriculture industry?

Trinidad Ochoa worries that fear could ultimately cripple Texas’ agricultural industry. Ochoa, a U.S. citizen of Mexican heritage who has owned a farm in Fort Worth for more than 30 years, said recent federal immigration policy has made migrants who work Texas farms fearful. “People go out to work very afraid,” said Ochoa, who moved to Houston from Jalisco, Mexico, in 1973 to take a job working in the petrochemical industry and, later, building nuclear power plants. “In all these years, I’ve never seen anything like this. People do not want to leave their homes unless it is strictly necessary because they are afraid of being detained, deported, and leaving their families unprotected.” Ochoa’s operation is small. He has 15 cows on a 90-acre farm that produces milk, cream and fresh cheese. His wife helps with farm chores, including caring for the animals seven days a week. Their children used to help, but they have made their own lives outside the farm.

For an industry that relies on immigrant labor, President Donald Trump’s immigration policies — including his promise of mass deportations — could cause widespread pain and create an uncertain future. More than 27% of Texas farmworkers are immigrants. More than half of those are undocumented, according to the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit organization that works with immigrants and immigration lawyers. Ron Estrada, CEO of Farmworker Justice, a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower migrant and seasonal farmworkers, calls that migrant workforce a “lifeline” for Texas farmers. If they are taken away, the effect will not be felt only by farmers, he said. The food supply, grocery prices and the economy also will be affected. Not everyone is as certain. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a strong supporter of Trump, said mechanization will protect Texas farms and Texas consumers if the undocumented workforce shrinks. Agriculture’s reliance on migrant workers is overstated, he says. “We’re not even in the top five industries that use illegal labor,” Miller said.

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Texas Senators John Cornyn, Ted Cruz file bill to bring famed NASA space shuttle to Houston

The two U.S. senators from Texas are hoping to bring one of NASA’s famed space shuttles to what they call its rightful home – Houston. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both Republicans, introduced a bill on Thursday that would move space shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Virginia to a nonprofit near the Johnson Space Center in Houston – likely Space Center Houston, though that’s not spelled out in the bill. “It's long overdue for a retired NASA space shuttle to rest at Houston's Johnson Space Center so Texans can see, learn from and enjoy it for generations,” said Gov. Greg Abbott in a statement, who is supportive of the federal effort.

NASA’s fleet of space shuttles flew 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. When the program ended, the agency held a competition to determine where the four shuttles – three that were flown to space and one that was a prototype used for testing – would be displayed. Houston was snubbed, despite being home to the center that managed the shuttle program, trained its astronauts and commanded its missions in space. In addition to the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, the shuttles were given to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, the California Science Center in Los Angeles and the Intrepid Museum in New York City. Texans were outraged. Many called the move political. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 had specified that the four shuttles go to states with a “historical relationship … of the space shuttle orbiters or the retrieval of NASA-manned space vehicles, or significant contributions to human space flight.” Cornyn still feels that the decision was political. “Houston played a critical role throughout the life of the space shuttle program, but it is clear political favors trumped common sense and fairness when the Obama administration blocked the Space City from receiving the recognition it deserves,” Cornyn said in a statement released Thursday.

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Texas Senate passes bill that could expedite evictions by removing hearing requirement

Tenants across Texas could face expedited evictions under a bill passed by the Texas Senate on Thursday. Senate Bill 38, by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, was introduced on the Senate floor as a solution to the issue of “squatting” — or occupying a property without legal permission. Despite this, the bill does not explicitly mention squatting or reference this form of unauthorized occupancy. Neither does its companion bill, House Bill 32 by Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Richardson, which passed out of committee earlier this week. Instead, both bills seek to reform portions of the Texas eviction code. Bettencourt spoke to this when presenting the bill, saying that squatters have three characteristics: forcible entry, refusing to vacate the property and nonpayment of rent. His bill seeks to tackle the second and third elements of squatting. “[It] should be simple, squatters do not have the right to occupy property they do NOT own,” he said in a release after the bill’s passage. “We’re fixing the system and speeding up the process.”

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick also expressed support for the bill after its passage and said it “creates a fair, efficient and predictable civil eviction process.” Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, expressed concern the bill tackles the issue of squatting with a hammer instead of a scalpel. “I am gung-ho to address the squatters issue, but … we’re not really addressing that; we’re addressing people that are renters,” West said. Royce also pointed to the disproportionate demographics of renters evicted. In Dallas County, communities of color are disproportionately represented in eviction cases and the likelihood of receiving an eviction is highest for mothers with kids, per a 2022 study by the Child Poverty Action Lab. The bill most notably expedites evictions and, according to some advocates, limits tenant due process by offering landlords a summary disposition process. Under it, a judge could rule in the landlord’s favor without a hearing, the forum where tenants currently have an opportunity to present evidence in their defense. Landlords would file a motion with their initial eviction claim that argues there are “no genuinely disputed facts” in the case. If the tenant does not respond within four days through a sworn affidavit, the judge has discretion whether to find in the landlord’s favor by default.

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Harris County commissioner calls out EPA on San Jacinto River pollution following state cancer study

A Harris County resolution Thursday called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to "remove the San Jacinto Waste Pits immediately," after a Texas Department of State Health Services study found elevated cancer rates near a large swath of the San Jacinto River from Atascocita to La Porte. The study did not directly look at the cause of the abnormally high rates of leukemia, lymphoma, cervix, lung and bronchus cancers across the 250-square-mile area. Still, residents and experts have blamed the waste pits, a pair of impoundments built at the river’s edge in the mid-1960s to store hazardous waste from a nearby paper mill. These pits have leaked cancer-causing dioxins into the river.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, a Republican and former civil engineer who represents much of East Harris County, introduced the resolution at Commissioner's Court on April 10. In his comments, Ramsey also singled out the two companies that the EPA is holding responsible for the Superfund site's cleanup: Waste Management and International Paper. "I refer to them as the irresponsible parties," Ramsey said. "All I need you to do, this isn't hard, come and get your waste out of the river and haul it off. They sit and complicate it." After years of delays as both companies pushed back on federal demands that they remove underwater toxic material entirely, these responsible parties will likely begin cleanup of the one pit that sits below the river only in 2027, according to a community presentation from the EPA in early January. The companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the resolution and the recent cancer assessment.

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Texas Senate Finance Committee advances R&D tax credit extension, improvement

There are a lot of factors driving Texas' booming technology and innovation sectors. Praised for being one of the most "business-friendly" states in the nation, companies ranging from Fortune 500 powerhouses to smaller startups and ventures choose the Lone Star State for new factories, data centers, manufacturing facilities, satellite offices and headquarters. But one area that Texas lags in is investment in research and development. As of 2022, Texas contributed only 4.3% of U.S. business-funded R&D. In contrast, California contributes 36.2% to the nation's total business-funded R&D. Texas ranks 33rd nationally in R&D investment as a percentage of gross state product. One research and development incentive is the state's tax credit, but that program could go away as soon as December 2026.

Created in 2014 through House Bill 800, Texas' R&D tax credit encourages economic development by offering qualifying entities either a sales tax exemption on personal property used in research or a franchise tax credit based on research expenses. According to the Texas Comptroller's Office, approximately $2.8 billion in tax credits have been claimed since its inception. In fiscal 2024 alone, $412.7 million was claimed. The program is set to expire Dec. 31, 2026, but on Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee advanced a bill out of committee (13 ayes, no nays) that would extend the program, and the same major players from the 2013 legislative session are lobbying again to extend and improve the tax credit. "Today, other states and global competitors are strengthening their R&D tax policies, driving new R&D and interest in AI development, industry reshoring back to North America and Texas and the recent tariff readjustment, which is a new thing," Tony Bennett, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Manufacturers, testified during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Wednesday. "Texas must act now to retain our existing incentives and provide certainty for business and prevent the loss of critical existing investments."

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This Republican-led bill would divert millions in Harris County toll revenue to Houston

Republican state lawmakers are pushing to divert millions in excess toll revenue from Harris County to Houston, an extraordinary move and one that critics are calling an unfair bailout for the city, which is set to face a $330 million budget shortfall next year. The proposal, from state Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston, would require the Harris County Toll Road Authority divert nearly a third of its excess revenue to the city to fund police and firefighters, and require that the rest be spent exclusively on county roads. HCTRA collects about $800 million annually in revenue from toll roads across Harris County, which includes Houston and 33 other cities. Over the past decade, the toll road authority has transferred hundreds of millions of dollars beyond what it has needed to cover debt and operating expenses to the Harris County Commissioners Court, which has then allocated it among the county’s four precincts.

The annual surplus transfers hovered around $125 million until 202, when revenue spiked as more drivers crowded the roads. “This is a tremendous amount of unrestricted monies,” Bettencourt said in a hearing on Wednesday. He added that the city should get some of the funding because of the high number of calls that its fire and police departments respond to on the county toll roads. State Sen. Robert Nichols, a Republican from Jacksonville and the chairman of the Senate transportation committee, said he was “amazed” that neither department had talked to the toll road authority about compensating the city for those service calls. Nichols praised the Harris County Toll Road Authority as “a model for the state,” but said it was a problem that the county started using the authority’s surplus funds “for things other than transportation.” Harris County officials and other advocates, including environmentalists and public transit experts, accused lawmakers of intervening to block planned county projects like nature trails and bike paths – which Bettencourt and Houston Mayor John Whitmire have publicly opposed. “This entire bill is a money grab for the city of Houston,” said Jay Blazek Crossley, the executive director of the Farm & City, a statewide sustainability nonprofit. “This would just force one government that owns a facility and manages [its] money to just give that money to a different government for police.”

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City Stories

Candidate shoving shuts down Fort Worth city council debate

A Fort Worth City Council candidate debate was cut short Thursday after organizers and police had to physically intervene to separate two of the candidates. The altercation came after challenger Payton Jackson brought up a civil lawsuit against District 8 council member Chris Nettles, accusing the incumbent of conspiring with Jackson’s landlord to reveal confidential information from her lease agreement. Nettles denied the allegations. Roughly 100 people attended the debate, which was organized by the Historic Southside Neighborhood Association and held in the gymnasium of the Bethlehem Center, 951 Evans Ave. The disagreement was sparked by a question from the moderators about what neighborhood in the district the candidates lived in.

Jackson, who was seated at a table to the left of Nettles, took the opportunity to bring up the lawsuit while walking over to the incumbent to place the legal filing on his table. Nettles initially looked away from Jackson, but got up to address her as she remained hovering over his table. The pair pointed fingers at each other before Nettles looked away. Jackson then placed her left hand on Nettles’ shoulder, appearing to push him before he parried away her advance. Organizers and Fort Worth police officers then stepped in to separate the candidates. Jackson had to be held back from Nettles while Nettles, who was surrounded by police, sat back down.

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Denton in works to become official Halloween Capital of Texas

Halloween isn’t until Oct. 31, but Denton is already preparing for it. Last year, the city hosted its first Denton Halloween, with the North Texas city’s historic downtown transformed into a real-life Halloween town for the month of October. What’s next? Denton is working to become the official Halloween Capital of Texas. State Rep. Richard Hayes, who is from Denton, filed a resolution in late February to make this into a reality. Last year, the 31 Days of Denton Halloween brought 660,000 people to the immersive Halloween experience, according to Hayes’ resolution. Every day featured a spooky activity for visitors to attend, which included holiday inspired movie screenings, a pumpkin-drop Blocktober party, bar crawls and other free events that took place at over 15 different themed locations around the city. “With the City of Denton’s own proclamation renaming the city ‘Halloween, Texas’ for the month of October, it’s clear that this is more than a local event— it’s a statewide celebration of culture and creativity," said Hayes in a written statement. “I’m honored to carry this resolution forward and ensure that Denton receives the recognition it has earned as Texas’ official Halloween Capital.”

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National Stories

Senate confirms Trump nominee for chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff in overnight vote

The Senate confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, filling the position almost two months after President Donald Trump fired his predecessor. Trump nominated Caine to become the top U.S. military officer in February after abruptly firing Gen. CQ Brown Jr., the second Black general to serve as chairman, as part of his administration’s campaign to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks. The Senate confirmed Caine 60-25 in an overnight vote before heading home for a two-week recess. Caine is a decorated F-16 combat pilot who served in leadership in multiple special operations commands, in some of the Pentagon’s most classified programs and in the CIA. He does not meet prerequisites for the job set out in a 1986 law, such as being a combatant commander or service chief. But those requirements can be waived by the president if there is a determination that “such action is necessary in the national interest.”

Caine’s confirmation in the middle of the night, just before the Senate left town, comes as Republicans have been quickly advancing Trump’s nominees and as Democrats have been trying to delay the process and show that they are fighting Trump’s policies. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., set up the early morning vote after Democrats objected to speeding up procedural votes on the nomination. Still, Caine was confirmed with some bipartisan support. At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Caine said he would be candid in his advice to Trump and vowed to be apolitical. He disputed Trump’s story that Caine wore a “Make America Great Again” hat when the two first met. “I have never worn any political merchandise,” he said. Caine was asked how he would react if ordered to direct the military to do something potentially illegal, such as being used against civilians in domestic law enforcement. “Will you stand up and push back?” Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin asked. “Senator, I think that’s the duty and the job that I have, yes,” Caine said.

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The Northeast bet big on offshore wind. Trump wants to halt the industry entirely

New London, Conn., is an old New England port city that had its heyday about 200 years ago, in a very different economy. "Ever since the whaling industry, it's been downhill for the city of New London," jokes Mayor Michael Passero. "We went from the richest city in Connecticut to one of the poorest." Passero, a Democrat who has been mayor since 2015, grew up in New London. He says people have always talked about the city as full of potential, always on the cusp of something big. And now, finally, in the last few years, it's happening. New London, he says, is starting to boom. Walking through the city's small downtown area, Passero points out new apartment buildings and restaurants — a hip pizzeria, a bustling brewery. He gets a little giddy describing the 60,000 square foot recreation center the city is building.

"Just in the last five or six years, we have put buildings on lots that have been empty for 50 years," he says. Passero attributes New London's renaissance to two things: growth in the submarine industry — and the arrival of offshore wind. From a dock near downtown, he points to the centerpiece of the local wind industry: a new $310 million pier where enormous turbines are partially assembled and loaded onto boats to be installed offshore. Between redeveloping the pier and serving as the staging ground for two of the country's first big projects, offshore wind has created hundreds of jobs and generated millions for the city and local economy. The question is whether it will last. President Trump campaigned on a promise to "end" the U.S. offshore wind industry "on day one." Since he took office the future of the young industry is anything but certain. The stakes are high — for cities like New London, but also for much of the Northeast, which is counting on the growth of offshore wind. States in the region have poured a lot of money into getting the industry off the ground because they see it as the best way to meet increasing electricity demands and drive economic growth, while also satisfying their climate goals.

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House GOP calls Hochul, Pritzker and Walz to testify on immigration

House Oversight Chair James Comer wants Democratic Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Kathy Hochul of New York to testify before his committee about their states’ immigration policies. The Kentucky Republican invited the three governors to appear at a May 15 hearing on so-called sanctuary states, which limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The letters follow the high-profile hearing last month with the Democratic mayors of Boston, New York, Denver and Chicago, at which Republican lawmakers pressed the officials on their cities’ immigration policies.

“Sanctuary jurisdictions and their obstructionist policies hinder the ability of federal law enforcement officers to effectuate safe arrests and remove dangerous criminals from American communities,” Comer wrote in letters to the governors. “This threatens Americans’ safety.” Comer, who has been mulling a 2027 bid for Kentucky governor, has made scrutiny of Democrats’ immigration policies a focus of his Oversight post this Congress. In selecting Hochul, Pritzker and Walz — the former vice presidential nominee — Comer is recruiting a host of high-profile Democrats for what could potentially be a closely watched hearing. Pritzker’s name has been floated for a 2028 presidential bid, and Hochul could face a primary battle during her reelection campaign next year, including, potentially, from her lieutenant governor. Comer is also requesting a trove of documents from the governors on their states’ immigration practices as part of a broader investigation into sanctuary jurisdictions. Hochul has already signaled she is willing to testify: “We just received notification of their interest in my opinion on state laws, which I’m happy to share with them,” she told reporters at an unrelated event Thursday. “I told people like Tom Homan that I will continue doing what our practice has been from beginning, which is to cooperate with ICE when they have a warrant or they have evidence that there’s a person who’s committed a serious crime.”

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Supreme Court says Trump administration must work to bring back mistakenly deported Maryland man

The Supreme Court on Thursday said the Trump administration must work to bring back a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to prison in El Salvador, rejecting the administration’s emergency appeal. The court acted in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation to his native country over fears he would face persecution from local gangs. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis had ordered Abrego Garcia, now being held in a notorious Salvadoran prison, returned to the United States by midnight Monday. “The order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” the court said in an unsigned order with no noted dissents.

It comes after a string of rulings on the court’s emergency docket where the conservative majority has at least partially sided with Trump amid a wave of lower court orders slowing the president’s sweeping agenda. In Thursday’s case, Chief Justice John Roberts had already pushed back Xinis’ deadline. The justices also said that her order must now be clarified to make sure it doesn’t intrude into executive branch power over foreign affairs, since Abrego Garcia is being held abroad. The court said the Trump administration should also be prepared to share what steps it has taken to try to get him back — and what more it could potentially do. The administration claims Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, though he has never been charged with or convicted of a crime. His attorneys said there is no evidence he was in MS-13. The administration has conceded that it made a mistake in sending him to El Salvador, but argued that it no longer could do anything about it. The court’s liberal justices said the administration should have hastened to correct “its egregious error” and was “plainly wrong” to suggest it could not bring him home.

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People are more worried about their jobs now than they were during the pandemic when everything closed

Workers are feeling worse than they did even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employee confidence, which has been declining since 2022, remained near February’s record low last month as recession fears increased, according to Glassdoor’s employee confidence index, which was measured through March, before President Donald Trump’s announcement of worldwide tariffs plunged stock markets into an historic selloff. “Economic uncertainty remains a significant drag on the sentiment of workers as tariffs, federal funding and workforce cuts, and general business uncertainty disrupt investment and hiring plans,” Glassdoor Lead Economist Daniel Zhao wrote in the report.

Sentiment among business leaders also cratered last week in a Moody’s Analytics survey of business confidence in the wake of Trump’s tariff announcement, registering the most significant decline since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Workers are worried about the future. Mentions of “layoffs” on Glassdoor users’ reviews of employers were up 4.2% annually, and mentions of “recession,” which have been rising since late 2024, were up 16% on a monthly basis. “A lot of this comes back to job security and the concern that workers have if the economy were to weaken further,” Zhao told MarketWatch. Frequency Economics believes the downturn has already begun and that “layoffs will surge.” Glassdoor’s employee confidence index, which began in 2016, measures workers reporting a positive six-month business outlook for their employers. Workers in government and government-adjacent industries, which were heavily impacted by the DOGE layoffs and funding cuts, reported the sharpest annual declines in confidence last month, Zhao said. The index in aerospace and defense was down 11 percentage points, government and public administration fell by 6.6 percentage points, and the confidence index among nonprofit and NGO workers declined by 4.6 percentage points. Employees’ moods may have shifted even more amid the fallout from Trump’s tariff announcement. Zhao noted that “a lot of news has broken in the last week since we collected this data” and said he will be keeping an eye on the manufacturing and tech sectors, which “rely heavily on global supply chains.” “There is an open question about what [the new tariffs] means for those businesses, and ultimately what that means for those workers,” he said.

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Through emails and social media, colleges discover federal funds are frozen

In a scene that is becoming familiar, two powerful universities were rocked back on their heels this week by rumors the Trump administration would pull hundreds of millions in funding, with little to do but wait to learn the details. On Tuesday afternoon, an internal National Institutes of Health email reviewed by The Washington Post showed that agency leadership had ordered funding to be frozen at Northwestern University, Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medicine. That evening, Cornell’s president and provost emailed the Cornell community saying the university had gotten stop-work orders on 75 research grants from the Defense Department, but without any formal notification detailing the reasons or path forward. Wednesday morning — 24 hours after a Fox News reporter posted on social media that more than $1 billion in federal funding to Cornell and about $790 million to Northwestern had been frozen Monday in connection with federal civil rights law investigations — university officials were still trying to get answers.

For Columbia University, which has been reeling from losing $400 million in federal funding, including the termination of several hundred grants, internal emails at NIH showed that the agency was now moving to freeze all funding. That meant that no new grants would be awarded and that the university would be blocked from receiving funds from existing grants. In recent weeks, some of the nation’s most prestigious universities have found out by social media or emails that federal funding totaling billions was threatened. In some cases, they don’t know why. The Trump administration has been very clear about some of its concerns with higher education. The multiagency Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism has moved swiftly to investigate whether schools have done enough to protect Jewish students on campus, with concerns heightened by protests over the Israel-Gaza war last year. On Thursday, the House Education Committee announced that it would call another group of college presidents to testify next month for mishandling what it called violent, antisemitic campus protests.

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What to know about Trump’s ATF shake-up, Kash Patel’s removal

The Trump administration swapped out its high-profile acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), FBI Director Kash Patel, for its lesser-known Army secretary on Wednesday. The White House and Department of Justice (DOJ), which oversees the ATF, have been tight-lipped about what prompted the administrative shuffle. Reuters was the first to report the changeover Wednesday, but the newswire noted it was unclear when Patel was formally removed or when Dan Driscoll, the top civilian official in the Army, was notified that he would be taking over ATF duties. As news of Patel’s removal was made public, his photo and title still appeared on the agency’s website. Both have since been removed. Driscoll’s name is now listed as acting director, but the places for his photo and full biographical information say “coming soon.”

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Copyright April 27, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved