Lead Stories

Kamala Harris outlines her vision in Houston speech: ‘We are not going back’

Vice President Kamala Harris outlined her vision for the presidency Thursday, rallying the American Federation of Teachers union behind her agenda to make life better for students and teachers while advocating for strong unions. Harris walked into the George R. Brown Convention Center to a raucous standing ovation from as many as 3,500 registered delegates and other visitors, with many holding “AFT votes Kamala Harris for president” signs or recording the moment with their phones. Loud applause repeatedly interrupted Harris’ remarks. “I told her earlier that her entry into the race has electrified this race and has electrified this hall,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said of Harris, warming up the crowd shortly before the vice president took the stage.

Harris thanked Weingarten for her support and AFT for being the first union to endorse her presidential bid in the wake of President Joe Biden’s decision Sunday to withdraw and back Harris as his replacement. Harris, who called herself “a proud product of public education,” praised public service workers and higher education faculty, crediting them for doing “God’s work.” She also highlighted the role her first grade teacher, the late Frances Wilson, played in her life. “It is because of Mrs. Wilson and so many teachers like her that I stand before you as vice president of the United States of America,” Harris said, “and that I am running to become president of the United States.” Harris said America must choose “between two very different visions — one focused on the future, and the other focused on the past. And we are fighting for the future.” She cast her vision as one in which Americans get ahead rather than get by, children don’t grow up in poverty, seniors can retire with dignity and every worker can join a union. That future, she continued, also includes affordable health care, child care with paid leave and continued reductions in student loan debt for millions of Americans.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

The US economy is pulling off something historic

The US economy is on the verge of an extremely rare achievement. Economic growth in the first half of the year was solid, with the economy expanding a robust 2.8% annualized rate in the second quarter, according to fresh Commerce Department figures released Thursday, which are adjusted for inflation and seasonal swings. Stocks surged in the morning after the economy’s powerful show of resilience, but later lost steam and closed the day mixed. The Dow rose 81 points, or 0.2%, after jumping more than 500 points earlier in the session. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.9%. That comes after the benchmark index and tech-heavy Nasdaq on Wednesday logged their worst day since 2022. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, was much stronger in the second quarter than economists had predicted.

The GDP report showed that businesses are continuing to invest and that consumers are still opening their wallets. That’s key, because consumer spending is America’s economic engine, accounting for about two-thirds of US economic output. As the economy continued to expand from April through June, inflation resumed a downward trend and seems to be on track to slowing further toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. America’s economy is about to stick what’s called a “soft landing,” which is when inflation returns to the Fed’s target without a recession — a feat that’s only happened once, during the 1990s, according to some economists. The latest GDP report showed that a key gauge of consumer demand picked up in the second quarter to an annual rate of 2.9%, matching the rate in the fourth quarter of 2023 for the strongest pace in two years. A measure of business investment also strengthened in the April-through-June period. The current health of the American economy shows that the Fed, with Jerome Powell at the helm as chair, has successfully handled inflation so far, with the finish line coming into clear view. The Fed beginning to cut interest rates indicates that central bank officials feel confident that inflation is under control just enough.

Read this article at CNN - Subscribers Only

Recent wave of illegal immigration could net the federal government nearly $1 trillion, study says

The recent surge in migration across the southern border could help slash the federal deficit by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, according to a recent report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO estimates the immigration surge will create $1.2 trillion in federal revenue over the next decade, mostly from income taxes and spending by the estimated 8.7 million migrants living in the U.S. during that time. Those same migrants would cost the federal government just $300 billion in health care and other costs, according to the estimate, bringing the net benefit to $900 billion. The new study builds on an extensive body of research showing immigrants are a boon to the economy, especially at the federal level. Immigrants have federal taxes withheld from their paychecks, and pay sales tax, property tax and more.

But it includes one big caveat: the total doesn’t factor in the costs of border crossings to state and local governments, which in some cases have spent heavily to accommodate the massive influx of asylum seekers. Texas has given hundreds of millions in grants to border counties that have at times seen packed jails, shelters and hospitals as crossings reached historic levels in recent years — in addition to billions more to voluntarily send state troopers and national guard to arrest migrants at the border Gov. Greg Abbott's border security crackdown. New York City, where Texas has been busing migrants for years, has spent more than $4 billion to accommodate them, the CBO report notes. The findings underscore a longstanding tension at the heart of Texas' many ongoing battles with the Biden administration on its handling of immigration: while the federal government oversees immigration enforcement, it is typically the states that bear the greatest costs for public schools, health care and more. Texas has argued repeatedly in court that immigrants are a drain on the state’s resources. In a lawsuit challenging an Obama-era policy, Texas argued the state spent $90 million to provide emergency Medicaid services to undocumented immigrants.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

South Texas woman’s $1M lawsuit over self-induced abortion murder charge moves forward

A federal judge in McAllen on Wednesday denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against Starr County officials brought by Lizelle Gonzalez, a South Texas woman who was unlawfully charged with murder after a self-induced abortion. Gonzalez spent two days in Starr County's jail, garnering national attention for the charges from behind bars — an experience that her attorney Cecilia Garza said changed her life forever. “She does suffer from anxiety. A lot of it related to the arrest and the incarceration,” Garza said. “She wasn’t able to be here today because she was just concerned about how it might affect her. But she’s very happy with today’s rulings.” The arrest happened just before the Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade.

Even though abortions after six weeks were illegal at the time in Texas, state law doesn’t allow people to be prosecuted for their own abortions. Starr County District Attorney Gocha A. Ramirez and Assistant District Attorney Alexandria Lynn Barrera filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit in May, citing the legal principle "immunity doctrine." The immunity doctrine provides protections to public officials from legal repercussions, but with some exceptions for violations of civil rights. In the case of Ramirez and Barrera, attorneys for Gonzales said they intend to show that “prosecutorial immunity” cannot be granted in this case, since the allegations fall outside of the county officials’ work as prosecutors. On Wednesday, a federal judge agreed that discovery was necessary in any case that alleged wrongdoing that wasn’t protected by immunity. Gonzalez’s attorney’s still must provide proof for their allegations and show intent on the part of Starr County officials. Lauren Johnson, director of the Abortion Criminal Defense Initiative at the American Civil Liberties Union, represents Gonzalez. She said the ACLU is ready to address the legal claims to immunity raised by Starr County officials in order to continue with the case.

Read this article at Texas Public Radio - Subscribers Only

State Stories

Dan Patrick calls Kamala Harris ‘queen of DEI,’ bucking guidance from party leaders

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, bucking guidance from Washington Republicans, called Vice President Kamala Harris — the daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother — the “queen of DEI” in an interview Thursday. Patrick disparaged Harris’ rapid rise as the Democrats’ likely presidential nominee, calling it the result of diversity efforts. “She would be the queen of DEI if elected. She is DEI,” Patrick said to Chris Salcedo on Newsmax. Patrick is the chair of former President Donald Trump’s campaign in Texas and helped lead the effort to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Texas public universities in 2023.

Several Washington Republicans were quick to refer to the vice president as a “DEI hire” after she emerged as the top prospect to replace President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket. In response, some Republican leaders such as House Speaker Mike Johnson have warned party members against alluding to Harris’ race or gender amid worries those attacks could push away key voters, including suburban women and people of color. “This election will be about policies and not personalities,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday after a private meeting of House Republicans. Patrick’s office did not immediately respond to a phone call and email seeking comment. Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, have called the DEI attacks a dog whistle for racism. “One of the things that they continuously push … are these unwarranted attacks on anyone that is diverse in any way, and they try to pretend as if we don’t have credentials,” Crockett, who is Black, said Wednesday on MSNBC. Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said Harris is focusing on the issues, not “B.S.” attacks.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

CenterPoint CEO apologizes for long Houston outages caused by Hurricane Beryl

The head of the power line company CenterPoint Energy publicly apologized Thursday to power grid regulators for failures in responding to Houston-area outages caused by Hurricane Beryl. Jason Wells, CenterPoint CEO, said he took “personal accountability” for the extended power outages that saw hundreds of thousands of customers without power for days amid sweltering heat in the coastal region. At least 27 people died because of the hurricane, with many deaths attributed to heat. “I want to apologize to our customers for the frustration we caused,” Wells said. “We will do better.” “While we cannot erase the frustrations or difficulties so many of our customers endured, I, and my entire leadership team, will not make excuses,” he added. “We will improve and act with a sense of urgency.”

CenterPoint has faced the brunt of the blowback in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall July 8 as a Category 1 storm and hit the Houston area with 6 to 8 inches of rain and sustained winds of 80 mph. It was the first hurricane to hit Houston since Hurricane Harvey in 2017. At its height, about 2.26 million CenterPoint customers were without power. The company restored power to 1 million customers within 48 hours, but power outages lingered for days for thousands. The Perryman Group economics firm estimated the storm caused $4.6 billion in damage. CenterPoint owns and maintains power transmission and distribution lines in the Houston area. Like Oncor in Dallas-Fort Worth, it is a government-approved monopoly with a guaranteed revenue stream that makes up a significant component of electricity bills. The company and Wells have faced withering criticism in the weeks since Beryl. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered electric regulators at the Public Utility Commission to investigate CenterPoint, which led to Wells and other officials addressing the commission Thursday in Austin.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Texas A-F school grades expected to worsen under higher standards; lawsuit looms

The Texas Education Agency plans to release A-F accountability ratings for the 2023-24 school year on Aug. 15, the first official look at grades under the state’s highly contested, raised performance standards, an agency spokesperson said this week. Lackluster performance on revamped state testing has school districts across Texas anticipating worse grades and lost ground on pandemic recovery efforts under the new system. Similar expectations prompted a lawsuit a year ago that halted the release of the 2022-2023 rankings. Nick Maddox, the lawyer who pushed that case on behalf of more than 100 school districts, said this week that another such suit probably will be filed within weeks in a bid to prevent the latest TEA grades from being released, based largely on objections to the latest standardized tests administered in the spring.

School officials agreed that the TEA ratings will show a broad drop in grades and expressed a familiar mix of indifference, annoyance or pushback against the renewed state effort to toughen how they are calculated. “I would be really surprised if you saw any district increase (its state ranking this year), given not only the changes in testing but the changes in the accountability metrics of how they are determining campus and district ratings,” said Janis Jordan, the Northside Independent School District’s deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction. The Texas accountability system “has always been a moving target,” making year-to-year comparisons difficult, Jordan said, so Northside ISD regularly monitors student progress instead of waiting for standardized test scores to spot deficiencies. The TEA typically assigns scores to each public school district and campus every year based on standardized test performance, student growth and progress on closing racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps, although it has not done so for all schools since 2019.

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

No more "A" group? Southwest Airlines plans to switch to assigned seating, other changes

After more than 50 years, Southwest Airlines is getting rid of its open seating policy. The Dallas-based airline announced Thursday it would be scrapping its open seating policy in favor of assigned seating. The shift aligns with the changing consumer preferences. The implementation of assigned seating is just one among the handful of changes Southwest detailed in its recent press release. In a press release Thursday, Southwest acknowledged "preferences have evolved with more customers taking longer flights where a seat assignment is preferred." The airline hopes moving to assigned seating and revamping its boarding process will broaden Southwest's appeal to both new and existing customers: Research found 80% of current Southwest customers, and 86% of potential customers prefer assigned seating. The airline did not provide an exact date for making the switch.

Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only

Arizona, Texas GCs complete spaceship plant for Virgin Galactic

Manufacturing work is heating up construction activity in the Arizona desert, ranging from EV battery plants to spaceship facilities. Tempe, Arizona-based Sun State Builders and Lewisville, Texas-based Parkway Construction are seizing this increased construction demand in the greater Phoenix area. Earlier this month, the general contractors completed Virgin Galactic’s new aerospace manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona, the spaceflight company told Construction Dive. Mojave, California-based Virgin Galactic plans to use the facility for the final assembly of its next-generation Delta spaceships, with production set to begin in the first quarter of 2025, according to its CEO Michael Colglazier. Sun State Builders constructed the shell of the facility, while Parkway Construction handled tenant improvement work, such as specialized equipment installation and interior modifications.

Read this article at Construction Dive - Subscribers Only

Texas gives funds to Corpus Christi to build desalination plant, lawmaker says

The State of Texas is helping with funds for a desalination plant to be built in Corpus Christi, a state lawmaker says. The Texas Water Development Board on Tuesday approved $535 million in multi-year financing for Corpus Christi’s Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Treatment Plant, State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, a Democrat who represents McAllen and Corpus Christi, said. The city asked for help funding the project as many communities in South Texas are worried about future drinking water and agricultural water supplies. “I commend the city of Corpus Christi for their proactive approach to ensure our families and businesses have a sustainable water supply for multiple generations. Converting our sea and brackish water into reusable water is just one key component to providing a reliable, sustainable water base for future economic development and jobs in the region,” Hinojosa said in a statement.

Read this article at Border Report - Subscribers Only

James Morris, son of Gateway founder Robert Morris, resigns from church

The son of Gateway Church founder Robert Morris has resigned after previously being anointed to lead the megachurch, the organization said. Gateway said in a statement Thursday that church elders earlier this week met with James Morris and his wife Bridgette and made the decision for Morris and his wife to step down from their current positions and from leading the church in the future. “We as Elders affirm and believe that God has placed a desire in both Pastors James and Bridgette’s hearts to serve as senior pastors of a church at some point in the future,” the statement said.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

First Baptist Dallas gets approval to try to save walls of historic sanctuary

First Baptist Dallas has received approval from the city to attempt to preserve the exterior walls of its secondary chapel after it was severely damaged in a fire last week, the church announced in a video posted online Wednesday. “I can make no guarantees about how that work will go or even if it will be successful, but we do have approval to try,” executive pastor Ben Lovvorn said of the preservation efforts. The historic red brick sanctuary partially collapsed Friday during a four-alarm fire that firefighters say started in the building’s basement. The downtown chapel served as the church’s primary place of worship for over a century until First Baptist opened a new facility in 2013.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Who will replace Sheila Jackson Lee in Congress? Here's a list of candidates

The campaign to replace the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in Congress is playing out behind the scenes, with potential candidates calling precinct chairs and gauging interest ahead of an early August selection. The funeral for Jackson Lee, an icon of Houston politics who died Friday after three decades in Congress, will take place next week. She will be the second person ever to lie in state at City Hall on Monday, followed by public viewings at God’s Grace Community Church and Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. Jackson Lee, a Democrat, had won a primary election in March and was set to cruise to re-election in November in her heavily Democratic district. Due to the timing of her death, state law says local Democratic officials called precinct chairs now will gather in early August to select a nominee to replace Jackson Lee on the November ballot. That means the race for her seat in Congress will be decided by party connections and relationships, not voters. Precinct chairs are the elected heads of individual voting precincts, selected by party members. The chairs of the precincts in Jackson Lee’s district will select the new nominee. There are 214 precincts in the district, though fewer than 90 have active chairs, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

Former Mayor Sylvester Turner was the first candidate to publicly declare his interest on Tuesday. Several others have followed. Turner, who left City Hall in January due to term limits, said Tuesday he is giving a run “serious consideration,” suggesting the unique circumstances of this race are the only thing that could pull him out of retirement. Amanda Edwards, a former City Council member and Senate candidate, launched a campaign for Jackson Lee’s seat after the congresswoman entered the mayoral field. When Jackson Lee lost that race and pivoted back to Congress, Edwards stayed in to challenge her. Rep. Jarvis Johnson, a state representative who lost a bid to take Mayor John Whitmire’s former seat in the Texas Senate, announced he will pursue the nomination on Tuesday. Former Councilman Dwight Boykins, a former City Council member and mayoral candidate, confirmed he was interested in the seat but would hold off on an announcement out of respect for Jackson Lee.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

H-E-B to support Communities in Schools of Houston with school supply donations

As a new school year approaches, Communities In Schools (CIS) of Houston, with the help of grocery giant HEB, is raising funds to provide free school supplies to underserved students and families who struggle to provide them. Since back-to-school costs can be difficult to meet for some families, CIS of Houston and HEB are ensuring students have what they need to be successful in school. The program is statewide for CIS affiliates. Customers shopping online or in store between July 31 and August 27 at HEB locations in the Greater Houston Area can donate any amount to ensure all students are ready for a great school year, regardless of their economic situation. Funds will go to Communities In Schools of Houston, which served students in 163 schools in six school districts and Lone Star College during the 2023-24 school year.

Read this article at Leander News - Subscribers Only

What it’s like to swelter inside Texas’ un-air-conditioned prisons

Four blank white walls comprise a standard 6-foot by 9-foot solitary confinement mock prison cell. A metal toilet connects to a small sink and lies inches away from a rigid bed and steel door that closes shut to complete darkness. There are no windows and the only shred of light peaks from the bottom of the door frame. A thermometer on the wall shows 85 degrees Fahrenheit, which isn't unbearable but not necessarily cool, either. On another wall is the artwork of a red rose adorned with petals, a picture of a man in his prison uniform smiling during a visit with a loved one, and a handwritten note mimicking what someone who has to live in the small area might hang up to give the space more life. A few uncomfortable minutes inside this sticky cell comprise only a fraction of what Texans incarcerated across the state experience daily.

The prototype cell was created by organizers from the Texas Prisons Community Advocates (TPCA), which held a “Day of Mourning” at the Green House International Church in the Greenspoint neighborhood on Friday in the name of raising awareness around their "85 to Stay Alive" campaign, which highlights extreme conditions in the dozens of states' prisons that lack air conditioning. Conditions have turned deadly for some: a 2023 analysis by the Texas Tribune found that 41 people died in uncooled prisons during the state's record-breaking heat wave last year. Those lucky enough to survive serving their time often leave with long-term scars from the hot temperatures. A study by Texas A&M’s Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center found that roughly 70 percent of Texas’s prisons don’t have proper air conditioning in a state known for having multiple months where days routinely reach triple-digit temperatures—a figure TPCA President Amite Dominick said doesn’t exactly tell the whole story.

Read this article at Chron - Subscribers Only

Kamala Harris and the Texas GOP are honing their attacks on abortion and border security

As much as Kamala Harris changes the presidential race’s dynamics on abortion, she also opens up new political fronts on immigration and the border. And Republicans are salivating. “The 'border czar' has been an utter failure,” Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday, previewing things come as Republicans work to tie the vice president to the record number of migrants who have crossed the border over the last three years. In March 2021, President Joe Biden tapped Harris to “lead our diplomatic effort and work with” Mexico and Central American countries to get a handle on what was causing mass migration to the United States and how to fix it.

Not once in his more than 1,000-word speech did he call her the border czar. Nor did the president ever appoint Harris to oversee border policies directly. But you wouldn’t know it from Republicans who have doggedly given her the border czar title and blasted her for not going to the Texas border until more than a year after Biden’s remarks, when crossings were surging. During a press conference in Houston on Monday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz accused Harris of being responsible for “chaos” at the state’s southern border by ignoring the issue altogether. Migrant crossings surged to their highest levels late last year but have dropped in recent months. On Thursday, U.S. House Republicans plan to go further. They are preparing a resolution that “strongly condemns” Harris as Biden’s “border czar.” The line of attack isn’t surprising, said Tyler native and veteran Democratic political strategist Chuck Rocha. “It doesn’t have to be truthful to be good strategy,” he said.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Many arrested in major FBI bust over alleged bail fraud scheme released on cash-free bail

Many of those swept up in a federal wire fraud bust, including the former owner of a Houston bail company, gained their freedom Thursday with a type of unsecured bail, common in federal courts, that doesn't require a bondsman. One of the defendants, Sheba Muharib, head of the now-defunct Aable Bail Bonds, was arrested early Wednesday in Missouri City as part of a massive pre-dawn federal bust that targeted her, two former employees and dozens of others accused of writing fraudulent bonds or using them to free jailed Houstonians pending trial. Police ferried Muharib and others to an NRG Park facility and then federal custody. During a four-hour stretch Thursday, many of the defendants, mostly women, walked into the court wearing the same clothes they were arrested in, including Muharib’s gray sweatshirt emblazoned with “LAW.”

Several of the accused said they were related to or in relationships with each other. Judge Christina Bryan spent the morning hours setting bail conditions and arraigning defendants, including Muharib, whose downtown office was searched by federal authorities in 2022 as judicial bail decisions and bail policies dominated news headlines. Unlike many arrested in the bail crackdown, Muharib’s charge stems from an allegation that she knowingly hired a man with a felony conviction stemming from dishonest actions, records show. The employee in question, Oscar Wattell, protested in court that he did not understand the charges against him. The magistrate urged him to remain silent.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Texas hospital successfully implanted a valveless artificial heart, a 'groundbreaking' milestone

A new chapter in artificial heart development unfolded Thursday in Houston, where officials at the Texas Heart Institute announced they had successfully implanted a novel device that they hope can become the first long-term solution for patients with advanced heart failure. The device — a rotary-powered, hand-sized artificial heart — whirred inside a 58-year-old man’s chest for eight days, helping him maintain normal vital signs and organ function until he received a lifesaving heart transplant on July 17. The man, who had suffered from end-stage heart failure and was not available for interviews, became the first of five candidates who will test the device’s safety and feasibility as part of a Food and Drug Administration study. The trial run was hailed by Texas Heart officials as “groundbreaking” at a Thursday news conference, and not because the device served as a temporary option for a transplant candidate.

Current versions of the device already serve that function. Its use represented a major step toward loftier ambitions: replacing the need for a heart transplant at all. “That’s the only reason we did this,” said Dr. O.H. “Bud” Frazier, a renowned surgeon at Texas Heart and a pioneer in the development of artificial hearts. Heart failure, when the body can’t pump the amount of blood it needs, affects nearly 6.7 million adults over 20 in the United States. Roughly 10% of that population has an advanced form of the disease that requires a transplant. Shortages of donor organs, however, limit the number of transplants that can be performed, leaving thousands of patients relying on artificial pumps as a temporary option while they wait. Even then, heart transplants are not a long-term solution, with only about half of all heart recipients living 10 years. For decades, doctors have sought ways to build and improve artificial hearts — a history that winds through Houston. It was here, in 1962, that Dr. Domingo Liotta developed the left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, which takes over part of the heart’s function. And here, in 1969, Dr. Denton A. Cooley performed the world’s first total artificial heart implant, touching off one of the country’s most well-known medical feuds between Cooley and another giant of the field, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Catholic Rio Grande Valley migrant shelter wins victory against Texas AG

In the latest legal defeat for a Republican-led investigation of Catholic migrant shelters, a Hidalgo County, Texas, judge on Wednesday (July 24) denied a request from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to depose a Catholic Charities leader in the Rio Grande Valley. District Judge Bobby Flores denied the petition after lawyers for Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, one of the largest migrant shelters on the U.S.-Mexico border, argued that the nonprofit had already cooperated with the investigation by providing more than 100 pages of documents. The lawyers for Catholic Charities also argued that the attorney general’s request imposed “a significant expenditure of resources” on the Catholic agency and its ability to exercise its faith.

“We hope that we can put this behind us and focus our efforts on protecting and upholding the sanctity and dignity of all human lives while following the law,” Sister Norma Pimentel, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley’s executive director, said in a statement. Pimentel, a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 for her three decades of work with migrants. Pope Francis has also praised Pimentel and the work of the nonprofit. According to filings by both Paxton’s office and Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, the attorney general’s office sent a notice to the nonprofit on March 25 demanding that a representative of Catholic Charities sit for a deposition. March 25 was the first weekday of Holy Week, when Catholic schedules are packed with events commemorating the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paxton’s office did not respond to a request for comment. In explaining his request for the deposition, Paxton’s office cited Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s December 2022 call for an investigation into the “role of NGOs in planning and facilitating the illegal transportation of illegal immigrants across our borders.”

Read this article at Religion News Service - Subscribers Only

City Stories

Shutdown of South Texas immigrant detention center in Dilley leads to the loss of 600 jobs

The closure of the nation’s largest immigrant detention center, which is in South Texas, will cost at least 600 workers their jobs. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last month said it would close the costly South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley so it could reallocate funds to increase overall detention capacity across its system. ICE had called it “the most expensive facility in the national detention network.” The agency said it would save $129 million by closing the 2,400-bed center, Reuters reported last year, citing an internal agency memo. The move comes at a price, though, as it’s displacing center supervisors, medical staff, those involved with handling accommodations and others.

The facility in Dilley, a town of about 3,300 people 70 miles southwest of San Antonio, was opened during the Obama administration in 2014 to hold a surge of Central American families who surrendered at the border and requested asylum. Tennessee-based CoreCivic Inc., which has operated the center, said its mission shifted to detention of single adults in 2021. As of June 9, the center held 1,561 detainees, CoreCivic reported. The bulk of the population was women with no criminal record, ICE records reviewed by Reuters showed The closing will free up resources for an additional 1,600 beds, ICE said. The shutdown is part of what ICE said are “new measures to increase the overall capacity of enforcement resources.” The efforts are intended to “speed removals” for people who are not lawfully in the U.S.

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

National Stories

Newsom orders California officials to remove homeless encampments

Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered California state officials on Thursday to begin dismantling thousands of homeless encampments, the nation’s most sweeping response to a recent Supreme Court ruling that gave governments greater authority to remove homeless people from their streets. More than in any other state, homeless encampments have been a wrenching issue in California, where housing costs are among the nation’s highest, complicating the many other factors that contribute to homelessness. An estimated 180,000 people were homeless last year in California, and most of them were unsheltered. Unlike New York City, most jurisdictions in California do not guarantee a right to housing. Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, called on state officials and local leaders to “humanely remove encampments from public spaces” and act “with urgency,” prioritizing those that most threaten health and safety.

Some of his own agencies are expected to take action immediately on state property. He cannot force local governments to sweep encampments, but can exert political pressure through the billions of dollars that the state controls for municipalities to address homelessness. His executive order could divide Democratic local leaders in California. Some have already begun to clear encampments, while others have denounced the decision from the majority conservative Supreme Court as opening the door to inhumane measures to solve a complex crisis. Despite extensive investment in homelessness programs, California still has a shortage of emergency housing. While the directive instructs state agencies to connect occupants of encampments with local service providers, it does not mandate that they relocate people to shelters. Nor does the order indicate under which conditions recalcitrant campers might be penalized. Republicans have frequently pointed to homelessness in California as an example of the state’s purported decline under Mr. Newsom and other Democrats. They are expected to do the same with Vice President Kamala Harris, a former senator and prosecutor from California, in the coming weeks, as Democrats unite around her to replace President Biden on the ballot this fall.California Republicans on Thursday accused Mr. Newsom of “trying to take credit” for the efforts of conservatives who had sought the Supreme Court decision, and they charged that his executive order had come only after prolonged inaction.

Read this article at New York Times - Subscribers Only

Wind power can be a major source of tax revenue, but officials struggle to get communities on board

In Scott Saffer’s science classroom, kids bake cookies in a decked-out kitchen, care for fish, turtles and a snake, and have access to a workshop full of tools. As the gifted enrichment coordinator at Tri-Point School District, Saffer is living his teaching dream, one he knew he’d need money to accomplish. For a while, due to budgetary concerns in rural Ford County, Illinois, he moved to a neighboring school district. But when wind turbines came to town, Tri-Point had the funding to bring him back without a pay cut. There, he was one of 10 recipients of a prestigious statewide teaching award last year. “It made a huge difference in our budgets,” Saffer said of the nearby wind farm, which went online about five years ago, that added almost a million dollars to his school’s annual operating funds. “Those kinds of numbers, they’re the difference between us being here and not.”

An Associated Press analysis of county tax data from local governments in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska — states either with many wind farms or a high potential for wind power — found wind companies rank among the biggest taxpayers in many rural communities, with their total tax bills at times outstripping that of large farms, power plants and other major businesses. While that tax income from wind power does not represent a significant percent of counties’ budgets, it totals millions of dollars some local leaders say has translated into meaningful change. But the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, which tallies local opposition to wind power, finds efforts to block wind projects are “widespread and growing.” The center’s June report found 395 local restrictions that could effectively block wind or solar developments, up by 73% compared to less than a year ago. Local restrictions have made it harder for wind companies to find places to build even as the U.S. has committed to tripling renewables by 2030 in order to do its part in addressing climate change.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

How employers are taking steps to safeguard workers from extreme heat

At the start of every work day, construction worker Charles Smith puts on the essentials: hard hat. Safety glasses. A reflective vest. And a small, watch-like band for his wrist. But rather than track time, its purpose is to ensure he doesn’t overheat while working during sweltering summer days in Texas. The wristband monitors his heart rate, core body temperature, stress level and more. If it detects signs of overheating, it warns him and his safety manager, advising Smith to rest and hydrate. The device serves as an early warning system to prevent heat-related injuries and illnesses. The technology is one way that workplaces are setting up employee protections as summers grow hotter, longer and more extreme due to climate change. On Sunday, the Earth reached the hottest day ever measured, according to a European climate service group. And in the absence of federal heat rules for workers, which the Biden administration recently proposed, some employers in states without rules are taking it upon themselves to safeguard employees from extreme heat dangers.

“We can catch it before it happens,” said Seth Campbell, safety manager for the construction company Rogers-O’Brien, Smith’s employer, of monitoring signs of heat-related illnesses. Their team started using the technology last summer. UPS recently equipped delivery drivers with cooling hats and sleeves that provide relief from heat — and increased access to ice, cold water and electrolytes for employees, according to its website. They have also added more cooling equipment to its vehicles and facilities, said vice president of global communications Genny Bowman in an email. That includes installing exhaust heat shields to lower vehicle floor temperatures, as well as fans in package cars and more fans in its facilities. Some greenhouse companies, including Eden Green and Cox Farms, have said they adjust workers’ schedules to account for excessive heat, such as starting them earlier in the morning, breaking during peak heat, and returning in the evening as temperatures cool. During June’s record-breaking heat wave in the Midwest and Northeast, an organization in Columbus, Ohio, prepared frozen towels and cold water for their workers to stay cool and hydrated.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Anti-school-choice groups oppose Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro for VP: ‘Has supported policies mirroring Project 2025’

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is a top contender for Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate this campaign season — but he’s not the choice candidate for the anti-school-choice crowd. That’s why teachers’ unions across the country are seeking to block him from becoming the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. Twenty-eight self-described “public education advocacy organizations” — though charter schools are also public schools — penned a letter Wednesday to Harris insisting Shapiro’s school-choice record should disqualify him from the No. 2 spot.

The missive accuses the popular Pennsylvania governor of supporting “education policies mirroring Project 2025,” referring to a bundle of policy proposals the conservative Heritage Foundation has put forth for a second Trump presidency — which former President Donald Trump himself has disavowed and called “abysmal.” “It is our fervent hope that your running mate will reflect your strong history of supporting educators and students, and commitment to building the middle class which will require strong public schools across our nation,” the letter reads. “For this reason, we respectfully ask you not to select Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.” The “urgent request” goes on to say Shapiro’s support for school choice is akin to “gutting public education and privatizing what is left via irresponsible voucher systems like those in Florida and Arizona.”

Read this article at New York Post - Subscribers Only

Oil billionaires bet on Trump’s energy agenda

As Donald Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination last Thursday, he reminded the megawealthy coterie of oil tycoons backing him why he is their man. “We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far, we are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy,” Trump said during his prime-time address. The speech was music to the ears of oil billionaires Harold Hamm of Continental Resources, Kelcy Warren of Energy Transfer, Jeffery Hildebrand of Hilcorp, and George Bishop of GeoSouthern Energy. Since March, they, together with their spouses and companies, have contributed at least $9.9 million to Trump-aligned committees and the Republican National Committee, according to Federal Election Commission data.

Those donations make the magnates among some of Trump’s biggest donors and represent an increase from past election cycles. Their contributions and those of another oil billionaire, Tim Dunn of CrownRock, topped $16 million since October, compared with the more than $20 million the tycoons donated to fund Trump’s 2016 and 2020 bids combined. Energy policy is shaping up as a key campaign issue. Some of Trump’s allies immediately attacked Vice President Kamala Harris’s energy record this week as she moved to nail down the Democratic nomination following President Biden’s withdrawal from the race. Harris previously backed a ban on fracking as a presidential candidate in 2019, but was also part of a Biden administration that presided over record oil production. The oil executives are banking on promises from the former president and his allies for an energy agenda that is more stridently pro-fossil fuel than Trump’s first administration. Many of Trump’s top oil backers are openly skeptical about the effects of climate change, in contrast with the industry’s biggest companies, and want to slash regulations and subsidies for green energy.

Read this article at Wall Street Journal - Subscribers Only

France’s high-speed rail network hit by arson attacks, canceling trains ahead of Olympics

French train services were canceled and delayed on Friday, after the nation’s high-speed rail network faced a series of “malicious” acts overnight, including arson, just ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris. Railways operator SNCF said in a statement that its network had experienced several concurrent attacks early on Friday morning, as fire damaged its facilities and its fibre optic lines were affected. The high-speed LGV Atlantique line was hit, along with northern and eastern lines, causing knock-on disruption that SNCF expected will impact hundreds of thousands of people through the weekend. “Following this massive attack aiming to paralyze the high-speed line network, a large number of trains were diverted or canceled,” SNCF said, according to a CNBC translation, advising those who are able to not to travel to the station. Ticket holders on disrupted journeys will be contacted by email or text, it added.

Read this article at CNBC - Subscribers Only

CrowdStrike blames testing software bug for letting bad data slip through, leading to global outage

CrowdStrike is blaming a bug in its test software for not properly validating the content update that sent bad data to millions of customer computers, setting off a global tech outage that grounded flights, took TV broadcasts off air and disrupted banks, hospitals and retailers. In an update Wednesday, the Austin cybersecurity company also outlined measures it would take to prevent the problem from recurring, including staggering the rollout of updates, giving customers more control over when and where they occur and providing more details about the updates it plans. The details came in an online “preliminary post incident review” of the outage, which caused chaos last week for the many businesses that pay for the cybersecurity firm’s software services.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Lead Stories

How Kamala Harris took command of the Democratic Party in 48 hours

Late on Sunday morning, Vice President Kamala Harris summoned a small clutch of her closest advisers and allies to the Naval Observatory, where she lives and works, with little notice and even less information. President Biden had informed Ms. Harris earlier that morning that he was withdrawing from the race. The vice president had assembled her team so that the exact moment Mr. Biden formally quit, at 1:46 p.m. — one minute after the president had informed his own senior staff — they were ready to go. Time was of the essence. A sprawling call list of the most important Democrats to reach had been prepared in advance, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The vice president, in sneakers and a sweatshirt, began methodically dialing Democratic power brokers. “I wasn’t going to let this day go by without you hearing from me,” Ms. Harris had said over and over, as day turned to night, according to five people who received her calls or were briefed on them.

She phoned past Democratic presidents, many of her potential rivals — including Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania — the Democratic congressional leaders, Senator Bernie Sanders, the heads of the various influential caucuses and other top Democrats, a person with direct knowledge of the call list said. The blitz demonstrated exactly the kind of vigor and energy that Mr. Biden had lacked in recent weeks. Mr. Biden had reportedly made 20 calls to congressional Democrats in the first 10 or so days after the debate, while his candidacy hung in the balance. Ms. Harris made 100 calls in 10 hours. At the same time that Ms. Harris was dialing, a new whip operation was set up to wrangle delegates who will ultimately select the nominee, integrating her team and the pre-existing Biden-Harris campaign’s delegate operation. Within 48 hours, Ms. Harris had functionally cleared the Democratic field of every serious rival, clinched the support of more delegates than needed to secure the party nomination, raised more than $100 million and delivered a crisper message against former President Donald J. Trump than Mr. Biden had mustered in months. It amounted to a remarkable display of early dominance for Ms. Harris and an organic outpouring of enthusiasm. And it allowed a Democratic Party that had been holding its collective breath in the month since Mr. Biden’s uncomfortably inarticulate debate to finally exhale. “It was a very well-orchestrated cascade,” said Howard Dean, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a past presidential candidate himself. “I have to confess I am surprised myself how fast this has gone.”

Read this article at New York Times - Subscribers Only

Biden speech features solemn call to defend democracy, lays out reasons for quitting race

President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country’s democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris. Insisting that “the defense of democracy is more important than any title,” Biden used his first public address since his announcement Sunday that he was stepping aside to deliver an implicit repudiation of former President Donald Trump. He did not directly call out Trump, whom he has called an existential threat to democracy. The 10-minute address also gave Biden a chance to try to shape how history will remember his one and only term in office. “Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” Biden said, in a somber coda to his 50 years spent in public office. “And that includes personal ambition.”

It was a moment for the history books — a U.S. president reflecting before the nation on why he was taking the rare step of voluntarily handing off power. It hasn’t been done since 1968, when Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek reelection in the heat of the Vietnam War. “I revere this office,” Biden said. “But I love my country more.” Trump, just an hour earlier at a campaign rally, revived his baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Biden. His refusal to concede inspired the Capitol insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, which Biden called “the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.” Biden skirted the political reality that brought him to that point: His abysmal performance in a debate against Trump nearly a month ago, where he spoke haltingly, appeared ashen and failed to rebut his predecessor’s attacks, sparked a crisis of confidence from Democrats. Lawmakers and ordinary voters questioned not just whether he was capable of beating Trump in November, but also whether, at 81, he was still fit for the high-pressure job. Biden, who said he believed his record was deserving of another term in office, tried to outlast the skepticism and quell the concerns with interviews and tepid rallies, but the pressure to end his campaign only mounted from the party’s political elites and from ordinary voters.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Stock market has worst day since 2022 as Tesla, Google parent Alphabet sink

U.S. stocks had their worst day since 2022 on Wednesday amid a broad pullback in tech companies as Wall Street traders sought to reduce their exposure to firms that have made big bets on artificial intelligence. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 3.6%, while the broader S&P 500 index closed down 2.3% — both their worst performances in more than 18 months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.25%. The rout was led by Tesla, whose shares fell 12.3% for its worst day since 2020, and Google parent Alphabet, which fell more than 5% for its worst day since January.

Tesla reported Tuesday afternoon that its auto revenues fell 7% compared with the previous quarter, and CEO Elon Musk said in a follow-up earnings call that the company's planned robotaxi rollout would be pushed back. Although Alphabet reported earnings Tuesday that were in line with analysts' expectations, traders appeared to seize on remarks CEO Sundar Pichai made on the company's earnings call that signaled the tech world's booming investments in artificial intelligence were not going to pay off in a short time frame. "I think we are in this phase where we have to deeply work and make sure on these use cases [for AI products], on these workflows, we are driving deeper progress on unlocking value, which I’m very bullish will happen," Pichai said. "But these things take time."

Read this article at NBC News - Subscribers Only

Global investors scramble to dodge US election curveballs

Investors are scrambling to shore up global portfolios against wild market swings ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election and backing out of assets stuck in the crosshairs of uncertainty, from big tech stocks to European government debt. With Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Vice-President Kamala Harris in a neck-and-neck race, likely offering policies that create deeply divergent outlooks for geopolitics and world trade, money managers are braced for months of volatility. "Markets hate uncertainty and, as the polls head towards 50-50, this is about uncertain as it can get," said Ross Yarrow, U.S. equities managing director at investment bank Baird.

Trump is viewed as likely to lift U.S. corporate profits with tax cuts, but also to hike import tariffs which could be bad news for European and Asian exporters as well as U.S. inflation. Harris could crack down on banks, go easier on China and stick to President Joe Biden's cautious foreign policy play-book. Wall Street's S&P 500 share index dropped 2.3% on Wednesday, its largest daily fall since December 2022, as big tech stocks that dominate U.S. and global indices flailed, before the rout coursed through Europe on Thursday morning. Investors, on their guard for more selling, were looking to small cap stocks, UK assets and gold as possible havens. "We think there's the potential for markets to get more nervous about the U.S. presidential race," said Trevor Greetham, head of multi-asset at Royal London. Crucially for world markets, investors fear both competing for votes with big spending plans, driving potential U.S. debt market ructions and whiplash for global stocks and bonds whose valuations are underpinned by long-term Treasury yields. "We could find the U.S. Treasury market starts to get antsy towards November if both (candidates) are saying they will spend more," he added. "And that could upset stock markets." The yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury rose above its two-year equivalent last week as big investors swerved long-term U.S. credit risk and the budget deficit approached $2 trillion.

Read this article at Reuters - Subscribers Only

State Stories

Joe Biden heads to Texas on Monday for event commemorating Civil Rights Act

President Joe Biden will deliver remarks in Austin on Monday as he returns to public life after his COVID-19 diagnosis last week, White House officials said Tuesday. Biden has not made any public appearances in the days after the diagnosis or since he announced Sunday that he was ending his reelection bid. He returned Tuesday to the White House from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., where he had been recovering. Biden will speak at an LBJ Presidential Library event commemorating 60 years since the historic passage of the Civil Rights Act. The event had been postponed after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13. The Civil Rights Act, considered the most sweeping civil rights legislation since the end of slavery, banned racial discrimination in public places, schools and places of employment.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Former Police Chief Troy Finner alleges he was pushed out to bury HPD scandal

has kept a low profile. The former Houston police chief has declined to speak with most members of the media and, aside from a small retirement celebration, rarely appeared in public. Meanwhile, a massive internal investigation continues into the department’s suspension of more than 200,000 cases – a scandal Finner first went public with earlier this year that eventually led to his ouster. But now, as city leadership prepares to name Finner’s permanent replacement, the 34-year veteran of HPD said he feels compelled to speak. In a series of exclusive interviews with the Chronicle, Finner said he’s concerned that the city and police department are trying to bury the full details of a disturbing truth he aimed to expose: That the police department in the nation’s fourth-largest city had for almost a decade been routinely shelving investigations into serious criminal activity by labeling them with the code “Suspended – Lack of Personnel,” or “SL.”

When Finner was still chief, he pledged to confront the issue head-on. He launched a sprawling internal probe in February and released bi-weekly updates about its progress to the public. He also committed to releasing a full report of the department’s findings, at one point indicating that could happen in early May 2024, shortly before he left. Finner is worried the department won’t keep those promises now that he’s gone. Updates have dried up, he pointed out. The commander of HPD’s internal affairs department has been reassigned to another division. And the report has yet to come out. “Agencies all across the country are watching us,” he said. “This is our opportunity to do something and lead the way. So I’m proud to take the blows. But tell the whole story.” In a brief interview Monday, Mayor John Whitmire rejected Finner’s concerns and insisted that the report would be released soon, though he did not commit to a firm date. “It’s coming,” he said. “It will be comprehensive.” The police department did not respond to requests for comment.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Vice President Kamala Harris makes an early arrival in Houston for Hurricane Beryl recovery efforts

Vice President Kamala Harris made an early arrival in Houston on Wednesday to get a briefing on the region’s recovery efforts from Hurricane Beryl. Harris was already scheduled to attend the American Federation of Teachers' annual convention in Houston on Thursday at 10 a.m. but arrived Wednesday afternoon so she could meet with Mayor John Whitmire and other officials about their recovery efforts. It's Harris' first visit to Texas since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Harris spent more than 30 minutes meeting with city and county leaders in a closed-door briefing at the Houston Emergency Operations Center. Then she met with two dozen first responders directly to thank them for their work over the last two weeks. Harris did not take questions from the media. "It means a lot to city employees and the rank and file to see the vice president recognizing their hard work," Whitmire said as he left the meeting. "We're not burned out, but we are definitely stretched thin."

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

A small Texas school district feels inflation squeeze with base state funding stagnant

The Sunnyvale school district paid just over $300,000 for property and casualty insurance in 2022. Now they’re bracing to pay more than half a million dollars. Everything from bus fuel to printing paper costs public schools more money. Their budgets increasingly are stretched thin as the base amount of state money they receive has remained stagnant for years. Texas funds its schools through a longstanding set of complex formulas, but the building block of it is called the basic allotment. That per-student amount sits at $6,160 — the same as it was in 2019. To have the same buying power today, based on inflation, it would need to be closer to $7,500. “We need to see that basic allotment increase,” Sunnyvale ISD Superintendent Matt Kimball said. “It’s just not sustainable.”

The rising cost of educating kids is one of the significant factors straining school budgets across the state. A survey from the Texas Association of School Business Officials, which included responses from more than 300 districts, found more than half expected to end fiscal year 2024 in a shortfall. More than half expected to institute budget cuts for next school year. Public education advocates point to political fights as a reason state funding hasn’t kept up with inflation. Texas school leaders from Richardson to Plano have cited inflation as one of several factors stretching their finances. While those two districts have turned to closing campuses as a way to cut costs, that would be difficult in Sunnyvale. The small district about 20 miles east of Dallas has four schools to serve less than 2,500 students. Dramatically trimming personnel could also be complicated. Already, officials say, Sunnyvale staffers wear several hats apiece. The superintendent directs traffic during school dismal. Maintenance crew members drive multiple bus routes. The assistant superintendent said he spends at least 10% of his time researching and applying for grants. Officials say they look for creative solutions to save money, not wanting Sunnyvale students to go without.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Financial future of Marfa ISD bleak as new budget talks ensue

Marfa ISD School Board trustees met this week to review a preliminary budget for the upcoming 2024-25 school year. Similar to last year, the district is anticipating adopting a deficit budget of $1 million or more, a situation that has administrators raising the alarm about the long-term financial viability of the district. Interim Superintendent Arturo Alferez as well as all school board members with the exception of Rene Gonzales were present to hear from Chief Financial Officer Rosela Rivera on the proposed budget for the upcoming school year. Based on the preliminary certified property values from the Presidio County Appraisal District (PCAD) and a tax rate of .8216, the district is anticipating earning around $5,035,000 in revenue, Rivera explained. But with the district’s expenses, and an estimated $1.7 million recapture payment — funds the district sends to the state because it is considered to have “excess wealth” per student due to the combination of low enrollment and high property values — MISD is likely to be left with an estimated $1,117,000 deficit.

Rivera said recapture payments are “the killer,” leading to the unbalanced budget, and have sharply increased the past few years. By comparison, the district paid $511,000 in recapture for the 2021-22 school year, she said. When asked by school board members how the recent $530,000 sale of the Blackwell School to the National Parks Foundation would impact their budget, Rivera said the sum was placed into the district’s fund balance, or savings account, so it could gain interest and was not factored into this year’s budget. In addition to its recapture payment — which local school leaders experiencing similar issues, including those in Alpine and Fort Davis, have lobbied the Legislature to fix, among other funding inequities — Marfa ISD will continue to pay Presidio ISD, a much wealthier district, $48,000 this year to educate children from Redford that attend Presidio but are technically zoned to go to Marfa. School board members also expressed concern about their quarterly payments to the PCAD increasing. The PCAD’s budget is made up of payments from local taxing entities including the cities, school districts, the hospital district, the Presidio County Underground Water Conservation District and the county.

Read this article at Big Bend Sentinel - Subscribers Only

Operation Lone Star arrests overwhelming El Paso County

El Paso County is asking the State of Texas for millions of dollars to cover the cost of jailing individuals arrested through Operation Lone Star. County Commissioners Court on Monday voted unanimously to submit a grant application to the Office of Gov. Greg Abbott for detainee processing, housing, judicial processing and medical costs. The vote authorized a separate application to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission to provide legal assistance to those detainees. Commissioners also gave the green light to County Judge Ricardo Samaniego to send a letter requesting those detained by the Texas Department of Public Safety to be taken to a state jail, rather than the El Paso County Jail. “In order to apply for that we need to submit an emergency declaration. But I really want the community to understand we have been hesitant because we wanted it to be limited – not to have more DPS agents here but to focus on the fact that it has been a huge impact on the community, on the county,” Samaniego said.

Read this article at Border Report - Subscribers Only

HSI warns against crossing South Texas border illegally in deadly summer heat

Officials with Homeland Security Investigations have launched a campaign to get the word out to migrants and their families not to rely on human smugglers to get across the South Texas border during triple-digit heat. Mark Lippa, deputy special agent in charge, says Mexican cartels that operate human smuggling chains do not care about the health or wellbeing of migrants. He said in days of 100-degree weather, officers find migrants abandoned, dehydrated, injured and assaulted throughout the Rio Grande Valley region. “The migrants are often found in conditions that are not worthy of humans,” Lippa told Border Report on Tuesday. “The message is human smuggling is very dangerous. If you or a family member are thinking of having a family member smuggled in, think again. Don’t do it. You are placing your family member in the hands of someone who is not going to care for that family member,” Lippa said. “We’ve had cases that have wound up in abusive situation, rape or even death.”

Read this article at Border Report - Subscribers Only

Texas woman gets 15 years for stealing $109 million from military for mansions, luxury car

A Texas woman who pleaded guilty to charges of stealing nearly $109 million from a youth development program for children of military families and using it to fund an extravagant lifestyle that included multiple mansions, a fleet of luxury cars and designer accessories was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison. Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez after pleading guilty in March to five counts of mail fraud and five counts of filing a false tax return. Prosecutors say Mello, a civilian employee at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, stole the money and used it to purchase one lavish item after another, including $923,000 of jewelry in a single day in 2022.

Mello was a financial manager who handled funding for a youth program at the military base and determined whether grant money was available. She created a fraudulent group called Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development, prosecutors said. “Janet Mello betrayed the trust of the government agency she served and repeatedly lied in an effort to enrich herself,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “Rather than $109 million in federal funds going to the care of military children throughout the world, she selfishly stole that money to buy extravagant houses, more than 80 vehicles and over 1,500 pieces of jewelry,” Esparza said. Defense attorney Albert Flores said Mello is deeply remorseful. “She realizes she committed a crime, she did wrong and is very ashamed,” Flores said.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Several Texas Democrats skip Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress

Several Texans were among the dozens of Democrats who boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Wednesday address to Congress as they sharply criticized his handling of the war in Gaza. U.S. Rep. Greg Casar of Austin said the United States must end “unconditional military aid to the Israeli government” and secure an immediate cease-fire, the return of hostages and long-term peace. “Not only has Netanyahu failed to safely return the hostages — he has killed, harmed, or displaced nearly every Palestinian in Gaza, has failed to keep Israelis safe, and is risking the United States’ own security by trying to drag us into another endless war in the Middle East,” Casar said in a news release.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations filled streets near the U.S. Capitol as Netanyahu delivered his speech, defending his country’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack and mocking the protesters outside as “useful idiots” for those attacking Israel. Other U.S. House Democrats from Texas who skipped the speech were Reps. Veronica Escobar of El Paso, Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, Lloyd Doggett of Austin and Al Green of Houston. Those in attendance included U.S. Reps. Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen, Henry Cuellar of Laredo, Colin Allred of Dallas, Lizzie Fletcher of Houston and Sylvia Garcia of Houston. It was not immediately clear whether U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, attended. Crockett did not respond to requests for comment through a spokesperson. Castro was isolating at home after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week but had not planned to attend Netanyahu’s address, he said in a news release. Instead, he had planned to meet with relatives of Hamas-held hostages and speak at an event hosted by the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Netanyahu, Castro said, has conducted the war in Gaza “with contempt for human life” and only cares about his political survival.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

American Federation of Teachers rallies against HISD takeover during Houston conference

The American Federation of Teachers condemned the state takeover and backed the Houston local as union delegates from across the country meet in Houston this week. In a Wednesday rally at Discovery Green, union leaders reiterated their support for Houston and opposition to the state takeover, which reached its one-year mark with appointed leadership in June. The rally coalesces national support for the the district's largest teachers union, the Houston Federation of Teachers, led by President Jackie Anderson who vocally opposes the district's proposed $4.4 billion bond. The district said the bond would go largely to upgrading and rebuilding aging campuses, as well as co-locating schools to other existing campuses. Anderson brought up the bond to a chorus of boos from the crowd.

"And I don't say 'no.' I say 'hell no,'" Anderson said. She noted reports that began with Spectrum News reporting a charter school network founded by state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles charged its Texas schools fees that fed into a general fund that, in part, subsidized one of its Colorado schools. AFT's Houston convention is also in the public eye with Vice President Kamala Harris scheduled to speak there Thursday, days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and backed Harris to be the Democratic Party nominee. The 1.8 million-member union was the first to endorse Harris for president Monday, according to a union statement. AFT President Randi Weingarten reiterated support for the Houston local, as it opposes the bond and takeover. She decried Gov. Greg Abbott's push for school vouchers that would put public dollars toward students attending private and charter schools. "What's going on in Houston is really despicable and duplicitous," Weingarten said. "Before the takeover, Houston's schools were on the ascendancy. They had a really good superintendent. They were making progress in every one of the measures that these testing-maniacal people had put in their place."

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Gene Peterson, legendary voice of the Houston Rockets, dies at 83

Gene Peterson, the legendary voice of the Rockets for more than three decades as the team’s radio play-by-play announcer, died Wednesday. He was 83. Peterson was moved to home hospice care Tuesday, his son Todd said, following two weeks in the hospital after a fall. He suffered from lung cancer that metastasized in his liver and gall bladder, Todd Peterson said. “He loved his job, the Rockets, he was fiercely loyal to his family,” Todd Peterson said. “He loved golf, and his later years, fell in love with the Astros. Even in the hospital, they put it on for him. He really fell in love with them. He watched every game.”

Peterson described Rockets games for 33 of his 45 years in broadcasting. His call of Rockets games had become so familiar that games on any rec center or public outdoor court in Houston would feature someone describing a player “backing it in, backing it in, backing it in” in an imitation of Peterson’s perfect baritone, or punctuate a made shot with a shout of “Bingo!” Rockets wins could not be considered complete before Peterson declared, “How sweet it is!” “Today, we say goodbye to my friend and broadcasting legend, Gene Peterson,” Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said in a statement. “Gene devoted his life to the Rockets and brought passion and energy towards creating timeless memories for countless fans, including myself. I am forever grateful for the time I knew Gene and for the invaluable contributions he made to our city and franchise for over three decades.” Craig Ackerman, the Rockets’ television play-by-play announcer, succeeded Peterson on the radio broadcasts after Peterson retired in 2008 and spoke often about Peterson helping with the transition. “First and foremost, he should be in the Hall of Fame. I’m frankly surprised that he and Jim (Foley, Peterson’s longtime broadcast partner) are not at this point,” Ackerman said. “Gene had the quintessential voice for broadcasting, deep, baritone, everything you put in a textbook, he checked all those boxes.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Texas oil field company blames litigation with San Antonio's Holt Cat, others for bankruptcy

The owner of a North Texas oil field services company is blaming San Antonio trucking and heavy-equipment company Holt Cat and others for landing it in bankruptcy. In a bankruptcy court filing five days after Southlake-based Oryx Oilfield Services LLC sought Chapter 11, owner Matthew Mahone cited a 4-year-old lawsuit against Holt Texas Ltd., which does business as Holt Cat, and other equipment suppliers for contributing to its situation. His July 17 filing says the defendants carried out a “years-long fraudulent scheme” that involved buying equipment from Oryx and affiliated companies at “below-market value” then charging them “top dollar” for equipment purchases.

The underlying circumstances of the lawsuit and an unrelated complaint contributed to a lack of liquidity for Oryx and three affiliated companies that also filed for bankruptcy, Mahone said. The cash shortage created “operational issues by increasing the costs to borrow money and thereby decreasing profitability of the enterprises.” Mahone’s companies are seeking more than $100 million in damages from the various defendants. He predicted both lawsuits will have “positive outcomes that would benefit the respective bankruptcy estates.” Zachary Fanucchi, the lead lawyer defending Holt Cat, said he could not comment on the case because it’s in private arbitration. “I can state that the allegations contained in Mr. Mahone’s declaration are denied by our client in full,” he said in an email.

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

Delia’s, ‘best tamale maker in Texas,’ raided by FBI

The FBI raided several Delia’s locations in South Texas, including its restaurant on San Antonio’s Northwest Side. The popular Mexican restaurant touts itself as the “best tamale maker” in Texas. A large FBI presence was reported Wednesday at its locations in the Rio Grande Valley, where the chain is based, and at its restaurant in San Antonio at 13527 Hausman Pass. FBI spokeswoman Trista Moxley confirmed the FBI is performing a “court authorized law enforcement activity” in the vicinity of Loop 1604 and Hausman. She said no additional information was being released as of Wednesday afternoon.

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

Sheila Jackson Lee will lie in state at City Hall on Monday, the second person to receive the honor.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee will lie in state at Houston City Hall on Monday, becoming the second person to receive that honor. Jackson Lee died Friday at the age of 74 after battling pancreatic cancer. She served Houston’s 18th Congressional District for nearly 30 years, developing a reputation for her relentless drive and her near ubiquitous presence at community events. Mayor John Whitmire, who defeated Jackson Lee in last year’s mayoral election, announced she would lie in state from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be a private arrival for Jackson Lee’s family, followed by a brief ceremony with Whitmire and City Council members. Afterward, City Hall’s rotunda will be open to the public.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

50 arrested in massive FBI bust in Houston as part of alleged bail bond scheme

The FBI and area law enforcement carried out a massive bust early Wednesday, arresting 50 Houston-area residents as the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced a series of wire fraud indictments stemming from an alleged fraudulent bail bond scheme. The arrests came after a first-of-its-kind investigation that had been in the works for at least two years, according to a news release. Staff involved with the investigation said AABLE Bonds falsified financial documents to secure temporary release for individuals who would not have otherwise met the requirements. “Utilizing the bail bond system in a fraudulent manner to allow the release of criminals is unacceptable,” said Houston police’s Acting Chief Larry J. Satterwhite. “We are proud to have joined with our local, state and federal partners in getting these individuals off the streets.”

Of the indictments issued, three individuals remain at large. Law enforcement officials are still searching for the remaining suspects and asked that anyone with information regarding their whereabouts contact the Houston FBI office. Authorities said AABLE Bonds recruited individuals who co-signed bond agreements and falsely stated they were employed or had incomes that met the threshold necessary to serve as a co-signer. According to the news release, these fraudulent documents resulted in at least 11 individuals receiving bonds they were not qualified for. “By allegedly falsifying financial reports related to bail bonds, the accused individuals secured their release back onto the streets of our community through an illicit revolving door within the bond system.” said FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams. If convicted, each of the 53 individuals named in the indictments faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 maximum fine. It was not immediately clear when they will appear in court. AABLE Bonds CEO, 58-year-old Sheba Muharib of Missouri City, was one of the individuals named in the indictments. Muharib became the subject of scrutiny in February 2022, when a fellow bail bondsman accused her family of “doing things that they shouldn’t be doing,” during a Commissioners Court meeting.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Dreadlocks, other hairstyles illegally banned in some Texas schools, group finds

Tucked on page 56 of the Tolar school district’s student handbook was a rule that the ACLU of Texas believed violated state law. “Building administrators reserve the right to determine appropriate hairstyles,” the Tolar ISD handbook read. “For example, boys shall not wear … dreadlocks.” Texas’ CROWN Act prohibits race-based hair discrimination and bars schools from penalizing students because of hair texture or protective hairstyles that include braids, locs and twists. On Wednesday — shortly after the ACLU of Texas sent a letter to Tolar officials about the law — the superintendent of the small district about 50 miles outside of Fort Worth committed to changing it.

“We will be correcting our handbook immediately,” Superintendent Travis Stilwell wrote in an email to The Dallas Morning News. “We have no intention of discriminating against any student. With that, we apologize for the oversight and will have it corrected.” That’s the outcome the ACLU of Texas wants from its new letter-writing project, launched Wednesday. The organization, joined by other civil rights and education groups, sent letters to about 50 school districts — many of them small and rural. They wrote that those schools’ 2023-24 dress and grooming codes had provisions that appeared to break the law. “We are very heartened that Tolar ISD immediately pledged to update its outdated dress and grooming code rule,” said Chloe Kempf, staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “We urge all other districts to follow suit — we hope that many of these rules are simple oversights and can be updated before the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year. “Let’s work together to make sure that students of all races, genders, religions, and backgrounds can show up to school as their authentic selves.”

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

County Stories

Houston judge blasts colleagues in late-night message to reporter after being removed from cases

Top judicial leadership in Houston have effectively removed hundreds of pending cases from state district Judge Kelli Johnson and assigned them to other jurists in the wake of two recent DWI stops — one on June 25 that led to her arrest — and a judicial complaint filed by her court reporter. The reassignment of her docket, which officials said was finalized this week in an order to be filed Thursday, happened after the Democratic judge, who is seeking re-election in November, went to work at the criminal courthouse but failed to preside on the bench. The order, signed by Judge Latosha Lewis Payne, Harris County's local administrative judge, and Judge Susan Brown, a governor-appointee for the Eleventh Administrative Judicial Region of Texas, comes in the wake of her arrest on a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated charge.

The rare move to reassign cases strips the elected judge of her ability to preside over her docket without the State Commission on Judicial Conduct having to suspend her. A statement from Amanda Cain, spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the District Courts, noted that Johnson remains the elected official over that court. She could not provide a timeline on how long those cases would be handled by visiting judges. Johnson did not address the docket change in a Wednesday night phone call from the courthouse but said she did not know about the judicial complaint. In an unsolicited Facebook message to a Chronicle reporter in the early hours Wednesday, Johnson derided the decision to remove her docket and disparaged Brown as a "political hack."

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

City Stories

Fair Park First CEO resigns amid leadership turmoil, financial audit

Fair Park First CEO Brian Luallen told The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday he’s resigning from the nonprofit after months of turmoil. In a resignation letter, Luallen told the board the past few months have been “very difficult and uncomfortable to navigate.” Luallen, who has led the nonprofit for five years, was at the forefront of commissioning a forensic audit into the park’s finances after a whistleblower sparked an investigation into the park’s operator, Oak View Group, for the possible mismanagement of restricted donor funds. Tasked with being the conduit between the city and the operator of the 277-acre South Dallas landmark, Luallan notified the board in an executive session this week. His resignation is effective Aug. 15.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

National Stories

Max Burns: It’s time to talk about Donald Trump’s age

(Max Burns is a veteran Democratic strategist and founder of Third Degree Strategies.) At 78, former President Donald Trump is now the oldest presidential nominee in American history. If he wins re-election in November, Trump will end his term just a few months shy of his 83rd birthday, making him two years older than President Joe Biden is now. In short, Donald Trump has a serious age problem. The media and Republican political leaders should treat concerns about Trump’s advanced age every bit as seriously as they did in Biden’s case. Trump can put those concerns to rest by making good on his promise to take a public cognitive test. Is he still willing to “do it for the good of the country,” as he said back on July 12? After all, comparing footage from Trump’s 2015 presidential announcement to footage from earlier this year shows that Trump isn’t quite the man he used to be. The former president now routinely confuses names when speaking off the cuff — including the name of his own doctor — and struggled to finish his sentences during a Nashville rally earlier this year.

How can the American people be sure Trump’s stumbles aren’t part of a sustained pattern of cognitive decline? Trump has repeatedly said he believes all presidential candidates should be “mandated to take a cognitive test” regardless of age. There’s no time like the present, because the concerning evidence of Trump’s mental decline has been mounting for years. His memory problems are well-documented; the former president doesn’t seem able to recall what he was doing or who he spoke to for most of the day on Jan. 6, 2021. He also regularly forgets who the sitting president is, often confusing Joe Biden and Barack Obama during unscripted remarks. That seems pretty important. Concerns about how Trump’s age could weigh on the Republican ticket aren’t exclusive to Democrats like me. Sixty percent of voters now believe Trump is too old to serve, according to a post-debate ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll. That’s up from 44 percent a little over a year ago. Of voters who watched Trump’s rambling debate performance last month, fully 50 percent believe the former president should withdraw from the race and focus on his mental health.

Read this article at The Hill - Subscribers Only

Nephew says Trump suggested some disabled people ‘should just die’

In 2020, a few months before the last election, former President Donald J. Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, published a book about her uncle and how awful and psychologically warped she found him to be. At the time, her brother, Fred C. Trump III, put out a statement slamming his sister for such treachery. Now, he’s wielding the knife. Next week, he will publish “All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got to Be This Way,” a tell-all that puts the former president in a harsh light. The New York Times obtained a copy. Fred and Mary Trump are the children of Fred Trump Jr., Donald’s older brother who struggled with alcoholism and died of a heart attack in 1981, when he was 42. Fred Trump, 61, describes himself as fairly close to his uncle. He attended the 2017 inauguration (he writes that he had a better seat than John McCain) and visited the White House several times (the book includes a picture of its author sitting behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office).

Once, while in the Oval Office, the elder Mr. Trump insisted that his nephew stay in the room for a phone call he was about to have with King Abdullah of Jordan. He put the call on speakerphone, so his nephew could hear the king thank Mr. Trump for killing an Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. “I killed him,” the former president boasted in front of his nephew, according to the book. “I killed him like a dog.” But another White House meeting left the author with a chill, and, it is implied, the reason for writing the book. Fred Trump’s son was born with a rare medical condition that led to developmental and intellectual disabilities. His care had been paid for in part with help from the family. After Mr. Trump was elected, Fred Trump wanted to use his connection to the White House for good. With the help of Ivanka Trump, his cousin, and Ben Carson, at the time the housing and urban development secretary, he was able to convene a group of advocates for a meeting with his uncle. The president “seemed engaged, especially when several people in our group spoke about the heart-wrenching and expensive efforts they’d made to care for their profoundly disabled family members,” he writes.

Read this article at New York Times - Subscribers Only

Ten years of payment disclosure does little to curtail corporate influence over doctors

A decade of publicly disclosed data revealing the billions that doctors receive from pharmaceutical and medical-device companies each year has done little to shift the industry away from the practice. Studies have found evidence that the payments, which range from free meals to fees for speaking and consulting work, affect doctors’ prescription decisions, leading to increased use of companies’ drugs and devices. The Open Payments database, which launched in 2014 and traces its origin to the Affordable Care Act, was meant to bring greater transparency to the financial relationships between industry and physicians, and perhaps discourage some forms of influence. Instead, the amount of money and other benefits provided to physicians and other healthcare providers has slowly grown, new numbers show.

Companies paid $12.75 billion to medical providers last year, up from $6.49 billion in 2014, according to data published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last month. Some of that growth can be accounted for by inflation, and by the additional disclosure starting in 2020 of payments to a larger swath of medical professionals, including physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Anecdotally, many doctors say little has changed. “It’s breathtaking the amount of money that’s going to individual physicians,” said Dr. Vikas Saini, a clinical cardiologist and president of the Lown Institute, which ranks hospitals according to their social responsibility. Patients these days can use CMS’s Open Payments database to see whether their doctor is accepting big payments from companies. But the added transparency hasn’t materially changed the behavior of companies and physicians, said Saini. A deeper look at some of the more recent payments data continues to reveal expenditures by companies that range from merely eyebrow raising to ethically or legally suspect. Regulators have warned companies that making repeat payments to physicians for speaking engagements or for attending noneducation events, for example, could violate anti-kickback laws. But in 2023, one drug company paid more than $54 million for such services to 1,138 providers in 10 or more payments each—a total of about $47,000 per provider on average, according to a report released on Tuesday by healthcare analytics company Conflixis.

Read this article at Wall Street Journal - Subscribers Only

Republicans rethink DEI attacks on Harris

Republicans are grappling with how to politically attack the new Democrat poised to be at the top of the ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first black and South Asian woman vice president, presidential nominee, and possibly president, roughly 100 days before the 2024 election. Harris’s record as a San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, Golden State senator, and 2020 presidential candidate before President Joe Biden tapped her as his vice presidential pick provides Republicans with fodder. But some GOP lawmakers have, instead, underscored her ethnicity and gender, resulting in them having to respond to allegations that they are being racist or sexist and undermining the party’s standing with centrist and independent voters.

The loudest congressional Republican amplifying Harris’s ethnicity and gender is Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), who doubled down Wednesday on describing the vice president as a diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, hire. “When folks are explained that this was in fact a statement that the president had made and that it was one of his criteria for putting her on the ballot with him, then folks understand it,” Burchett told SiriusXM to explain his comments. “Actually members of Congress, both parties, have said, ‘Look, yeah, we get it, but this is what we’ve gotta do because this is what our base and our leadership’s demanding.’ So, yeah. Do I wish I’d said it? No, but it was the truth.” Earlier, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), also criticized Harris for “intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel.” “I think she was a DEI hire,” Hageman told Gray DC. “I think that that’s what we’re seeing and I just don’t think that they have anybody else.”

Read this article at Washington Examiner - Subscribers Only

Netanyahu labels critics of war in Gaza ‘Iran’s useful idiots’ in speech to Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out against protests of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, broadly disparaging anti-Israel protesters as “Iran’s useful idiots” in an address to Congress on Wednesday. Netanyahu’s address to Congress comes at a crucial crossroads for the war. US officials have voiced optimism about the prospects of a deal that could free Hamas-held hostages and bring the conflict to an end. It also comes as many on the left have become increasingly dissatisfied with the way Netanyahu has waged the war, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians and left Gaza in the grips of a humanitarian catastrophe. The Israeli prime minister’s nearly hour-long address to Congress struck a bellicose tone as he vowed to “fight until we achieve victory.”

Netanyahu falsely downplayed and deflected on the role of Israel in causing the ongoing civilian strife in Gaza. Although he made some reference to efforts to bring the hostages home, significantly more of the speech focused on the ongoing war and took aim at his foes – Iran, the International Criminal Court and protesters. The US has seen protests across the country on college campuses and elsewhere in opposition to the war against Hamas. On the day of Netanyahu’s speech, there were protests both outside and inside the US Capitol complex. Additionally, the Secret Service is investigating reports that protesters gained access to the hotel building where Netanyahu is staying in Washington, DC, releasing bugs in the hotel and pulling fire alarms, according to a source familiar with the matter. Netanyahu painted protesters with a broad brush, claiming that “many choose to stand with evil” and that “they stand with Hamas” and “rapists and murderers.”

Read this article at CNN - Subscribers Only

World breaks hottest day record twice in a week

The record for the world's hottest day has tumbled twice in one week, according to the European climate change service. On Monday the global average surface air temperature reached 17.15C, breaking the record of 17.09C set on Sunday. It beats the record set in July 2023, and it could break again this week. Parts of the world are experiencing powerful heatwaves including the Mediterranean, Russia and Canada. Climate change is driving up global temperatures as greenhouse gas emissions released when humans burn fossil fuels warm the Earth's atmosphere.

"While fluctuations are to be expected, as the climate continues to warm, we are likely to keep seeing records being broken, and each new record is taking us further into uncharted territory," says Prof Rebecca Emerton, a climate scientist at the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The naturally-occurring climate phenomenon El Niño also added heat to the climate in the first six months of this year but its effects have now waned. Extreme heat is a serious health hazard, with thousands of deaths attributed to high temperatures every year. In 2000-2019, almost half a million heat-related deaths around the world occurred each year, according to the World Health Organization.

Read this article at BBC - Subscribers Only

Anti-Israel rioters burn US flag, attempt to breach Capitol Police line as Netanyahu addresses Congress

Anti-Israel rioters burned the US flag, flaunted blood-red paint-soaked effigies, and even attempted to breach the US Capitol Police line in Washington, DC, Wednesday — as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress. The hateful demonstration got so out of control that Capitol Police were forced to deploy pepper spray and other defensive measures to beat back the aggressive mob. The rioters also tore down American flags flying outside of nearby Union Station before hoisting Palestinian flags up the poles and burning the Stars and Stripes.

US Park Police were able to rescue one of the flags before the mob could set it ablaze. The chaos began as Netanyahu was set to speak, with thousands of protesters flooding the streets of Washington, DC, just a few blocks away from the Capitol building. At least one Hamas flag was spotted in the crowd. Another pro-terror protester was captured with a chilling sign that read, “Allah is gathering all the Zionists for the final solution,” with a photo of a nuclear mushroom cloud over the Israeli flag.

Read this article at New York Post - Subscribers Only

Lead Stories

Biden will make a case for his legacy - and for Harris to continue it - in his Oval Office address

Even though President Joe Biden won't be on the ballot this November, voters still will be weighing his legacy. As Vice President Kamala Harris moves to take his place as the Democratic standard-bearer, Biden’s accomplishments remain very much at risk should Republican Donald Trump prevail. How Biden’s single term — and his decision to step aside — are remembered will be intertwined with Harris’ electoral success in November, particularly as the vice president runs tightly on the achievements of the Biden administration. Biden will have an opportunity to make a case for his legacy — sweeping domestic legislation, renewal of alliances abroad, defense of democracy — on Wednesday night when he delivers an Oval Office address about his decision to bow out of the race and “what lies ahead.”

And no matter how frustrated Biden is at being pushed aside by his party — and he’s plenty upset — he has too much at stake simply to wash his hands of this election. Biden endorsed Harris shortly after he announced Sunday that he would end his candidacy, effectively giving her a head start over would-be challengers and helping to jumpstart a candidacy focused largely on continuing his own agenda. “If she wins, then it will be confirmation that he did the right thing to fight against the threat that is Trump, and he will be seen as a legend on behalf of democracy,” said presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. “If she loses, I think there will be questions about, did he step down too late? Would the Democratic Party have been more effective if he had said he was not going to run?” Similar what-ifs play out at the end of every presidency. But Biden’s defiance in the face of questions about his fitness for office and then his late submission to his party’s crisis of confidence heighten the stakes.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Prosecutor vs. convicted felon: How Democrats believe Harris’ background changes the election

One candidate spent much of her career putting criminals behind bars. The other has been convicted of 34 felonies. Kamala Harris’ elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket against Republican Donald Trump sets the stage for a presidential contest unlike any other in American history in a campaign season already filled with unexpected twists and turns. The race to become the most powerful leader in the world is now coming down to this: A former prosecutor vs. a man convicted of felonies. Democrats, who worried that questions about Biden’s advanced age and mental acuity would cause him to lose to Trump, sense that if Harris becomes their nominee, they have a chance to shift the focus back to Trump and his complicated tangle of legal problems. “This changed the complete dynamics of the race, and it changed the campaign dynamics dramatically,” Democratic strategist Isaac Wright said.

If Harris is their nominee, age will no longer be the albatross that it was for Democrats when Biden, 81, was leading the ticket. If anything, Harris, 59, could enable Democrats to turn the age issue against the Republicans and Trump, who is 78 and now the oldest presidential nominee in history. Harris' prosecutorial skills, Democrats believe, will give her another big advantage in a head-to-head contest with Trump. Harris foreshadowed the line of attack she's preparing against Trump during a meeting with her campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday. Referencing her work as a prosecutor, Harris said she took on predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers and cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. "I know Donald Trump's type," she said. Republicans insist Democrats will gain nothing from having a former prosecutor lead their ticket. “The era of ‘tough on crime’ Democrats is long gone," said Steven Groves, who held several roles in the Trump administration during his presidency. "Harris’ time as a criminal prosecutor is a hinderance, not a help, to her candidacy.” Trump is unlikely to go to trial on any of the remaining cases before the November election. Which is one reason why Democrats see Harris’s background as a prosecutor as an invaluable asset in the coming crucial weeks of the campaign. Democrats believe that having Harris as their nominee will call attention to Trump’s criminal cases and boost their argument that his legal problems should disqualify him for office. “Her experiences as an attorney general, as a prosecutor, both lend strong credence to making the case against Trump that he is just too criminal, too corrupt, and doesn't share the values we need in a president,” said Wright, a veteran political strategist who worked on Hillary Clinton’s and Al Gore’s presidential campaigns. Clinton made essentially the same argument just hours after Biden withdrew from the race and Harris emerged as the frontrunner to replace him.

Read this article at USA Today - Subscribers Only

K Street struggles to decode Trump VP pick Vance

In just two short years, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) went from winning a seat in the Senate in 2022 to securing his spot as former President Trump’s vice presidential pick last week. His meteoric rise leaves few clues for lobbyists looking to decode the junior senator’s policy positions and little footing to make inroads with a potential second Trump White House. A former senior White House official told The Hill that the decision to tap Vance “is likely a shocking pick to the D.C. establishment who were rooting for a more conventional VP pick.” Given Vance’s relatively short tenure in Congress, his former staffers haven’t made their way in droves down the well-trodden path from Capitol Hill to K Street, the term referring to the Washington influence industry that has spread far beyond the street for which it is named.

Vance has also raised eyebrows with some of his initial moves on Capitol Hill, including co-sponsoring legislation with progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to claw back compensation from executives whose banks fail and introducing in May a bill that would bar public health officials from working with drug, biologic and medical device companies after leaving office for eight years, among other provisions. He has also called the merger-busting Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan “one of the few people in the Biden administration that I think is doing a pretty good job” and signed on to co-sponsor the Credit Card Competition Act, a bipartisan bill that financial institutions have been spending millions to fight. “Those are not business-as-usual-type arrangements,” Loren Monroe, a principal at the lobbying giant BGR Group, told The Hill. “We’re telling our clients that the traditional alliances and divisions of issues by party are being scrambled and political and policy engagement has to be more nimble and retrofitted to accommodate these changing political priorities,” Monroe added.

Read this article at The Hill - Subscribers Only

Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is considering a run for the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's seat in Congress

Former Mayor Sylvester Turner said he is seriously considering running for the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s seat in Congress. “I am giving it serious consideration,” Turner told the Chronicle, adding that he would make a final decision soon. Turner told KHOU, which was first to report Turner’s interest, that “only the passing of his friend at this critical junction would cause him to come out of retirement,” according to the station. The former mayor is expected to make a decision in the coming days. Jackson Lee, 74, died Friday after announcing earlier this year she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. A lion in Houston politics, Jackson Lee had served the 18th Congressional District since 1995, known for her relentless drive and near ubiquitous appearances at community events in the district.

The Democratic congresswoman had defeated former City Council Member Amanda Edwards in a primary in March and was likely to cruise to reelection in November. Now Democratic Party precinct chairs in the district will select a new candidate for the November ballot. Gov. Greg Abbott could call a special election as well, to fill the rest of the congresswoman’s term through this year, though it is not certain he will do so. State Reps. Jolanda Jones and Jarvis Johnson are among the current elected officials who serve in districts overlapping with the late congresswoman’s district. Johnson announced Tuesday his bid for Jackson Lee’s seat. Bishop James Dixon, a longtime friend of Jackson Lee’s family whose church held a prayer vigil for the late congresswoman before her passing, told the Chronicle on Tuesday that many in his community have encouraged him to run for the seat. He said he is humbled by the possibility of continuing Jackson Lee’s legacy in the district and that he is “thinking about it very seriously and praying about it even more seriously.” Former City Council Member Dwight Boykins, a district resident and friend of the late congresswoman, also confirmed his interest in the race on Tuesday. He said, however, that he does not yet wish to make an official announcement out of respect for Jackson Lee and her family.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

State Stories

Kamala Harris will visit Houston Thursday to address national teachers union

Vice President Kamala Harris will come to Houston on Thursday in one of her first stops on the campaign trail as the Democratic party’s presumptive nominee for president. The White House confirmed Harris will deliver the keynote speech to the American Federation of Teachers national convention on Thursday, marking her second visit to Texas this month. She spoke in Dallas two weeks ago to the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. The AFT, with 1.8 million members, is among the nation’s largest teachers unions and a powerful bloc of Democratic voters. The announcement of the visit comes a day after AFT delegates voted to endorse Harris for the Democratic nomination for president.

“The educators, bus drivers, nurses, public employees, higher education workers, correctional officers and doctors of the AFT stand with Kamala,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten in a statement accompanying the endorsement. “We are fully committed to this fight: united, mobilized and ready to vote in this year’s election.” Harris is no stranger to Houston. She campaigned frequently in the city in 2019 and late last year took part in a forum on health care and attended a private fundraiser. While Harris already has the AFT support, the White House said the event shows her continued support for workers across America, noting she has spoken before big unions recently, including the SEIU and UNITE HERE, the largest hospitality union in America.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Houston mayor John Whitmire missing from list of 250 Democratic Mayors supporting Kamala Harris

More than 250 past and present Democratic mayors nationwide have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States now that President Joe Biden isn’t seeking a second term. The list released Monday by the Democratic Mayors Association featured seven Texas officials but did not include Houston Mayor John Whitmire. “As Mayors, we are the closest to the people and understand better than most that too much is at stake for our communities to endure another Donald Trump presidency,” association officials said in a statement. “Our rights, freedoms and very democracy are on the line. With just over 100 days until the election, Democratic mayors remain fully committed to doing everything in our power to continue the momentum and legacy that President Joe Biden created.” Former Texas mayors Steve Adler, Sylvester Turner, Robin Mouton, Kenneth Barr and Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie appeared on the list.

Whitmire’s office did not immediately confirm whether he belonged to the Democratic Mayors Association. However, the office’s communication director, Mary Benton, told the Chronicle Whitmire had been looking forward to visiting with Biden this week. “Mayor Whitmire is focused on storm recovery following Hurricane Beryl and was making plans to see President Biden in person this week to talk about our storm recovery and needs for future storms,” Benton said. “The president has delivered on FEMA assistance.” Biden’s trip to Houston was canceled due to his COVID-19 diagnosis. “He looks forward to visiting with Vice President Harris about her vision for improving major cities including federal funding for homelessness, disaster recovery and other pressing issues,” Benton told the Chronicle. Mayors of several other major cities across the state such as Dallas, Austin and San Antonio have announced their support for either Harris or former President Donald Trump. Last week, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson spoke at the Republican National Convention, hailing the 78-year-old candidate as the one to “make America safe again.” Johnson, who served in the Texas Legislature as a Democrat for nearly a decade before running for mayor, changed his party affiliation last year, resulting in backlash from his constituents.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Texas lawmakers say it’s time to ban hemp. The industry wants regulation.

The Texas Legislature doesn’t meet again until January, but a fight is already heating up over the state’s estimated $8 billion consumable hemp industry, pitting a usually business-friendly GOP against veterans organizations and others who say these products are used responsibly by millions and should be regulated — but not banned. What neither side disputes is that these products get users high, something lawmakers didn’t account for when they penned the 2019 law that legalized the hemp industry in Texas. At the time, CBD was the most common hemp-derived consumable, and it is generally not intoxicating or habit-forming. But as the industry grew, it discovered that other intoxicating compounds could be coaxed from hemp, leading to an explosion of legal products that offer users a similar high to marijuana. Under both current federal and state law, these products, which include candies, drinks, vape pens and even hemp flower, can legally be sold to minors, be shipped across state lines and purchased with credit cards.

“It looks like we inadvertently made cannabis legal in Texas,” said state Sen. José Menéndez (D-San Antonio), who favors additional regulation of the industry as opposed to an outright ban. Doing so, he said, could bring Texas millions in tax revenue, which could be used to “fix public schools, fix our roads.” A majority of his colleagues across the aisle, however, seem to support Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who made banning these products one of his interim legislative priorities. But as demand for these products in states like Texas that have not legalized marijuana has exploded, the industry is fighting back, asking for additional targeted regulation that would keep it away from children and teens. “A state legislature is meant to reflect the will of the people,” said Cynthia Cabrera, director of the recently formed Texas Hemp Business Council. “Given the size of the market in Texas, it’s obvious that people want these products.”

Read this article at San Antonio Report - Subscribers Only

After struggling to get City Hall's attention, Missions owners win mayor's support for new ballpark

After struggling for months to get City Hall to pay attention to their quest to build a ballpark downtown, the owners of the San Antonio Missions have won the support of Mayor Ron Nirenberg — and the likelihood of public financing. The city of San Antonio plans to kick in funds to help pay for a stadium near San Pedro Creek Culture Park for the Double-A baseball team, which currently plays at the aging Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium on the West Side. “The ownership group is heavily invested in this development to ensure that we arrive at an agreement that is fair to our community, and we have benefited immensely from the partnership with the Missions’ new local owners,” Nirenberg said in a statement Tuesday. Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai plan to co-write a non-binding letter of intent for the county and city’s participation in funding the stadium.

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

Feds open audit into Southwest Airlines after series of close calls, safety issues

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating Southwest Airlines after multiple incidents of close calls and other safety-related incidents. This year alone, Southwest flights have experienced a “Dutch roll,” jets flying dangerously low and instances of aircraft flying too close. Other airlines have also experienced similar situations, but Southwest’s high-profile issues have been stacking up in recent months. The Federal Aviation Administration will conduct a Certificate Holder Evaluation Process, an audit conducted by the agency’s safety analysis and promotion division. “The FAA has increased oversight of Southwest Airlines to ensure it is complying with federal safety regulations through the Certificate Holder Evaluation Process,” a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson confirmed in an email. “Safety will drive the timeline.” A spokesperson for Southwest said the airline is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration, noting the Dallas-based carrier has a safety program that includes an FAA-accepted safety management system to mitigate operational risks.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Firm representing business owners files class action claim against CenterPoint over Beryl response

A firm representing 19 medical professionals and other business owners in Harris County filed a class action claim Monday against CenterPoint Energy, alleging the company’s response to Hurricane Beryl cost them millions of dollars. The suit, the third class action brought against CenterPoint in the past week, was filed on behalf of beauty, health and wellness businesses in Harris County. The plaintiffs are suing for damages in excess of $100,000,000. Representing the case are husband and wife duo Erica Rose and Charles Sanders of the personal injury practice Rose Sanders PLLC. Rose said they are not charging for their services, and have filed the case in the interest of bringing change to the Houston energy market.

“This is something I’m very passionate about,” Rose said Tuesday. “We’re not charging out clients anything up front. Many of the businesses we’re representing are run by women and other minorities and CenterPoint’s response to Beryl has left them in a pretty tough spot financially.” At least three doctors and dentists are named as part of the suit. They argued CenterPoint’s failure to promptly restore service resulted in the loss of sensitive medical equipment and supplies. Property loss and other damages, the suit claimed, disproportionately impacted minority and women-owned businesses. “This disruption likely will cause permanent irreparable harm to some of Houston’s most influential, devoted and successful business owners,” the plaintiffs’ original petition stated. “It had a disproportionate impact on doctors in the Asian community as well as other minority business owners and female doctors.”

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Alex Gajewski, David Auerbach and Fabrizia Faustinella: Medicaid expansion could have saved 2,050 Texans

(Alex Gajewski is a resident physician in Dallas. David Auerbach is an associate professor at UT Southwestern. Fabrizia Faustinella is a Doctors for America Copello Health Policy fellow.) Texas is one of 10 states still refusing to expand Medicaid. North Carolina recently expanded, and Mississippi appeared poised to do so earlier this year. Despite national momentum, too many Texas politicians still shy away from openly discussing expansion. They fear the wrath of state leadership and the threat of being primaried by someone further to the right. And yet we need to have the conversation. The expansion of Medicaid to the full extent permitted by the Affordable Care Act would provide health care coverage to a significant number of low-income individuals who are currently unable to afford private insurance or qualify for Medicaid, thus falling into the coverage gap. A paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research found a significant 0.132 percentage point decrease in annual mortality for adults age 55 to 64 in expansion states in just the first three years after implementation. Extrapolating to Texas’ population, we estimate roughly 2,050 preventable deaths have occurred in Texas since 2014.

In 2020, leading Texas economists estimated expansion would generate around $54 million per year for the state government through direct offset to other state programs. Moreover, extrapolating from average Medicaid spending on the expansion population nationally, we find Texas has refused the flow of about $5.25 billion in federal funding per year to Texas health care facilities, including to our ailing rural hospitals. Fourteen years after the ACA became law, the word expansion remains politically charged. The Texas Legislature’s aversion to the term is so pronounced that it borders on the absurd and prevents open advocacy for commonsense reform. We have seen our patients pay the cost. Maybe if we gradually introduce the terms “Medicaid” and “expansion” opposing political leaders will build up their immunity and not react so strongly to a policy favored by 70% of their constituents. By normalizing the discourse around Medicaid expansion we can create an environment responsive to the needs of our citizens. Let’s start talking seriously about expansion, preferably before Mississippi beats us to passing it.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy admits it’s ‘a challenge’ entering training camp with no extension

A little before 4 o’clock Tuesday afternoon, Mike McCarthy was the first person off the bus at the club’s Southern California training site to preside over his fifth camp as the Cowboys head coach. It remains to be seen whether or not he’ll return for a sixth. McCarthy has led Dallas to 36 regular season victories over the last three years. Kansas City’s Andy Reid is the only coach with more wins in that span. Yet McCarthy’s reward is to enter the final year of his contract with no extension in sight.

The veteran coach could blow smoke, talk about how his feet are firmly planted in the moment and declare his mind doesn’t drift to what may or may not happen down the road. He doesn’t. “This is a challenge,’’ McCarthy conceded. He just as quickly points out that challenges are what coaches and players in the NFL are paid to overcome. Rather than dwell on what he doesn’t have, McCarthy chooses to view this as an opportunity that could work to his benefit if he finally helps push this franchise past the divisional round for the first time in 29 years.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Pet store’s opening draws opposition in Fort Worth suburb

Some Bedford residents are upset over the city’s decision to allow a pet store that they say gets its dogs from “puppy mills,” but the business said the animals come from ethical breeders. During recent City Council meetings, residents questioned why Bedford allowed the Pettito Puppy Store at 2112 Harwood Road to operate, arguing it is better to adopt animals from overcrowded shelters. But mayor Dan Cogan said the city’s hands are tied because of a new state law that regulates city governments can and cannot do when it comes to regulating zoning and businesses. “This is our city. We should be the ones the decide what goes here,” Cogan said. Cogan was referring to HB 2127, which prohibits cities from passing or overturning existing rules that go beyond state laws.

The bill requires that pet stores sell dogs and cats from animal shelters and rescue groups and not puppy mills. The Texas Humane Legislation Network is spearheading the effort, and stated on its website that pet stores often sell animals from out-of-state puppy mills and work through a “middle man” or distributor. Cara Gustafson, communications consultant for the Texas Humane Legislation Network said Texas has made “great strides” with passing animal welfare laws over the years, and now, legislators need to pass the humane pet store bill since cities that don’t have ordinances in place already can’t stop the stores from opening in their communities. “Legislators can’t run away from this problem anymore because in a sense, Texas’ own laws have caused this,” she said. She described how puppy stores open in cities without laws prohibiting them. “Animal shelters in the area are inundated with dogs, Stout said, and the puppy stores add to the overcrowding, she said

Read this article at Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Subscribers Only

What does Biden’s exit mean for Texas Senate race?

President Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race raises more than just questions about who will succeed him on the Democratic ticket. It also prompts questions about what his absence means for down-ballot races, including the Senate race in Texas between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred. Republicans and Democrats think Biden’s departure befefits down-ballot candidates. But with months before Election Day and the top of the Democratic ticket not confirmed, it’s unclear exactly how Biden leaving the race will affect the Senate race. “We have to kind of wait to see this thing sort out for a few days,” said Jim Riddlesperger, a TCU political science professor. “There’s a potential, obviously, that having a new face in the election will add a level of energy and excitement that was notably lacking this year.”

Biden ended his reelection bid against former President Donald Trump on Sunday after weeks of calls from within his party for him to withdraw. Numerous House Democrats said Biden needed to step aside following a June 27 debate performance that raised questions about his age and fitness for office. Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president and urged Democrats to unite behind her. Since his announcement, Delegates have largely united behind Harris as their presidential pick, including the Texas delegation, which voted overwhelmingly to back Harris as the nominee on Monday. The Democratic nominee will be selected by delegates before or during Democrats’ national convention that begins Aug. 19, according to The Washington Post. Texas has 273 delegates. Allred, of Dallas, is supporting Harris for president. Cruz has endorsed former President Donald Trump.

Read this article at Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Subscribers Only

Jerry Jones’ paternity trial countersuit ends early Tuesday

A paternity trial involving Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones came to a sudden conclusion Tuesday. The terms of the conclusion were not made immediately clear. It came on the second day of an expected week-long trial at a federal court in Texarkana. And it came on a day when Jones was expected to testify. Jones was countersuing a mother and daughter over a breach of contract of a settlement the mother had reached in 1998 regarding paternity. Alexandra Davis, 27, and her mother, Cynthia Davis, had been barred from “suing or supporting any suit” to establish paternity and to keep the terms of the settlement confidential. Judge Robert W. Schroeder III announced shortly after lunch Tuesday that the case — along with all other cases tied to it — had been dropped with the resolution that the contract at the center of it would continue to be enforced. According to court records, Jones had already paid more than $3 million to Davis since childhood.

Read this article at Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Subscribers Only

Houston icon Felix Fraga dead at 94 due to Alzheimer's complications, family says

Felix Fraga, who spent decades in public service in the Houston area, died at 94, his son said on social media. Fraga was a longtime Houston civil leader who grew up in the Second Ward, where he was born in 1929. He was a member of City Council from 1994 to 1999 and also served on the Houston ISD School Board. Fraga worked hard for those who were less fortunate until the end of his life. "He leaves a legacy of community service," his son, Bolivar Fraga, said. Bolivar said his father started helping the community when he was a teen working at Baker Ripley, which at the time was called the Settlement House. Later in life, he managed the Ripley House for 20 years and spent most of his adult life as an activist for Houston's East End.

Read this article at KHOU - Subscribers Only

Robert Jeffress pledges to rebuild historic Dallas sanctuary after fire

After the fire that all but destroyed the historic chapel at First Baptist Dallas on Friday (July 19), senior pastor Robert Jeffress promised congregants that the church will rebuild. “It’s not the building, it’s what that building represents: It represented the bedrock foundation of God’s Word that never changes,” said the megachurch’s leader since 2007 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center at First Baptist’s Sunday service. While the fire did not damage the church’s primary modern worship space, the six blocks of the campus remained blocked Sunday morning for first responders. Executive Pastor Ben Lovvorn said Tuesday that the church campus will remain closed all week but teams are currently “making great, great progress” to reopen the worship space for services on Sunday. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.

The damage to the historic sanctuary is extensive with a collapsed roof. The church still awaits repair estimates and expects insurance to cover the expense. Jeffress pledged to “rebuild and re-create that sanctuary as a standing symbol of truth.” The commitment to rebuilding is no surprise. The 134-year-old two-story red brick Victorian chapel symbolizes the church’s relationship with the city and has become a point of pride for congregants and preservationists alike. Jeffress’ commitment echoes previous leaders who have helped the church grow into one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in the country, now boasting 16,000 members. The church was founded in 1868. Its 11 members initially worshipped in a nearby Mason Hall. According to the state historic marker at the site, an aggressive fundraising campaign “financed by weaving rugs, making hominy, preserves, and cheese to sell at fairs” eventually led them to build a one-room frame structure. The current chapel opened in 1890 on the same site. It was designed by Albert Ullrich, a Presbyterian architect who lived in Dallas before moving to New York. It was a notable presence in the growing downtown, along with the red brick county courthouse, which opened in 1892. Eventually the chapel expanded to seat up to 3,000 people. Pastor Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Dallas Church in 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Read this article at Religion News Service - Subscribers Only

Golden Pass has reached a settlement with Zachry. What will it mean for thousands of laid-off workers?

Golden Pass LNG and San Antonio-based construction firm Zachry have reached a settlement that could allow the massive gas liquefaction project at Sabine Pass to rehire thousands of workers and resume construction. The settlement, which requires court approval, would formally remove Zachry from the Golden Pass LNG project it was building for Exxon Mobil and Qatar Energy. Work began on the $9.25 billion terminal in 2019. If the settlement is approved, it would resolve a legal dispute playing out after Zachry filed for bankruptcy protection in May, blaming its financial struggles on Golden Pass. Zachry’s bankruptcy filing bars Golden Pass from terminating its construction contract, but the gas liquefaction project and its owners have argued that Zachry failed to fulfill its obligations and should be forced by the court to exit the project so it could proceed.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Garion Frankel: Three things Texas A&M needs in its next chancellor

(Garion Frankel is a Ph.D student in PK-12 educational leadership at Texas A&M University. He is a State Beat fellow for Young Voices, and his work has appeared in USA Today, Newsweek, the Houston Chronicle and many other newspapers around Texas.) On July 1, Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp, who has guided and transformed the state’s second-largest university system for more than a decade, announced his retirement, effective June 30, 2025. Sharp’s tenure has not been without controversy, but I would argue that he found A&M a city of bricks and left it a city of marble. Among other accomplishments, Sharp oversaw 306 projects to the tune of $11.4 billion, grew a law school into one of the highest-ranking outfits in the state, and set the stage for the A&M system to become a national leader in more than just engineering. We even have the potential to rise above our “little brother” status in football! But now Sharp will pass the torch, and the A&M Board of Regents has no easy task in finding someone who can lead one of the nation’s most storied, dynamic and often rambunctious university systems.

They should have at least some experience in academia. When Sharp was first appointed Texas A&M chancellor, he had no previous experience in academia. At the time, this reflected a clear trend in Texas university governance — political and business leaders who could rise above academia’s often petty squabbles were seen as a necessary balance against academia’s excesses. For an A&M system in the midst of rapid expansion, a figure like Sharp was a natural choice. But perhaps the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. Faculty, students and even A&M’s arch-conservative TexAgs message boards have all taken issue with Sharp over the years. Their most common complaint was that Sharp was not receptive to the university community’s feedback, and when he did listen, he did so on his terms. They should value academic freedom and free expression. Not too long ago the A&M system was known for being a free speech haven. Even now, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education gives the College Station campus a “green” rating, indicating that A&M’s policies at least nominally protect free speech. But two controversies from last year called this reputation into question. First, A&M hired Kathleen McElroy — a Black former managing editor at the New York Times — to head the main campus’ new journalism department. This invitation was soon revoked due to hysteria against “wokeness,” because of McElroy’s work on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Shortly after, another faculty member was temporarily put on paid administrative leave after she criticized Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s handling of the opioid epidemic. They should understand Texas A&M and its deep traditions. No offense to the other members of the A&M system, but College Station is undoubtedly the cornerstone. We Aggies are cultish in our commitment to our strong identity and traditions, much to the chagrin of the rest of the state. If our leaders are not or have never been Aggies, many of us consider that a strike against them. In other words, being the chancellor of Texas A&M is not like being the chancellor of other university systems. Whatever you may think of Aggie exceptionalism, we believe it, and that matters when a new university leader arrives.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

'Super Bowl or bust': Why Texans fans are more optimistic than ever about the 2024 season

It was 5 a.m. Tuesday and still dark outside when Pedro Aguilar and his father Armando, decked out in Texans gear, left their home in Blessing to make the two-hour trip to Houston. The Matagorda County residents wanted to get to the city early and beat traffic, so they could get in line for the Texans’ first open training camp practice of the 2024 season. But when they arrived at Houston Methodist Training Center across from NRG Stadium around 7:30 a.m., a line to get in had already formed. Some Texans fans arrived as early as 3 a.m. to watch practice, which began at 9 a.m.

Excitement surrounding this Texans team is high. The team announced Tuesday that they had sold out of season tickets. That was the first time that happened since 2019, a team spokesperson said, with only single-game and group tickets remaining. “A lot of enthusiasm,” Texans CEO/chairman Cal McNair said Tuesday. “The fans feel it. They feed off each other. We’re loving it and we’re a part of it. We’re the biggest fans. So we can’t wait to see the team as it comes together throughout the year.” The Aguilars have been Texans fans since the team’s first season in 2002. They’ve stuck with the team through the wins and (mostly) losses. “It’s just supporting Houston all the way — no matter what the record was — we’d always watch the games,” said 33-year-old Pedro Aguilar, who was wearing a white J.J. Watt jersey. “Going through the trials and tribulations over the last 20 years, it’s definitely been worth the wait.”

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Clark Hunt: Chiefs still haven’t heard from NFL on potential discipline for Rashee Rice

Now that training camp is underway in Kansas City, Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt offered an update on Rashee Rice’s playing status. The former SMU and Richland star could face discipline from the NFL following a series of off-the-field events that cast a shadow over his offseason. Rice turned himself into authorities and was booked into a DeSoto jail in April, more than a week after he was involved in a high-speed, multi-vehicle collision on a Dallas highway. In May, Rice was involved in an alleged incident with a photographer, also in Dallas. No charges against Rice are being pursued in that matter.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

County Stories

Family of Anthony Johnson Jr. sues Tarrant County, fired jailers for wrongful death

The family of a man killed while in custody at the Tarrant County jail filed a lawsuit Monday against the county and individual jailers, seeking monetary damages and policy reforms. Anthony Johnson Jr., a 31-year-old Marine Corps veteran, was killed April 21, two days after he was arrested. His death was first declared a medical emergency but turned into a legal battle after a video showed a jailer kneeling on Johnson, who said he couldn’t breathe. Since then, the death has been ruled a homicide, and two jailers have been fired and ultimately indicted on murder charges. “[The family] knows that we can’t bring Anthony back, but the family does not want Anthony’s death to be in vain,” Daryl Washington, attorney for the family, said at a news conference Tuesday.

The suit alleges that a group of jailers used excessive force on Johnson, resulting in his death. It alleges the jailers ignored their responsibility to provide medical care to Johnson after he signaled he was in distress. It also argues Tarrant County failed to properly train its employees and lacks appropriate policies to prevent incidents of this kind. A spokesperson for the county declined to comment on the suit, as the litigation is pending. Attorneys for the two jailers named in the suit, Rafael Moreno and his supervisor sheriff’s Lt. Joel Garcia, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The suit did not specify the amount of damages the plaintiffs are seeking. Washington said at the news conference that the family hopes to see policy changes as a result of this suit, specifically unique procedures for people with mental illnesses who move through the Tarrant County jail.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

City Stories

Humble ISD superintendent fired for allegedly failing to maintain relationship with board

Show More Humble ISD Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen lost her job in a narrow vote Tuesday, a move that could cost the recently embroiled district as much as $1.5 million, according to one trustee. The board voted 4-3 to terminate Fagen’s five-year contract four years early for an alleged "failure to maintain relationship with the board," as read by board member Martina Lemond-Dixon. Fagen had been on administrative leave for undisclosed reasons since May. Lemond-Dixon said she adamantly disagreed with the reason behind the early termination, noting that a superintendent evaluation had not taken place in a year, and the superintendent evaluation committee had not met in a year either. "I think what we are doing is wrong," Lemond-Dixon said.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

FWISD school board rejects proposed five-year strategic plan

A proposed five-year strategic plan that Fort Worth school officials hoped would help students get back on track academically was voted down at a school board meeting Tuesday night. Among other things, the plan, which was months in the making, called for more teacher training, expanded academic support for students who are struggling and better communication with families. Some board members said they wanted time to gather more public input on the plan before adopting it. Board President Camille Rodriguez pressed for a vote Tuesday evening, saying it was crucial that the district have a plan approved before the first day of school on Aug. 13. She argued that Superintendent Angélica Ramsey needed to be able to take the plan to school principals to discuss the district’s direction as they prepare for the new school year.

But board member Roxanne Martinez said she worried that not enough parents had been able to weigh in on the plan. The district convened focus groups and community forums and placed a link to a survey on its website. But Martinez, who has children enrolled in the district, said she never got a text message about the survey. The district regularly sends texts and emails when it needs to get in touch with parents, and Martinez said many rely on those channels of communication for their information. Especially during the summer, when most families aren’t as engaged with school, it’s important that the district be intentional about reaching them, she said. “We have to reach our parents where they are,” she said. Board member Wallace Bridges said he thought it was important that the entire board be present for the vote. Members Anne Darr and Kevin Lynch were absent from the meeting. Having the full board vote on the proposal sends a message to the community about the importance of the plan. He also said he would have liked to see Ramsey take a larger role in communicating the proposal to the community, rather than leaving it to campus principals.

Read this article at Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Subscribers Only

National Stories

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigns

US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has tendered her resignation amid scrutiny of security lapses related to the recent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, sources tell CNN. The move comes as lawmakers and an internal government watchdog move forward with investigations into the agency’s handling of Trump’s protection and how a gunman came close to the killing the 2024 Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania this month. Cheatle said in her resignation letter that she made the “difficult” decision to leave the agency “with a heavy heart” and that she doesn’t want her departure to distract agents from their mission.

“In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,” Cheatle wrote. She acknowledged that on July 13, the day of the shooting, the agency “fell short” of its mission “to protect our nation’s leaders.” Secret Service Deputy Director Ronald Rowe has been tapped to lead the agency, the Department of Homeland Security announced. In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden are “grateful” for Cheatle’s decades of public service. “As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service,” Biden said of Cheatle. There have been bipartisan calls in Congress for Cheatle’s resignation and a push by Republican lawmakers to impeach her. Lawmakers were particularly incensed after her appearance in front of the House Oversight Committee on Monday, where she was unwilling to answer many of the committee’s questions.

Read this article at CNN - Subscribers Only

Republican leaders urge colleagues to steer clear of racist and sexist attacks on Harris

Republican leaders are warning party members against using overtly racist and sexist attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, as they and former President Donald Trump ‘s campaign scramble to adjust to the reality of a new Democratic rival less than four months before Election Day. At a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday, National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., urged lawmakers to stick to criticizing Harris for her role in Biden-Harris administration policies. “This election will be about policies and not personalities,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after the meeting. “This is not personal with regard to Kamala Harris,” he added, “and her ethnicity or her gender have nothing to do with this whatsoever.”

The warnings point to the new risks for Republicans in running against a Democrat who would become the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian decent to win the White House. Trump, in particular, has a history of racist and misogynistic attacks that could turn off key groups of swing voters, including suburban women, as well as voters of color and younger people Trump’s campaign has been courting. The admonitions came after some members and Trump allies began to cast Harris, a former district attorney, attorney general and senator, as a “DEI” hire — a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. “Intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel,” Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman said in a TV interview. “I think she was a DEI hire. And I think that that’s what we’re seeing and I just don’t think that they have anybody else.” Since Biden announced he was exiting the campaign, Republicans have rolled out a long list of attack lines against Harris, including trying to tie her to the most unpopular Biden policies and his handling of the economy and the Southern border. Trump campaign officials and other Republicans have accused Harris of being complicit in a cover-up of Biden’s health issues, and they have been mining her record as a prosecutor in California as they try to paint her as soft on crime.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Clip resurfaces of Vance criticizing Harris for being 'childless,' testing Trump's new running mate

Comments JD Vance made in 2021 questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’ leadership because she did not have biological children have resurfaced, testing the young conservative senator in his early days campaigning as part of the Republicans’ presidential ticket. During Vance’s bid for the Senate in Ohio, he said in a Fox News interview that “we are effectively run in this country via the Democrats,” and referred to them as “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.” He said that included Harris, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat. “How does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?” asked Vance, who is now Donald Trump’s running mate.

Harris became stepmother to two teenagers when she married entertainment lawyer Douglas Emhoff in 2014. And Buttigieg announced he and his husband adopted infant twins in September 2021, more than a month before Vance made those comments. The clip has started to spread online, with Hillary Clinton sharing it in a Tuesday post on X and adding sarcastically “what a normal, relatable guy who certainly doesn’t hate women having freedoms.” The recirculated comment may be a sign of the GOP ticket’s troubles appealing to women voters, and on the issue of reproductive rights. It follows the explosive entrance in the race of Harris, who secured the support of enough delegates to become the official nominee in less than 32 hours after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid. It also lays out some of the fears expressed by strategists that Trump took a political risk in picking a running mate who has been in Congress less than two years and is largely untested on a bigger stage. Trump liked Vance’s telegenic qualities and said he reminded him of “a young Abraham Lincoln.” The Harris campaign contested Vance’s stance, saying “every single American has a stake in this country’s future.” “Ugly, personal attacks from JD Vance and Donald Trump are in line with their dangerous Project 2025 agenda to ban abortion, decimate our democracy, and gut Social Security,” said James Singer, a Harris campaign spokesman, referring to a policy and personnel plan for a second Trump term that was crafted by a host of former administration officials.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Salt Lake City celebrates announcement that it will host the 2034 Winter Olympics

Salt Lake City was formally awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics following a Wednesday vote by the International Olympic Committee in Paris, which gives Utah its second Games after hosting in 2002. A watch party was planned at 3 a.m. local time — 11 a.m. in Paris — to celebrate the announcement. Large crowds were expected at the event that coincides with a state holiday marking the date Mormon pioneers discovered the Salt Lake Valley in northern Utah. Olympic fanatics were already starting to gather downtown and pitch tents before sunset Tuesday. Salt Lake City was the lone contender the Olympic committee was considering for 2034. Climate change and high operational costs have reduced the number of cities willing and able to welcome the Winter Games. Utah has capitalized on low interest elsewhere, pitching itself to Olympic officials as an enthusiastic repeat host if the committee goes forward with a proposed permanent rotation of Winter Olympic cities.

Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi had said Salt Lake City would be a prime candidate for such a plan. Local leaders had their sights set on hosting multiple times even before Salt Lake City welcomed its first Games, bid team spokesperson Tom Kelly said. Remnants of the 2002 Games are nestled throughout the city and have kept the Olympic fever alive for more than two decades. Organizers of the 2034 Games touted that enduring enthusiasm throughout the selection process and showed visiting Olympic officials how they have preserved the venues used in 2002. In their final presentation to the Olympic committee Wednesday morning, the bid team was expected to outline its plan for one of the most compact layouts in Olympic history, with all venues within a one-hour drive of the athletes village on the University of Utah campus. The plan requires no new permanent construction, with all 13 venues already in place and each having played a role when the city first hosted.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Steve Bannon to go on trial in December for alleged fraud in We Build the Wall fundraiser

Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon will stand trial beginning Dec. 9 on charges he defrauded donors to an online effort to raise money for a wall along the U.S. southern border. During a brief hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors said they would take three to four days to present evidence. Defense attorneys expected their case to last two days. Bannon, who is currently serving a federal prison sentence for contempt of Congress, did not attend the hearing. "Mr. Bannon was excused by the court," Judge April Newbauer said. Prosecutors sought a trial date in November, but Newbauer said that was too soon since Bannon will not be released from FCI Danbury until October.

Read this article at ABC News - Subscribers Only

Labor unions unite behind Kamala Harris but concern emerges about potential VP pick Mark Kelly

Vice President Kamala Harris has received a flurry of endorsements from many of the nation's largest labor unions since she announced her candidacy for president. Concern has emerged within the labor movement, however, over the potential selection of Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., as a running mate because he has not signed onto a key piece of labor reform legislation. Current and former union officials told ABC News that the possible selection of Kelly sounds alarm bells due to his unwillingness to back the PRO Act, legislation that would ease the path toward forming unions and winning labor contracts. Some officials outright oppose the pick, while others say the policy position should be part of a wider assessment of Kelly.

At least one labor leader who backs Harris said Kelly's position on the measure should not reflect on his support toward labor or deter his selection as vice president. Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are the two leading candidates for the nod as vice president on a Harris-led ticket, a senior administration official told ABC News on Tuesday. Harris is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee after receiving more than half of the party's delegates. "Why would the Democrats even consider a senator for the vice presidency if the senator doesn't support the PRO Act?" John Samuelsen, president of the Transport Workers Union and an ally of President Joe Biden, told ABC News. "It's the most important piece of national legislation workers have right now." The Transport Workers Union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, a 12.5 million member union federation that endorsed Harris on Monday. Samuelson, who said he did not attend the meeting at which the AFL-CIO endorsed Harris, will not decide on his union's endorsement of Harris until after she selects her vice presidential nominee.

Read this article at ABC News - Subscribers Only

Protests and politics as Israel's Netanyahu addresses US Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be greeted by deep divisions among U.S. lawmakers, a distracted U.S. public and large protests on Wednesday as he addresses the U.S. Congress for a record fourth time. The long-time Israeli leader will speak to a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives at 2 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), passing British wartime leader Winston Churchill, who made such addresses three times. Netanyahu's speech is expected to focus on coordinating the Israeli and U.S. response to the volatile situation in the Middle East, where there is a growing danger of the Gaza war spilling over into a wider regional conflict.

He is also expected to use his speech to call for stronger action against Iran, which supports Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters and has drawn increased U.S. condemnation over its recent nuclear advances. Though Netanyahu's visit was orchestrated by Congress' Republican leaders, it is likely to be less confrontational than in 2015, when Republicans sidestepped then-President Barack Obama and invited Netanyahu's to Congress to criticize the Democrat's Iran policy. This time, Netanyahu will seek to bolster his traditional links to Republicans but also look to ease tensions with Biden, whom he will rely on for the remaining six months in the president's term. He must also reach out to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has at times been more forward-leaning than her boss in criticizing Israel for heavy Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza.

Read this article at Reuters - Subscribers Only

Trump says he is willing to debate Harris multiple times

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump walks off stage after speaking at a campaign rally at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20, 2024. Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would be willing to debate Vice President Kamala Harris multiple times if she is nominated, as expected, by the Democratic National Convention as the party’s presidential candidate. “I would be willing to do more than one debate, actually,” Trump said on a call with reporters, two days after President Joe Biden in a stunning move dropped out of the election contest and endorsed Harris as his replacement atop the Democratic ticket. “Yes, absolutely, I’d want to” debate Harris, the Republican nominee said.

Read this article at CNBC - Subscribers Only

Lead Stories

Harris secures support of enough delegates to claim her party’s nomination

Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party’s nominee against Republican Donald Trump, according to an Associated Press survey, as top Democrats rallied to her in the aftermath of President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his bid for reelection. The quick coalescing behind Harris marked an attempt by the party to put weeks of internecine drama over Biden’s political future behind them and to unify behind the task of defeating Trump with just over 100 days until Election Day. Prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris in the day after Biden’s exit from the race, and her campaign set a new 24-hour record for presidential donations on Monday. Several state delegations met late Monday to confirm their support for Harris, including Texas and her home state of California. By Monday night, Harris had the support of well more than the 1,976 delegates she’ll need to win on a first ballot, according to the AP tally. No other candidate was named by a delegate contacted by the AP.

California state Democratic Chairman Rusty Hicks said 75% to 80% of the state’s delegation were on a call Tuesday, and they unanimously supported Harris. “I’ve not heard anyone mentioning or calling for any other candidate,” Hicks said. “Tonight’s vote was a momentous one.” Still, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee. That’s because the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats go through with a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago. Harris, in a statement, responded to the AP tally, saying she is “grateful to President Biden and everyone in the Democratic Party who has already put their faith in me, and I look forward to taking our case directly to the American people.” Speaking to campaign staff in Wilmington, Del., Harris acknowledged the “rollercoaster” of the last several weeks, but expressed confidence in her new campaign team. “It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win,” she said. She promised to “unite our Democratic party, to unite our nation and to win this election.”

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

What would a second Trump presidency mean for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's political future?

If Gov. Greg Abbott is angling for a Cabinet post or a key job in the White House should Donald Trump's comeback bid succeed, the three-term Texas Republican is campaigning with the same public vigor he brought to the vice presidential sweepstakes between the GOP primaries and the national convention. Which is to say, none at all. Abbott, who runs the nation's largest Republican state, won a prime-time speaking slot on day three of the four-day gathering in Milwaukee that nominated Trump for the third straight time as the party's choice for president. While the high-profile assignment might have fueled some speculation that Trump is considering a role for Abbott in a second stint as president, the governor's seven minutes in the spotlight most likely did not. "If Governor Abbott was a stock, you'd hold," quipped University of Houston political science professor and author Brandon Rottinghaus the morning after the governor's appearance. "I don't think it's a 'buy now.’ ”

Just as they did during the speculative period before Trump formally selected U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio for the No. 2 spot on the ticket, associates close to Abbott have privately cautioned reporters and others not to get caught up in the "what if" game regarding the governor being tapped for U.S. attorney general or as the point person on the border security front. Abbott himself has said the same thing, telling a Dallas Morning News reporter after giving his convention speech, “My interest is focused solely on the state of Texas.” On paper, either role under Trump would appear to be a good fit. Before being elected governor in 2014, Abbott spent 12 years as Texas' attorney general. During the four years leading up to that, he was an associate justice on the state Supreme Court. But his response to Biden rolling back many of the hard-line border and immigration policies of Trump's presidency has cemented Abbott's status as the nation’s most aggressive state chief executive when it comes to the southern border. He took the unusual step of militarizing the Texas-Mexico border by deploying thousands of National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to the Rio Grande. And he defied the Biden administration by installing a floating barrier of buoys in the river to discourage migrants from swimming across from Mexico to Texas and by unspooling miles of razor wire along the shore to greet anyone who tried. Abbott boasted mightily about those initiatives, and the GOP delegates inside Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum missed few opportunities to cheer him on. But because of time constraints imposed by convention planners on Abbott and the most of the other nonheadliner speakers, his speech lacked the personal narrative and the kind of breakout moment on which Barack Obama capitalized as a little-known state senator from Illinois, electrifying the 2004 Democratic National Convention as the keynote speaker.

Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only

Ted Cruz 'volunteers time' for podcast, but iHeartMedia gave $787K to PAC, records show

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, remains under scrutiny over a financial relationship between his podcast and iHeartMedia and whether the company is aiding his reelection campaign, as alleged in complaints filed with the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics, including a new one submitted as recently as last week. Arguing that the financial arrangement violates federal law, at least three ethics complaints have been lodged against Cruz over a syndication deal with the San Antonio-based audio media company that publishes the senator's podcast, "Verdict with Ted Cruz." Though a Cruz spokesperson has said the senator does not gain financially on the deal, the company has contributed $787,000 to a political action committee backing Cruz's Senate reelection campaign against Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Collin Allred of Dallas. Michael Tijerina, a Collin County Democratic Party precinct chair, in a July 14 complaint filed with the Ethics Committee, accuses Cruz of violating federal law and Senate ethics rules by flouting earned income limits, a ban on receiving payments for appearances or speaking engagements, and financial disclosure requirements.

"Senator Cruz claims to volunteer his time to appear on the podcast," that complaint Tijerina says. "However, Senator Cruz seems to be receiving a 'thing of value' for his appearances — namely hundreds of thousands of funds to a super PAC supporting his re-election campaign." In a previous complaint filed by the Campaign Legal Center and End Citizens United, the groups similarly pointed to the syndication deal as a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act as iHeartMedia had made roughly $630,000 in payments to the super PAC, which then reported the payments as "digital revenue" or "digital income," as opposed to campaign contributions. Since the groups made a formal investigation request of the Federal Election Commission in April — which came after a previous investigation petition based on the same accusations was sent to the Senate Ethics Committee in late 2022 — Cruz's Truth and Courage PAC received an additional $156,000 payment from iHeartMedia in May. That brings the total disbursal to $787,000 since the syndication deal began. The prior complaint filed with the Ethics Committee pointed to specific legislation related to the Federal Communications Commission — for which iHeartMedia lobbied — that was introduced in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, a panel on which Cruz serves. The media conglomerate has said previously that the money in question is "associated with ad sales," directing further questions to the Truth and Courage PAC. At the time of the original complaint, a spokesperson for Cruz said the senator does not receive a financial benefit from his podcast being housed on the platform, likening the partnership to that of appearing on a cable or network news show. Cruz's office did not respond to an American-Statesman request for comment on the relationship with iHeartMedia or payments to the Truth and Courage PAC.

Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only

CrowdStrike warns of hacking threat as outage persists

The CrowdStrike glitch that caused outages for millions of users of Microsoft Windows devices last week continued to roil industries and snarl global air travel. Around 8.5 million devices were affected by the outage, CrowdStrike said in a statement, adding that it had brought a significant number back online. Warning customers that bad actors were trying to exploit the event, the company said it had identified a malicious file being sent around by hackers posing as a ‘quick fix’ to the problem. A file named “crowdstrike-hotfix.zip” was being distributed that included malware enabling hackers to remotely control or monitor a user’s device, CrowdStrike said in a blog post.

Shares of CrowdStrike dropped more than 13% Monday. The stock has lost nearly one-fourth of its value over the past two trading days following the outage. On Monday, Republican members of the Homeland Security Committee sent a letter to CrowdStrike Chief Executive George Kurtz, asking him to testify before lawmakers. They gave him a deadline of Wednesday evening to schedule a time to testify. “Protecting our critical infrastructure requires us to learn from this incident and ensure that it does not happen again,” the letter said, which was signed by Congressmen Mark Green of Tennessee and Andrew Garbarino of New York. CrowdStrike didn’t respond to requests for comment Monday. As companies and home users grappled with securing their tech, travelers faced a fourth day of flight snarls and long waits at U.S. airports, as airlines struggled to overcome disruptions caused by the outage. Delta Air Lines, one of the worst affected over the weekend, had canceled more than 600 flights by 7 a.m. ET, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. This past weekend was one of the worst for travel this year, with more than 7,000 U.S. flights canceled across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Around half of those cancellations were Delta flights. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said one of its crew tracking-related tools was affected by the outage and couldn’t process what it described as an unprecedented number of changes caused by the system shutdown. “Our teams have been working around the clock to recover and restore full functionality,” he said.

Read this article at Wall Street Journal - Subscribers Only

State Stories

Betting odds put Mark Cuban on Kamala Harris’ vice president shortlist

A lot has changed since billionaire businessman Mark Cuban last said he had “no plans to run” for the White House in March. With President Joe Biden’s sudden announcement Sunday afternoon that he would no longer seek reelection, a door has been left wide open for political hopefuls. One which, if the betting odds are to be trusted, says Cuban has a chance to become vice president. Current Vice President Kamala Harris is trying to cement herself as the Democrats’ top option for the presidency with some important players already showing support for the former California attorney general and U.S. senator. With her as a shoo-in for some within the Democrat Party, talks of the vice presidency have circled back around to Cuban, the prolific Dallas billionaire, former Dallas Mavericks owner, tech founder and serial entrepreneur.

Cuban, co-founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, is surrounded by some big names like North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as possible nominees for Harris’ vice presidency position, according to gambling company BetOnline and its sportsbook. Cuban did not respond to an interview request from The Dallas Morning News, an unusual move from the normally responsive billionaire. The former Dallas Mavericks owner and soon-to-be ex-Shark Tank host is the first non-politician listed on BetOnline’s betting odds, followed by Hollywood star George Clooney, reality television star Oprah Winfrey and former Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban. However, Cuban has in the past declined the opportunity to run for president. Most recently, in March he said he didn’t want to run because he wanted to spend more time around his children — the same reason why he’s leaving Shark Tank after Season 16 ends in 2025. “You know, my kids are 14, 17 and 20, Morgan. And that’s time I’m never going to get back,” Cuban told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan. “In this crazy world and how they treat families and how they treat the kids of people running — there’s just no way I’d put them through that. And you know when I’m 105, hopefully, on my deathbed, I’m not going to think back ‘I should have run for president.’ I’m gonna think back about all those memories I had with my kids while they were still in their teenage years.” Even before that, he told NBC News back in November 2023 that he had no interest in running for the presidency.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Texas delegates vote to endorse Kamala Harris ahead of DNC

Texas delegates to the Democratic National Convention voted overwhelmingly on a Monday night Zoom call to back Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s next nominee for president. The four states with the highest number of delegates — California, New York, Texas and Florida — all threw their weight behind Harris on Monday, securing a majority of all delegates nationwide and all but ensuring her status as the next Democratic nominee. Texas has 273 delegates up for grabs – the Texas call was a simple voice vote, so there was no final tally. It is nonbinding. “With her extensive experience, dedication to public service, and proven leadership, we believe Kamala Harris is uniquely qualified to defeat Donald Trump and lead our nation forward – championing the values and ideals that unite us as a country,” Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement after the call.

On the call, Hinojosa emphasized the election's stakes, pointing to the need to defeat Donald Trump and to continue chipping away at Texas Republicans’ turnout advantage in presidential election years, according to three people on the call. Hinojosa said Harris can help the party up and down the ballot, including by boosting Democratic enthusiasm for U.S. Rep. Colin Allred as he tries to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. “Biden gave us hope with the name Kamala Harris,” Hinojosa told the delegates on the call. “She will win this election but we all have to be united.” This comes after President Joe Biden’s surprise announcement to withdraw from the race on Sunday afternoon and throw his weight behind Harris. About two dozen Texas delegates joined him in endorsing her in public statements by the end of the day Monday, citing Harris’ experience and their loyalty to Biden. Harris raised more than $50 million in the immediate hours after Biden’s decision Sunday, and the president’s reelection campaign transferred nearly $100 million in other donations to her. The huge warchest, as well as Harris’ access to the Biden campaign infrastructure built up over the past four years, gives her a major advantage over any would-be Democratic challengers.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Hurricane Beryl killed at least 22 people in the Houston area. More than half were heat-related deaths.

Lisa Diane Cox stumbled out of her sweltering Meyerland apartment and told neighbors that “she was on fire, she said she was dying,” days after Hurricane Beryl knocked out the CenterPoint Energy lines that powered their homes. The next morning Cox lay limp beside her twin sister, her body ice cold. Alton Ambush, who lived next door, raced to perform CPR as the ambulance came. That night, rattled neighbors gathered on their front porches to escape their own ovenlike apartments. Article continues below this ad “We just lost a neighbor to the heat,” Stephanie Blaylock said, nodding toward a nearby porch strewn with colorful rag rugs, an empty water bottle and a half-drank red Gatorade. Hurricane Beryl claimed at least 22 lives in the Houston area. Recent additions to the list include 11 people who died from hyperthermia, or overheating, after sitting without power for days in homes pummeled by a feverish Texas summer. At the height of the outages, CenterPoint, Houston's main power distributor, had over 2.26 million customers with no electricity. When Cox died three days after the storm hit, over a million were still waiting on a fix.

Beryl’s official death toll will likely continue to climb, but experts said the final number is expected to have major gaps, especially among those found dead in powerless buildings with triple-digit temperatures. “The count of people dying from heat-related illness is underestimated,” said Dr. Sadeer Al-Kindi, a cardiologist at Houston Methodist who has researched environmental health. “Especially when people pass away at home. Even if you do an autopsy, there are no specific characteristics that you would find on an autopsy that would link to heat,” he said. Instead, high temperatures cause victims’ organs to fail faster, and medical examiners often list a person’s cause of death as the liver failure, kidney failure or heart attack they can see, rather than the hyperthermia they cannot. Though Houston officials have kept tabs on Beryl losses, any “natural deaths” not filed as heat-triggered remain uncounted. This seemed to be the case for Dorothy Mullan, a Museum District resident who was found dead July 16. She lived less than a five-minute drive from Houston’s world-class Texas Medical Center, whose electrical supply never faltered after the storm, but died in her sweltering apartment.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Buzbee lawsuit: Chris Brown, entourage beat men at Dickies Arena

R&B performer Chris Brown and at least seven members of his entourage early Sunday punched and stomped on four men in a Dickies Arena hallway after a concert in Fort Worth, according to a lawsuit the men have filed. Brown performed at the North Texas arena on Friday and Saturday nights during his “11:11” tour. After the second show, the men and about 40 women were invited backstage to Brown’s VIP area, according to the lawsuit filed on Monday in state district court in Harris County. Brown instructed all of the women to place their cellphones on a table, according to the lawsuit. The singer and his entourage left, closed a door and stationed a security guard in front of it. After about half an hour, Brown entered the VIP area.

Having grown tired of waiting, Larry Parker, Joseph Lewis, Charles Bush and Damarcus Powell were ready to leave, according to their lawsuit. Bush, 35, said he approached Brown to shake his hand and congratulate him on a good performance. “Good show, it’s been a while, but I’m glad to see you are doing well. It’s been a long time since I have seen you.” Bush said. Brown reportedly shook Bush’s hand and replied, “Hey, yeah it has been, and I appreciate it.” As Bush and his companions started to exit, a member of Brown’s entourage remarked to Brown, “Man, you don’t remember you two were beefing,” according to the plaintiffs’ account in the lawsuit. Brown then took a liquor cup and said, “Oh yeah, we were. What’s up, [expletive]? I don’t forget [expletive],” the lawsuit states. “Without any further discussion or any response by Bush, Brown then instructed his entourage to “[expletive] Plaintiff Bush up,” according to the plaintiffs’ account. Brown, members of his entourage and LiveNation, which marketed the concert, are among the defendants in the lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $50 million. Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee’s firm represents the plaintiffs. “Brown has several times been reported to be involved in incidents of violence and assault, beating men and women alike. ... Nonetheless, LiveNation shamelessly profits and promotes Brown’s The 11:11 Tour and brought Brown to Texas for financial gain,” according to the lawsuit.

Read this article at Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Subscribers Only

Could Entergy take over part of CenterPoint's service area in The Woodlands? These officials hope so

Residents of The Woodlands' Creekside Park neighborhood raised complaints about CenterPoint Energy long before Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the morning of July 8. On Thanksgiving Day in 2022, Creekside Park Village Association president Nancy Becker said residents lost power four times. Since then, Becker and the township worked to develop a better communication system with the electricity provider as dozens of residents complained about short bursts of lost power, power surges ruining appliances, and later, losing power for days during the May derecho. "We think we have (communication) in place, and then again, another incident shows just how broken the system is," Becker said.

After Beryl wiped out power in the neighborhood and the county, officials within The Woodlands Township's board of directors and Montgomery County are pushing to have Entergy Texas take over CenterPoint's service area in The Woodlands. Entergy Texas was not immediately available for comment. Up to 75 percent of Montgomery County residents lost power during Beryl. And while both Entergy and CenterPoint both took more than a week to restore power to residents, Entergy had more consistent and accurate communication, The Woodlands Township board director Brad Bailey said. "It's not always what you want to hear, but Entergy is very good at saying, 'We're going to be out there between the hours of such and such, but we can't give you a timeline that we're going to be putting up,'" Bailey said. "The first time (CenterPoint) showed up in Creekside just to do eyes on what they're dealing with was (July 12) at 5 p.m." CenterPoint had 75,000 outages in the county July 11 as Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough began pushing for more accurate updates from the electricity provider.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

'We were better prepared than ever': John Whitmire defends Houston preparations for Hurricane Beryl

Mayor John Whitmire and leaders of various first responder departments pushed back against claims that the city was unprepared for Hurricane Beryl, which hit Houston nearly two weeks ago as a Category 1 storm and left millions without power. Whitmire said he called Sunday’s news conference at the Office of Emergency Management building to address what he said were comments by Council Member Edward Pollard that lives could’ve been saved if the city had been better prepared. Whitmire said the comments were made in news stories honoring Russell Richardson, a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department who was found dead in a car submerged in floodwaters near City Hall. “I don't know if Councilman Pollard got us confused with CenterPoint and their preparation,” Whitmire said, referencing CenterPoint Energy, the Houston-area electric utility under fire for the widespread power outages. “We were better prepared than ever, and to claim otherwise, it's either dishonest or misinformed or both.”

Mary Benton, chief of communications for the mayor’s office, said after the news conference that Whitmire was referencing an ABC13 news story remembering Richardson. It included a clip of Pollard saying: “We were not fully mobilized. We were having our officers come in on the day of the storm, on the morning of the storm, putting those lives at risk.” Pollard said his comments in the ABC13 story weren't in response to questions about Richardson's death but rather about city preparations. In an email statement, Pollard said his heartfelt condolences go out to Richardson’s family. Pollard said he hasn’t cast blame on any individual and has the “utmost respect” for first responders. “It is deeply disheartening to see our city resort to a press conference aimed at smearing me politically. My comments were solely focused on the logistics of mobilizing our officers a day earlier to ensure their safety and readiness before Hurricane Beryl hit,” Pollard said.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Texas football coaches worry about NIL at high school level, but it might be inevitable

Baylor football coach Dave Aranda has seen NIL be “life-changing” for families at the college level. But he thinks it could hurt Texas high school athletics if the state adopts rules that are now prevalent around the country. Other coaches and the Texas High School Coaches Association agree with Aranda, but they think Texas will eventually allow high school athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness. “NIL in the college level has benefited families that are saying, ‘How are we going to make this payment, how are we going to keep the air conditioning on, how are we going to make it to next month,’ " Aranda said Monday at the THSCA’s 92nd annual convention and coaching school. “For me, the issue in not embracing NIL early on had nothing to do with players getting money, but it was with coaches having power and the ego game — ‘I bought and sold this person,’ and the transactional nature of it.”

“When you look into high school, I just worry about the lower it goes, we have grown-ups that struggle with power and struggle with ego,” Aranda said. “I’m concerned that the lower it goes, the more residual problems will show up.” Texas is among 12 states that don’t allow high school athletes to participate in some form of NIL, according to On3. Several elite athletes have transferred out of state to be able to earn NIL benefits. Last month, Florida amended rules to allow high school students to participate in NIL without losing their eligibility. South Dakota did the same thing starting July 1, On3 reported. “We feel like it is probably going to get here at some point. We are closer with the next session for sure,” THSCA executive director Joe Martin said. “That will be a big topic in the next session. It was a big topic this last session. We were very actively involved in that conversation and glad that NIL didn’t come.” In January 2023, Texas Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, a Southlake Republican, filed a bill that would allow high school athletes 18 years and older to receive compensation for NIL and that would allow eligible UIL athletes to obtain professional representation for NIL matters. The legislative session ended before it could be heard.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Sylvester Turner: Sheila Jackson Lee did not take no for an answer

Her colleagues called her the hardest-working member in Congress. The Houston Chronicle called her a “‘relentless’ flagbearer in House Democrats’ social justice push.” President Joe Biden called her “part of a long line of patriots who delivered the promise of America to all Americans.” Here at home, we called her, simply, “Sheila” — our friend and champion who was always on the front lines fighting for us. Sheila was everywhere. She was advising presidents and meeting with global leaders; hand-delivering air conditioners to families in some of Houston’s poorest and under-resourced communities; in Congress, channeling billions of federal dollars back to her district; at a constituent’s bedside, giving words of comfort to families who lost loved ones; at places of worship and events showcasing the global diversity of our city — the list goes on and on.

Sheila was relentless. President Biden, in remarks celebrating just one of Sheila’s crowning achievements – the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, said, “I learned a long time ago: When Sheila wants something, just say yes.” I can certainly vouch for that. The Congresswoman was notorious for going around the mayor’s office and calling the city directors directly for things she needed for her constituents. Several times I told her if she needed something, just to call me. That lasted but a minute; she was not to be denied. Sheila delivered. From Harvey to Winter Storm Uri, the congresswoman came to the Houston Emergency Center to get a status report on the impact of the storms and reached out to our federal partner for additional resources. Once the storms passed, she organized food and water distribution sites throughout her district. Not only did she organize them, but she was also out there working alongside the volunteers.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Texas House Democrats back Kamala Harris as VP secures support for presidential nomination

The 67-member Texas House Democratic Caucus on Monday joined a growing chorus of officials and political groups backing Kamala Harris for president, formally endorsing the vice president who emerged as the Democratic frontrunner to battle Republican Donald Trump soon after President Joe Biden said he would step aside Sunday. “Representing nearly 13 million Texans, the Texas House Democratic Caucus is one of the largest and most diverse in the nation," said the group's chairman, state Rep Trey Martinez Fischer, in a news release. "Our state and our caucus looks like America, and we stand ready to elect Kamala Harris as President of the United States and deliver for working families all across this nation. Let’s win this.” The announcement was part of a whirlwind two days for Harris, who swiftly won Biden's backing after he ended his reelection bid amid growing concern about his age and stamina despite having locked up the Democratic Party delegates needed to be nominated for a second term.

Harris on Sunday collected a broad swath of endorsements from national Democrats, even from some who were considered potential rivals for the nomination as pressure was mounting for Biden to pass the torch. On Monday, Harris won the coveted endorsement of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who remains in Congress representing part of San Francisco. A USA TODAY count of delegates shows the 59-year old Harris is more than 45% of the way to the 1,968 delegates needed to become the party's nominee in the first round of voting. There are 3,936 Democratic delegates in total, including former presidents, state and local party leaders, members of Congress and governors, but only about half get to vote in the first round. Tennessee was the first state to pledge all its eligible delegates to Harris on Sunday. South Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Florida followed behind. But several other state delegations have so far not committed to Harris, including three of the largest: California, New York and Texas. Texas is not expected to be in play in November, with Republicans continuing their unbroken domination of presidential election cycles beginning in 1980. However, the top of the ticket can play an outsized role in down-ballot races in a handful of swing districts in the 150-member state House.

Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only

Democrats challenge Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s access to Texas ballot

AUSTIN — Democrats seeking to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off the ballot in Texas say the independent presidential candidate’s campaign failed to submit the necessary number of petition signatures. Kennedy’s campaign was required to submit 113,151 valid signatures to appear on November’s ballot. It turned in more than double the needed signatures in May, saying the overabundance showed strong voter interest and volunteer support. A review by John Mott, the Texas Democratic Party’s voter protection director, used publicly available voter registration data and records provided by Secretary of State Jane Nelson’s office to determine that most signatures were invalid, according to Mott’s lawyer, Chad Dunn. “Based on these public records and no other information, it is clear that Mr. Kennedy’s petition signatures are insufficient in number to meet the requirements of state law,” Dunn told the secretary of state’s office in a letter shared exclusively with The Dallas Morning News.

Of nearly 248,000 signatures, Dunn said, the Democrats’ internal review of 245,000 signatures revealed 69% were invalid. “Consequently, even if the remaining 3,500 signatures we have yet to review were all valid (which given the nearly 70% failure rate so far is very unlikely), Mr. Kennedy has submitted approximately 37,000 fewer signatures than required by law,” Dunn wrote. “Mr. Kennedy has failed to submit the statutorily required number of signatures to qualify for the November 2024 General Election ballot, and his application must be rejected.” Kennedy’s campaign stood behind its ballot submission, saying the Texas signatures were “the most that any independent candidate has ever submitted.” “Our independent signature validation company thoroughly reviewed them and confirmed that we have more than enough to secure a place on the Texas ballot,” the campaign said in a written statement, adding that a Democratic challenge was defeated in North Carolina and “we ... look forward to doing the same in Texas.” The secretary of state’s office declined to comment.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Texas man who sexually abused toddler, took hidden-camera photos of minors gets 120 years

A Forney man was sentenced to 120 years in federal prison Thursday after molesting a toddler and using hidden cameras to take naked photos of preteens, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release. Leslie Michael Alt, 40, was indicted in September 2022 and pled guilty in September 2023 to two counts of production of child pornography and three counts of transportation of child pornography. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ada Brown. Alt’s attorney declined to comment Monday.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Mother facing countersuit brought by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gives emotional testimony

While being peppered with questions at trial, the mother of a woman facing a countersuit brought by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave tearful testimony describing her relationship with the billionaire and their settlement negotiations aimed at concealing their alleged child. Cynthia Davis testified Monday she felt “very desperate” as the terms of the 1998 settlement agreement at the heart of the trial were deliberated. She said she felt powerless against Jones, even after retaining a New York City attorney to represent her, and would have signed “anything they put in front of me.” Davis, who said she met Jones while working at an American Airlines ticket counter at the Little Rock, Ark., airport, testified she grew to regret agreeing to the terms. The agreement, which barred Davis and her daughter from “suing or supporting any suit” to establish paternity in exchange for millions into Alexandra’s adulthood, was good for her financially, Cynthia Davis said. But it did not account for her daughter’s desire to have a relationship with her father later in life, she said from the stand.

“Sometimes I hate him, but I don’t really hate him,” Cynthia Davis said of Jones. She said Jones has kept his distance from Alexandra Davis, 27, who was a baby when the settlement was executed. Jones has repeatedly denied he is the father and denied the allegations brought against him in court. He is suing for $1.6 million in attorneys’ fees he spent defending himself against Alexandra Davis’ lawsuits. The trial, centered on whether Alexandra Davis and her mother breached the settlement’s terms of confidentially, moved through opening statements and Cynthia Davis’ testimony Monday. A number of other witnesses, including Jones, are slated to testify by the trial’s end, court records show. Jones sat with his back to the Davises throughout the day, intermittently chatting with his legal team. At one point during questioning, when the older Davis became emotional, Judge Robert W. Schroeder III called for a recess and asked the jury to exit the courtroom. Cynthia Davis stepped down from the witness stand and embraced Jones in a hug. She then appeared to call Alexandra Davis over, but the younger Davis refused.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

2 months later, storm-battered North Texas community still lives among the wreckage

The thin roads to Frf Estates hem a patchwork of neatly arranged plots throughout southern Cooke County, where open fields of grain and oilseeds surround the few residential areas. But on a hot June day, nearly two months after snarling winds tore through the rural community, twisted sheets of metal still dot the land. Combine operators harvesting crops frequently stop so workers can jump out and clear debris from their path. Residents have moved some rubble too large to remove without help to the neighborhood’s roadsides. Many homes bear visible damage. Some are missing altogether. With months and perhaps years of rebuilding ahead, the community first moved to build anew alongside nearby Lone Oak Road: a large steel cross meant to memorialize the seven people killed, including two children, that Memorial Day weekend after the storms touched down.

People who live along and frequent this stretch of Cooke County, including those in the city of Valley View, are still recovering from the evening of May 25, when high-wind storms and tornadoes blew through the area, damaging hundreds of structures and upending many lives. Many signs of the storm remain. Though the cleanup and recovery are far from over, officials say, the full scope of the damage has come into focus. Nearly 140 homes were destroyed, with more than 200 others reported as having “major” damage, said Fletcher, citing state damage survey data. But residents say some things have changed in the weeks since the storms. Valley View’s John Fortenberry Community Center, which had been central to the area’s rapid distribution of resources in the days after the storms hit, has resumed its normal operations. Things are quieter, with fewer outsiders passing through to gawk and record the devastation. The frequent visits of work trucks with roaring engines have decreased as repairs have been completed.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

National Stories

Secret Service director infuriates lawmakers with vague answers on Trump shooting

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle utterly failed Monday to reassure lawmakers that she was still the best person for the job after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, instead prompting members from both parties to call for her resignation in real time. During the nearly five-hour long hearing in front of the Oversight Committee, members of the typically polarized committee united in questioning how Cheatle could remain on the job and lambasted her for evading inquiries — on everything from the failures that preceded the Trump rally shooting to general questions about the impact of gun violence. It was a particularly rare note of agreement for a panel that has openly and bitterly fought over a broad impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden, and a bad sign for Cheatle’s hopes of hanging on.

“This committee is not known for ... its model of bipartisanship, but I think today we came together unanimously in our disappointment in your lack of answers,” Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) told Cheatle. Cheatle’s position seemed to deteriorate as the hearing went on and the number of lawmakers piling on her for non-answers and shrugs began to climb. Democrats were equally frustrated. Progressive Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) told Cheatle that she didn’t believe “any of our concerns have been addressed today, and what little we’ve learned has not inspired much confidence.” And in a potential precursor of more calls to come, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the panel, and a handful of other Democrats joined widespread GOP calls for Cheatle to resign. Both Comer and Raskin sent a letter to Cheatle officially demanding that she step aside after the hearing concluded. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), one of the Democrats who called on her to resign, compared Cheatle’s performance on Monday to an unrelated hearing earlier this year with three university presidents, two of whom subsequently resigned.

Read this article at Politico - Subscribers Only

Democratic VP contender Josh Shapiro made his name battling Trump in court as Pennsylvania AG

Former President Donald Trump could be about to face off against a familiar foe he sparred with when he was in office: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Shapiro, now considered a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, built his national profile when he was the commonwealth's attorney general, filing challenges to Trump policies and battling his efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results. Shapiro’s battles with Trump “were a huge part of raising his profile and cementing a real track record on a lot of important issues,” said J.J. Abbott, who at the time was a spokesman for then-Gov. Tom Wolf.

Just days after he took office in 2017, Shapiro was part of the coalition of state attorneys general who opposed Trump's proposed travel ban on people entering the country from Muslim-majority countries. And as Trump left office four years later, Shapiro was heavily involved in efforts to push back against the many lawsuits questioning Biden's victory, including in Pennsylvania itself. “We did a lot of work together on a lot of different cases,” Brian Frosh, a Democrat who was Maryland’s attorney general at the time, said of Shapiro. “He’s very smart, very capable. He’s hard-working. He’s willing to take risks.” When he ran for governor in 2022, "a big part of Shapiro’s appeal to voters was that he had taken on Trump and election deniers," Frosh added. Shapiro's Republican opponent, Doug Mastriano, was himself an election denier who had traveled to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Read this article at NBC News - Subscribers Only

Confectioners lobby up for sugar program showdown

The ?National Confectioners Association hired NVG to lobby on changes to sugar policy, one of the food and agriculture issues in the farm bill. The confectioners have pushed to reform the sugar program, which maintains a minimum sugar price and restricts imports, which they say benefits a few wealthy sugar producers at the expense of businesses and consumers that use the sugar. Irene Bueno, who served as special assistant to the president in the White House Chief of Staff’s Office and Domestic Policy Council during the Clinton administration, will work on the account. The Business Roundtable, a trade association representing CEOs from some of the country’s biggest companies, hired PhronesisDC to lobby on issues related to tax and privacy legislation. The Business Roundtable has been positioning itself to play a key role as Congress weighs what happens to expiring provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, former President Trump’s signature tax bill. Trump floated further cuts to the corporate tax rate during an event hosted by the trade association last month.

Brendan ?Dunn, former policy adviser and counsel to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will work on the account. Rich Feuer Anderson registered to lobby on a new rule proposed last month by the government’s consumer protection agency on behalf of the ?Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposal would “limit the circumstances under which consumer reporting agencies are permitted to furnish medical debt information to creditors in connection with credit eligibility determinations.” One of the lobbyists on the account is Jared ?Sawyer, former deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury Department, senior counsel for the Senate Banking Committee and professional staffer for the House Financial Services Committee. AT&T has hired Origin Advocacy to “provide strategic advice and guidance on issues related to wireless spectrum.” The lobbyist on the account is Sean ?McLean, former White House liaison at the Commerce Department and legislative director for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the telecommunications industry.

Read this article at The Hill - Subscribers Only

The internet has entered its Kamala Harris ‘coconut tree’ era

Democrats may soon nominate a presidential candidate capable of rivaling GOP nominee Donald Trump in memeability. After President Joe Biden announced his decision to forfeit re-election, a tidal wave of memes about Vice President Kamala Harris — whom Biden backed as the Democratic presidential candidate — flooded the internet. On platforms like TikTok and X, the mood felt celebratory as many left-leaning accounts posted upbeat fan edits of Harris and made memes out of her more memorable lines from speeches. On Sunday, British pop artist Charli XCX appeared to back Harris, calling her a “brat,” a reference to her new album, which has become the Gen Z theme of the summer.

Some political strategists say the memes are helping Harris generate a level of organic social media clout among Gen Z that Biden has struggled to cultivate, amplified by the spotlight of a possible presidential nomination. “She doesn’t take herself too seriously. She knows how to have fun, and she’s somebody that is willing to be a little bit less stuffy than a traditional presidential candidate would be, and I think that’s a good thing in this election cycle,” said Marianna Pecora, the communications director for the Gen Z-run political advocacy group Voters of Tomorrow. But Pecora said the viral moments aren’t just for laughs — they also indicate broader support for Harris, particularly among young people who have at times felt disenchanted by presidential candidates.“I don’t think that anyone is going to necessarily meme their way to the presidency,” said Pecora, 20, a student at George Washington University. “But I do think that being able to make this election something bright and fun and exciting and something that’s infiltrating people’s feeds and therefore their everyday lives is only a good thing.” Part of Harris’ frequent virality comes from her tendency to show off her seemingly authentic personality online. It’s why many of her vocal online supporters — who call themselves the KHive — have staunchly defended her since her first presidential run in 2020.

Read this article at NBC News - Subscribers Only

Biden’s exit positions Doug Emhoff to become the first Jewish White House spouse

Joe Biden’s decision to end his presidential campaign and endorse Kamala Harris could make American Jewish history: If Harris is nominated and wins, her husband Doug Emhoff would be the first Jewish spouse in the White House. A Harris victory, of course, would make her the first woman president. It would make Emhoff the inaugural first gentleman. He’s embraced being second gentleman and has been a visible presence in Harris’ campaigns. Since he came into the role in 2021, Emhoff has especially leaned into his position’s Jewish aspects, from lighting a menorah in the official residence to focusing on antisemitism and Holocaust remembrance. “I didn’t realize what a big deal it would be not only to the Jewish community and to faith communities but to myself,” Emhoff said in 2022. “It’s actually driven me closer to faith. It has opened my eyes to a lot of things.”

The spouse of the president takes an even more prominent place in the public eye and is expected to choose a set of issues to focus on. Jill Biden has focused on education and health care as well as bringing Americans together. Donald Trump, who is running for another term, also has a Jewish immediate family member, his daughter Ivanka, who served as an adviser during his administration. As second gentleman, Emhoff has been at the front and center of the Biden administration’s efforts to fight antisemitism, including the unveiling of its national plan on the issue last year. In 2022, he chaired a roundtable of Jewish organizations to discuss rising antisemitism, which has spiked further in the months since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, according to watchdogs. In April, he co-chaired a meeting of Jewish leaders to discuss Biden’s support for Israel in the war. In 2023, Emhoff took a five-day working trip to Holocaust and Jewish heritage sites in Germany and Poland along with Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s antisemitism envoy. They visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, met with Holocaust survivors and Jewish leaders, and toured Emhoff’s ancestral village in Poland, Gorlice. Emhoff called the conversation with survivors a “real emotional and intense way to finish the trip.” Last year, Emhoff’s guest at Biden’s State of the Union address was Ruth Cohen, a Holocaust survivor, then 92, from the Washington, D.C. area. This year, he spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the site of the worst antisemitic attack in American history.

Read this article at Jerusalem Post - Subscribers Only

Delta cancels 800 more flights as it struggles to recover from tech outage

Delta Air Lines canceled more than 800 flights Monday as it struggled to recover from a global tech outage that rippled through the global economy four days earlier, even while other airlines and some major health-care organizations largely returned to normal. The Atlanta-based carrier had already scuttled hundreds of flights after a software update Friday knocked out computer systems worldwide, sparking widespread disruptions at airports, hospitals and an array of other businesses. On Sunday alone, Delta recorded more than 1,300 cancellations and about 1,600 delays, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. The technical issues stem from an update issued for systems that run on Microsoft Windows by the security firm CrowdStrike, whose software is widely used by businesses seeking to defend themselves against hackers. The problems Friday affected only computers using the Windows operating system,

Read this article at Washington Post - Subscribers Only

America’s 60-year-olds are staring at financial peril

Shauna Sharpes doesn’t travel and grows much of her own food at her home in western Washington state. The payroll manager for a local Native American tribal authority has meager savings and expects she will have to keep working for at least the next decade. Part of her challenge: She turned 60 in January, putting her at the tail end of a baby boom generation that is hurtling toward retirement age in uncertainty. Born in a midcentury, postwar America brimming with promise, many of the youngest boomers are still sporting financial bruises from the 2007-09 recession and the nation’s steady shift away from guaranteed pensions. “The most important things for me right now are a place to live indoors, water and food,” said Sharpes, who has about $3,000 in her retirement accounts. “And thinking about how I’m going to provide that for myself from now until I drop dead.”

By the end of this year, the youngest baby boomers will all turn 60. The birth dates of those in this generation—around 70 million strong, or one in five Americans—cover a 19-year span stretching from the aftermath of World War II to 1964, the year the Beatles made their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. Older Americans—including young boomers with retirement accounts powered by a booming stock market—remain a major force in the economy. Those 55 and up control nearly 70% of U.S. household wealth, Federal Reserve data show. But that age group also includes older adults with little if any retirement funds socked away, or only Social Security to lean on, who are facing golden years laden with risk. For millions of younger boomers, who could live at least two more decades, a lost job or expensive medical problem could upend their stability while ramping up pressure on younger generations. The baby-boom generation’s long span means the youngest boomers hit major life events at different times than their elders. Their midcareer years, when earnings typically start to peak, got upended by the 2007-09 financial shock, according to retirement experts. Younger boomers without traditional pensions had to shoulder more investment risk while saving for retirement. There is also a greater share of nonwhite young boomers who are more likely to lack retirement accounts. About a third of younger boomer households lacked retirement benefits beyond Social Security in 2022, the most recent year available, according to a closely watched Federal Reserve tool called the Survey of Consumer Finances. When the older boomers were roughly the same age, a smaller amount—one quarter—were missing these retirement benefits.

Read this article at Wall Street Journal - Subscribers Only

Biden was losing Asian American voters. Will they support Harris?

Swati Joshi, a 60-year-old Democratic voter in Dallas, says she’d love to have a president who shares a name with her grandmother: Kamala. As voters take in President Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race on Sunday, Joshi is part of a growing Asian American electorate that is now looking ahead to what a Kamala Harris presidency would mean for the country — and for them. Joshi, who is Indian American, said she is throwing all her support behind Harris and hopes the country is on the precipice of a historic first. “I think it’s a giant step for not only women, but also South Asians,” she said. Asian American voters say they’re excited about the possibility of seeing someone who shares their background lead the country. But they have some reservations too. Before he dropped out, Biden was slipping among Asian American voters: From 2020 to 2024, he lost 8 points in that demographic.

Questions remain about how Harris will perform given low popularity ratings, if donors who had given up on Biden will come back around to fund her campaign and if she can bring in Black and Latino voters, which Biden was also bleeding. If Harris becomes the Democratic nominee, she will be the first Black woman and the first South Asian American to lead a major party’s presidential ticket. And if she’s elected, Harris would be the first woman, the first South Asian American and the first Black woman to hold the nation’s highest office. Others still wonder if the U.S. is ready to elect a woman of color to the White House. With Biden’s allies now rallying around her and major Asian American groups lending her their endorsement, experts say the nomination “is hers to lose.”

Read this article at NBC News - Subscribers Only

JD Vance repeatedly indicated in 2016 that he believed Donald Trump had committed sexual assault

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, repeatedly indicated in 2016 that he believed Donald Trump had committed sexual assault, even suggesting in one TV segment that in a “he said, she said” situation Trump was less credible than one of his accusers. Vance appeared on a MSNBC segment in October 2016 on Trump’s alleged sexual misconduct in which an interview with Jessica Leeds, a former salesperson who accused Trump of groping and forcibly kissing her during a flight in the 1970s, was played. Vance said it was hard to believe Trump’s denials over Leeds. “At a fundamental level, this is sort of a ‘he said, she said,’ right? And at the end of the day, do you believe Donald Trump, who always tells the truth? Just kidding,” said Vance sarcastically. “Or do you believe that woman on that tape?” he said, referring to Leeds.

But by May 2023, in a sign of his shift on Trump from open critic to fiercely loyal surrogate, Vance’s position changed entirely while invoking similar language: Vance said he believed his “friend” Trump, just after the former president was found liable by a jury for sexual abuse against author E. Jean Carroll. “I think fundamentally the lawsuit is about something that happened 25 years ago. It’s a ‘he said, she said’ situation. And I trust my friend and the guy that I’ve known and gotten to know,” the Ohio Republican told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, about six months after winning his US Senate race with Trump’s endorsement. Vance then suggested that the lawsuit, and the people funding it, was not about justice but about politics. “They are trying to take him down for political reasons. That, to me, is not about justice, that’s not about discovering the truth. That’s about using the legal system instead of the political system to win a debate against Donald Trump.”

Read this article at CNN - Subscribers Only

Lead Stories

Inside Biden's historic decision to drop out of the 2024 race and endorse VP Harris

Surrounded by a handful of trusted advisers and first lady Jill Biden at his vacation home on the Delaware coast Saturday evening, President Joe Biden reflected on a political career that spanned more than half a century and began to conclude that it would reach its end earlier than planned, according to people familiar with his decision. Isolated, frustrated and angry, he felt betrayed by allies who turned on him in his hour of need. “He’s really pissed off,” said a person in touch with Biden’s inner circle. Mad as he was — and still is — Biden came grudgingly to accept that he could not sustain his campaign with poll numbers slipping, donors fleeing and party luminaries pushing him to exit. He may have been slower than other Democratic insiders to make that calculation, but he fully understood it by Saturday night.

In separate phone calls Sunday, Biden told his vice president, Kamala Harris, his White House chief of staff, Jeff Zients, and his campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, that he would abandon his re-election bid. The fact that he had to inform them in such a manner underscored the degree to which his circle had tightened in recent days to family members and a few longtime aides and advisers — Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Anthony Bernal and Annie Tomasini. The outcome may not have surprised White House and campaign officials, but the timing did. Most found out, along with the rest of the world, when Biden published his post on X. The same was true for Democratic National Committee officials and state party chairs. Senior Biden aides scrambled to set up separate meetings to talk to staff members for the White House and the campaign, reassuring the political aides that their jobs were safe. As it always is, the end was abrupt. But it came after a hellish 25-day stretch sparked by the most disastrous debate performance in modern American political history on June 27. Biden failed to reassure fellow Democrats — or enough of them — in follow-up public appearances. Major donors cut off money to his campaign and the party. In drip-drip-drip fashion, elected officials started to call for him to drop his bid. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, the godmother of the Democratic Party, said he still had a decision to make — after he insisted he had chosen to stay in the race.

Read this article at NBC News - Subscribers Only

Texas Democrats, worried about down-ballot races, feeling better after Biden’s decision

President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee for the White House had many Texas Democrats feeling better about the top of the ticket’s influence on down-ballot races. Before Biden’s decision, Democrats inside and outside Texas were worried headwinds caused by his poor debate performance in June would drag down Democratic candidates who are sharing the ballot with him in November. Biden’s withdrawal not only allayed those concerns, it renewed hope for some Texas Democrats that former President Donald Trump can be defeated in November. “This is the right move for the Democratic Party,” said Rowlett state Rep. Rhetta Andrews Bowers, who will serve as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. “If we all get behind Vice President Harris, we will win.”

Democratic strategist Matt Angle also looked forward to a Harris presidential campaign. “We now have clarity,” Angle said. “You’re going to have people lock in behind Kamala Harris very quickly, and the contrast could not be more stark and cannot be more favorable to Democrats. “You’ve got a capable and vibrant and youthful Kamala Harris running against a broke-down and destructive threat to democracy in Donald Trump, and that’s going to help every Democrat on the ballot, regardless of what position you hold,” Angle said. An overwhelming Trump victory in Texas could cost Texas Democrats numerous critical races. In the state’s marquee race, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Though Allred is running on his own merit and has rarely mentioned Biden, a flood of Trump voters and a depressed Democratic turnout would benefit Cruz. Allred, making his first run for statewide office, realized from the start that he needed to outperform Biden to beat Cruz. His campaign aides hope Cruz underperforms compared with Trump, giving the challenger an opening. In 2016 Cruz beat Beto O’Rourke by 2.6 percentage points. A new nominee removed Biden as a talking point for Republicans. A wipeout of Biden also would have put Democrats in legislative and judicial races at risk of losing. State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, who in 2022 became the first Democrat to win a Collin County-based House seat in 30 years, is seeking reelection in a newly drawn district that leans Democratic but can be susceptible to a GOP surge. Plesa is running for a second term against Republican Steven Kinard. Elsewhere, problems at the top of the ticket could thwart Democratic efforts to flip Republican legislative seats, even in deep-blue Dallas County. Democrat Averie Bishop is running against Republican Rep. Angie Chen Button, and Democrat Elizabeth Ginsberg is challenging Republican Rep. Morgan Meyer. The Legislature redrew those Dallas County districts in 2021 to make them more favorable to Republican candidates. Still, those areas have been trending toward Democrats for several election cycles and could become competitive. A Trump surge could assure victory for Button and Meyer.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

A stock-market rotation of historic proportions is taking shape

The stock market has suddenly turned upside down. The market’s laggards have sprung to life in recent days, while the seemingly impervious “Magnificent Seven” group of technology stocks has stumbled. Investors are even more focused than usual on corporate earnings as they try to anticipate what comes next. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks beat the S&P 500 over the seven days through Wednesday by the largest margin during a period of that length in data going back to 1986, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Russell 1000 Value index, meanwhile, notched its biggest lead over its growth-stock counterpart since April 2001, after the dot-com bubble burst.

Few investors saw the shift coming, and many are puzzled by what is behind it: Changing forecasts for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts? Expectations that Donald Trump will return to the White House? A technology trade that grew precariously crowded? President Biden’s announcement Sunday that he wouldn’t seek re-election augmented the uncertainty and promised to refocus market attention on the presidential campaign. Now, investors are scrambling to determine whether the reordering of winners and losers is a mere blip in an era of tech ascendancy—or if a sustainable shift is in fact under way. “That’s what everybody is trying to answer,” said Raheel Siddiqui, senior investment strategist at Neuberger Berman. The small-cap index rose 1.7% this past week, extending its 2024 advance to 7.8%, while the S&P 500 dropped 2%, trimming its gains to 15%. As the Fed continued raising rates to tame inflation in 2023 and kept them elevated so far this year, investors rushed for the safety of mega-size companies that they bet could withstand economic uncertainty. Some of those same companies were primed to capitalize on potentially transformative advances in artificial intelligence.

Read this article at Wall Street Journal - Subscribers Only

GOP eyes legal challenges as Harris assumes control of Biden’s war chest

As President Biden bowed out of the presidential race Sunday and endorsed Vice President Harris to be the Democratic Party’s nominee, he immediately dashed off a social media post asking his backers to show their support by giving to the Biden-Harris campaign committee. “If you’re with us, donate to her campaign here,” he wrote, posting a link to an ActBlue page accepting contributions for the Biden for President campaign. But as Biden tries to hand over the committee’s millions in remaining cash to Harris, Republican lawyers and operatives are saying “not so fast.” For weeks, Democratic lawyers and operatives — who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party deliberations — had argued that elevating Harris to be the Democratic nominee was the easiest solution for the party.

Rather than encouraging an array of candidates to compete in an open convention and setting off a scramble for financial support, they reasoned that anointing Harris would prevent a lot of legal headaches because her name is already on the paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission that organized the Biden campaign committee. Within hours of Biden announcing his decision, the committee tried to make the handoff to Harris official — submitting an amended filing to the FEC changing its name to “Harris for President.” Several campaign finance lawyers aligned with Republicans argue that the campaign does not have legal authority to do that — and that the maneuver is all but certain to be challenged before the FEC or in a court of law. Charlie Spies, a prominent GOP campaign finance lawyer, said that both Biden and Harris would have to have been officially nominated by the Democratic Party at its convention next month before any kind of handoff could occur. In that situation, he noted, a provision in campaign finance law allows a vice-presidential nominee to take control of the campaign’s depository if the presidential nominee withdraws. “Biden can’t transfer his money to Harris because it was raised under his own name, and there is no legal mechanism for it to have been raised jointly with Harris before they were their party’s nominees,” said Spies, who advised the Republican National Committee before stepping down from that role earlier this year.

Read this article at Washington Post - Subscribers Only

State Stories

Austin Rep. Lloyd Doggett's first call for Biden to withdraw sparked a national movement

The lonely cry from U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, earlier this month for President Joe Biden to step aside mushroomed into a national movement that ended with the Democratic incumbent ending his presidential reelection campaign with a Sunday morning bombshell. Doggett, Texas' most senior member of Congress, brought with his July 2 call the gravitas of a 50-year political career that closely mirrors that of the beleaguered president's. A liberal but not a congressional bomb-thrower, Doggett praised Biden's first-term achievements but mixed in a withering assessment of the president's disastrous debate performance a week earlier. In the moments after Biden's announcement reverberated across the political landscape Sunday, Doggett praised the president's decision, calling it "selfless." "Once again President Biden comes through for America, putting country over ego in a way that Donald Trump never could," the 29-year congressional veteran said in a statement first posted on social media. "Now we must move forward to offer a nominee who can win over disaffected voters and energize Democrats.

"When I respectfully called for President Biden to step aside almost three weeks ago, I recognized that this would be a painful and difficult decision, not unlike that faced long ago under different circumstances by President Lyndon B. Johnson." With his announcement, Biden became the first president eligible to seek reelection to forgo a run since Johnson stood down in 1968. The announcement also spells the end of a planned fundraiser in Austin on Saturday, an organizer who is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter confirmed to the American-Statesman. The 36th president's daughters praised Biden for his "selfless service" to the nation. "President Biden, you are a patriot without peer," Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Johnson Robb posted on the LBJ Foundation's social media platforms. "Once more you have given all a person can for our country. As the daughters of another president who gave his all for America, we are so proud of you again as we always have been." The implications of Biden's decision could be a game changer in Texas heading into the final months of a spirited election cycle. The state has been solidly Republican for decades, but incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is facing a well-funded challenge from U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, who needs a united party behind him for any chance to be competitive in the Nov. 5 election.

Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only

Texas politicians react to end of Biden's reelection bid: 'A stunning act of patriotism'

Just two days after his campaign chair insisted the president was staying in the race, Joe Biden stunned the country with an announcement Sunday that he would end his 2024 reelection campaign and endorseVice President Kamala Harris as his replacement at the top of the ticket. Politicos and elected officials in Texas stopped in their tracks to weigh in on the announcement, which came less than a month after Biden's disastrous performance in a debate against former President Donald Trump ignited speculation about whether he could win the election and serve four more years. After the June 27 debate, Democratic pundits and politicians began calling on Biden to desist. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin, who on July 2 led the charge among Congressional Democrats in urging Biden to step aside, joined many others — including members who had not publicly called for Biden's ouster — in expressing gratitude to the incumbent.

The decision also set off what is likely to be several days or weeks of breathless speculation about who will be selected as the Democratic nominee at the party's national convention next month in Chicago — and how that process will work. State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, was ecstatic Sunday about Biden's endorsement of Harris, who could become the first Black or Asian woman to be nominated by a major political party for president. She said Biden has had "an incredibly successful presidency" but that his withdrawal from the race represents the party "harvest(ing) an opportunity from what was a deep concern." "I'm a delegate to the convention, and I feel super invigorated," Eckhardt told the American-Statesman in a phone interview Sunday afternoon. "I feel like, 'Wow, I am going to be part of history.' … I'm really enthusiastic about going to Chicago now.'" But not all state Democrats were excited by the news. "Some folks really treated @JoeBiden the @POTUS like dirt & turned on him after all he and @VP did," Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, wrote in a post on X Sunday afternoon. "Stabilizing economy. Record jobs. Of course we still have issues to tackle but the record of accomplishment is uncontested. May Jesus Christ bless you, Mr. President."

Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott calls on Joe Biden to resign

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on President Joe Biden to resign after announcing an end to his 2024 presidential bid. Biden on Sunday announced in a statement that he was no longer seeking reelection. He has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. The announcement came after weeks of multiplying calls within his own party for Biden to exit the presidential race following a debate performance that raised questions about his age, fitness and electability. Biden said that his exit from the race was in “in the best interest of my party” and that he would continue to serve in the White House for the remainder of his term.

But Abbott, a Republican who has endorsed former President Donald Trump, on Sunday said that Biden should leave the oval office “immediately.” “If Biden is unfit to run FOR the presidency, he is unfit to run THE presidency,” Abbott said in a post on X, previously called Twitter. “American security is at risk both at home and abroad. A change in the oval office is essential — immediately — to ensure the safety of Americans and the security of our country.” Abbott was among several Texas Republicans calling on Biden to resign. A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately return a request for comment.

Read this article at Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Subscribers Only

Local Dems, LGBTQ organizations back Harris for president

In the wake of President Joe Biden’s announcement earlier today that he is dropping out of the 2024 race for president and a separate statement in which Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee for president, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas’ District 30, and Democratic National Committee Member-elect Jeff Strater have both said they support Harris for president. Crockett has steadfastly supported Biden despite calls from prominent Democratic leaders in the last three weeks for Biden to withdraw from the race. And a coalition of district delegates to the Democratic National Committee — including Strater — issued a statement last week reiterating their own support for Biden and committing to vote for him at the upcoming Democratic LPAC National Convention,

Strater told Dallas Voice today that he supports Harris, adding, “Today marks the end of an era for our country, the Democratic Party and the LGBTQ community. President Biden’s leadership has guided us through unprecedented challenges, from revitalizing our economy to championing equality and justice for all Americans. His dedication to public service is unmatched “Now, as we look ahead, I fully support Vice President Kamala Harris for president,” Strater added. “It’s time for us to rally together and continue the progress we’ve made under Biden’s administration.”

Read this article at Dallas Voice - Subscribers Only

After Beryl, Houstonians rush to rescue injured and abandoned wildlife left by the storm

On the morning Hurricane Beryl hit, just hours after the storm began blasting through the Houston area, Brooke Yahney drove through a torrential downpour and shuddering winds to feed animals in need. As director of wildlife at the Houston SPCA, she knew it would not be a regular work day. She was right. It would be 8:30 p.m. before she finally left, after the organization had taken in hundreds of raptors, egrets, opossums and squirrels. Almost immediately after Beryl tore through Houston, leaving a path of torn-up trees and battered homes and more than 2 million homes and businesses without power, the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals faced a day-long line of Houstonians with injured wildlife at its center just north of Memorial Park. The storm had knocked hundreds of baby birds from their nests, separated week-old opossums from their mothers and destroyed the habitat of many others.

Normally, the intake at the SPCA is about 40 to 50 animals a day. A day after the day after the storm, that figure surpassed 700. By week’s end, some 1,800 animals had come through the doors. More than a week later, Yahney and others still are caring for hundreds of animals. “We were moving so fast,” Yahney said. “It was hard to really think about it, but we’d take an animal in, triage to see what it needed, settle it down and then repeat.” Extreme weather, such Hurricane Beryl, can have an immense impact on wildlife in the Houston area, according to the National Wildlife Federation. Hurricanes destroy coastal and green habitats, displace wildlife and increase human and animal conflict. Usually, wildlife is able to bounce back from drought, flooding or storms. However, as hurricanes and other extreme weather events become more intense or frequent due to climate change, increased habitat destruction and displacement could leave wildlife struggling to rebound.

Read this article at Houston Landing - Subscribers Only

Texas’ plantation prisons: Inside a 200-year history of forced labor shrouded in secrecy

Over the next decade, Texas amassed 139,000 acres for prison farms. More than 50,000 acres were purchased from ex-slaveholders who had become convict-leasing profiteers. The state would develop new prison units on these lands to run its own agricultural operations with captive labor. Most of these plantation prisons sprawled across what was known as the “Sugar Bowl District,” the same southeastern counties, including Fort Bend and Brazoria, where most enslaved Texans had been exploited before emancipation. Today, 24 Texas prison units still have agribusiness operations. Nine are located on former plantations. Incarcerated workers harvest many of the same crops that slaves and later convict laborers did from 1871 to 1910. Like the previous owners, the Texas prison system still compels captive people to work its fields without pay. Guards on horseback monitor those who labor under the sun in fields of cotton and other crops. Texas prisons were finally fully racially desegregated in 1991, but Black Texans still account for one-third of the incarcerated—nearly triple their portion of the general population. Texas is one of only seven U.S. states that pay incarcerated workers nothing. Meanwhile, those incarcerated must pay for many essential items in the commissary. Their unpaid work is mandatory, a practice sanctioned by the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”

This prison system of forced work is something of a black box. With free-world labor regulations inapplicable, it’s easy for the state to conceal work-related injuries and even deaths, leaving concerned citizens and journalists to cobble together information from inmate letters, lawsuits, and scant medical documentation. Shockingly, the Texas Legislature required far greater disclosure of work conditions, injuries, deaths, and punishments on prison farms during convict leasing and in the three decades after it was abolished than it does today. To uncover this, the Texas Observer spent months comparing thousands of pages of archived reports and testimonies from the late 1800s to the 1940s to contemporary court filings, state documents, and interviews with incarcerated workers. After 1946, the prison system’s formerly detailed reports to the Lege abruptly excluded information about work-related injuries and deaths, around the time that Oscar B. Ellis took over as general manager of the system. Ellis served in that role from 1948 to 1961. Historian Robert Perkinson, author of Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, said Ellis and his successor George Beto, the system director from 1961 to 1971, modernized prisons but demanded high levels of production from incarcerated workers under threat of punishment. Beto boosted profits under reforms that required state agencies to buy prison-made goods. Seeking to further their political careers, they diminished the annual reports to little more than “public relations materials,” boasting of the prison system’s agricultural and industrial output without mentioning its workers, Perkinson told the Observer.

Read this article at Texas Observer - Subscribers Only

Escobar endorses Kamala Harris; other El Paso leaders react to Biden leaving presidential race

El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, one of the national co-chairs of President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden ended his re-election candidacy Sunday. “It’s time to unite & rally behind @KamalaHarris. She, too, earned 14 million votes in the primary, & will lead the fight for our freedoms against Trump’s Project 2025 that seeks (to) end our democracy,” Escobar said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.. After several weeks of pressure from fellow Democrats following a disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump, Biden announced Sunday that he would no longer seek re-election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.

Read this article at El Paso Matters - Subscribers Only

Texas State has a new free speech policy. Some students have concerns over how it will be policed.

There are a few more weeks until college is back in session, but the summer break hasn’t stopped some Texas State University students from questioning whether they will be able to continue pro-Palestinian demonstrations come fall. Texas State changed its free speech policy to comply with a mandate from Gov. Greg Abbott that the governor says is meant to curb antisemitic language and incidents on the state's public college campuses. Consequently, student groups have raised concerns about how the university will decide what it considers a policy violation.

In the executive order, Abbott required all public Texas higher education institutions to update their policies to address the “sharp rise in antisemitic speech and acts.” Universities must outline potential punishments for anyone found in violation of the new policy. Universities adopted the working definition of antisemitism from the Texas Government Code, which states: "'Antisemitism' means a certain perception of Jews that may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. The term includes rhetorical and physical acts of antisemitism directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals or their property or toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." Texas State changed its free speech policy on June 20. “The Texas State updated policy incorporates the antisemitism language that was included in that executive order. It then lays out what potential disciplinary processes and action could be applied to incidents where students, staff, faculty or visitors violate the free speech policy,” said Mike Wintemute, Texas State University System’s vice chancellor for marketing and communications.

Read this article at KUT - Subscribers Only

Going for gold: TCU athletes head to Paris to compete in 2024 Summer Olympics

For TCU women’s basketball player Hailey Van Lith, playing in the Olympics was never an impossible dream. “I always saw myself as an Olympian. I would look up and I would watch Diana (Taurasi) and Sue (Bird) play, and I saw myself there,” Van Lith said during a recent press conference inside TCU’s arena. “I just had to be patient.” The five-time International Basketball Federation gold medalist will take the court for Team USA in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, with the opening ceremony this Friday. It’s a “surreal moment” made real by the support of her family and coaches, Van Lith said. She’s the only collegiate athlete to make any of the USA basketball teams, playing for the women’s 3×3 basketball team. But she’s not the only Horned Frog who will take the world stage.

Five other current TCU student athletes and four alumni qualified for the international competition, which kicks off July 26 and concludes Aug. 11. They’ll compete in basketball, tennis, rifle, beach volleyball and swimming. The university has built up athletics as one of the four pillars of its strategic plan. The record number of current and former TCU athletes in this summer’s games cements TCU’s growing reputation for athletic prominence. “The hard work and commitment it takes to compete at the Olympic level is uncommon and extraordinary,” said Jeremiah Donati, TCU’s director of intercollegiate athletics. “To see these young men and women headed for this world stage to live out their dreams is truly awesome.” For Van Lith, the 3×3 competition will require adjusting from the traditional 5×5 games she has played during stints at Louisiana State University, the University of Louisville and now TCU. The format is more physically taxing, more visible and gets the lungs burning, she said.

Read this article at Fort Worth Report - Subscribers Only

Everything you need to know about the Michelin Guide

In the world of fine dining, there's no mark of distinction more coveted than a star (or, preferably, three) in the vaunted Michelin Guide. Texas restaurant fans enthusiastically received word Tuesday that the guide has added the state to its lineup, with locations in San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston currently under review by Michelin. But in a world where a billion Yelp and Google reviews are only a click away, does the opinion of a stodgy French car tire manufacturer really matter? We think so. And to help you better understand why, we've answered five common questions people have about the Michelin Guide.

If you only associate the name "Michelin" with the squeal of burning rubber, you wouldn't be wrong. The Michelin Guide was launched in 1900 by the French tire company. At the time, there were far fewer cars puttering around, and, consequently, fewer customers in need of a new set of whitewalls. The earliest guides were fairly utilitarian, with maps, repair instructions, gas station locations and other motorist-friendly information. The guide's celebrated star system for restaurants was introduced in 1926 and expanded to its current three-star state in 1931. Unlike the more common five-star rankings we've become familiar with on websites such as yelp.com, in which one star typically indicates a disaster and five stars reflects a glowing success, a single star from Michelin is a very big deal. According to michelin.com, "stars identify restaurants that offer the best culinary experiences. Contrary to popular belief, they reward only the quality of the cooking itself." The stars still hearken back to Michelin's motorist roots, indicating how far a person should go out of their way for a meal. Michelin employs a team of dining critics dubbed "Inspectors." They're fiercely protective of their anonymity and pay for all of their meals — as many as 250 per year. According to michelin.com, "the job requires concrete expertise coupled with specific skills. In addition to at least 10 years of solid experience in the restaurant and hotel industry, he or she must have a very fine palate, be able to put aside personal tastes to judge the cuisine of an establishment as objectively as possible, and have extensive knowledge of the produce, terroirs and culinary cultures of the world."

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

After Biden's exit, how do Texas Democrats put someone new on the ballot?

President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race so close to the election creates a time crunch for Democrats to pick an alternative nominee, including in Texas where the deadline to get someone new on the ballot comes at the end of August. The party is expected to wrap up the selection process at the Democratic National Convention, which is set for Aug. 19 to 22 in Chicago. How the delegates choose a new nominee remains up in the air. The party could schedule a virtual vote in early August ahead of the convention or it could hold essentially a mini-primary at the convention.

Texas is expected to play a major role in the selection with the third-highest number of delegates – 273 – behind California and New York. Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. But other Democrats could still jump into the mix. Timing will be tight to get the chosen replacement on the November election ballot in Texas. Now that Biden has withdrawn from the race, the state party’s chair must submit the replacement nominee's name to the secretary of state by 5 p.m. on Aug. 26. Other states’ deadlines vary. States Newsroom, a nonprofit news organization, informally surveyed 39 states and found that Iowa is among the earliest with an Aug. 16 deadline. Legal experts have said that a late drop-out could elicit lawsuits from Republicans. It would be “a complicated mess with an unpredictable outcome that very likely could end up at the steps of a very conservative United States Supreme Court,” Emory Law professor Alicia Hughes told States Newsroom. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson warned Sunday in an interview on CNN of possible litigation. “I think they've got legal hurdles in some of these states,” he said. “And it'll be litigated, I would expect, on the ground there.”

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

A wet week incoming for Houston region. Here’s how much rain to expect.

Southeast Texas has seen no lack of rain so far this year. So far this July, 6.81 inches of rain has already fallen at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, most of which was a result of Hurricane Beryl. It’s the fourth consecutive month with above-average rainfall in Houston. Through July 20, Houston has already recorded 42.77 inches of rain this year. That is nearly 15 inches above-average, and it’s the sixth-wettest start to a year in recorded history. While Southeast Texas could use a break from the heavy rainfall, Mother Nature may have other ideas. An active weather pattern with heavy rain is expected this week. Here’s what you can expect.

Most areas in the Houston metro area will be dry to start the day Sunday. Skies will be partly cloudy with low temps in the mid- to upper 70s. Temperatures will rise quickly, reaching close to the 90-degree mark by 11 a.m. Afternoon highs are expected between 90 and 93 degrees, with the cooler temperature near the coast. While the higher rain chances will wait until later in the week, scattered thunderstorms are expected on Sunday too. First, storms will fire off along the Gulf coast during the morning hours, from Lake Jackson to Galveston. By the middle of the day and into the early afternoon, a few storms could move inland and affect the Houston metro area. Storms will be scattered, so not everyone will see rain. Houston’s storm chances are about 50%.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Texas GOP lashes out at Kamala Harris, calls on Biden to step down now

Texas GOP officials wasted no time pinning responsibility for the nation’s border struggles – not to mention the weight of a divisive presidential election – on Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden endorsed her to replace him atop the Democratic ticket. “I think I will need to triple the border wall, razor wire barriers, and National Guard on the border,” Gov. Greg Abbott said on social media about a half-hour after Biden’s Sunday announcement. Reaction from Republican leaders in one of the national party’s most critical states was swift and targeted in the moments after Biden withdrew from the race. They repeatedly lobbed criticisms of Harris’ performance as vice president, accused Democratic insiders of conspiracy, and called for Biden to leave the White House immediately.

In his announcement, Biden said he was leaving the race to focus his energy on his presidential duties and did not indicate that he plans to step down before a new president is inaugurated next January. Even after slamming Harris, who would replace Biden if the president stepped down, Abbott suggested that an immediate change in the White House would be better for national security. “If Biden is unfit to run FOR the presidency, he is unfit to run THE presidency,” Abbott wrote. “American security is at risk both at home and abroad. A change in the oval office is essential – immediately – to ensure the safety of Americans and the security of our country.” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican and former head of the Texas House GOP, wrote, “Unfit to run. Unfit to serve.” House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican who was challenged by his party’s right flank in this year’s primaries, said “the Biden-Harris Administration is unfit for four more years in the White House” but stopped short of calling on Biden to immediately leave office.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Jennifer Nagorka: Here’s how you’re subsidizing insurance discounts for hurricane victims

(Jennifer Nagorka is a freelance writer in Dallas.) This is a terrible time to advocate for increasing property insurance rates along the Gulf Coast, akin to punching someone right after he’s been hit by a bus. Hundreds of thousands of coastal residents struggled with no electricity and major storm damage after Hurricane Beryl made landfall on July 8. But it’s true: Many property owners in the high-hazard coastal zone pay less for their insurance than they should, compared to the known risks and costs. And their discount could raise costs for the rest of us. That’s because their homes or commercial structures are insured through the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. After Hurricane Celia struck Corpus Christi in 1970, coastal property owners had trouble finding affordable insurance that included wind and hail coverage. Texas lawmakers responded by establishing the Texas Catastrophe Property Insurance Association, now TWIA, which offers only policies for wind and hail damage.

When it was created, TWIA was a reasonable way to address the coastal property insurance problem. It tried to help property owners without competing with standard insurers or expecting all Texans to routinely subsidize insurance along the coast. That was half a century ago. The situation has changed. Hundreds of thousands more people now live in the TWIA coverage area. For example, Pearland, in Brazoria County, had a population of 6,444 in 1970. It has more than 130,000 residents now. Population growth means more property that needs insuring. TWIA’s direct liability has increased from about $300 million in 1971, to $21 billion in 2004, to $99 billion this year, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. Almost 70% of TWIA’s direct insurance in force is for property in Galveston, Nueces and Brazoria counties. Faced with repeated heavy losses in a region or state, private insurers normally increase rates. (The rate is the cost to insure each $1,000 of exposure. On a $200,000 homeowner policy, a rate of $7.50 would lead to a premium of $1,500. Premiums can rise even when rates remain flat because of factors like inflation, an aging roof, etc.) This is a simplification, but insurers consider a rate “adequate” if projections show it will cover predicted claims and expenses, including re-insurance and profit. If standard insurers cannot charge adequate rates, they may stop writing policies for a particular hazard or withdraw from that geographic market. Texas insurers routinely raise rates. Average rates for private-market homeowner policies have gone up every year since 2012, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. They’ve jumped recently: 10.8% in 2022 and 21.1% last year. Not so for TWIA policies. Intense lobbying from coastal politicians, residents and some business groups stymies efforts to raise rates. Since 2019, TWIA’s board of directors has approved only one rate increase of 5%. Not allowing rates to rise sends a signal that wind and hailstorms aren’t as damaging or as frequent as they really are. It distorts the market.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

In joyful Hall of Fame speech, Adrián Beltré did what he’s always done

It’s virtually impossible to come to this meadow on this weekend and find any fault with anything. We’ll try anyway. Challenging as it may be to sum up a Hall of Fame career into a 100-word bronze inscription, it doesn’t seem conceivable one on Adrián Beltré's career could be sculpted without using “joy,” or “passion.” Oh, the plaque unveiled to dedicate Beltré's career on a dazzling Sunday afternoon was perfectly lovely. It spoke of his “formidable bat,” and “dynamic defense.” It called him a “premier third baseman.” It mentioned he is a native of the Dominican Republic. It called out that he “filled highlight reels,” with “quick hands,” and a “rifle arm.” True. True. True. And true.

This, however, is what you will remember most about Adrián Beltré: Joy. Yes, he was a fantastic third baseman, perhaps belonging on the Mount Rushmore all time at the position. Yes, among the 52 Hall of Famers who took the stage Sunday, he is one of just three with 3,000 hits, 400 homers and 500 doubles. No matter the on-field criteria, he’s an all-timer. His joy stands out just as much. Play fighting with Elvis Andrus. Waving his hands wildly as he rounded first base. Jabbering with Félix Hernandez. The scowl and feigned anger when someone touched his head. Moving the on-deck circle. Swinging from one knee. We’re sure we’re leaving something out, too. Look, the pre-induction interview with Bob Costas on Sunday centered around the whole head-touching thing. Then, when Beltré was introduced, fellow Hall of Famer David Ortiz popped out from behind the stage to get in a head rub. Got the crowd, estimated at 28,000 (more than twice last year’s total) chuckling. Beltré fed into that. He’d been nervous about the speech. Doesn’t relish public speaking, to start with. Was concerned he’d leave out a necessary thank you in the speech. Wanted to make sure he did part of his speech in Spanish as a nod to the Dominican fans who’d shown up. It’s all a lot.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

City Stories

Whitmire asks Houston Housing Authority to halt move-in at East End housing complex

Mayor John Whitmire has asked the Houston Housing Authority to halt plans to move residents into The Pointe At Bayou Bend – a controversial and long-delayed East End housing project, until further environmental testing is completed. “The level of lead discovered is higher than what is safe for the public,” Whitmire wrote this week in a letter addressed to HHA Chairman Joseph Proler. Further, he stated that the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality “has indicated that the submittals by HHA to resolve the violations are insufficient.” His request to halt the project centers around concerns about the wellbeing of future residents, which – according to the HHA’s plans – will include roughly 400 families by 2025.

Read this article at Houston Landing - Subscribers Only

National Stories

All state Democratic party chairs endorse Harris

State Democratic party chairs on Sunday threw their weight behind Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party's new presidential nominee to run against Republican nominee and former president, . The chairs held a conference call after President Joe Biden announced he was stepping aside as the party's candidate. “Following President Biden’s announcement, our members immediately assembled to unite behind the candidate who has a track record of winning tough elections, and who is a proven leader on the issues that matter to Americans: reproductive freedom, gun violence prevention, climate protection, justice reform, and rebuilding the economy," said Ken Martin, president of the Association of State Democratic Committees, in a statement.

Read this article at Reuters - Subscribers Only

‘This is transformative’: Early elation expressed by some Democratic donors at Harris’ potential ascension

Alan Kessler, a Philadelphia lawyer and longtime Democratic fundraiser, said the texts and emails began soon after news broke Sunday that President Joe Biden had withdrawn from the 2024 race and called for Vice President Kamala Harris to become his successor. One, in particular, summed up the mood among Biden’s donors, he said. “This is transformative,” the text from a major contributor read. After weeks of turmoil over the future of the Democratic ticket, Kessler said the campaign donors he’s courted as a bundler for Biden’s campaign are turning their full attention to Harris and committing to work on her behalf. “They’re really excited, and they are all in,” he said.

Matt Gorman, a longtime Democratic fundraiser, told CNN, “My phone’s been ringing off the hook.” Gorman said that while he deeply respects Biden, he feels it’s “incumbent” upon him to support the decision that’s been made and “back up Harris.” He and fellow donors are “excited” about Harris, and he said that he’s received many calls from people who had been holding back their money, now asking where to throw their money behind, whether it’s the Democratic National Committee or specific PACs. “The energy in the last 6 hours has been reinvigorating and inspiring,” Gorman said. In another sign of enthusiasm: Harris raised $49.6 million in grassroots donations for her campaign since Biden endorsed her Sunday, campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said.

Read this article at CNN - Subscribers Only

Israel's Netanyahu walks political tightrope on Washington trip following Biden's exit from race

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Washington on Monday, leaving behind a brutal war to make a politically precarious speech before the U.S. Congress at a time of great uncertainty following Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race. With efforts ongoing to bring about a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, rising concerns about the war spreading to Lebanon and Yemen, and the U.S. in the midst of a dizzying election campaign, Netanyahu’s speech has the potential to cause disarray on both sides of the ocean. The risks only increased with Biden’s decision Sunday to drop out of the race for president, especially since the choice of a replacement Democratic nominee — and the potential next American leader — are still up in the air. Before stepping on the plane, Netanyahu said he would emphasize the theme of Israel’s bipartisanship in his speech and said Israel would remain America’s key ally in the Middle East “regardless who the American people choose as their next president.”

“In this time of war and uncertainty, it’s important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together,” he said, adding that he will meet Biden during his trip and thank him for his support for Israel. A person familiar with Biden’s schedule confirmed Sunday that the president will host Netanyahu at the White House. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said the exact timing of the meeting has not been established because Biden is recovering from COVID-19. Netanyahu is scheduled to address Congress on Wednesday. He is also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Netanyahu will deliver his congressional address with an eye on several audiences: his ultranationalist governing partners, the key to his political survival; the Biden administration, which Netanyahu counts on for diplomatic and military support; and Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which could offer Netanyahu a reset in relations if he is reelected in November. His words risk angering any one of those constituencies, which the Israeli leader cannot afford if he hopes to hold on to his tenuous grip on power.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Delta Air Lines says cancellations continue as it tries to restore operations after tech outage

Airlines, including Delta Air Lines, continued to struggle to restore operations two days after a faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide and resulted in several carriers grounding flights. Total cancellations within, into or out of the U.S. on Sunday clocked in at 1,461, according to the latest data from FlightAware. Delta and United Airlines topped the cancellations. Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian said in a message to customers Sunday that flight cancellations continued as the airline tried to recover its systems and restore operations. He noted that the pause in Delta’s operations resulted in more than 3,500 Delta and Delta Connection scrubbed flights. Delta has been offering waivers to affected customers. Bastian noted that that one of their crew tracking-related tools was affected and unable to effectively process the unprecedented number of changes triggered by the system outage.

“The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our re-accommodation capabilities,” Bastian wrote. “I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events.” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to Bastian on Sunday about the airline’s high number of cancellations since Friday. The Transportation Department said its top officials have reminded Delta of the airline’s obligation to provide refunds to passengers whose flights were canceled and who don’t want to be rebooked on a later flight. “I have made clear to Delta that we expect the airline to provide prompt refunds to consumers who choose not to be rebooked, and free rebooking and timely reimbursements for food and overnight hotel stays to consumers affected by the delays and cancellations, as well as adequate customer service assistance to all of their passengers,” Buttigieg said. “No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent,” Buttigieg said. “I will ensure that our department supports Delta passengers by enforcing all applicable passenger protections.”

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Furious GOP set to rain down on Secret Service director

Congressional pressure is mounting on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle over the assassination attempt against former President Trump, with multiple lawmakers calling for her resignation ahead of a Monday morning hearing with the House Oversight Committee. Republicans have been the most vocal in criticizing Cheatle; Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have both demanded she step down. And, in a stunning scene, a group of Republican senators who were frustrated about an unclassified phone briefing confronted Cheatle at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, demanding she answer questions about the shooting — filming and later distributing the public encounter. Some of the criticism has veered into culture war battles, with several Republicans pointing the finger at the agency’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.

And further inflaming tensions is the acknowledgement from the Secret Service over the weekend that it had previously denied some requests from the Trump campaign for beefed up security, walking back a previous statement that such assertions were “absolutely false.” There are indications that Democrats are scrutinizing her leadership, too. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) on Saturday became the first Democrat to call for Cheatle’s resignation. “The evidence coming to light has shown unacceptable operational failures. I have no confidence in the leadership of the United States Secret Service if Director Cheatle chooses to remain in her position,” Boyle said. Oversight Chairman Jamie Comer (R-Ky.) and the panel’s ranking member, Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), issued a rare joint statement on Friday urging Cheatle to appear for the Monday hearing. Another Democrat on the panel, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (Fla.), said Cheatle should resign if she does not appear. A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed on Friday that Cheatle will sit for the Monday hearing, the first in what could be a series of public hearings on the attempted assassination and security failures that enabled it.

Read this article at The Hill - Subscribers Only

Trump forced to regroup after gains, as advisers prepare to face Harris

Donald Trump and his allies confronted a new electoral landscape on Sunday as President Biden ended his bid for reelection, a move that upended a period of steady political gains for the Republican nominee and forced his campaign to regroup with a new blueprint less than four months before the election. Fresh off weeks of mounting confidence over Biden’s stumbles and reams of polling showing the former president ahead in key swing states, Trump at one point appeared frustrated at Biden’s exit, writing on social media that he was “forced to spend time and money” against Biden and now has to “start all over again.” “It’s not over!” he said later, suggesting Biden might “wake up and forget” he dropped out of the race. The Republican nominee and his advisers still sought to project confidence about the path forward and the prospect of taking on Vice President Harris, whom Biden endorsed as his successor.

Trump said any new opponent would be “more of the same,” a position some allies repeatedly echoed. They quickly signaled plans to make a slashing case against Harris for her handling of the southern border, and to tie her to Biden’s most unpopular policies. But they also acknowledged that Harris would bring new challenges. Several people close to Trump said they expect Harris would be a more effective messenger on abortion than Biden was, and could stem some of the anger over the Israel-Gaza war that has bedeviled Biden’s candidacy. They also braced for the prospect that, if nominated, Harris would choose a popular running mate from a swing state, such as Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona or Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. And, as one Trump ally put it, “she can actually speak and campaign.” Trump would have preferred to run against Biden, who was battling widespread worries about his age and acuity. His exit left some in GOP circles feeling the race “just got way harder,” said a senior Republican familiar with Trump’s campaign, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to be more candid about strategy and outlook. “I don’t think it’s a good day for the Trump campaign,” the person added.

Read this article at Washington Post - Subscribers Only

How a one-man news site beat the national media on a Trump shooting scoop

John Paul Vranesevich, the owner and only full-time reporter for the Beaver Countian, was reporting on a candlelight vigil for a slain transgender teen in Mercer County, Pa., last Saturday when his phone started pinging with text messages. A lone gunman on a roof had just fired toward Donald Trump at a rally in nearby Butler County, leaving the former president injured, a local man dead and serious concerns about security surrounding the event. People in law enforcement whom Vranesevich had come to know from a dozen years covering this corner of western Pennsylvania wanted the journalist to know what was happening. “I was literally in the corner, going back and forth with my sources, who were giving me the play-by-play,” he recalled this week.

And he quickly realized that they were sharing details with him that had not yet been reported by national media. Vranesevich silenced his phone, telling his contacts that he’d get back to them, and kept covering the vigil. But by Monday afternoon, his follow-up reporting had culminated in a major scoop: Local officers had actually been stationed inside the building the shooter had climbed to fire his shots. And another officer had alerted a command center about the suspicious man before he even climbed the roof. The journalist said it did not surprise him, as the solo full-time employee of his small local news site, that he was able to break a major story about the U.S. Secret Service’s most dramatic failure in decades — a story that took hours and days for national press, including The Washington Post, to confirm. “All news is local,” he said. “Everything that happens that the national [media] cares about is happening in some community, somewhere.” Vranesevich developed relationships with law enforcement sources over years following the ins and outs of Beaver County, including unsolved murders and drama at the county commission. He said that some of those long-standing sources contacted him after the rally shooting to share some of the details of what had happened that day because they were concerned that the national narrative unfolding about the shooting was inaccurate or incomplete — that it would lead the public to believe that local law enforcement had failed to do its job and had put the former president at risk. Sources like these may be hesitant speaking to national reporters, thinking “they’re going to come here, get their story, leave, and they don’t care about me or my community,” Vranesevich said. “What they know about me is I was here before the big story happened, and I’ll be here after the big story happened.”

Read this article at Washington Post - Subscribers Only

Lead Stories

Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, an icon of Houston politics, dies at 74 after cancer battle

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a towering political figure in Houston for decades and one of the longest-serving members in Congress, died Friday. She was 74. Earlier this year, Jackson Lee had announced that she’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She had been in remission for over a decade from breast cancer. Often a gusty public speaker with a driving work ethic, Jackson Lee appeared at countless community meetings, funerals and official and unofficial events in her district each week. But she had curtailed public appearances in recent weeks and looked frail at the few recent events she attended.

“Today, with incredible grief for our loss yet deep gratitude for the life she shared with us, we announce the passing of United States Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of the 18th Congressional District of Texas,” her family wrote in a statement. “A fierce champion of the people, she was affectionately and simply known as ‘Congresswoman’ by her constituents in recognition of her near-ubiquitous presence and service to their daily lives for more than 30 years.” Jackson Lee was waging a reelection battle in the Democratic stronghold where she was first elected in 1994, cementing her status as a relentless campaigner who logged commanding back-to-back wins. She became known as a fierce advocate for women and people of color, her House floor speeches and her zeal to use the media to get her message out. Hardly a week went by in which she wasn’t on a local TV station or stepping to the microphone at any number of events or news conferences. After her mayoral loss to state Sen. John Whitmire, Jackson Lee changed course and announced she’d run for her congressional seat again. She was poised to secure a 15th term in office this fall after achieving a decisive victory in the March primary against upstart challenger Amanda Edwards. Former Mayor Sylvester Turner said Friday night that what made Jackson Lee “truly exceptional” was “her uncanny ability to be everywhere, working every day for those who needed a champion.” “Even if you disagreed with her politics, you had to respect her work ethic,” Turner said. “We can honestly say Sheila Jackson Lee left it all on the field.”

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

What happens next to Sheila Jackson Lee's seat in Congress?

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, one of the longest-serving members in Congress and an icon of Houston politics, died Friday. Jackson Lee was up for re-election in November. After handily clinching the Democratic nomination over former Houston City Councilor Amanda Edwards, she was widely expected to win another term representing the deep blue district that includes part of Central Houston and vast portions of northwest and northeast Harris County. Lana Centonze is running as the Republican. What happens to her spot on the November ballot? Under state law, the Harris County Democratic Party’s executive committee will have until Aug. 26 to nominate a candidate to run in the Nov. 5 general election. If the committee does not choose a candidate in time, then the Texas Democratic Party would have two days, or until Aug. 28, to make the choice.

Gov. Greg Abbott has the authority to call a special election to fill the vacancy through the remainder of Jackson Lee’s two-year term, which is up in January. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Once Abbott calls a special election, the law requires him to schedule it within about two months if it will be held as an emergency election. State law does not set a deadline for Abbott to make the initial announcement. In 2021, when U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, a North Texas Republican, died of COVID-19, Abbott called a special election to fill the seat within about a month. The special election was held about two months later. It’s unclear when, or whether, Abbott will call a special election to fill Jackson Lee’s seat, because by the time it is conducted, there would only be a few months before the term expires.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Biden campaign outraises and outspends Trump campaign in June

President Joe Biden's election campaign last month outraised and outspent his challenger Donald Trump, according to disclosures published on Saturday that showed the president's coffers initially swelling even after a disastrous debate performance. The main campaign account for Biden, a Democrat, took in $64 million in June and spent $59 million, largely on campaign ads, ending the month with $95 million in the bank, according to a filing submitted to the Federal Election Commission. Republican Trump's main account reported raising $21 million in June and spending about $10 million, while having $128 million in cash at the close of the month. Biden, 81, raised more than $5 million in the three days following his June 27 debate against Trump, 78, in which the president stammered throughout and failed to energetically challenge Trump's attacks, which included numerous false claims.

But this month Biden has faced a wave of calls from Democratic lawmakers to bow out of the race, and his fundraising has reportedly sagged so far in the month. Biden and Trump have been locked in a tight race in national polls, though Trump has led in several polls in battleground states that could determine the winner of the Nov. 5 presidential election. Since early July, 35 congressional Democrats have publicly called on Biden to end his re-election bid, with many citing his advanced age and difficulties on the debate stage. Several Biden fundraising events are reportedly on hold as some big-money donors have urged Biden to bow out. Should Biden exit the race, control of his campaign's funds could potentially pass to his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, should she become the Democratic nominee. Alternately, Biden could transfer his war chest to the Democratic Party, which is already a major fundraiser for his re-election effort and reported raising $39 million with its main fundraising group June. The main fundraising account for Trump's Republican Party raised $67 million during the month. Trump had outraised Biden in May, when the former president's supporters stepped up donations in the run-up to his May 30 conviction on business fraud charges, a case that Trump has decried, without evidence, as politically motivated.

Read this article at Reuters - Subscribers Only

Wall Street takes a back seat with Trump’s elevation of Vance

Former President Donald Trump’s choice of JD Vance as his running mate is a bet on an inexperienced politician from a battleground state. It is also a sign of Wall Street’s waning power. The choice of Vance could mean tech executives will exert more influence on a Trump administration than financial titans. Some in the finance set see the first-term senator from Ohio’s selection as a sign Trump doesn’t care as much about appeasing them. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley’s deep-pocketed Trump supporters including Elon Musk are cheering the choice. “Wall Street is key to the party, and will always have a critical role,” says Ed McMullen, a top fundraiser for the Trump campaign and former ambassador to Switzerland. “But tech and new entrepreneurs are rapidly inserting themselves through giving and advising, and the choice of Vance reflects that Trump recognizes this shift.”

Vance has been outspoken in favor of tariffs, government intervention in the economy and a weaker dollar, positions that put him at odds with many on Wall Street. He has also been less supportive of free trade than others. Among Wall Street’s concerns is the fact that he has advocated for greater scrutiny of mergers, which generate huge fees for investment banks. As a fan of President Biden’s tough-on-deals Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, Vance is part of a contrarian group of Republicans known as “Khanservatives.” Vance did little to put Trump’s finance-industry backers at ease when speaking at the Republican National Convention. While portraying himself as a fighter for the working class, Vance argued that “Wall Street barons” had contributed to rising home prices by crashing the economy. “President Trump’s vision is so simple and yet so powerful,” he told the crowd. “We’re done, ladies and gentlemen, catering to Wall Street.” Instead, the 39-year-old is close with key players in the tech and cryptocurrency sectors, and has pursued policies aligned with those industries. Musk for his part called the Vance pick an “excellent decision.” As The Wall Street Journal has reported, Musk has said he plans to commit around $45 million a month to a super political-action committee backing Trump’s run. Trump also has the support of the venture capitalists Joe Lonsdale, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, as well as the Winklevoss twins and other high-profile players in the tech and crypto industries.

Read this article at Wall Street Journal - Subscribers Only

Texas’ biggest pension fund to pull almost $10 billion from private equity

Texas’ largest public pension fund has decided to shift almost $10 billion out of private equity investments, a blow to an asset class that has faced heightened scrutiny amid dwindling returns and a slowdown in exits for portfolio companies. The move by the Teacher Retirement System of Texas — which manages $202 billion of assets — is another setback for an industry that has struggled with dealmaking and fundraising after a prolonged era of easy profits. Texas Teachers is the second of the largest public pensions to officially reduce its target allocation to private equity. It’s paring that to 12% from 14% — below the average 13% for all US public pensions, pension officials said at its board meeting Thursday.

The pension estimates it will report a 9.3% gain for its latest fiscal year, Chief Investment Officer Jase Auby said at the meeting. That’s compared to a 3.85% return for the previous fiscal year and will outpace a 7% annual return target. At the end of March, the fund held $33.7 billion of private equity investments, or 16.7% of its portfolio, meaning it was already over-allocated to the asset class. Reducing that exposure to 12% amounts to pulling roughly $9.7 billion of private equity investments from the portfolio. The pension doesn’t have plans to sell private equity investments to the secondary market to achieve the reduced target, Neil Randall, managing director of private equity at Texas Teachers, said at the board meeting. The pension isn’t writing checks to large buyout funds anymore, instead focusing on smaller middle-market funds. Alaska Permanent Fund, which manages that state’s $80 billion sovereign wealth fund, began reducing commitments to private equity in 2022 and decreased its target allocation to 15% from 19% the following year. CIO Marcus Frampton said at the time that private equity needed a reset and that he wanted to be cautious. Earlier this year, the Alaska fund opted to lean back into the asset class and re-upped its target to 18%.

Read this article at Bloomberg - Subscribers Only

State Stories

Even as big names dominated GOP convention, time was given to a few Texas up-and-comers

The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which ended Thursday with former President Donald Trump accepting the nomination for a return to the White House, offered opportunities for a few rising GOP elected leaders from Texas to get some rare and coveted time on a national stage with a captive audience. And the Texans gave the national Grand Old Party the opportunity to showcase diversity within its ranks, and to show off at least one defection by a Democrat of color into its ranks. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who served nine years representing a Democratically safe, predominantly Black Texas House district, set his sights on the nonpartisan municipal office after the 2019 legislative session ended. In the House, Johnson was not seen as a wave-maker, but early in his final term he gained statewide headlines for demanding the removal of a plaque on the first floor of the Capitol called the "Children of Confederacy Creed," which argued falsely that slavery was not the "underlying cause" of the Civil War.

Johnson called out lawmakers from both parties for allowing the plaque to remain in view for six decades. But on the stage in Milwaukee, Johnson called out only Democrats. "Sometimes, with their silence and their inaction, Democrats in power demonstrate they don't care about stopping the killers or the thieves who terrorize Black and brown communities," he told the delegates. "They don't care about securing our border, and they don't care about dangerous homeless encampments. U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican from McAllen, captured a redrawn district in the 2022 elections that pulled in enough Republican counties north of the Rio Grande to give the GOP a toehold in historically Democratic South Texas. De La Cruz used her personal story as an indirect appeal to Hispanic voters to cross over to her side of the political spectrum. Her grandparents, she said, came to the United States "with little more than faith in God" and raised their family with little money. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston is one of only four Black Republicans in the 435-member House of Representatives. The graduate of West Point, who served in Iraq during his years as an Army officer, used his time on the convention floor to champion the party's support for gun rights.

Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only

NASA dedicates building at Johnson Space Center to Dorothy Vaughan, women of the Apollo missions

NASA dedicated a Johnson Space Center building Friday after NASA Mathematician Dorothy Vaughan and other women who helped the Apollo missions succeed during the 1960s and 1970s. The ceremony — held one day before the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing — included speeches, performances and a panel before the official ribbon-cutting moment. "I've been thinking about it for a while, and my brain can't recall a word that's fitting enough to explain the magnitude of it all," Vaughan's granddaughter Heather Vaughan-Batten said. "It's a mixture of pride and just respect and just awe."

Vaughan first worked at NASA forerunner NACA before joining the agency when it was formed in 1958. She was NASA's first African American manager and worked at NACA and NASA for a combined 28 years. Her trailblazing was previously immortalized in the 2016 movie "Hidden Figures," a film that did take some historical liberties, and in which Octavia Spencer portrayed her. Now, she is being remembered in another important way, even if Vaughan-Batten thinks her grandmother might not have liked being singled out from everyone else.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

First Baptist Dallas’ chapel is a charred shell, but ‘our church is not a building’

Amid the smell of smoke, Dallas Fire-Rescue on Saturday continued to spray water on a fire-damaged chapel, now a charred shell, at First Baptist Dallas in the aftermath of a four-alarm blaze. Saturday afternoon, Dallas Fire-Rescue issued a statement saying the church was “inaccessible due to the lack of structural integrity” and it may need to be demolished. The cause was listed as undetermined. Dark stains framed the chapel’s shattered windows. Passersby paused in front of the structure and, with a quiet solemnity, took photos with their phones. Chunks of stone with shattered rebar littered the sidewalk. Specks of ash drifted in the wind and disappeared amid the debris. Workers erected fencing around the precarious structure. At least two Fire-Rescue trucks remained at the scene.

First Baptist Dallas announced Sunday’s service will be held at the Dallas Convention Center at 11 a.m. and livestreamed online. In a Facebook post, the church said child care will not be available, adding that “families will worship together.” The church’s announcement came just a few hours after Dallas Fire-Rescue on Friday battled the fire that caused the historic church’s secondary chapel — which served as a place of worship for over a century until the church opened a new facility in 2013 — to “largely” collapse, an official said. Most firefighting operations began to shut down between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Saturday, said Capt. Robert Borse. Overhaul companies, which search for and extinguish any remaining fire after the main flames have been put out, “have been on scene throughout the night and remain currently to ensure ... safety on scene and to continue extinguishing hot spots,” he said. Borse said in a statement Saturday afternoon the building was inaccessible. The church installed fencing around it Saturday afternoon and must provide 24-hour security and obtain a structural engineering assessment within 24 hours, he said. If the historic church is unstable, it’ll have to come down. The fire department will remain nearby until the structural integrity is assured or the building is demolished.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Chuy's will be sold for $605 million to Darden Restaurants, owner of Eddie V's & Olive Garden

Chuy’s is being sold to Darden Restaurants for a deal estimated at $605 million. The Austin-based Tex-Mex restaurant opened its original location on Barton Springs Road 42 years ago. The hubcap and Elvis-themed decor, quirky shirts and modestly priced food proved popular, and the restaurant expanded regionally as Austin grew in the 1990s and 2000s. Then, Chuy's expanded across Texas to 15 locations. The restaurant later became a publicly traded company and now creamy jalapeño cravings are satiated at more than 100 restaurants across 15 states. Darden Restaurants owns several upscale and casual chains like Olive Garden, The Capital Grille, and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. The company bought then Austin-based Eddie V’s in 2011 and has since expanded to nearly 30 locations. You might also be familiar with Darden brands Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen or LongHorn Steakhouse.

Read this article at KUT - Subscribers Only

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey joins calls from Dems for Biden to drop out of presidential race

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX 33rd District) of Fort Worth is joining a growing list of congressional members calling on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. Veasey and fellow Reps. Jared Huffman (D-CA), Chuy Garcia (D-IL), and Mark Pocan (D-WI) sent a letter to the president Friday morning, saying growing concern about his age and fitness jeopardize "what should be a winning campaign" and asked him to "pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders." “These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened in the aftermath of last month's debate and are now unlikely to change. We believe the most responsible and patriotic thing you can do in this moment is to step aside as our nominee while continuing to lead our party from the White House," the four wrote. "Democrats have a deep and talented bench of younger leaders, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, who you have lifted up, empowered, and prepared for this moment. Passing the torch would fundamentally change the trajectory of the campaign. It would reinvigorate the race and infuse Democrats with enthusiasm and momentum heading into our convention next month.”

Read this article at NBC DFW - Subscribers Only

Politicians from both sides of the aisle react to death of longtime Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee

On Friday night, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's family issued a statement announcing the death of the longtime lawmaker. Known by her constituents as simply, "Congresswoman," Jackson Lee served the public for more than 30 years. Last month, Jackson Lee announced she was fighting pancreatic cancer. In a statement at the time of the announcement, Jackson Lee said she was undergoing treatment to battle the disease "that impacts tens of thousands of Americans every year."

"Words cannot fully express the impact of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. The word ‘tireless’ gets thrown around in politics, but there’s no one I’ve ever met with that kind of work ethic who could compare Congresswoman Jackson Lee. Her work didn’t only benefit the Houstonians she represented for decades; it helped make our nation better for all Americans. Saying she will be missed is an understatement. My condolences to her family and to all who loved her. Thank you, Congresswoman, for your dedication to our city, county, state and country." "A leader in our community and nation’s Capital for over 30 years, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was well known for being a fierce champion for the voiceless in our community. "Congresswoman Jackson Lee was our fighter for our community, following in the footsteps of Houston political giants, the late Congressman Mickey Leland, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, and former Congressman Craig Washington. As the people’s champion, she used her commanding voice to fight for civil rights, women’s rights, affordable and accessible healthcare, immigration reform, racial justice, human rights and equality. "Congresswoman Jackson Lee never hesitated to lead the charge on issues important to working-class families, the poor and communities that felt forgotten or overlooked. She was the epitome of what it meant to be a servant leader. "Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was my friend, mentor and someone I could always call for guidance. Rest in power, congresswoman."

Read this article at KHOU - Subscribers Only

Altamirano, Pelaez lead 2025 mayoral fundraising

Campaign finance reports due Monday offer a first glimpse at how the crowded field of candidates are stacking up in the race to replace term-limited Mayor Ron Nirenberg in 2025. The reports cover Jan. 1 through June 30. The next set of reports aren’t due until mid January, since the City Council voted to eliminate quarterly reports earlier this year. Tech entrepreneur Beto Altamirano, who launched his campaign in May, led the pack, raising $62,000, including $20,000 of his own money. He also loaned his campaign an additional $50,000. Altamirano has spent $52,000 so far, including roughly $30,000 on ad videography and photography, and reported having $60,000 on hand.

Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8), who launched his campaign in April, reported raising $47,000 over the past six months. Expenses include roughly $19,000 to San Antonio campaign consultants Viva Politics. He reported $9,000 cash on hand. Councilman John Courage (D9), who announced his intention to run in January, brought in $19,000 and loaned his campaign an additional $25,000 in February. He spent $28,000 in the past six months, including $15,000 to repay down an old personal loan, and reported $26,000 on hand as of June 30. Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) brought in $15,800, after raising money with political and business leaders for her potential mayoral bid last month. She spent $20,000, including $5,000 for political consulting with the local progressive marketing firm Düable, and reported $48,500 cash on hand, according to her report. One first-term councilman, Marc Whyte, outraised the whole crew. He brought in $88,000, spent $9,000 and reported $107,000 in the bank.

Read this article at San Antonio Report - Subscribers Only

Ed Hirs: What CenterPoint and regulators need to do now

(Economist Ed Hirs, the University of Houston Energy Fellow, writes frequently about energy markets and corporate governance.) The May derecho and Hurricane Beryl caught Houston, Harris Country, the state of Texas and local electric utility CenterPoint Energy off-guard — but not by surprise. Everyone knows Houston is vulnerable to extreme storms, and that something must be done to strengthen the system that transmits our power. Our elected leaders and CenterPoint can look to California and Florida for guidance. Policies and regulatory actions worth considering include replacing easily snapped wood utility poles with those made of stronger materials; aggressively trimming vegetation crowding utility lines; burying power lines; and digitizing the grid. It won’t be cheap. It’s important to know that the state’s grid manager ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, isn’t to blame for the outages in Houston. Generators in the path of Beryl, including the nuclear power plant at the South Texas Project in Matagorda County, kept operating. Houston’s grid failure occurred in the last link of the electricity supply chain, local distribution to homes and businesses.

Why? Because roughly 40% of Houston’s power lines are above ground and at tree level. Any piece of flying debris can throw a circuit breaker. Any falling tree can take down one or more utility poles. Repairs are tedious, dangerous and must be done by hand. The Houston area isn’t unique in losing power in big storms. Hurricane Sandy cut power to more than 8.2 million customers on the East Coast in 2012, with 90% restored within 10 days. Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm, swept across South Florida in 1992, destroying the electricity infrastructure and leaving Miami-Dade County without electricity for three weeks. More than a decade later, and after intense hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005, Florida’s Public Service Commission required utilities to move away from using wooden utility poles, to raise wires above the tree line — and especially, to trim the trees from lines that remained at tree level. After Beryl, it wasn’t surprising that CenterPoint’s map showed outages concentrated in wooded parts of the metro area rather than more urban and industrial areas. The same principle was illustrated in Austin, when an ice storm in February 2023 left some people without power for more than a week. To preserve the tree canopy, Austin city policy had called for not trimming trees. After the outage, the city manager was promptly fired, providing the mayor and City Council a scapegoat for their own bad policy and maintenance priorities. As far back as the early 1990s, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power tried something else to safeguard the grid in an area vulnerable to wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters. It digitally mapped all of L.A.’s electricity grid expressly for faster restoration after natural disasters. Each lineman carried a tablet that had a photo and routing of each circuit.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

8 pro-Palestine protestors detained, cited during protest outside Mayor Whitmire's home

Houston Police Department officers detained and cited eight pro-Palestine protestors demonstrating outside of Mayor John Whitmire’s home Friday, officials said. Fewer than 20 people attended the demonstration outside Whitmire’s home, calling for divestment from Israel and a cease-fire resolution from the city. At least eight people were detained and later released from police vehicles with citations for a noise ordinance violation, said police spokesman Victor Senties. Members of the group were arrested “without warning” around 30 minutes into the protest, although the demonstration continued until 11 p.m., attendees said. Officials said there were no arrests related to the demonstration, which was the fourth time pro-Palestinian protestors have stood outside the home since June.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Joy Sewing: No one loved Houston more than Sheila Jackson Lee

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee never missed the chance to take the microphone. You knew once she stood in front of a podium, you’d be there for a while. In politics, it’s the loudest voices that are heard. So as much as Jackson Lee, who died Friday at age 74 of pancreatic cancer, was criticized for her brash approach, being quiet would not have served her or her community well. She always had something important to say, whether it was at a funeral, a concert benefit or a speech in front of Congress. She would not be bound by time constraints, either. That often frustrated organizers who knew that when Jackson Lee arrived, she would not be silenced until she felt her message had been delivered. Those in the audience, especially from her District 18 of nearly 800,000 residents, knew that, too. But what we counted on most is that Jackson Lee showed up for us, for the big things and the small ones.

She was the epitome of a public servant, never too tired or too callous to be engaged or to help. In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, while battling cancer, Jackson Lee teamed up with MacGregor Super Neighborhood to provide food, water and ice for residents who faced storm damage and days without electricity. The Riverside Terrace community, with many elderly residents, was among the last areas to have power restored. In the three decades she served in the U.S. House of Representatives, she was an unrelenting voice for the people. She followed in the enormous footsteps of the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan and carved her own footprint as an advocate for racial justice, women’s rights, voting issues and more. She seemed to love the media spotlight, but what folks didn’t see was the muscle she flexed when there were no cameras. The calls, the meetings, the negotiations to move mountains. When the Texas Education Agency took over Houston ISD, Jackson Lee appealed for federal intervention, calling the takeover a violation of students' civil rights. She met with the Environmental Protection Agency about the Union Pacific Railroad contamination in Kashmere Gardens that has riddled the community with cancer. In March, she secured nearly $40 million for organizations in her district, including support for senior housing and programs to assist survivors of domestic violence.

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Here's how Harris County officials want to help low-income residents with severe storm damage

Beryl came ashore July 8, knocked out power for more than 2.2 million customers, uprooted thousands of trees and may have caused as much as $600 million in losses to insured homes and businesses in Harris County. While local officials are responsible for clearing debris after Beryl, they are limited to clearing public property, leaving many property owners with a tree in the middle of their home in a county where nearly 50 percent of survey respondents have said they can't afford to pay for an emergency. Now, looking to a future with more frequent natural disasters, Harris County officials are exploring whether they can do more to help low-income residents with severe storm damage.

Paying to get a tree cleared is simply out of reach for many residents, according to Jay Malone, political director of Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Foundation, who is coordinating NEW Houston's workers. "A job like this, if you hire a professional crew, this is like $800 to $1,200," Malone said. "Half of Harris County residents can't afford a $400 emergency so where the hell is this money supposed to come from?" Some people are left with dangerous alternatives, Malone added. "What people are doing is they're doing these jobs improperly and we've heard stories of people's houses burning down from poorly done electrical jobs," Malone said. "But what else are people supposed to do? They need their power to get back on."

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Bridget Grumet: Homeless camp sweeps began 3 years ago. Why doesn't Austin have a policy on them?

Candince Swarm thought she had more time. The Austin police officer who announced the cleanup of a sprawling Walnut Creek homeless encampment last November told Swarm on a Tuesday that crews wouldn’t reach her campsite, tucked deeper in the hilly woods, for a few more days. “I was told ‘Friday’ twice. Then they took my van on Thursday,” said Swarm, still pained by the difference that one day made. “By the time I got down there, it was completely gone.” That 1995 Dodge Ram conversion van was Swarm’s home — not only her protection from icy cold snaps and sweltering summers, but the storage for her food and clothes, her laptop and college textbooks, her generator and a cherished T-shirt worn by a boyfriend who died in 2021. A camp neighbor who saw the cleanup told Swarm that the city’s heavy machinery tore her van apart, “kind of like peeling a can open,” she said.

Amid the wreckage of that event, Swarm wanted to know: What is Austin’s policy for homeless camp cleanups? How much advance notice are people supposed to get? And wasn’t the city supposed to offer referrals to services? But she couldn't find anything in writing. What she started to see then — and what I have found now — is that Austin does not have a standard policy on how to conduct homeless camp sweeps. "It is currently in draft form," the city's Law Department wrote last month in response to my public records request for any such policy. Therefore, "the city will withhold this document." In the three years since Austin voters and state lawmakers adopted homeless camping bans, Austin has spent millions of dollars conducting hundreds of camp cleanups, according to data I reviewed from several city departments. Each cleanup is an opportunity to help people out of homelessness or push them deeper into desperate conditions. Yet without a standard operating procedure on how these sweeps should be done, what happens to those who are unhoused is a roll of the dice. Some are notified days, or even weeks, in advance of a sweep, so they can make plans to move and protect their valuables. Others are given just a few minutes’ notice. Some are matched to shelter beds or at least referred to organizations that can help. Others, like Swarm, get nothing. The inconsistency adds to the traumatic uncertainty of living on the street. It also undermines the goal we all share — helping people exit homelessness — when abrupt cleanups lead to people losing their IDs, work uniforms, tools or items needed for school. David Gray, who runs the Homeless Strategy Office that was created last December, told me that coordination among city departments has improved considerably. Instead of Austin Police, Watershed Protection, Public Works and the Parks and Recreation Department directing cleanups on their own — and handling them differently — members of those departments now meet once or twice a week to ensure all cleanups are planned with the Homeless Strategy Office.

Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only

National Stories

Trump campaign releases letter on his injury, treatment after last week’s assassination attempt

Donald Trump’s campaign released an update on the former president’s health Saturday, one week after he survived an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The memo, from Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, who served as Trump’s White House physician, offers new details on the nature of the GOP nominee’s injuries and the treatment he received in the immediate aftermath of the attack. According to Jackson, Trump sustained a gunshot wound to the right ear from a high-powered riffle that came “less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head, and struck the top of his right ear.” The bullet track, he said, “produced a 2 cm wide wound that extended down to the cartilaginous surface of the ear. There was initially significant bleeding, followed by marked swelling of the entire upper ear.”

While the swelling has since resolved and the wound “is beginning to granulate and heal properly,” he said Trump is still experiencing intermittent bleeding, requiring the dressing that was on display at last week’s Republican National Convention. “Given the broad and blunt nature of the wound itself, no sutures were required,” he wrote. Trump was initially treated by medical staff at Butler Memorial Hospital. According to Jackson, doctors “provided a thorough evaluation for additional injuries that included a CT of his head.” Trump, he said, “will have further evaluations, including a comprehensive hearing exam, as needed. He will follow up with his primary care physician, as directed by the doctors that initially evaluated him,” he wrote. “In summary, former President Trump is doing well, and he is recovering as expected from the gunshot wound sustained last Saturday afternoon,” he added. The letter is the first official update about the former president’s condition since the night of the shooting. Jackson, a staunch Trump supporter, said in the letter that, as Trump’s former doctor, he was deeply concerned about the former president’s wellbeing in the aftermath of the attack and met him in Bedminster, New Jersey, late Saturday after Trump returned from Pennsylvania “to personally check on him, and offer my assistance in any way possible.”

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Trump speech ‘first good thing that’s happened to Democrats’ in weeks, says Axelrod

Democratic strategist David Axelrod said early Friday morning that former President Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention was “the first good thing that’s happened to Democrats in three weeks.” “People, I’m sure, responded very positively to his appeals to unity that were written on the teleprompter, and then he just ripped the bejesus out of everybody … all his political enemies and so on,” Axelrod, also a former Obama adviser, said on CNN. “I have to tell you … Chris Wallace said this,” Axelrod said. “This is the first good thing that’s happened to Democrats in the last three weeks.” Axelrod said Trump’s speech “really reminded everyone why Donald Trump is fundamentally unpopular outside this room.” Trump formally accepted his party’s presidential nomination Thursday via a long and rambling speech. It went longer than an hour and a half, resulting in it being the longest acceptance speech by a major party candidate. The former president and his advisers said earlier this week that he had scrapped his original convention speech draft in the wake of an assassination attempt on Saturday, opting for remarks that would be more restrained However, during his speech, Trump still went after top Democrats, naming President Biden and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Read this article at The Hill - Subscribers Only

‘Mr. Secretary’: Burgum won’t be Trump’s VP. But he appears poised to take another role.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) appears poised to step into an energy-related role in the next administration if former President Trump wins the White House. Burgum, who was reportedly on the short list of Trump’s potential running mates, was ultimately passed over in favor of Sen. JD Vance (Ohio). But after he wasn’t selected for that role, Burgum said Trump called him “Mr. Secretary.” And, during a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention this past week, Burgum gave a speech that focused largely on energy policy. “Unleashing American energy dominance is our path back to prosperity and peace through strength,” Burgum told the crowd on Wednesday. “Teddy Roosevelt encouraged America to speak softly and carry a big stick. Energy dominance will be the big stick that Trump will carry.”

Trump has publicly and privately praised Burgum’s acumen, saying at a rally that Burgum “probably knows more about energy than anybody I know.” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told The Hill that “over a year ago, Donald Trump asked me if I thought Doug Burgum would be a good energy secretary.” At the time, Cramer was supporting Burgum’s long-shot presidential bid. But the senator now has his own idea for the role that Burgum could play: energy czar. “To have somebody, either in the White House or or at one of the agencies that is charged with [an] all-of-government strategic approach to energy development would make a lot of sense,” Cramer said. “If we want to take full advantage of all that Doug Burgum could offer in the area of energy, we should give it all to him,” he added.

Read this article at The Hill - Subscribers Only

Trump mocks Democrats, insults Pelosi, in first campaign rally since assassination attempt

Donald Trumpheld his first campaign rally on Saturday since he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt one week ago, mocking Democrats and comparing former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to a "dog." After briefly calling for national unity earlier this week, Trump has since returned to his usual campaign tactics -- using insulting and sometimes offensive language to attack his opponents, and repeating a string of false claims about immigration, the economy and election fraud, major elements of his speech on Saturday. Trump frequently mocked Democratic President Joe Biden as feeble. He derided senior Democrats, including Pelosi, for trying to persuade Biden to end his re-election bid. There was a heavy police presence at Trump's rally in Grand Rapids on Saturday, with police on every street corner for several blocks.

U.S. Secret Service officers were positioned on the top balconies in the Van Andel Arena, giving them a bird's eye view of the crowd inside. Fresh from his nominating convention in Milwaukee where his takeover of the Republican Party was cemented, Trump appeared in Grand Rapids with his new vice presidential pick, Senator J.D. Vance from Ohio. They took the stage in their first campaign event together with the Republican Party unified behind them. In contrast, it is no longer certain that Biden will be the Democratic Party's nominee facing Trump in the Nov. 5 election. Biden has faced calls from some senior Democrats to end his re-election bid after his poor debate performance last month raised concerns over whether he could beat Trump or complete another four-year term. Many Democrats fear Biden may not have a realistic path to victory and that the party needs a new candidate to take on Trump. Trump attacked Democrats, saying they wanted to kick Biden off the ticket after he won their presidential nominating contest.

Read this article at Reuters - Subscribers Only

A 20-year-old’s perplexing place in the catalogue of American gunmen

In the months after an isolated, deeply troubled 20-year-old took his mother’s AR-style rifle and opened fire inside Sandy Hook Elementary School, gun sales in America exploded, partly fueled by the threat of a fresh ban on the assault weapons that would become the firearm of choice for some of the country’s most infamous killers. Millions of Americans rushed to stock up, and among 2013’s gun buyers, investigators would later learn, was a man in western Pennsylvania whose son was also in elementary school. He purchased an AR-style rifle that fired 5.56mm rounds. A decade later, his son — also isolated, troubled and 20 years old — shouldered that same rifle atop a sloped roof in Butler, Pa., and, according to authorities, fired it eight times in an apparent attempt to assassinate former president Donald Trump.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, shot and killed seconds later, remains enigmatic. A registered Republican who’d once given a $15 donation to a progressive group, he was, according to people who knew him, not overtly political or ideological. He did well in school, drew little attention in his middle-class, Bethel Park neighborhood. He didn’t leave behind a significant online presence or manifesto spelling out his motivation. Why he pulled the trigger, investigators still don’t know or, at least, have yet to say publicly. Where he fits into the ever-expanding catalogue of notorious American gunmen could take years to understand, according to experts and historians. He’s hard to categorize, in part because his still-evolving portrait evokes the profile of a mass shooter, at least one of whom he researched. But Crooks wasn’t a mass shooter, instead becoming what some historians believe to be the youngest person to make an attempt on the life of a current or past president. It’s important for investigators to understand what leads to any killing, but it’s essential in this case, at this moment, when some fear the country’s political fissures could lead to more bloodshed, said Jeffrey A. Engel, founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. Three decades ago, the U.S. Secret Service set out to analyze 83 actual or would-be assassins who had acted between 1949 and 1996, eventually publishing a report intended to help law enforcement better understand, and thwart, these attacks. By study’s end, the researchers had come to a stark conclusion: “There are no accurate — or useful — descriptive, demographic, or psychological ‘profiles’ of American assassins, attackers, and near-lethal approachers.” Crooks conforms with some of the report’s broader trends: 86 percent were men, 77 percent White; more than half were single, and three in five had no children; most attempts were on presidents, members of Congress or other public figures being protected by the Secret Service.

Read this article at Washington Post - Subscribers Only

Why Americans aren’t having babies

Americans aren’t just waiting longer to have kids and having fewer once they start—they’re less likely to have any at all. The shift means that childlessness may be emerging as the main driver of the country’s record-low birthrate. Women without children, rather than those having fewer, are responsible for most of the decline in average births among 35- to 44-year-olds during their lifetimes so far, according to an analysis of the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey data by University of Texas demographer Dean Spears for The Wall Street Journal. Childlessness accounted for over two-thirds of the 6.5% drop in average births between 2012 to 2022. While more people are becoming parents later in life, 80% of the babies born in 2022 were to women under 35, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics data.

“Some may still have children, but whether it’ll be enough to compensate for the delays that are driving down fertility overall seems unlikely,” says Karen Benjamin Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The change is far-reaching. More women in the 35-to-44 age range across all races, income levels, employment statuses, regions and broad education groups aren’t having children, according to research by Luke Pardue at nonprofit policy forum the Aspen Economic Strategy Group. Birthrates among 35- to 44-year-olds give demographers who study fertility an early look into millennials’ changing approach to parenthood. But these researchers also look closely at women over 40, reasoning that if a woman doesn’t have a child by then, she is more likely to remain childless. The number of American women over 40 who had no children was declining until 2018, according to Current Population Survey data, when it then began to rise again. Now, some demographers and economists expect the increase in childlessness will be sustained due to shifts in how people think about families.

Read this article at Wall Street Journal - Subscribers Only

'Ludicrous': Donors leave call with Kamala Harris frustrated and annoyed

A call Friday featuring Vice President Kamala Harris and about 300 major Democratic donors left many who dialed in frustrated, with one donor declaring it “ludicrous” shortly before it ended, according to two sources familiar with the call. One person on the call referred to it as “mismanaged” and “rushed.” They added expectations had not been managed well and some participants left feeling admonished. That person and two other sources said many donors joined hoping to get an insider’s view of how to move forward in the wake of President Joe Biden’s dismal debate performance and the growing number of Democrats calling for him to drop out of the race. Instead, they said donors left the call feeling disappointed and like they had not gained any new insights or helpful information.

“It was a total failure,” said one source who was on the call and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide a candid assessment. “It was damaging. It was poor planning.” The call had been organized by Jen O’Malley Dillon, the chair of Biden’s campaign, and not by the campaign’s finance team, according to a source familiar with the planning. One of the sources who was on the call said the donors who participated represented a wide range of views — some die-hard Biden fans, some unconvinced about his path forward and many views in between. At the end of the call, hundreds of participants were unmuted, and one person declared that the call was “ludicrous,” according to two of the sources. One source stressed that they took the comment to mean that the call was poorly run and not as a criticism of Harris. During the call, Harris, who was asked to join the call by Biden’s senior advisers, praised Biden, according to campaign officials.

Read this article at NBC News - Subscribers Only

Lead Stories

Trump urges unity after assassination attempt while proposing sweeping populist agenda in RNC finale

Donald Trump, somber and bandaged, accepted the GOP presidential nomination on Thursday at the Republican National Convention in a speech that described in detail the assassination attempt that could have ended his life just five days earlier before laying out a sweeping populist agenda, particularly on immigration. The 78-year-old former president, known best for his bombast and aggressive rhetoric, began his acceptance speech with a softer and deeply personal message that drew directly from his brush with death. Moment by moment, the crowd listening in silence, Trump described standing onstage in Butler, Pennsylvania, with his head turned to look at a chart on display when he felt something hit his ear. He raised his hand to his head and saw immediately that it was covered in blood.

“The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart,” Trump said, wearing a large white bandage on his right ear, as he has all week, to cover a wound he sustained in the Saturday shooting. “I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.” While he spoke in a gentler tone than at his usual rallies, Trump also outlined an agenda led by what he promises would be the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. He repeatedly accused people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally of staging an “invasion.” Additionally, he teased new tariffs on trade and an “America first” foreign policy. Trump also falsely suggested Democrats had cheated during the 2020 election he lost — despite a raft of federal and state investigations proving there was no systemic fraud — and suggested “we must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement,” even as he has long called for prosecutions of his opponents. He did not mention abortion rights, an issue that has bedeviled Republicans ever since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federally guaranteed right to abortion two years ago.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Why Trump's new VP pick J.D. Vance has some Texas Republicans worried about the economy

When former President Donald Trump announced Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate earlier this week, it struck some within Texas Republican ranks as an odd choice. The best selling author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a memoir exploring the demise of America’s working class, Vance has spoken in favor of raising the minimum wage and praised the work of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, an appointee of President Joe Biden, to rein in corporate monopolies. Last year he sponsored legislation with Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren to claw back executive pay on Wall Street in the event of another bank failure. That divergence from long held free market, anti-regulatory principles made Vance not the first choice of Trump’s running mate for more traditional conservatives within the Texas Republican Party, said Matt Mackowiak, an Austin political consultant.

Publicly, many Texas Republicans are praising Vance, 39, as a youthful breath of fresh air in a presidential election with two candidates over 75. State Rep. Stan Gerdes, R-Bastrop, once a top aide to former Gov. Rick Perry, said Vance represents “a new generation of bold leadership within the Republican Party and America.” But some business leaders have expressed skepticism, with media mogul Rupert Murdoch reportedly urging Trump to pick someone else and former AOL Chair Steve Case, who employed Vance at one of his investment funds, publicly questioning the nominee’s politics. In an op-ed in Time magazine this week, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a business professor at Yale University, said that behind the scenes some Republican CEOs were “disappointed” by Trump’s selection of Vance. Among their concerns, he wrote, were Vance’s support for raising taxes on corporations, increasing tariffs and his desire to devalue the dollar, increasing exports but also raising costs on U.S. consumers. “Not many Republicans think like that,” said Ed Hirs, an economics professor at the University of Houston. “Trump has targeted his base, and it’s not the moneyed class. Very few of the Fortune 500 have lined up behind Trump. He’s nobody they would be doing business with, and Vance appears to have gone all in on this.”

Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only

Flights grounded and offices hit as internet users face disruptions

A widespread technology outage grounded flights, knocked banks offline and media outlets off air on Friday in a massive disruption that affected companies and services around the world and highlighted dependence on software from a handful of providers. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said that the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack. Flights delayed at Berlin airport as widespread technology outage causes disruption around world Flights at Germany’s Berlin Airport were delayed on Friday morning as a widespread fault with some Microsoft technology caused chaos around the globe.

At Hong Kong’s airport, hundreds of travellers were queuing for manual check-in around the counters of budget airline HK Express, which said that its global e-commerce system was affected by Microsoft’s service outage. Hospital clerk Timmy Lo, 29, said that he and his girlfriend had been in the queue for more than two hours waiting to check in for their flight. The delay meant they could only arrive at their hotel in Tokyo in the early hours of Saturday amid infrequent public transportation services. “I am very tired because I have to stand in line all the time, and we don’t know when we can get in,” he said. Digital disruptions can cause real harm: cyber security expert A cyber security expert said internet outages will cause real harm as hospitals and other essential services are disrupted. “There are going to be deaths because of this. It’s inevitable,’’ said James Bore, the managing director of cyber security consulting company Bores. “We’ve got so many systems tied up with this. We’ve got emergency services. There are going to be excess deaths. People will die who wouldn’t have otherwise. And we’re not talking millions, but it is going to hurt people. And there are really serious consequences. That’s without getting into anything financial, which is of less importance. This is going to cause harm.”

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

'We can't catch a break.' How the Biden crisis looks from the inside

Hit by a rolling series of punches — the turmoil after President Biden's disastrous debate, the drip-drip-drip of damaging leaks from congressional allies, and now a campaign-stalling case of COVID — people who work inside the Biden campaign are discouraged and uncertain about what lies ahead. "We can't catch a break,” a Biden adviser said, speaking on condition of anonymity to frankly describe private conversations. Ever since Biden faltered in his debate three weeks ago against former President Donald Trump, the bad news just keeps coming — much of it from unnamed sources who are supposed to be allies of their team, the adviser said. While there have been some positive moments for the president since the debate, “They haven't been enough to get us back on solid footing," the adviser said.

Biden had been gaining a bit of a momentum, giving energetic rallies in three "Blue Wall" states, culminating in a fired-up retooled stump speech in Detroit on Friday, where supporters chanted, "Don't you quit!" But Biden's private meetings with top congressional leaders last week were sobering, and then there were the leaks from gatherings with rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers worried that Biden’s political woes will be toxic for their own races. "In moments of crisis, you really get to know a lot about people," the adviser said. Biden, a long-time senator, is pragmatic about the political calculations that lawmakers are making, the adviser said. But the president bristled in one meeting last weekend when Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., suggested, in a respectful tone, that Americans were losing sleep because they were worried about the national security risks associated with an aging president. Biden replied: "'Listen: if you have to come out against me, do whatever you need to do. But don't you dare say that Americans don't feel safe because of this,’" the adviser recounted.

Read this article at NPR - Subscribers Only

State Stories

Bye-bye bitcoin, hello AI: Texas miners leave crypto for next new wave

Just off of Interstate 20, in the heart of West Texas, is a town of 125,000 people called Abilene. Once a stopping point along a cross-country cattle trail in the days of the American Old West, the small outpost is now getting into the burgeoning artificial intelligence business. Houston-based tech company Lancium and Denver-based Crusoe Energy Systems announced on Thursday morning a multibillion-dollar deal to build a 200-megawatt data center just outside Abilene that is designed to "meet the unique needs of AI companies" — such as enabling advanced cloud computing for applications like medical research and aircraft design. It is the first phase of a larger 1.2-gigawatt build-out.

Lancium President Ali Fenn told CNBC that at full capacity, this will be one of the largest AI data center campuses in the world, in the latest example that the race to power AI — and leave bitcoin mining behind — is accelerating. "Data centers are rapidly evolving to support modern AI workloads, requiring new levels of high-density rack space, direct-to-chip liquid cooling and unprecedented overall energy demands," said Chase Lochmiller, Crusoe's co-founder and CEO. There are a lot of synergies between the bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure businesses. Mining firms have expansive data centers, with access to fiber lines and large amounts of power across the U.S. They're exactly the types of facilities needed for compute-intensive AI operations, which means their sites and technology are in high demand. Meanwhile, miners need to diversify. Following the bitcoin halving in April, an event that happens about once every four years, the business of generating new tokens has become much less profitable. JPMorgan Chase analysts wrote in a report in June that "some operators are feeling the financial pinch from the recent block reward halving, which cut industry revenues in half, and are actively exploring exit strategies."

Read this article at CNBC - Subscribers Only

Frances Hall, widow of trucking magnate, sentenced in multimillion-dollar fraud scheme

Frances Hall, who was convicted of murdering her trucking magnate husband in 2013, has avoided a second prison sentence after pleading guilty in a $9 million workers compensation fraud scheme. Hall, who lives in Helotes, was sentenced last week by a Travis County judge to 10 years of deferred adjudication — a form of probation — and ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution, the Texas Department of Insurance said Tuesday. She also must undergo treatment recommended by a probation department. Fraud investigators with the agency’s Division of Workers’ Compensation determined that from 2009 to 2016, Hall underreported payroll information to Texas Mutual Insurance Co. and concealed payroll reports to get lower insurance premiums for Bill Hall Jr. Trucking — a San Antonio gravel hauling business she and her husband operated. Hall, 61, continued to run it after his death.

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

Samsung slows opening of Texas fab despite CHIPS stimulus

Samsung has slowed the ramp of its new fab in Taylor, Texas, despite the Department of Commerce (DoC) conditionally awarding the company a $6.6 billion stimulus package under the CHIPS Act. The DoC told EE Times that the subsidies for Samsung and other CHIPS Act winners are not final yet. On April 15, the DoC and Samsung signed a non-binding agreement providing up to $6.4 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS Act to help revive chipmaking in the U.S. During a quarterly results announcement on April 30, Samsung said that it delayed the production start for the Taylor fab project from the second half of 2024 to “maybe 2026.” In 2021, Samsung announced that it would invest $17 billion in the fab that would make chips for mobile, 5G, high-performance computing and AI. In 2023, Samsung told EE Times it would make 4-nm chiplets for AI chip designer Tenstorrent from the fab by the end of 2024.

Read this article at E&E News - Subscribers Only

Why Councilman Marc Whyte outraised everyone else on council — including his colleagues running for mayor

City Council Member Marc Whyte raised more campaign money in recent months than anyone else on City Council, including his colleagues who are eyeing a 2025 mayoral run. The first-term councilman took in close to $88,000 during the first half of the year, according to a campaign finance report filed this week. That’s almost double what council’s second-highest fundraiser — District 8 Council Member Manny Peláez — reported. Peláez is one of four council members who have either announced their candidacies for mayor or are mulling a run for the seat in next May’s municipal election. Tech entrepreneur Beto Altamirano is also campaigning for the city’s highest elected office.

The very early start to the 2025 contest may have hurt some mayoral candidates’ fundraising efforts — but helped Whyte’s, said San Antonio political strategist Kelton Morgan. Real estate developers, lawyers, lobbyists and business owners who regularly contribute to city candidates may be reluctant to pick their favorites for mayor at this point because a contender more to their liking could emerge later. And few of these donors want to risk backing a losing candidate and potentially putting themselves on the bad side of San Antonio’s next mayor. But they “don’t have to worry about anybody getting upset that they gave money to Marc,” Morgan said. More than that, however, Whyte is a politician who isn’t afraid to work the phones and set up coffee meetings to solicit campaign contributions. He raised more than $164,000 (including $25,000 of his own money) for his unsuccessful 2018 bid for Texas House District 121, despite being one of six Republican primary candidates vying to replace Joe Straus.

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

Dallas County ransomware attack exposed personal information of more than 200,000 people

More than 200,000 people nationwide had their social security numbers, medical information, health insurance details, and other data exposed during a Dallas County ransomware attack last fall. County officials began sending letters July 10 notifying employees, residents and other impacted people that hackers had access to their information during an Oct. 19 data breach, said Lauren Trimble, chief of staff for Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins. The letters offer people two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. “Our foremost priority is the safety and security of our employees, our residents, and the public we serve,” she said in a statement Thursday, “and we have worked with external cybersecurity specialists to implement additional safeguards to further strengthen our environment.”

She added that some people whose data was exposed include residents who either received services from county agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services or gave their information to other organizations with county data sharing agreements. County officials have said new data safeguards include mandating password resets and blocking suspicious IP addresses. In late October, county officials said they’d detected the data breach earlier that month. Ransomware group Play claimed responsibility for the attack and, in early November, said it published stolen information online. County officials said in January that they were reviewing the data to determine if it was authentic. County officials said an investigation into the cyber attack was finished last Wednesday. Still, they haven’t said how it happened, if any payment was issued to hackers related to this incident, or confirmed whether any stolen information was leaked online. Trimble referred The Dallas Morning News to past county statements about its attack response when asked these questions. Dallas County Chief Privacy Officer Randall Miller didn’t immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment about the ransomware attack.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

The Texas-Texas A&M rivalry has cooled since 2011. Some are trying to reignite the fire

Texas offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr., said he was too young to remember the last Texas-Texas A&M game. New Aggies head coach Mike Elko, previously the defensive coordinator, has never experienced it, and said that nothing from his early years in New England likely compares. Texas’ Steve Sarkisian similarly spoke about it with an air of separation; in 2011, the last time the schools played, he was the head coach of Washington, and a Big 12 rivalry would’ve been far from his mind. All of that is changing this year, however, with Texas joining the SEC, and in November, the Longhorns and Aggies will face off for the first time in 13 years. Though the rivalry has laid dormant since A&M moved to the SEC, some around the programs have taken it upon themselves to spread the word: this rivalry and this game are important.

“A lot of players in the locker room don’t know the full extent [of the rivalry], but myself and the fans have been getting everyone on the same page. Like, ‘Hey, this is a big deal. We’re bringing this back,’” A&M offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III said at SEC Media Days. Zuhn played high school ball in Colorado, but he’s a lifelong Aggie. His parents went to A&M, his grandma too, and his grandpa was a professor there. Safe to say the hate runs deep. So deep, in fact that when he was younger and his family would come across Longhorns merch, he said they would turn it upside down. Now, with the game coming back, he bought a picture of a longhorn and hung it upside down by his bed to remind him of the stakes. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve been dreaming about this game since I was a little kid, playing in Kyle Field, playing against Texas. Like it doesn’t get better than that for an Aggie growing up,” he said.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Overturning Biden’s LNG order key to expanding Texas’ energy industry, congressman says

In an event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention, Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, singled out two key agenda items for his constituents in the oil-producing Permian Basin: overturning a Biden Administration directive on liquefied natural gas and passing legislation to ease permitting delays for major infrastructure projects. Both actions must be “at the top of the list,” Pfluger said at a discussion held Wednesday by Punchbowl News and sponsored by ExxonMobil. The San Angelo Republican described Biden’s decision, announced in January, as a “ban on energy exports” that needs to be “immediately reversed.” “We need to be sending LNG (liquefied natural gas) all over the world,” Pfluger told the crowd. “That’s American jobs. That’s adding to our” gross domestic product. He added that LNG exports are of geopolitical importance as an alternative to importing fuel from Russia, especially in Europe.

However, Mark Finley, a fellow in energy and global oil at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said it’s misleading to call Biden’s decision a “ban.” The directive does not affect facilities already in use or those that have permits and are in the works, Finley said in an email. “It didn’t impact any existing LNG exports, and it didn’t impact future LNG export terminals that had already been permitted,” Finley said. “That said, it certainly was a concern to countries that import U.S. LNG and plan to do more so in the future, such as Japan.” The U.S. is home to seven operational LNG terminals and at least five that are expected to come online in the coming years, according to The Associated Press. Biden’s move doesn’t affect those projects, but the directive could impact more than a dozen others. Texas has two operational LNG terminals, one in Corpus Christi and one in Freeport. Six other Texas facilities were approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission but are not yet operational. They are in Sabine Pass, Port Arthur, Freeport, Corpus Christi, and two in Brownsville.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Jury selection set to start in Jerry Jones trial against woman who says he is her father

A jury is scheduled to be selected Friday to hear Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ lawsuit against the woman who alleges she is his biological daughter, marking a major moment in legal battles that have been brewing between the two since 2022. The trial is scheduled to begin Monday morning in the U.S. district court in Texarkana. The 81-year-old billionaire Jones is suing 27-year-old Alexandra Davis and her mother, Cynthia Davis, accusing them of breaching a settlement they entered more than two decades ago. Jones said he, as the putative father, and the Davises reached an agreement in 1998 preventing them from “suing or supporting any suit to establish paternity” and to keep the settlement details confidential in exchange for millions of dollars from the younger Davis’ “early childhood through adulthood,” according to court documents.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Flour Bluff ISD, Coastal Bend lawmakers talk rising property insurance costs

As insurance costs have risen, coastal school districts are facing a financial storm. Flour Bluff ISD invited Texas Rep. Todd Hunter and Texas Sen. Morgan LaMantia to a school board workshop Tuesday. In order to afford teacher raises, the district is considering lowering insurance coverage that the district could need if school buildings are damaged by hurricanes or storms. Climate change is increasing the intensity and severity of hurricanes, resulting in more physical damage and deaths. Since Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, Flour Bluff ISD and other area school districts have seen property insurance premiums rise while the amount of coverage has dramatically decreased. The insurance market was "soft" and favorable for consumers until about 2018, Chase Carlisle of Carlisle Insurance told the Flour Bluff ISD school board Tuesday. Since then, the market has been "hard", which means carriers have pulled out of the market, reduced coverage and increased rates. Carlisle Insurance works with districts in South Texas from Victoria to the Rio Grande Valley.

"We're all aware of what happened in 2017," Carlisle said. "We had Harvey here locally. We had Irma and Maria in Florida and Puerto Rico. That set off a hard market." Between 2020-21 and the upcoming 2024-25 school year, the district has seen premiums jump by over $1.7 million. For 2024-25, the district's property insurance premium, which renewed in March, is about $3.2 million. Texas has not updated the basic school funding formula since 2019 and plans to boost teacher pay faltered in the Texas Legislature in 2023. Across the Coastal Bend, school districts have faced years of challenges as they've attempted to provide small raises for teachers despite budget shortfalls. The state's basic allotment, which is the per-student amount Texas uses to calculate school funding, is currently set at $6,160. Steinbruck said current insurance premiums per student are well over $500 in Flour Bluff ISD. Flour Bluff ISD cannot increase the property tax rate without a voter-approval tax ratification election, which the district attempted unsuccessfully in 2022. Now, the only place in the budget where the district can possibly see savings is by reducing property insurance coverage, Steinbruck said.

Read this article at Corpus Christi Caller-Times - Subscribers Only

Data breach at South Texas Oncology and Hematology triggers six potential class-action lawsuits

San Antonio’s South Texas Oncology and Hematology PLLC is facing six potential class-action lawsuits over a data breach that may have compromised the personal health information of more than 170,000 patients. Boerne resident Dee Vauda Russ filed a complaint June 25 in federal court in San Antonio putting the number at 180,000 and seeking more than $5 million in damages on their behalf. On July 2, another plaintiff sued in the same court, while four others recently filed complaints in state District Court in San Antonio. Representatives of South Texas Oncology and Hematology, more commonly known as the Start Center for Cancer Care, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

On its website, though, the business disclosed that on Feb. 15 it detected “unusual activity on its network and discovered that it was the victim of a cybersecurity incident.” Four days later, it said, it discovered that personal information of its employees and patients “may have been compromised.” It reported to the Texas Attorney General’s Office that the information included names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, medical information and health insurance information. In its undated online notice regarding the breach, the company said it has “no evidence that any sensitive information has been misused by third parties” as a result. No information about who was behind the hack was disclosed. In her federal lawsuit, Russ said she was not notified of the data breach until receiving a letter June 13 — nearly four months after South Texas Oncology detected the incident.

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

Intersect Power secures $837 million to boost Texas storage portfolio by nearly 1 GWh

Intersect Power has closed on $837 million in financing commitments for three standalone utility-scale battery energy storage projects expected to come online this year, the company said Wednesday. The Lumina I, Lumina II and Radian facilities will each have 320 MWh of storage capacity with 2-hour discharge durations, adding nearly 1 GWh of storage capacity to complement approximately 1.2 GW of peak solar capacity at Intersect’s nearby Lumina and Radian solar farms. “These assets should allow us to provide more consistent financial performance from a diversified fleet of renewable generation and storage, benefiting from increasing market volatility and periods of high prices while protecting us from periods of low market prices,” Intersect Power CEO Sheldon Kimber said in a statement.

Read this article at Utility Dive - Subscribers Only

R.I.P., Zac Crain (1974-2024)

Zac Crain was a wildly gifted writer with impeccable taste in music and movies, a history of romantic involvements as colorful as his sneaker collection, and shockingly troublesome teeth for a man who looked as good as he did in a tight t-shirt. He once traveled to Italy to have his girlfriend’s father extract a molar in an at-home procedure (an anecdote that is more true than not). Zac would hate this obituary. He didn’t take teasing well. That might have been his only shortcoming. Besides the teeth. His middle name was Lee, and he grew up in West-comma-Texas. One of his canonical childhood stories involved getting impaled by a pitchfork and treating the wound only with Bactine. Also, he once rode a bicycle into a mailbox while wearing nothing but jeans. He suffered a concussion but kept riding. Zac rode out a lot of stuff that he probably should have paid more attention to. Maybe that was another shortcoming.

How many White kids in West subscribed to The Source magazine in 1990? We’ll guess there was just one. That love of hip-hop eventually landed him at the Dallas Observer, where he served as music critic. But his first job in journalism was at the Grapevine Sun, where his desk sat next to that of an older reporter who drank whiskey out of a coffee mug. He had an unusual name and a baroque explanatory ritual for said name that he performed each time he made a reporting call. Zac had a comedy routine that he honed over the years to a tight five minutes in which he did an impression of this older reporter making phone calls. It was brilliant. Zac was always studying people like that. He saw what made people tick, and he saw their tics. There is a group text in which Zac has roasted people he knew in such an insightful way that, if they ever saw what he’d written, it would make those people forever think differently about themselves. Mostly, though, he used his powers of observation for good, writing profiles for D Magazine, where he worked for 17 years. He wrote a lot of stuff for the magazine, including the story about the 2013 explosion in his hometown, but the profiles stand out: Charley Pride, Erykah Badu, Mike Rhyner, Tony Dorsett, Corky Cunningham, Troy Aikman. Read this profile of DJ Sober, and marvel at how he sees the man and weaves music through his scenes. No other writer in Dallas could do what Zac did. In the whole country, there might be a small handful. This is not an exaggeration.

Read this article at D Magazine - Subscribers Only

Longtime Fort Worth literary figure dies

Longtime TCU Press editor Judith MacBain Alter, 85, died July 13 after a brief illness. A key figure in the literary life of Fort Worth, Alter made a name for herself in Western literature and remained active until shortly before her death. “We are beyond heartbroken to post this news that our mom, our most adored Juju, passed away on July 13 after a very short and sudden battle with cancer,” her family wrote on Alter’s website. For all her associations with Cowtown and Western themes, Alter hailed from Chicago and, according to a Dallas Morning News profile, only remembered her family being aware of the cattle industry there when the wind shifted. But when she and her former husband, Joel Alter, moved to Fort Worth in 1965, Judy demonstrably embraced Fort Worth and its heritage and began to make her mark as a writer and editor, said Kathryn Allen, a longtime friend and colleague who was editor at the SMU Press.

“She out-Texaned those of us who had been here a lot longer than her,” Allen said. Allen said she was always amazed at how Alter managed three demanding jobs at once. “She was a devoted and a pragmatic single mom of four adopted kids, and she somehow managed to work full time as an editor and, later, director for many years of the TCU Press. As a trifecta, she was able to write books, lots of articles, lots of book reviews,” said Allen. Writing was in her blood, said Tracy Hull, dean of the TCU Library. “If she wasn’t working on a new book, she had an idea percolating in her mind, or she’d channel her energies into her regular, and often amusing, blog entries,” said Hull. Early on, Alter integrated herself into the Fort Worth literary community, Hull said. “She was respected not only for her own works but for her encouragement and guidance to other authors through her editorial work and active involvement in a number of writing groups,” said Hull.

Read this article at Fort Worth Report - Subscribers Only

Texas surrogacy company owner accused of stealing millions to fund music career

A Texas surrogacy company is accused of stealing millions of dollars from prospective parents to fund the owner’s lavish lifestyle and musical ambitions. Dominique Side, owner of a Houston surrogacy escrow business, siphoned an estimated $16 million to pay for designer clothes, luxury vehicles, lavish foreign travel, homes in Houston and New Orleans and membership in an exclusive celebrity club, according to a lawsuit filed this month in Harris County. Side also used money “to bankroll her music career” as “Dom,” a rap and R&B singer and music producer, the suit alleges. Court filings describe how prospective parents were thrown into chaos when the company abruptly shut down without explanation in June. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of about 30 people, according to court filings.

The FBI is investigating the company, Surrogacy Escrow Account Management, and asked clients to contact it. It is not clear how many people are affected, but Houston-area news outlets have reported the number could reach several hundred. A Facebook group called “SEAM breach” has grown to nearly 800 members, the suit says. Because surrogacy costs tens of thousands of dollars, agencies typically recommend parents hire a third-party escrow company to keep the money and make payments to surrogates, essentially acting as a go-between. SEAM had operated as an escrow for nearly a decade without problems, according to reporting by the Houston Chronicle. But in early June, clients noticed payments were not being made. After sending a series of emails reassuring them the glitches were due to technical banking problems, Side sent a brief announcement on June 14 saying SEAM had ceased all business “due to legal action” and disappeared. In June, a Harris County judge ordered SEAM’s assets frozen.

Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only

Tarrant County cuts ties with juvenile offender program over DEI programs

Tarrant County is cutting ties with a program that provides alternatives to youth incarceration over concerns that the nonprofit’s website mentions “diversity initiatives” and “systemic racism.” The Tarrant County Juvenile Board voted Wednesday to not renew its contract of Youth Advocate Programs Inc. The nonpartisan group, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, provides counseling, mentors and community service in an effort to reduce repeat offenders. It has worked with the county since 1992. The contract expires Aug. 31. Judge Chris Wolfe, of the 213th District Court, and Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare raised the motion to stop the contract. They questioned language on Youth Advocate Programs’ website, such as “policy and advocacy,” “diversity initiatives,” and “systemic racism.”

Wolfe said he had never heard of the organization and was concerned about its leadership’s efforts in reform and political advocacy he saw on their website. “It reflects hot topics and controversy politically,” Wolfe said. The proposal on the budget was to increase funding for the program to $312,500, because the services were used at a higher rate than expected in 2024. Youth Advocate Programs would have provided “substance abuse interventions, family counseling and trauma informed care to youth/families under the jurisdiction of juvenile court.” Nearly 70% of children under supervision in Tarrant County Juvenile Services receive services from Youth Advocate Programs Inc., according to Bennie Medlin, the department’s director and chief juvenile probation officer. “They have a big footprint in the services that we offer,” Medlin said. “And if they go away, we don’t have anything to replace those services.” Wolfe, O’Hare, and other judges asked for more options within the country that provide the same services.

Read this article at Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Subscribers Only

City Stories

San Antonio business partners who traded fraud accusations over pandemic food aid make peace

After trading accusations of fraud and self-dealing, two San Antonio businessmen who were partners in a troubled venture to distribute federal food aid to needy families during the pandemic have settled their legal dispute. The fight stemmed from a joint venture between event planner Gregorio Palomino and chef Iverson Brownell to participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farmers to Families Food Box Program, which sought to distribute surplus food to Americans suffering economic hardships resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In a suit filed in December 2022, Brownell's Fork and Garden catering firm accused Palomino and his company, CRE8AD8, of violating an agreement to split profits from the venture evenly. Instead, according to Brownell, Palomino made “excessive distributions to himself and/or excessive payments to family members.”

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

Bresnahan family: A call to close the education gap for Latinos in San Antonio

(Leticia Zúñiga Bresnahan is a former NEISD school board trustee, current director for Region 20 ESC, and retired director of continuing medical director at UT Health. Genevieve Hubbard is a graduate of San Antonio public schools and a practicing attorney at Squire, Patton, Boggs, in Washington, D.C. Gabriela Bresnahan is a graduate of San Antonio public schools and is a marketing professional in Dallas.) In recent years, the San Antonio metropolitan area has seen a significant demographic shift. Latinos now comprise 64% of the city's population, yet a glaring statistic casts a shadow over this growth. According to the World Population Review, only 18.86% of Latinos hold bachelor's degrees. This number has remained relatively stagnant for decades, despite the ongoing increase of the Latino population in the Metroplex. The Enduring Gap podcast, a 2022 limited series on Texas Public Radio, discussed research conducted by Vanessa Sansone, assistant professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio, who highlighted this Latino college gap, emphasizing that educational attainment significantly impacts economic opportunities.

The data from Sansone’s research is stark and unequivocal: Individuals with bachelor's degrees can increase lifetime earnings by $1.2 million to $1.3 million, and even more in fields such as engineering. In a country where quality of life primarily hinges on income, improving bachelor's degree attainment among Latinos in San Antonio is more than just a matter of personal achievement, but a crucial step toward prosperity in San Antonio. In response to the enduring gap highlighted in the podcast, a group of Latina women in San Antonio have come together to help raise awareness and improve this rate. We are fortunate enough to have experienced firsthand the transformative power of a bachelor's degree. Inspired by the podcast's message, our mission is clear: advocate for policies and programs that promote educational equity and opportunity for all Latinos in our city. San Antonio's 2024 Status of Poverty report shows that addressing poverty is essential. Nearly 18% of the population lives in poverty, which is higher than the national average of 11.5%.

Read this article at San Antonio Express-News - Subscribers Only

National Stories

Construction: A market that defies expectations

Less than one year ago – in the September/October 2023 edition of International Construction – North American equipment sales (for which the US accounts for more than 90%) for 2022 were reported at a record-high with 2023 figures expected to drop slightly. Just a few months later, it turns out that the downturn experts were expecting never materialised. Instead, another record was set with more than 330,000 construction units sold; an 8% increase from the year-prior and another sales record for the region. The high sales levels are a symptom of the fact that construction activities – especially on infrastructure – have received a bevy of federal funding, and the industry is expected to remain busy through 2026.

While analysts are sceptical the country can break the equipment sales record three straight years, with megaprojects on the rise, more advanced machines will be needed than ever before, as the industry (machine sales aside) is poised again for another strong year of construction revenues. Perhaps what’s most intriguing about the US’ construction industry success in 2023 is that it made significant gains where its peers saw declines. “For example, equipment sales in Canada dropped around 5% in 2023, and the European market was down by a similar amount,” says Chris Sleight, managing director of Off-Highway Research. Sleight believes 2024 will see a decrease but noted that even as much as a 10% decline would still put equipment sales near a long term historic high. A drop, also, could help quell concerns about bloating inventory figures in the rental segment. Off-Highway Research anticipates North American equipment sales will again top the 300,000-units sold mark, which would be the first time in history the continent moved that many units in three consecutive years. “This should all help keep the construction equipment market at very good levels in 2024,” said Sleight. “Unit sales might be lower because the slowdown in residential will affect demand for high-volume compact equipment.

Read this article at Construction Briefing - Subscribers Only

Lou Dobbs, conservative pundit and longtime cable TV host for Fox Business and CNN, dies at 78

Lou Dobbs, the conservative political pundit and veteran cable TV host who was a founding anchor for CNN and later was a nightly presence on Fox Business Network for more than a decade, has died. He was 78. His death was announced Thursday in a post on his official X account, which called him a “fighter till the very end – fighting for what mattered to him the most, God, his family and the country.” No cause of death was given. “Lou’s legacy will forever live on as a patriot and a great American. We ask for your prayers for Lou’s wonderful wife Debi, children and grandchildren,” the post said. He hosted “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox Business from 2011 to 2021, following two separate stints at CNN.

Fox News Media said in a statement that the network was saddened by Dobbs’ passing. “An incredible business mind with a gift for broadcasting, Lou helped pioneer cable news into a successful and influential industry,” the statement said. “We are immensely grateful for his many contributions and send our heartfelt condolences to his family.” Dobbs was an early and vocal supporter of Donald Trump during his candidacy for the White House and throughout his presidency. After his death was announced Thursday, Trump wrote on his media platform Truth Social that Dobbs was a friend and a “truly incredible Journalist, Reporter, and Talent.” “He understood the World, and what was ‘happening,’ better than others. Lou was unique in so many ways, and loved our Country. Our warmest condolences to his wonderful wife, Debi, and family. He will be greatly missed!" Trump wrote on the platform.

Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only

Top Democrats prepare for campaign without Biden

President Biden’s re-election bid moved into a perilous stretch as allies and donors began looking to a future where a new candidate sits atop the ticket and data showed him losing in a landslide. People close to top Democrats said Thursday that it now appeared it was a matter of when—not if—Biden bows out of the presidential race. In the past day or so, former President Barack Obama has told friends who have called him that Biden’s path to victory is narrow, according to people familiar with the calls. Senior Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), have indicated to some major donors that they are actively planning next steps should Biden decide to leave the ticket, people familiar with the discussions said. A Schumer spokesperson said many people have come to the leader with their ideas but that he hasn’t taken action on them.

Sen. Jon Tester became the second Democratic senator to call for President Biden to drop out of the race. Tester is considered the most vulnerable Democratic senator up for re-election this cycle, given that former President Donald Trump won Montana by double digits in 2020. A detailed report compiled by Democrats showing the president forecast to lose in an Electoral College landslide has sent alarm bells through the party’s leadership and led to renewed calls publicly and privately for the president to drop out. The data, which is based on thousands of voter surveys compiled by Democratic firm Blue Rose Research and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, shows Biden losing not only all the swing states, but also behind or even in New Hampshire, Minnesota, New Mexico, Virginia and Maine. It shows the president leading by only 2.9 percentage points in New Jersey. A major concern for Democrats up and down the ballot is the fact that half of voters, including 28% of those who backed Biden in 2020 and 52% of swing voters, think Democrats in office have been lying about the president’s mental fitness. The report says voters are likely to view Democrats’ defense of Biden as dishonest by a two-to-one margin.

Read this article at Wall Street Journal - Subscribers Only

Kamala Harris allies prepare her defense

Allies of Kamala Harris are engaged in a delicate, behind-the-scenes effort to make sure the vice president moves to the top of the ticket if President Joe Biden steps aside, according to five people involved in the project or with knowledge of the discussions. The endeavor, which has not been sanctioned by Harris or her team, has become more urgent as Joe Biden’s presidential campaign appeared to be teetering late Thursday. The informal campaign is complicated because of how urgently Harris would need to build a political operation as well as craft a biography that makes it clear she has more to offer than her high-profile defense of reproductive rights to include other foreign and domestic issues, the people involved said. The plan is to create a set of talking points around her accomplishments to paint a more fulsome picture of a candidate.

It’s also an acknowledgment from her allies that there is still doubt within the party, including Democratic leaders, about her ability to win the presidency against former President Donald Trump. And there will be little time to, first, stop an open convention and, second, win in November. The disjointed group is not trying to push Biden aside, but rather activating an army to be ready to defend the person who they believe should be the new presidential nominee. “There is an effort quietly afoot to position an apparatus to turn on the lights” when the time is right, said one person directly involved in the conversations, who like others in this story were granted anonymity to discuss private and sensitive discussions. Those familiar with the effort — which is targeted at Democratic party leaders — say it includes former Harris staffers, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, civil rights leaders and long-standing allies of the vice president.

Read this article at Politico - Subscribers Only

GOP efforts to reach Black voters through RNC a ‘miscalculation’

Republican efforts to win over Black voters during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee may have fallen short as GOP members failed to showcase party diversity and fell back on controversial talking points. Though former President Trump is hoping to siphon Black voter support from Democrats this year, only eight of the speakers at the convention were Black, and seven spoke on the first night, when viewership is often at its lowest. There were no elected Black woman speaking at the convention – a stark comparison to the DNC, where Vice President Harris will deliver remarks. “This is a miscalculation on behalf of the Republican Party,” Mondale Robinson, founder of the Black Male Voter Project, told The Hill. “There’s no real outreach to Black people from the Republican National Convention and their efforts to reach us through this performance at the RNC is as tacky as Trump’s tan.”

GOP efforts to speak to Black voters included launching a Black voter outreach initiative the week ahead of the RNC, as well as leaning on Black voices, most notably reality television star and model Amber Rose. In her speech, Rose spoke of “finding her people” among Trump supporters and realizing that the media had been wrong about Trump. Some prominent Republicans have cheered Rose’s speech, with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) describing the influencer’s remarks as “heartwarming.” “I loved her speech. I thought she did a fantastic job,” she told The Hill in Milwaukee this week, adding she “watched the whole thing.” Her inclusion is seen in the GOP as part of a larger push to expand the party’s appeal. “We’re reaching out to nontraditional Republican voters,” Washington state Rep. Jim Walsh, a delegate and chair of the state’s Republican Party, said when asked about Rose being in the convention’s speaker lineup. “That’s what we did in the district I represent in the legislature in Washington.”

Read this article at The Hill - Subscribers Only

Funeral for man slain at Trump rally to be held in Pennsylvania

Mourners prepared to gather on Friday in a corner of western Pennsylvania to say their final goodbyes to Corey Comperatore, the father of two who was killed during an attempt to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump at a rally last weekend. The funeral was set to take place at 11 a.m. at the church in Cabot, Pa., where Mr. Comperatore, 50, was a longtime member. Afterward, a procession of fire trucks — as many as 500, some from as far as Florida and Texas — will travel from the church to the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company in neighboring Sarver, where Mr. Comperatore served for decades. Mr. Comperatore’s life revolved around this small pocket of Pennsylvania: He grew up in Sarver and still lived there with his high school sweetheart and two daughters. He attended church in Cabot and graduated from high school in nearby Freeport.

People here are not accustomed to crowds, but crowds are what they have spent the week preparing for as Mr. Comperatore has been thrust into the national spotlight. A large electronic billboard above a road in Freeport displayed a photo of Mr. Comperatore, who Gov. Josh Shapiro said dived in front of his family to protect them as shots rang out. Next to his photo was a phrase that has been uttered by the governor and residents across Pennsylvania: “A Real Hero.” On Thursday night, Mr. Trump singled out Mr. Comperatore during his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, saying that he had “lost his life selflessly.” Mr. Comperatore’s firefighter uniform stood onstage near Mr. Trump as he spoke. At one point, the former president kissed the helmet and asked the crowd to observe a moment of silence for “our friend, Corey.”

Read this article at New York Times - Subscribers Only

Trump family reshapes Republican Party in its own image

For Donald Trump, the campaign to return to the White House is a family affair. His media-shy wife made a dramatic return at his side for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday, while his sons Donald Jr. and Eric have been ubiquitous at the gathering all week. Even his granddaughter, 17-year-old Kai Trump, made a speech, as the former president's family has offered a way to soften his image in the aftermath of his recent convictions and other legal woes. It was the elusive Melania's first public showing alongside her husband since he was almost killed in an assassination attempt at a rally last Saturday -- though she did issue a fiery statement soon after the shooting. Melania had also been largely absent in recent months from Trump's political life, but drew wild cheers as she entered the convention hall, solo and dressed in red, minutes before his big showstopper speech.

"I am deeply honored to be accompanied by my wonderful wife, Melania," Trump said from the stage. Prior to Thursday, Melania had not accompanied the former president on the campaign trails, nor at court appearances in a New York criminal case that saw him convicted of covering up hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had a sexual encounter with the real estate tycoon. "She's a complete enigma," said Natasha Lindstaedt, a political scientist at the University of Essex, adding that the former model did not "play the typical role" of a former first lady. "Although she seemed to share similar views to Trump on a lot of issues... she has a very conservative worldview, she doesn't seem to care that much what people think and kind of does her own thing." On Thursday she finally arrived at her husband's side on stage, at the end of his hour-and-a-half speech. As balloons tumbled around them, the pair exchanged an awkward kiss and held hands.

Read this article at AFP - Subscribers Only

Copyright July 27, 2024, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved