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Newsclips - February 16, 2026 |
Lead Stories
Abbott steps into Texas GOP primaries as poll shows his picks trailing
Fans of the 1942 classic movie "Casablanca" may remember Humphrey Bogart's character declaring, "I stick my neck out for nobody." For much of his 11 years as governor, Greg Abbott has lived by the same motto in election years when his name was on the ballot. In Texas, all candidates for statewide office are on their own. Each party's candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run independently. And Texas governors do not have a cabinet in the traditional sense, so agencies such as the Agriculture Department, the Comptroller's Office and the Attorney General's Office are run by people elected by voters and not necessarily by whomever the governor might prefer.
Abbott, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth term, is hoping to change that dynamic this cycle — a gamble that early polling suggests could backfire. A University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs poll released Tuesday shows Abbott’s preferred candidates trailing in two key Republican primaries. The governor was quick to endorse Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock in the March 3 Republican primary. Hancock, a former state senator, took over the duties of comptroller with Abbott's blessing in July 2025 after Glenn Hegar vacated his office to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. In January, the governor took the unusual step of snubbing Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a fellow Republican state officeholder, and throwing his support behind political newcomer Nate Sheets in the primary. And Abbott is sticking his neck out for Hancock and Sheets. There's little downside for political candidates struggling to become known to lean into their ties with a proven vote-getter like Abbott. The risk for the governor is that one or both candidates could come up short with voters — potentially undercutting his influence during the remainder of the election year and into next year’s legislative session.
Read this article at Austin American-Statesman - Subscribers Only
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Palantir is the new Dem bogeyman
Palantir, the data giant and top government contractor, is quickly becoming one of the left’s most hated companies. The Palantir skepticism is keenly felt in competitive Democratic primaries, where any ties to the corporation are quickly turned into political attacks. Palantir’s work with ICE — at a time when many Democrats and immigration rights groups are demanding the agency be abolished — has made the tech company especially toxic. Progressives also criticize Palantir for working with the Israeli government. Palantir technology is allegedly being used in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Here’s how the Palantir controversy is playing out in Democratic primaries across the country.
Texas:Former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) is slamming his primary opponent, Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas), for her history of owning Palantir stock. An Allred attack ad accuses Johnson of “making thousands from the company ICE uses to track and detain our neighbors.” Johnson has strongly pushed back while downplaying her Palantir holdings. “With Palintir specifically, it was less than $8,000, and I made $90 on the whole thing,” Johnson said. “I consistently voted against Palantir’s interest in Homeland Security [Committee], time, time and time again.” New York: Palantir is playing big in two New York City House primaries. In New York’s 12th District, Democrat Alex Bores is battling attacks over his former employment at Palantir from 2014 to 2019. Bores says he never worked on any ICE contracts. This hasn’t stopped attack ads that claim “ICE is powered by Bores’ tech” and that Bores was “powering their deportations.”
Read this article at Punchbowl News - Subscribers Only
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Democrats’ struggles could be partly because they’re just too old, says Obama
Former President Barack Obama is urging the Democratic Party to invest in younger candidates if it wants to come out victorious in the 2026 midterm elections and, eventually, the 2028 presidential election. In an interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen that was published Saturday, the 64-year-old said part of the reason his own elections were so successful was because he was young at the time. “I’m a pretty healthy 64, feel great, but the truth is, half of the references that my daughters make about social media, TikTok and such, I don’t know who they’re talking about,” he said. “There is an element of, at some point, you age out. You’re not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through.”
Former President Joe Biden, who was Obama’s vice president, was the oldest man to assume the presidency at the age of 78 in 2021. His decision to seek reelection in 2024 repeatedly drew concerns from voters who wondered how the octogenarian would be able to handle a second term in the White House. The fears were only amplified after a disastrous debate performance full of gaffes and losing his trains of thought. Obama, who had originally supported Biden in the election, went on to campaign for Biden’s younger replacement atop the ticket, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, after Biden ended his campaign. Congressional leaders have long faced criticism for the advanced age of members. A 2023 Pew Research poll found that nearly 80 percent of adults favor maximum age limits for elected officials. The idea extends to public attitudes toward Supreme Court justices, with 74 percent of adults favoring a maximum age limit for the nation’s highest court. “I’m not making a hard and fast rule here, but I do think that Democrats do well when we have candidates who are plugged into the moment, to the zeitgeist, to the times and the particular struggles that folks are thinking about as they look towards the future, rather than look backward toward the past,” Obama told Cohen. Obama also said he hopes to “reinvigorate” the “civic muscles” of Americans through his presidential center, particularly of young Americans.
Read this article at Politico - Subscribers Only
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The break is over. Companies are jacking up prices again.
After holding the line on prices for several months, companies—big and small—have begun a new round of increases, in some cases by high-single-digit percentage points. Companies had raised prices last year after tariffs hoisted costs. Yet starting in the fall, many firms held off on increases and sometimes offered discounts to capture holiday shoppers. The pricing break is over. Many companies typically raise prices at the start of the new year. Yet increases appeared to be stronger than normal for January for electronics, appliances and other durable goods, said UBS economist Alan Detmeister. Some companies have pointed a finger at tariffs for their increases, while others, especially small businesses, also blame higher wages and hefty health-insurance costs that firms said they can’t absorb or share with suppliers.
Prices on the most affordable imported goods are up by 2.3% since dipping at the end of November, according to data through Feb. 10 collected by Alberto Cavallo, a Harvard Business School professor who tracks daily online prices at major U.S. retailers. The Adobe Digital Price Index found that online prices posted their largest monthly increase in a dozen years in January, driven by higher prices for electronics, computers, appliances, furniture and bedding. Columbia Sportswear said it is upping prices of spring and fall merchandise by, on average, a high single-digit percent after mostly avoiding increases for fall and winter goods. The company said it has also renegotiated prices with its factories and taken other steps to reduce costs. “When combined with our other mitigation tactics, our goal in ’26 is to offset the dollar impact of high tariffs,” Chief Executive Tim Boyle said in an earnings call earlier this month. Such new price increases follow last year’s wave of tariff-driven price hikes. Retail prices started falling beginning in October, with the biggest drops before Black Friday, Harvard’s Cavallo said. But they then started rising again, particularly after Christmas, in what looks like a postholiday reset.
Read this article at Wall Street Journal - Subscribers Only
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State Stories
How American Airlines is taking on rival United Airlines in Chicago
The Windy City is one of the premier battlegrounds for aviation in the U.S. It’s a popular hub for travelers connecting both to the east and west, and was recently named the No. 1 city for business travel, which airlines rely on to generate premium revenue. In fact, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is the dominant carrier at Midway International Airport. For these reasons and a few others, it’s also why American Airlines and United Airlines have found themselves locked in the aviation world’s equivalent of a cage match to dominate Chicago O’Hare International Airport — sparking a nasty turf war that’s riveted the industry. The knock-down, drag-out war between the longtime rivals seems to have no bounds, with the weapons of choice including dueling press releases, a lawsuit over gate space, and taunting highway billboards.
Fort Worth-based American, the leading U.S. airline by number of flights and Chicago’s hometown airline United, are going head-to-head by pouring hundreds of flights into the O’Hare hub, in addition to investing in other areas in attempts to win over potential customers. For American, the outcome of the battle could have a ripple effect on its entire business. The carrier is significantly lagging rivals United and Delta in earnings and is racing to close a gap in premium product offerings. “When it comes to Chicago, we would expect that it returns to the average profitability of our hub network,” American’s CEO Robert Isom told analysts during last month’s earnings call. “It’s going to be our third-largest hub, and we’re going to keep taking care of our customers and making sure that it performs as best as it possibly can.” This month, United and American will offer 3.5 million seats and 2.6 million seats, respectively. Combining for more than 53,000 flights, the two global airlines will account for about 85% of the market share at O’Hare this month, according to data from Diio by Cirium, an aviation analytics company.
Read this article at Dallas Morning News - Subscribers Only
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As expected, Austin's housing market fell flat in January
January results are in for the local housing market, and the data is a mixed bag. Despite a fall in finished sales, leases and dollar volume last month, Unlock MLS’s January report points to more pending sales as a positive sign for buyer momentum. Year-over-year sales and leases were down 14.8% and 4.1% respectively, but there were 2,349 in-progress sales for the month – 10.1% more than January 2025. “Deals are still happening across Central Texas, but they’re taking more time and strategy to get across the finish line,” said John Crowe, president of Unlock MLS and Austin Board of Realtors, in a statement. Austin’s current buyers are some of the most intentional in the nation. Redfin’s December housing report shows the average home took 106 days to go under contract – the longest of the nation’s 50 biggest metros.
The January data isn’t a shocker. Housing experts went into 2026 expecting a flat year for home builds and sales as buyers remain slow to jump into the market. Despite stabilizing interest rates and pricing falls, data shows many people are holding out for sub-five interest rates and better pricing. Dollar volume for home sales also sank at an average 14.3% across the metro. Bastrop County tumbled the furthest with $27,279,673 worth of sales last month – a 28.8% decrease from January 2025. Unlock MLS market research advisor Vaike O'Grady previously said the market requires a level-out after the highs of the pandemic. The January market only reinforces that, she said, showing signs of a "sustainable foundation" for the area.
Read this article at Austin Business Journal - Subscribers Only
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Despite pressure from Abbott, AISD students keep up anti-ICE protests
On Friday, Feb. 6, at about 2pm, hundreds of students at Clint Small Middle School walked out of class with backpacks on and posters in their hands to protest the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the country, “including the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents,” according to their student-released statement. “We are skipping our lessons to teach you one,” one student’s sign read. Another sign, made of glued-together sheets of paper, spelled out “Abolish ICE.” As the large cohort of students made their way down the 290 frontage road to the Target shopping center, and later toward William Cannon Drive, the students displayed their signs to the passing cars, several honking in support.
“It’s been easy to feel like I don’t have a voice in these matters … like the recent actions of ICE,” one student, Emmet D., told the Chronicle. About the act of walking out of class in protest, Emmet said, “We don’t really have that much power in most things that are going on in the world, and this is a way that we do have power.” Emmet’s parents, Adam and Krisdee, were initially hesitant to allow their child to participate in the walkout, concerned about safety. But ultimately, they told the Chronicle they were proud of Emmet and the other student protesters for speaking up. “If ICE is invading schools and affecting families that are at schools, students very much should have a say, and they don’t get to vote yet,” Adam D. emphasized. “I think it’s beautiful that the kids have decided to do this. … And I hope it spreads all over Texas. I hope it spreads all over the country.” Over the last two weeks, the wave of students walking out of class in protest of ICE at over a dozen Austin ISD schools has brought the school district under calls for investigation by Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Commissioner of Education Mike Morath. On Jan. 30, Abbott requested that Morath investigate the student walkouts across Austin ISD. “AISD gets taxpayer dollars to teach the subjects required by the state, not to help students skip school to protest,” Abbott wrote on X. “Our schools are for educating our children, not political indoctrination.” On the same day, Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura clarified in a letter to families that the student walkouts were not sponsored or endorsed by AISD or any specific school.
Read this article at Austin Chronicle - Subscribers Only
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New Texas-led GOP caucus signals resurgence of anti-Shariah movement
A new congressional group is targeting what it claims is a growing threat of Shariah, or Islamic religious law, in the U.S., a move that harks back to anti-Islam movements that flourished during the post-9/11 era and the early 2010s. Leaders of the Sharia Free America Caucus say the growing number of mosques in the country is a cause for alarm, while critics say the group is an attempt to shore up votes for Republicans in places such as Oklahoma and Texas during campaign season. Led by Republican U.S. Reps. Chip Roy and Keith Self of Texas, the caucus heard testimony about how some believe Shariah violates the U.S. Constitution at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Tuesday (Feb. 10). The caucus, which formed in December and is made of 36 Republican representatives from 18 states, aims to push legislation that counters what it calls “the alarming rise of Shariah Law in the United States.”
“Some of you might think of Shariah as a 2010s buzzword. That is wrong,” Roy, the subcommittee chair, said in his opening statement. “Over the last few years, efforts to impose Shariah on American communities have taken off, and nowhere more than in my home state of Texas.” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Pennsylvania Democrat who is not a member of the caucus, said the hearing was meant to stoke suspicion of American Muslims and “a cynical political ploy driven by the Texas Republican primary.” Haris Tarin, vice president of policy and programming for the Muslim Public Affairs Council advocacy group, said the caucus is made of “bigoted members” who are promoting a “hoax to drive people to the polls and scare them.” “They’re taking the playbook of the 2010s and just enhancing it with more fear and more racism, more xenophobia and more Islamophobia,” Tarin told RNS, adding that an interfaith coalition is prepared to challenge the caucus. Caucus members have introduced seven related House bills in recent months, including the No Shari’a Act, which would prohibit American courts from enforcing judgments based on Islamic law or other foreign legal systems that violate the Constitution.
Read this article at Religion News Service - Subscribers Only
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Regional council votes to fund public transit as part of plan to save DART
Regional leaders have agreed to help fund Dallas Area Rapid Transit in an effort to save the agency from withdrawal elections that could fracture public transit in North Texas. During a Thursday meeting of the Regional Transportation Council, leaders from various cities, counties and transit agencies approved $180 million in funding to transportation projects. “I think it was a really great day for the region,” regional transportation director Michael Morris told KERA after the meeting. “I’m very pleased with the leadership everyone exercised today.” The vote means that DART now has backing from the regional body on a new funding model that will give money back to cities in the hopes that they will call off elections to withdraw from the public transit system.
Plano Mayor John Muns, who sits on the council, said the vote is a pathway to keep public transit running in his city. The return of sales tax contributions was the same request the city made last year through failed legislative efforts. Plano is one of six cities set to hold withdrawal elections in May. “We’re very happy that we’ve come and been able to negotiate with DART on a deal that hopefully helps us through the next five or six years be able to make sure we’re operating the transit authority in Plano in a way that really provides a benefit to our citizens,” Muns said. DART CEO Nadine Lee said funding will still be an issue because much of the agency’s revenue will now be going back to cities. The agency has already had to make service cuts in recent months. “Obviously it’s money that’s coming out of DART’s funds, and so DART is going to have to scramble to figure out how we make that revenue available,” Lee said.
Read this article at Fort Worth Report - Subscribers Only
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Free speech concerns raised as Tarrant County judge removes meeting attendees
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare likely violated legal protections that ensure the right to free speech and open government in the case of two of three men he had removed from the commissioners court on Tuesday, experts in those topics told the Fort Worth Report. Throughout the seven-hour Feb. 10 meeting, deputies with the county sheriff’s office removed Fort Worth residents Doyle Fine, 72, a retired U.S. Navy veteran; EJ Carrion, 36, who hosts the 817 Podcast focused on local politics; and Alexander Montalvo, 43, a progressive community activist. All were removed from the courtroom after criticizing O’Hare. Fine was removed after yelling from the audience as the meeting was ongoing. However, Carrion and Montalvo spoke during meeting breaks after O’Hare called recesses.
Fine and Carrion are barred from returning to the courtroom for a year, which experts described as a severe — and troublingly inconsistent — punishment. After returning from the recess during which Carrion was removed, O’Hare told the court’s audience he was going to say a “couple of things that everybody needs to hear.” “Number one, I’m the presiding officer of this courtroom, whether we’re in session or not,” O’Hare said. “Number two: We are going to maintain order and decorum in here.” However, O’Hare does not have legal authority to remove anyone during recesses, said Bill Aleshire, an Austin-based attorney who helped draft the original Texas Open Meetings Act, a law that requires government entities to keep official business accessible to the public. “That’s a violation of free speech rights and rights to attend a public meeting. That was not during a meeting,” said Aleshire, who was not at the meeting Tuesday. State law requires elected bodies, such as the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, to make government decisions publicly. Members of the public have the right to attend government meetings, excluding private legal deliberations, and to sign up to speak on agenda items under consideration.
Read this article at Fort Worth Report - Subscribers Only
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Texas AG Ken Paxton sues city of Dallas over 'insufficient' police funding
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the city of Dallas over alleged insufficient funding of the Dallas Police Department, which would violate a voter approved proposition. Proposition U, passed by Dallas voters in November 2024, requires the city to spend no less than 50% of new, annual revenue to fund the police and fire pension. But Paxton said in a statement that the city failed to properly calculate and allocate excess city revenue. He alleges that, compared to fiscal year 2024–25, the city's projected excess revenue for fiscal year 2025–26 is approximately $220 million. However, the city council were told that there was $61 million in excess revenue. “I filed this lawsuit to ensure that the City of Dallas fully funds law enforcement, upholds public safety, and is accountable to its constituents,” said Attorney General Paxton. “When voters demand more funding for law enforcement, local officials must immediately comply." KERA reached out to the city for comment, but a spokesperson declined to comment citing pending litigation.
Read this article at KERA - Subscribers Only
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HISD lost thousands of students amid immigration crackdown.
Houston ISD's immigrant student population fell by nearly 4,000 students this year — a 22% decline, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle. This year, the state's largest district has also seen disproportionate drops among its emergent bilingual students and Hispanic and Latino enrollment. Both documented and undocumented students have been affected by President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown this year, experts say, and many students are staying home from school due to deportation fears. Those declines could have future impacts on students' careers, school funding and the local economy, according to advocates, educators and immigration experts. Here are five takeaways from the Chronicle's exclusive analysis.
Harris County and the surrounding counties have seen a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity since President Trump launched his mass deportation campaign in early 2025. Calls from Houston Police Department officers to ICE have also increased since 2025. One in four of those ended with a person being arrested by ICE agents. Advocates say the so-called “worst of the worst” aren’t the sole focus of ICE’s operations and that the agency is also targeting immigrant parents. That’s led to some U.S. citizen children being left without a caregiver or forced to follow a parent out of the country. Even as HISD's total enrollment dropped by nearly 20,000 students from 2020 to 2025, its immigrant student population continued to grow. The Texas Education Agency defines immigrant students as those who were not born in the United States and have not been attending school in any state for more than three full academic years. This school year, HISD's immigrant student population fell by nearly 4,000 students — a 22% decline — marking the first drop in that group since the pandemic.
Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only
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Charley Crockett sparks heated fan backlash with Trump 'grifter' comments
Texas country musician Charley Crockett seems to be churning up some Southern trouble after chiding President Donald Trump, calling for the deportation of billionaire Elon Musk and Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel, and slamming their supporters who he says are "licking their boots" in a heated update to social media. Crockett's Instagram post arrived in the immediate aftermath of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl LX halftime show, which drew in at least 133.5 million viewers. Crockett was one of those viewers. He said the "country music establishment should be taking notes" on Bad Bunny — "a Puerto Rican American who hasn’t forgotten his heritage and brought his culture’s traditional music back to the front."
The San Benito native slammed Trump, calling him a "cosplay president," a "draft dodger" and a "grifter who bankrupted 6 casinos," among other things. "The only thing he’s good at is filing lawsuits and portraying a successful business man as a reality TV actor," Crockett wrote. "Forgive me if I have a problem with a 34 time convicted felon running this country when I lost the right to vote or own a weapon for years over marijuana," he added, calling out his own turbulent past with cannabis. The two-time Grammy Award nominee went on to call for the deportation of Texas-based billionaire tech magnate Elon Musk and controversial Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel, then made an unfounded claim that Musk was "standing in the White House buying our elections." "Let’s deport his (expletive) and send Peter Thiel back with him since they both openly believe in a post democratic society where men of their class are above the law," Crockett wrote. The remainder of his comments centered on issues between the "oppressed" and the "oppressor," as well as the "rich" and the "poor." "As long as you’re hating the oppressed and loving your oppressor you’ll never know why our generation is poorer than our parents and grandparents. As a great man once said it’s welfare for the rich and rugged individualism for the poor. If you can sleep at night licking their boots that’s between you and yours, but that type of thinking isn’t freedom. It’s mental slavery ... Ride on."
Read this article at Houston Chronicle - Subscribers Only
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‘Risks to children.’ Why Texas is warning about unregulated home child care
It’s a rare, quiet morning off. Jemie Johnson Vaughn moves with ease around her house. It’s usually packed with kids settling in for the day. However, on this late December morning, they’re not expected until a little later. Johnson Vaughn’s home doubles as a licensed child care operation in southeast Austin. Drop-off for some kids starts at 5:30 a.m.; others have been there all night. Johnson Vaughn’s regulated operation requires her to comply with state standards that ensure the health, safety and well-being of children in her care.
However, the state has found hundreds of day care providers operating out of their homes without a license, lacking oversight and potentially putting kids at risk. As a licensed child care home, Johnson Vaughn is open 24/7 and can have 12 children at the house at one time. She and her two staff members care for 15 children total, ranging from toddlers to older kids, whose care is staggered throughout the day, overnight and on weekends. She said she currently has a waitlist for daytime care. Children at Risk, a statewide children’s advocacy organization studying child care needs, said family child care programs are still recovering after the pandemic. According to the nonprofit, Texas lost 21% of child care providers from March 2020 to September 2021. Out of those closed programs, 79% were child care homes. KXAN found Texas has nearly 1,600 licensed child care homes as of January, including Johnson Vaughn’s. Some families turn to home day cares started by family, neighbors, friends or recommended on social media — but they may not be licensed. “We want to make sure that if you are taking someone’s money, to care for their most precious thing in the world, their child, we want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to make sure that — that child is returned to them safe,” said Kim Kofron, senior director of education for Children at Risk.
Read this article at KXAN - Subscribers Only
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FAA issues Starship finding; report cites ‘no significant impact’
The Federal Aviation Administration said it has completed the environmental review process for a SpaceX proposal that would see more Starship landings at Boca Chica and require additional launch trajectories. SpaceX seeks permission to increase the number of Starship/Super Heavy launches and landings at Boca Chica to 25 each per year. In its review of the proposal, FAA has rendered a “Finding of No Significant Impact” (FONSI). The agency said the Final Tiered Environmental Assessment (EA) and (FONSI) is now available online for review.
The full title of the document is “Final Tiered Environmental Assessment and (FONSI)/Record of Decision for Updates to Airspace Closures for Additional Launch Trajectories and Starship Boca Chica Landings of the SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy Vehicle at the SpaceX Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas.” FAA served as the lead agency in preparing the EA. The document’s “proposed action” is to modify SpaceX’s existing vehicle operator license to authorized “updated operations for additional launch trajectories” for rocket operations at the Boca Chica launch site, and “updated operations for Starship Return to Launch Site mission profiles” at Boca Chica. The Draft Tiered EA was released for public review and comment on Sept. 19, though a virtual public meeting was canceled due to the government shutdown. The public comment period ended on Oct. 20. “All comments received on the Draft Tiered EA were given equal weight and taken into consideration,” FAA said. In the conclusion of the final document, the agency states that a 2022 Programmatic EA and an April 2025 Tiered EA “examined the potential for significant environmental impacts from Starship-Super Heavy launch operations” at Boca Chica and “defined the regulatory setting” for impacts stemming from those operations.
Read this article at MyRGV - Subscribers Only
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‘Uno Reverse Card this policy y’all’: Southwest changes are infuriating fans
Whitney Westerfield boarded his Southwest flight from Tampa to Nashville on Thursday and went to his seat in Row 8. The overhead bins were full for several rows, forcing him and many other passengers to roam around the plane looking for spots as more people filed in. “I have never had the absolute mess that was boarding and then deboarding last night,” the Kentucky attorney said in an interview. The business trip that started Monday was the first time he’d flown Southwest since the airline switched to standard seat assignments from its old free-for-all model in late January. On both flights, he said, he told the flight crew: “Would you guys all please pass along to the big shots that we’d like the old way back?”
Under pressure to boost its bottom line, Southwest has been in transformation mode for more than a year. The airline announced the eventual end of open seating in 2024. Last year, it added fees for checked bags after holding on to its generous “bags fly free” policy long after other carriers had started raking in the bucks for luggage. Some travelers have welcomed the introduction of a seat assignment and boarding system similar to other airlines. Southwest has said research showed more people would fly the carrier if it offered assigned seats. But many are in mourning for a company that once stood out but now blends in with crowd. “We’re talking about one of the most beloved brands of all time, and they just completely nuked it over the course of the last 11 months,” said Kyle Potter, executive editor of the travel site Thrifty Traveler. In recent days, travelers have complained online about a lack of available overhead bins; young children being assigned seats away from parents; massive amounts of carry-ons slowing the boarding process; and rigid rules about staying in place despite a mostly empty plane. Southwest has been working to address pain points and has instructed flight crews to keep their own luggage in spaces that will clear up room for passengers. They had previously used bins at the front of the plane. “Since launch, we’ve been closely monitoring input and real-world behaviors to validate our assumptions and identify where we can refine the experience,” the airline said in a statement. “Those insights are now informing a series of early adjustments designed to smooth operations and reduce friction as Customers and Employees adapt to the new boarding and seating process.”
Read this article at Washington Post - Subscribers Only
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National Stories
No clear path to ending the partial government shutdown as lawmakers dig in over DHS oversight
Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise Sunday in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. A partial government shutdown began Saturday after congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump’s team failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the department through September. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis last month. Congress is on recess until Feb. 23, and both sides appear dug into their positions. The impasse affects agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The work at ICE and CBP goes on unabated because Trump’s tax and spending cut law from 2025 provided billions more to those agencies that can be tapped for deportation operations. About 90% of DHS employees were to continue working during the shutdown, but do so without pay — and missed paychecks could mean financial hardships. Last year there was a record 43-day government shutdown. White House border czar Tom Homan said the administration was unwilling to agree to Democrats’ demands that federal officers clearly identify themselves, remove masks during operations and display unique ID numbers. “I don’t like the masks, either,” Homan said, But, he said, “These men and women have to protect themselves.” Democrats also want to require immigration agents to wear body cameras and mandate judicial warrants for arrests on private property. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats are only asking for federal agents to abide by rules followed by law enforcement agencies around the country. “And the question that Americans are asking is, ‘Why aren’t Republicans going along with these commonsense proposals?’” Schumer said. “They’re not crazy. They’re not way out. They’re what every police department in America does.”
Read this article at Associated Press - Subscribers Only
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AOC tests foreign-policy waters at Munich conference
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is better known for her strong progressive stances than her foreign policy views over the course of her seven years in Congress. An appearance at this weekend’s Munich Security Conference suggested a shift in approach and fueled more speculation of a presidential run in 2028. Ocasio-Cortez, who was invited by organizers of the annual event that attracts a host of world leaders, joined two panels, laying out her vision on the dangers of authoritarianism, Taiwan, Greenland and Gaza. Her appearance functioned as both audition and classroom, and gave audiences an inkling of what Democrats’ post-Joe Biden foreign-policy vision might look like. She demanded a foreign policy approach that counters record inequality and looks to undo a world “dominated by a handful of elites, a handful of oligarchs that sit in pretend democracies and make backdoor deals with one another.” In one panel, she said unconditional US aid to Israel had “enabled a genocide.”
“We’re at a fork in the road, I believe that leaders are increasingly acknowledging that we must present an alternative vision,” she said. The New York congresswoman was one of several Democrats with future political aspirations to attend, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom. He sought to reassure Europe that there would be life after President Donald Trump. “He’ll be measured in years, not decades,” Newsom said. But it was Ocasio-Cortez who drew the most buzz. It was her first time at the annual conference, and she doesn’t sit on the House foreign affairs or armed services committees. What foreign-policy work she’s done has centered mostly on Latin America and her opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza. Republican commentators back home declared her unprepared for primetime for what they called a flubbed answer to a question from Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua on whether the US would come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacked. Normally quick to respond, Ocasio-Cortez was at a loss for words, saying, “this is such a, a, you know, I think that, this is a, um, this is of course, a, ah, a very longstanding, um, policy of the United States,” she said. But she recovered with a cogent response. The US should “avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise,” she said.
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More than ever, videos expose the truth. And cloud it, too.
Is seeing still believing? Based on the evidence of the past week, it is hard to say. Consider Exhibit A: Rauiri Robinson, an Irish filmmaker and visual effects artist in Los Angeles, posted two short A.I.-generated videos on X, a hyper-realistic action-movie sequence depicting Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting on a rooftop while arguing about Jeffrey Epstein. The clips were created, Mr. Robinson explained, by feeding a two-sentence prompt into Seedance 2.0, an A.I. video-creation tool newly released by the Chinese company ByteDance. Its convincing imitation of an actual film sparked horror and outrage in Hollywood. “I hate to say it,” Rhett Reese, a screenwriter whose credits include the “Deadpool” films, wrote on X. “It’s likely over for us.”
But consider Exhibit B: The announcement on Thursday morning by Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s border czar, that federal immigration agents would soon withdraw from Minnesota. Although Mr. Homan declared the operation a success, the decision seemed a tacit acknowledgment of the political damage inflicted by bystanders’ videos of two fatal shootings of Minneapolis residents by federal agents last month. The videos immediately undercut the administration’s false and derogatory claims about the victims, drawing rebukes from even some Republican politicians and conservative commentators. “Escalating the rhetoric doesn’t help, and it actually loses credibility,” Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from Texas, said on his podcast in late January. It is a paradoxical moment, in which documentary evidence is still able to land a few punches, even as new technologies threaten its credibility like never before. “It feels deeply contradictory,” said Sam Gregory, the executive director of Witness, a human-rights organization focused on gathering video evidence.
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Team USA’s dreams of a record Olympics are suddenly falling apart
They came to Italy for a gold rush. From the downhill course of Cortina to the cross-country tracks of Val di Fiemme and a figure skating rink on the edge of Milan, members of Team USA envisioned themselves spending the entire Olympics on the top steps of podiums. And with the biggest delegation here, they dreamed of a run that would surpass their record 10 gold medals the last time they hosted the Winter Games. Then came the disastri. One by one, America’s made-for-TV stars fell short of expectations. Lindsey Vonn crashed. Chloe Kim fell. Mikaela Shiffrin struggled.
The most shocking fumble of all came on Friday night when figure skater Ilia Malinin, the self-proclaimed “quad god,” melted down in the brutal heat of the Olympic spotlight. It was merely the latest disappointment of an Olympics souring faster than burrata in the sun for Team USA, which is suddenly on track for its fewest winter golds since 1998. A full week since the Opening Ceremony, the U.S. was stuck on four, the same number as Sweden and Switzerland. The Americans are looking up in the medal standings at host nation Italy, which is on pace for its best-ever Olympics, and they have been lapped by the Norwegian gods of the Winter Games. Before the Olympics, the betting markets suggested the Americans could reasonably expect to win 12 golds. They have already lost at least four of those events despite starting as the favorites. “There’s a lot of puzzle pieces that need to lock into place,” Jessie Diggins, the top-ranked cross-country skier in the world, said after finishing the skiathlon in eighth. “The things out of my control did not go very well.”
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Nancy Guthrie latest: Search enters 3rd week
The search for Nancy Guthrie entered its third week on Sunday. Investigators haven’t yet named a suspect or made arrests in the case, as they field thousands of tips submitted after the FBI released surveillance images from Guthrie’s doorbell camera. Authorities — including SWAT and forensics teams — swarmed a home on the edge of the Catalina Foothills neighborhood north of Tucson, Ariz., near Guthrie’s home, as it carried out a federal court-ordered search warrant. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Saturday that the warrant was “based on a lead we received” and that no arrests were made from that law enforcement activity. Additionally, a person was questioned during a traffic stop on Friday night, but there weren’t any arrests from that either.
Sheriff Chris Nanos told the New York Times that DNA from someone other than Nancy Guthrie and those close to her was collected from Guthrie’s property, but would not disclose where it was located. Investigators are currently working to identify the DNA. Authorities last week expanded their call for video of any “suspicious activity” from people within a 2-mile radius of the 84-year-old’s home. The sheriff’s department said that “several items of evidence, including gloves,” were recovered and are being submitted for analysis. It’s unclear whether authorities believe the gloves are the same as those worn by the person seen in the footage. On Thursday afternoon, the FBI released a new description of the suspect based on forensic evidence from the doorbell camera. He is described as “approximately 5’9” - 5’10” tall, with an average build.”
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Iran says potential energy, mining and aircraft deals on table in talks with US
Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday, days before a second round of talks between Tehran and Washington.Iran and the U.S. renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme and avert a new military confrontation. The U.S. has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, U.S. officials have told Reuters.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a news conference in Bratislava, said President Donald Trump had made it clear that he would prefer diplomacy and a negotiated settlement, while making clear that may not happen."No one's ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran but we're going to try," Rubio said.Iran has threatened to strike U.S. bases in the Middle East if it is attacked by U.S. forces but on Sunday took a conciliatory line."For the sake of an agreement's durability, it is essential that the U.S. also benefits in areas with high and quick economic returns," foreign ministry deputy director for economic diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.Advertisement · Scroll to continue"Common interests in the oil and gas fields, joint fields, mining investments, and even aircraft purchases are included in the negotiations," Ghanbari said, arguing that the 2015 nuclear pact with world powers had not secured U.S. economic interests. In 2018, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact that had eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, and re-applied tough economic sanctions on Tehran.
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National Institutes of Health faces leadership vacuum as director positions sit open
The world’s largest public funder of biomedical research is in limbo. The National Institutes of Health has, in large part, managed to withstand the Trump administration’s attempts to slash its budget and upend how it distributes grants, thanks to decisions from the courts and Congress. But the agency now faces a growing vacuum in leadership in its top ranks — one that offers the administration a highly unusual opportunity to reshape NIH to its vision. Of the 27 institutes and centers that make up NIH, 16 were missing permanent directors as of Friday, when staff received news of the latest departure.
In an internal email viewed by NBC News, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya announced that Dr. Lindsey Criswell would no longer direct the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, effective immediately. All but two of the vacant director positions at NIH have opened during President Donald Trump’s second term — the result of a combination of terminations, resignations and retirements. Acting directors are filling in temporarily. “It’s like going to battle with half your generals in place,” said Dr. Elias Zerhouni, who led NIH from 2002 to 2008 under President George W. Bush. “I don’t think it’s precedented to have so many vacancies so fast.” NIH director positions are some of the most powerful and prestigious in medicine, in some cases overseeing multibillion-dollar budgets and helping to decide how federal research funding is allocated for the country’s biggest health threats, including Alzheimer’s, diabetes and heart disease.
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Newsclips - February 15, 2026 |
Lead Stories
Don Huffines owns Epstein's Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County
The family of Texas businessman and politician Donald Huffines owns the late Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in southern Santa Fe County, which was purchased in 2023 by a limited liability company created just a month before the purchase. Huffines, a former GOP state senator from Dallas, is now running a high-profile campaign for comptroller — a statewide office in Texas overseeing state financial matters. Records obtained by The New Mexican also show the ranch has been renamed San Rafael Ranch and its address, formerly 49 Zorro Ranch Road, is now 49 Rancho San Rafael Road. The change was made in 2024. The ownership was previously unreported. Epstein died in 2019 in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. The property was listed for sale in July 2021 for $27.5 million; a published report later said the sale price had dropped to $18 million.
In 2023, San Rafael Ranch LLC bought Epstein’s sprawling property for an undisclosed price. The buyers behind San Rafael Ranch LLC have been private. New Mexico is one of a handful of states allowing anonymous ownership of property through limited liability companies. “Four years after Mr. Epstein’s death, the Huffines family purchased property in New Mexico listed at public auction whose proceeds benefited his victims,” a spokesperson for the family, Allen Blakemore, wrote in an email Friday. “Prior to the auction listing, they had never visited the property,” Blakemore wrote. Huffines’ spokesperson didn’t answer questions about the purpose of the property purchase, and Huffines didn’t respond to calls and emails left Thursday evening and Friday morning. The property was valued for tax purposes for tax year 2023 at $21.1 million, but representatives of the LLC protested, and court records show in December 2024, the Santa Fe County assessor determined the value of the property for tax purposes to be just $13.4 million for tax year 2023. (The LLC argued in part it was the “notoriety” of the property along with the sales price that justified a lower valuation and thus lower taxes.) Public records obtained by The New Mexican tie Huffines, who owns a large real estate company in Texas to that LLC.
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Inside the debacle that led to the closure of El Paso’s airspace
Last spring, in the early months of Steve Feinberg’s tenure as deputy defense secretary, Pentagon staff members briefed him on plans to employ new high-energy laser weapons to take out drones being used by Mexican cartels to smuggle drugs across the southern U.S. border. But their use was conditioned on getting a green light from aviation safety officials. The law, the staff members at the Pentagon explained to him, required extensive coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Department, which could slow the testing of the system. Transportation officials could even block the system’s use if they determined that it posed risks to aviation safety. Two people with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive matters, said they recalled that Mr. Feinberg felt the Pentagon had the authority to proceed anyway. Sean
Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, denied their account, saying it was “a total fabrication.” The meeting took place at an especially sensitive time for those regulating air safety as well as for the Pentagon. Just months earlier, an Army helicopter collided with a passenger jet near Ronald Reagan National Airport above Washington, killing 67 people and putting the military’s safety protocols under intense scrutiny. Now the question of whether the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security followed proper procedures and the law in deploying the laser weapon has become a flashpoint within the Trump administration. Working alongside military personnel, agents from Customs and Border Protection, which is part of the Homeland Security Department, used the weapon this week not far from El Paso International Airport, prompting fury inside the F.A.A. and a brief shutdown of the airport and airspace in that region. Late Tuesday night, the F.A.A. administrator, Bryan Bedford, caught off guard that the system was being used without authorization and concerned for public safety, believed he had little choice but to close the airspace for 10 days, according to more than a half-dozen people. It was an extraordinary decision that surprised the flying public and local officials.
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‘South Texas will never be red again’: Home builders warn GOP over Trump’s immigration raids
Home builders are warning President Donald Trump that his aggressive immigration enforcement efforts are hurting their industry. They’re cautioning that Republican candidates could soon be hurt, too. Construction executives have held multiple meetings over the last month with the White House and Congress to discuss how immigration busts on job sites and in communities are scaring away employees, making it more expensive to build homes in a market desperate for new supply. Beyond the affordability issue, the executives made an electability argument, raising concerns to GOP leaders that support among Hispanic voters is eroding, particularly in regions that swung to Trump in 2024. Hill Republicans have held separate meetings with White House officials to share their own electoral concerns.
This story is based on eight interviews with home builders, lawmakers and others familiar with the meetings. “I told [lawmakers] straight up: South Texas will never be red again,” said Mario Guerrero, the CEO of the South Texas Builders Association, a Trump voter who traveled to Washington last week. He urged the administration and lawmakers to ease up on enforcement at construction sites, warning that employees are afraid to go to work. The construction industry is one of the latest and clearest examples of how the president’s mass deportation agenda continues to clash with his economic goals of bringing down prices and political aims of keeping control of Congress. Even the president’s allies fear disruptions to labor-heavy industries will undermine the gains with Latino voters Republicans have made in recent years, in large part because of Trump’s economic agenda. These concerns were the central focus of a White House meeting this week between chief of staff Susie Wiles, Speaker Mike Johnson, and a group of Republican lawmakers, according to three people with knowledge of the meeting, granted anonymity to discuss it. The group talked about growing concerns that Hispanic voters are abandoning the Republican Party in droves, as well as the policies driving these losses — immigration and affordability concerns.
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Trump vs Bad Bunny: A Super Bowl feud with possible midterm consequences
President Donald Trump's attack on Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show - including a gripe that it was mostly in Spanish - has alarmed some Republican Hispanic strategists, politicians and business leaders who warn it risks further eroding his support among Latino voters ahead of November's congressional elections.Hispanics were central to the coalition that powered Trump's re-election in 2024, even after inflammatory rhetoric on the campaign trail, including a comedian calling the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” at one of Trump's rallies. But their support has softened amid continued high prices, discontent over tariffs and his administration's aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. Some of Trump’s staunchest Latino allies called Republican attacks on the global music star — and on a performance widely seen as a rare prime-time celebration of Latino culture — a political misstep as the party fights to hold its razor-thin majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.Several key House races are unfolding in Hispanic-heavy districts, including in California, Arizona and Colorado."It's going to do us more damage than good," said Vianca Rodriguez, a former Trump administration official who served as deputy Hispanic communications director for the Republican National Committee during the 2024 campaign. "That shouldn't have been a battle to have been picked culturally."
Rodriguez, who is Puerto Rican, said she remains an avid Trump supporter. Trump slammed Bad Bunny’s February 8 halftime show as “an affront to the Greatness of America” and a "slap in the face” to the country. “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying,” Trump wrote on his social media account, calling the dancing “disgusting” and unsuitable for children.Even long-time Trump critics like Mike Madrid were baffled by the president's outburst."To see them doubling down on alienating the single most critical constituency they need for survival is beyond belief," said Madrid, a Republican strategist who is an expert on Latino voting trends. Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority in the U.S., accounting for about a fifth of the population. Trump received 48% of the Hispanic vote in 2024 - more than any Republican presidential candidate in history - up from the 36% share he garnered in 2020, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.But a November survey of more than 5,000 Latino voters by Pew showed Trump is down 12 percentage points among those who backed him in 2024. At the beginning of his second term in January 2025, 93% of Latinos who voted for him approved of the job he was doing. Ten months later, that had fallen to 81%. Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, did not respond to questions about Trump's weakening Latino support.
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Five years since the Texas blackout, anxiety remains and the big test has yet to come
This January, an arctic blast barreled toward Texas with the certainty of an avalanche, and Texans went, once again, into emergency mode. Grocery store shelves were cleared of some essentials even before the temperatures dropped. People shared tips about how to prepare for a blackout: everything from dripping your faucets to pre-grinding your coffee beans. A great number of people, no doubt, secured fuel for generators they had purchased since Feb. 15, 2021. The reason for all this, of course, is what began on that day five years ago: The worst blackout in Texas — and by some measures, U.S. — history. It lasted for four days. Millions lost power. Hundreds died. Some power companies, energy traders and natural gas suppliers got rich off the high cost of energy. Ratepayers got stuck with billions of dollars of debt that they are still paying off. The shared experience of the disaster continues to shape what it means to be a Texan.
As the anniversary of that catastrophe arrives, people inevitably wonder what has changed with our state power grid, and some point to the performance in this most recent storm as a sign of improvement. But even as they look for progress, grid anxiety remains a fact of life in Texas. It also seems to be growing outside our state borders, as more Americans learn that their own regional energy systems may not be well prepared for the next big storm. Despite days of freezing cold in some parts of the state last month, the Texas grid kept chugging along. If anything, the grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, may have overestimated the impact of the freeze, forecasting a higher energy draw than actually took place during some moments of the long freeze. The relatively smooth ride in Texas was thanks, in part, to changes put in place after 2021’s winter storm Uri overwhelmed the Texas grid. “The big fear on our end was these dropping temperatures and ice forcing generators offline,” said Tim Ennis, an analyst with Grid Status, a platform that tracks the energy system. But, Ennis said, mandates to prepare power plants for cold weather seem to have paid off, keeping more energy flowing when it was needed most. "A lot of the lessons that we've learned in Uri, that in some ways were paid in blood, have [...] been followed," he said. Ennis also credits the proliferation of big grid-scale batteries for improving electric reliability. That’s despite some state lawmakers' attempts to curb battery growth.
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State Stories
Black voters could decide Crockett-Talarico primary
Just a month into his Democratic campaign for U.S. Senate, a public poll put state Rep. James Talarico ahead among white and Latino voters in a head-to-head matchup against his then-rival, former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred. A campaign consultant posted a screenshot of the news on Oct. 9 — but cropped out the results among Black voters, who favored Allred by a more than 2-to-1 margin. State Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, was searing. “It’s disappointing to see a campaign share selective polling that leaves out Black voters entirely. Black voters CANNOT be an afterthought — they’re the foundation of our party,” Jones, who is Black, said on social media. “Leaving them out of your polling story isn’t just misleading — it’s disrespectful.”
It was an early indication of the tense racial politics that would eventually grip the race, growing only more fraught after U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, launched her bid in December. Her campaign, which is headlined by her political brand as a partisan crusader, set off a firestorm of online commentary from around the country declaring her candidacy a liability for Democrats in a state that elected President Donald Trump by 14 percentage points. For many of her supporters, the scrutiny of Crockett seemed rooted in racism and misogyny, and conspicuously absent in relation to Talarico and other firebrand candidates, like Democrat Graham Platner in Maine, who are white. That tension has continued to frame the contest in the weeks leading up to early voting, with Talarico struggling to break 13% support among Black voters, according to recent polling. Then, a social media influencer alleged last week that the Austin Democrat referred to Allred as a “mediocre Black man,” prompting Allred to issue a scathing response and to endorse Crockett. Talarico called the allegation a “mischaracterization” and said he criticized Allred’s campaigning but would “never attack him on the basis of race.” He has repeatedly affirmed that he is running a positive campaign and urged his supporters to remain respectful of Crockett.
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Poll shows Brandon Herrera overtaking Tony Gonzales in key House primary
New polling shows incumbent Republican Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales on defense with challenger Brandon Herrera taking the lead in a key House primary, according to a new Political Intelligence (PI) poll obtained by the Daily Caller. The PI poll, conducted between Dec. 17 and Dec. 22, 2025, asked “likely Republican primary election voters” who they would support if the race in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District were held immediately. Of the 422 likely Republican primary voters surveyed, 29% said they would vote for Gonzales, with 11% indicating they are “leaning” toward the incumbent. Gonzales’ most competitive challenger, Herrera — an entrepreneur and Second Amendment activist — polled at 33%, with 22% saying they would “definitely” vote for him and another 11% leaning in his favor.
The poll also asked voters how they would respond if only the top two candidates appeared on the primary ballot. In that scenario, 34% said they would vote for Gonzales — including 23% who said they would “definitely” support him — while 43% backed Herrera, with 32% saying they would “definitely” vote for the challenger. Another 23% of respondents said they were “undecided.” “Texas is tired of woke Tony Gonzales. The only thing worse than his voting record is his character. I’m giving Texas 23 what they deserve, a pro-gun, pro-life, pro-Trump congressman,” Herrera told the Caller in a statement. President Donald Trump officially endorsed Gonzales in the race on Dec. 18, declaring in a Truth Social post that Gonzales has his “COMPLETE and Total Endorsement for Re-Election.”
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MAGA lawmaker accused of lying on sworn statement as GOP Senate primary gets ugly
The campaign of Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is accusing one of his primary rivals, Wesley Hunt, of committing voter fraud in 2016 by lying to election officials so he could take a provisional ballot he was ineligible for. Hunt, along with Attorney General Ken Paxton, is locked in a close contest with Cornyn for the nomination. Most polls show Paxton at least slightly ahead of Cornyn, and Hunt placing third, with both candidates keen to reduce Hunt's numbers in the hope his voters will go to them. The allegation was laid out on X Friday by Matt Mackowiak, a longtime Austin-based Republican strategist now running communications for Cornyn's campaign.
"In a bombshell development today in the U.S. Senate primary in Texas, little known 2nd term Congressman Wesley Hunt attempted to show he voted in the 2016 general election, but his provisional ballot was not counted because he was not a registered voter," wrote Mackowiak. "Far more significant is the revelation that he claimed to the Election Judge and in a sworn affidavit that he was discharged in Oct. 2016 (one month before), but his official congressional biography, his campaign biography, and his military discharge document all show he was discharged four years earlier in 2012." According to the allegation, Hunt falsely told an elections judge that he had only just been discharged, as an explanation for why his voter registration wasn't in the system, so that he could take a provisional ballot. “Wesley Hunt has now unwittingly proved he committed voter fraud by lying in a sworn statement to an Election Judge both verbally and on a sworn document,” Mackowiak continued. “His military discharge form, and his official biography prove he was discharged in 2012, not in 2016 as he claimed in an attempt to illegally vote. Corrupt Ken Paxton should investigate Wesley Hunt for voter fraud and Wesley should admit he lied in a sworn document.”
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Illness is rampant among children trapped in ICE’s massive jail in Texas
The number of people held at the notorious Dilley immigration jail has nearly tripled since October. Amid growing calls from lawmakers and human rights groups to shut down the sprawling Dilley Immigration Processing Center in southern Texas, an analysis shows the number of people incarcerated at the notorious immigration jail for children and families has nearly tripled in recent months. Texas lawmakers and attorneys for immigrant families say a growing number of children at the facility are suffering in dangerous and inhumane conditions. People incarcerated at Dilley were quarantined after at least two became sick with measles last week.
In another recent case, an 18-month-old girl was hospitalized with a life-threatening lung infection after spending two months in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the migrant jail. The girl was reportedly returned to Dilley after spending 10 days at the hospital and denied prescribed medication, according to a federal lawsuit. She was only freed after lawyers filed an emergency petition demanding her release. As the nation’s main large immigration jail designed to hold families — though the Trump administration is racing to build more — families are transferred from across the country to a remote part of Texas as they wait weeks or months to see an immigration judge. Recent federal data show that the average daily population exploded from an average of 500 people a day in October to around 1,330 a day in late January, according to Detention Reports, a new tool that maps data on 237 immigration jails nationwide.
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Greg Abbott launches rural TV ad targeting Crockett and out-of-state Democrats
Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign is running TV ads in rural markets across the state attacking “radical Democrats” Zohran Mamdani, Kamala Harris and Jasmine Crockett — the first significant ad buy in the Texas Republican’s push for a record fourth term in office. The ad went live Thursday, and his campaign has reserved $1.3 million worth of airtime through the March 3 primary, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign advertising. Abbott’s campaign says it is aimed at driving turnout in rural parts of the state, while other campaigns blanket the airwaves in major markets. While 10 Republicans are running in the GOP primary against Abbott, the ad is focused on Democrats. The 30-second spot frames Abbott as a bulwark against “radical Democrats,” though he is not facing any of the politicians in the ad.
It starts with a clip of Mamdani, the newly elected New York City mayor, saying he campaigned as a Democratic socialist and will govern as one. It’s followed by Crockett, a Dallas congresswoman running for U.S. Senate, saying the party needs to learn from Mamdani. In a post on the social media site X about the rural focus, Abbott’s longtime political adviser Dave Carney wrote: “Must be some magic sauce…” The early TV ad buy underscores how much Abbott has to spend this election cycle. The governor had more than $105.7 million in the bank as of the beginning of the year — $40 million more than what he had at the same point in 2022. It also comes as Abbott has political capital riding on other statewide races further down the ballot. The governor has endorsed candidates in both the comptroller and agriculture commissioner races. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat seen as the frontrunner in the race to challenge Abbott, cast the ad buy as a sign the governor is worried. Hinojosa’s campaign released internal polling Thursday showing her trailing Abbott by 3 percentage points, 43-46, which she argued is a sign the three-term governor is more vulnerable than it might appear. The University of Houston poll released a survey this week that showed a 7 percentage point margin between the two, with 6% undecided. “It looks like a governor who's not very confident with his base,” Hinojosa said about the ad buy.
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Carlos Spector, champion of immigrant rights, facing final days as family seeks help to bring him home to El Paso
Carlos Spector, El Paso’s most prominent immigration attorney and a champion for the right to asylum, is gravely ill with cancer at a Houston hospital, his family said. Spector’s family has started a GoFundMe campaign to bring him home so he can spend his last days in El Paso, said his daughter, Alejandra Spector. Carlos Spector has been treated for three weeks at the MD Anderson Cancer Treatment Center in Houston, where doctors determined that he likely would not survive surgery for the sarcoma in his throat, Alejandra said. “And they said, ‘You need to go home and just spend what time you have left,’” she said.
The family is looking at using an air ambulance service to bring him to El Paso, which could cost $25,000. The GoFund me campaign, which is seeking to raise $50,000, is meant to cover that and other costs the family has incurred while in Houston for the treatment. Spector, 71, is an El Paso native and Air Force veteran. His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants who fled Russian pogroms; his mother was from Mexico. He has been an attorney for 40 years, specializing in immigration law. It was Spector’s advocacy that created the opportunity for Mexicans fleeing drug violence to qualify for amnesty in the United States, said Linda Rivas, a senior trial attorney for the El Paso County Attorney’s Office and former executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. “I think some would argue that he really started Mexican asylum. Mexican asylum was unheard of, and he really was able to prove that this issue with narco violence and the threats to people’s lives was something that the (Mexican) government could not control, was not willing to control,” Rivas said. “He was able to show that there were groups of people who were more vulnerable than others and did fit the definitions of asylum and should be eligible for asylum and not be ignored just because they were Mexican.”
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GOP candidate Bo French pulls out of Houston-area meetup at Islamic center
Republican Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French announced he would not be attending a Harris County bipartisan political event Friday night because it was being held at an Islamic center. French, former chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party, took to X to make the announcement, made just hours before the event was set to begin. "On the advice of my security team, I have to cancel my appearance at the Harris County GOP event tonight," he wrote. "This event is being held in an islamic center." The event was held at Masjid AlSalam in Spring. Chad Khan, the mosque's civic engagement committee chair, said French never RSVPed. "It was a very nice event," Khan said. "A lot of Democrat candidates came, a lot of Republican candidates come and they talk about their platform. It's nothing to do with Muslim, Christian or Judaism. We talk about mainstream politics, that's it."
In a statement to the Chronicle on Friday, French said, "It is sad to see how much more dangerous the Islamization of Texas has made our state. This is why we need a real leader who will defend Texas oil & gas and shut down the mullahs wherever they are." His reference to "Islamization" reflects the GOP's embracing of anti-Islamic rhetoric, which some Texas Republican Muslims say has deterred them from the party. Religious scholars refute some conservatives' messaging on Islamic Sharia law, stating that it isn't a legal code that competes with the nation's laws and is being misconstrued. French is running against Hawk Dunlap, a veteran oil field worker and well control specialist, and incumbent Chairman Jim Right in the Republican primary for Railroad Commissioner. French stepped down as Tarrant County GOP chairman in November to announce his candidacy. He said running for railroad commissioner was the "best way that I can defend Texas, stop the Islamic invasion, and defeat the left." He drew criticism in June from both Republicans and Democrats after posting a poll to X asking whether Jews or Muslims were "a bigger threat to America." In response, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for French's removal as Tarrant County GOP chairman. "Bo French’s words do not reflect my values nor the values of the Republican Party," Patrick wrote on X. "Antisemitism and religious bigotry have no place in Texas."
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Muslim lawmaker says his community feels targeted by Texas Republicans
If you haven’t noticed lately during the campaigns, Texas Republicans just aren’t talking about the border much anymore, as the policies of the Trump Administration have led to a 55-year low in crossings. They’ve instead turned their attention to Islam, Sharia Law, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), with some Republican campaigns sending near daily texts on the matter. State Rep. Salman Bhojani, D-District 92, is one of two Muslims in the Texas Legislature. He says he gets a call from a Muslim family just about every day. “The Muslim community is devastated. It’s living under sort of a blanket of fear, a blanket of suspicion that, oh, if you’re Muslim, then you must be doing something illegal or these organizations that are fighting for your civil rights are also terrorist organizations,” Rep. Bhojani told us on Inside Texas Politics. “I get calls from Muslim community members that they’re being targeted just for wearing a hijab.”
Rep. Bhojani thinks it’s all political red meat, a way for Republicans to rally the base. Political consultants agree. But the Democrat says the situation can become dangerous when leaders from the President, down to the Governor, down to local lawmakers specifically target Muslims. “As a Muslim Texan, I feel really strongly that it’s not contrary to say I’m a proud Muslim and I’m a proud Texan,” he added. The lawmaker says Sharia is a framework for Muslims to govern their lives, which every religion has. There are no tribunals, he says, or compounds. Republicans have even targeted some proposed Muslim-centered developments, such as EPIC City in North Texas. “All they’re trying to do is come together, give a particular acreage to the mosque, and then have the community live close by to the mosque when they have older parents that can walk to the mosque. They just want to be able to pray in peace and that’s the right that we all enjoy in the state of Texas, in our country,” Bhojani relayed. The Democrat also expects legal action after reports surfaced that Muslim private schools are being excluded from the state’s new voucher program, which is now open for parents.
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HUD investigates EPIC over alleged religious discrimination in upcoming project
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating the East Plano Islamic Center over its upcoming project The Meadow, formally known as EPIC City. The department in a press release Friday accuses EPIC Real Properties, Inc., and Community Capital Partners, LP — the corporate entities for EPIC— of violating the Fair Housing Act over religious and national origin discrimination. "It is deeply concerning the East Plano Islamic Center may have violated the Fair Housing Act and participated in religious discrimination,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement. “As HUD Secretary, I will not stand for illegal religious or national origin discrimination in housing and will ensure that this matter receives a thorough investigation so that this community is open to all Texans.”
The probe stems from a complaint from the Texas Workforce Commission describing a "large-scale pattern of religious discriminatory conduct" by The Meadow's developers, according to the department. The allegations accuse developers of promoting The Meadow as a Muslim-only community and that it would represent “the epicenter of Islam in America.” Other claims include: Discriminatory financial terms that required lot owners to subsidize a mosque and Islamic educational centers. A bias sales mechanism consisting of a two-tier lottery system for lot sales, which granted lot access to Tier One buyers. The Meadow is planned to be a 402-acre development between unincorporated Collin and Hunt counties, roughly 40 miles northeast of Dallas near the city of Josephine. It would include more than 1,000 homes, a new mosque, a K-12 faith-based school, senior housing, an outreach center, commercial developments, sports facilities, and a community college. Planners from Community Capital Partners, LLC in the past have repeatedly said The Meadow is an open community where everyone is welcome. “CCP does not discriminate,” Emily Black said, a spokesperson for the corporate entity.“They do not seek exclusivity. They support equal housing opportunity and religious freedom, both of which are protected under federal and Texas law.”
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‘Teen Mom’ star Farrah Abraham site solicits donations above Austin's $500 limit
Reality TV star and newly minted Austin City Council candidate Farrah Abraham is already soliciting campaign donations, but her fundraising website lets supporters give more than the city’s legal limit. The site, which features a photo of Abraham posed in front of an American flag, includes preset donation buttons as high as $1,000 – double Austin’s $500 cap for individual contributions. The $500 button also includes a $20.51 processing fee, which would push the donation over the allowed limit.
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Texas man convicted in Jan. 6 attack on Congress wants a new job — in Congress
More than two years after being convicted as part of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a Texas Republican is looking to return to Washington, D.C., but this time as a member of Congress. Lubbock's Ryan Zink is one of seven Republicans in a crowded GOP primary for the 19th Congressional District. Current U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, is not seeking reelection, setting the stage for one of the wildest primary races in Texas.
Last year, President Donald Trump issued pardons or commutations for an estimated 1,500 people charged with the attack on the Capitol. Zink had been charged with a felony and two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. Zink didn’t respond to a request for an interview on Friday, but told Manny Diaz at KTAB in Abilene early last year that he was wrongly prosecuted. “I never entered the building,” he said. “I never assaulted anyone. I never damaged any property.” Federal agents ultimately used video of him during the attack to prove he was on “restricted grounds” — even if not technically inside the building. In that video, Zink says, “We knocked down the gates! We’re storming the Capitol! You can’t stop us!” Zink has sincesaid the "storming the Capitol" line was just a figure of speech. Zink is certainly a long shot in the race for the district, which stretches from Lubbock to Abilene. All six of the other Republicans in the race have outraised him, according to Federal Election Commission records. Zink isn’t the only one convicted that day who has since tried to run for office. In Longview, Republican Ryan Nichols, also pardoned by Trump, initially filed to run for Congress in the 1st Congressional District against U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Whitehouse, but later dropped out. And in West Virginia, Republican Derrick Evans is running for the U.S. House. Jake Lang, also pardoned, announced he is running for the U.S. Senate in Florida. He told the Miami New Times he expects others arrested that day to run of office too. “The Jan Sixers have risen out and emerged out of these prisons and these gulags, these lions’ dens, and we’re going to slay the giant now, just as David has,” he said.
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How radioactive oil and gas waste could lie beneath a North Texas elementary school
On a cold winter morning in Johnson County, at the southwestern edge of the booming Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, 52-year-old Lee Oldham stands beside the Pleasant View Elementary School and wonders what the drilling waste he helped lay underneath might mean for the children inside. Surrounding the school is the partially complete 2,500-home Silo Mills development that will supply it with children and that is also built atop drilling waste, according to satellite maps and interviews. The first families moved in two years ago. “They weren’t telling anyone this was a radioactive material. They told us it was safe,” said Oldham, who worked as a dozer operator here from 2009 to 2011, laying waste that he said was generally 6 inches to a foot deep, but in spots as much as 2 to 3 feet. In 2015, Oldham returned to the same area doing reclamation work that involved putting 1 to 2 feet of local dirt back over the waste. Hundreds of homes have already been built in this subdivision, and many are occupied, with cars parked in driveways and trampolines in yards.
Pleasant View Elementary School is part of the Godley Independent School District and already has about 500 students. The elementary school’s website shows photos of smiling children, a list of upcoming and recent events including chess club meetings, an area spelling bee, field trips, and a celebration marking the 100th day of school. School officials say the developer conducted a “Phase 1 Environmental Site” assessment prior to completing the school in 2022. “The assessment indicated that no evidence of recognized environmental conditions was identified in connection with the subject property and that no further action was required,” Superintendent Rich Dear said in a statement provided to Truthdig and the Texas Observer by email. “The Pleasant View Elementary School site was developed following voter approval of Godley ISD’s 2021 bond election and the donation of the property by the developer.” Students began attending the campus in January 2023. Dear identified Terra Manna, LLC, as the site developer and said that the company could provide the assessment. Terra Manna did not reply to questions sent through an online contact form, and phone calls to the company’s main line requesting the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment went unreturned.
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Hundreds join Walk for Peace homecoming for Buddhist monks in Fort Worth
Hundreds of supporters lined the streets of east Fort Worth on Saturday morning to welcome the Buddhist monks home after their 2,300-mile Walk for Peace. By 7 a.m., a large group had already gathered at Eastover Park, where the monks were due to arrive. Someone scattered red and white rose petals on the road and several people were carrying bouquets of flowers.
Yvonne Hanson left her home in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, at 6 a.m. Thursday and drove more than 17 hours so she could be on time to walk with the monks on the last leg of their journey from the park to their temple, the Húóng Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center. The monks set off from the Fort Worth temple on Oct. 26. Clad in brown robes and carrying simple packs on their shoulders, they prepared to walk to Washington, D.C., on a mission to promote national healing and unity. The journey spanned nine states in 112 days. Despite a serious accident near Houston that injured two monks, the group persevered and arrived in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. They returned to Fort Worth around 8:40 a.m. Saturday in a charter bus. Cheers erupted from the onlookers as the bus headed down Ramey Avenue toward Eastover Park. One woman held up a hand-lettered sign reading, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” A throng of people gathered around as the monks disembarked. Most joined the men and their dog, Aloka, for the approximately one-mile walk to the temple.
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National Stories
Trump’s relentless self-promotion fosters an American cult of personality
The racist online video that President Trump recently shared and then deleted generated a bipartisan furor because of its portrayal of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. What was little remarked on was how it presented Mr. Trump himself — as the “King of the Jungle.” After a year back in the White House, Mr. Trump’s efforts to promote himself as the singularly dominant figure in the world have become so commonplace that they no longer seem surprising. He regularly depicts himself in a heroic, almost godly fashion, as a king, as a Superman, as a Jedi knight, as a military hero, even as a pope in a white cassock. While Mr. Trump has spent a lifetime promoting his personal brand, slapping his name on hotels, casinos, airplanes, even steaks, neckties and bottled water, what he is doing in his second term as president comes closer to building a cult of personality the likes of which has never been seen in American history. Other presidents sought to cultivate their reputations, but none went as far as Mr. Trump has to create a mythologized, superhuman and omnipresent persona leading to idolatry.
His picture has been splashed all over the White House, on multistory banners on the side of federal buildings, on annual passes to national parks and maybe even soon on a one-dollar coin. His name has been etched on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on the U.S. Institute of Peace, on federal investment accounts, special visas and a discount drug program and, if he has his way, on Washington Dulles International Airport and Penn Station in New York. His White House is pressuring the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery to display portraits of Mr. Trump by his supporters. A group of cryptocurrency investors has shelled out $300,000 to forge a 15-foot-tall gold-covered bronze statue of Mr. Trump called “Don Colossus” to be installed at his golf complex in Doral, Fla. His administration is considering designating a new class of battleships in Mr. Trump’s name. His allies are pressuring foreign leaders to endorse his bid for the Nobel Peace Prize and threatening consequences for resisting. Some supporters in Congress have even proposed adding his face to Mount Rushmore, an effort that, for the moment, has gained little traction. This spree of self-aggrandizement goes beyond mere vanity, although Mr. Trump suffers from no particular shortage in that department. “I really have a big ego,” he noted at the National Prayer Breakfast this month, an assessment that drew no disagreement. What Mr. Trump is actually doing, though, is making himself the inescapable force in American life.
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In first public comments since Trump’s racist video, Obama laments lost decorum
Former President Barack Obama this weekend indirectly addressed a racist video posted earlier this month by President Trump, which depicted Mr. Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, as apes. In a podcast interview published on Saturday, Mr. Obama was asked about the “devolution of the discourse” in American politics, with the host mentioning the video shared by Mr. Trump as one of several examples of inflammatory comments or statements by officials from the current administration. “There’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television, and what is true is that there doesn’t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office,” Mr. Obama told Brian Tyler Cohen, a YouTuber and podcast host. “That’s been lost,” he added.
Appearing on Mr. Cohen’s “No Lie” podcast, Mr. Obama did not directly address the video, which was deleted from Mr. Trump’s Truth Social account after it prompted rare, bipartisan outrage. But Mr. Obama stressed that he believed that most Americans found such content abhorrent. “I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” Mr. Obama said. “It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction. But as I’m traveling around the country, as you’re traveling around the country, you meet people, they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness.” Mr. Trump has refused to apologize for posting the video, saying he “didn’t make a mistake.” He said that he had not seen the entire clip and that someone else had posted it on his account. In the nearly hourlong appearance with Mr. Cohen, Mr. Obama spoke at length about the Democratic Party, public protest and Mr. Trump’s blunt immigration enforcement, including the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Minneapolis. “The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous,” Mr. Obama said. He added: “It is important for us to recognize the unprecedented nature of what ICE was doing in Minneapolis.” The Trump administration said on Thursday that it was ending its deployment of federal agents to Minnesota after it led to tense protests, thousands of arrests and at least three shootings in the Democratic-led state. Mr. Obama applauded the grass roots organizing that was occurring in places like Minneapolis and community efforts to protect immigrants there. “That kind of heroic, sustained behavior in subzero weather by ordinary people is what should give us hope,” he said.
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These young voters are starting to regret their vote for Trump
Week after week, images of Israel’s military pummeling Gaza filled news broadcasts and social media—and President Trump was losing patience. “People are getting sick of turning on the TV and seeing you bombing everything,” Trump said in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The young people don’t like it.” Trump’s private remarks last year, recounted by a person with knowledge of the conversation, came as his standing with young people has plummeted during his first year in office. After Trump nearly won the group in 2024, roughly two-thirds of young voters ages 18-29 now disapprove of the president’s priorities, including his approach to foreign policy and immigration, according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll.
Young voters are part of Trump’s coalition that is showing signs of fraying ahead of the coming midterm elections, where history is already against the party that controls the White House, and the GOP has the barest of control in Congress. As the president looks to rebuild his standing with the group, he has sought to address economic concerns, including offering plans to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes and cap credit-card interest rates. He has directed the federal government to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug. Emboldened in his second term, Trump has also pursued an aggressive foreign-policy stance, pushed for amped-up deportations and swarmed cities like Minneapolis with immigration agents. Those decisions, and others, have pushed some young Trump supporters away. Trump and team are focused on “making life more affordable for working Americans, and winning the midterms,” said Danielle Alvarez, a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 campaign.
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Europeans push back at US over claim they face 'civilizational erasure'
A top European Union official on Sunday rejected the notion that Europe faces “civilizational erasure,” pushing back at criticism of the continent by the Trump administration. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas addressed the Munich Security Conference a day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a somewhat reassuring message to European allies. He struck a less aggressive tone than Vice President JD Vance did in lecturing them at the same gathering last year but maintained a firm tone on Washington’s intent to reshape the trans-Atlantic alliance and push its policy priorities. Kallas alluded to criticism in the U.S. national security strategy released in December, which asserted that economic stagnation in Europe “is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure.”
It suggested that Europe is being enfeebled by its immigration policies, declining birth rates, “censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition” and a “loss of national identities and self-confidence.” “Contrary to what some may say, woke, decadent Europe is not facing civilizational erasure,” Kallas told the conference. “In fact, people still want to join our club and not just fellow Europeans,” she added, saying she was told when visiting Canada last year that many people there have an interest in joining the EU. Related Stories Rubio's speech to European allies takes a softer tone but sticks to Trump's firm stance Europe hopes to repair trans-Atlantic trust as Rubio attends key security conference Europe warily awaits Rubio at Munich Security Conference as Trump roils transatlantic ties
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Architect submits most-detailed renderings so far for White House ballroom
The most-detailed renderings yet of President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project were briefly made available Friday, showing the massive scale of the planned 89,000-square-foot space. The renderings from Shalom Baranes Associates — which were posted by the National Capital Planning Commission on its website and then swiftly taken down — show the new East Wing could span approximately one street block, significantly longer than the West Wing. It also appears to be more than half the length of the Treasury Building, which it would be next to. CNN has reached out to the NCPC, the planning agency for federal land that must approve the project; the architecture firm; and the White House regarding why the proposal was removed from the website and for additional comment.
The project is facing a legal challenge from the nation’s top historical preservation group, with a federal judge expressing deep skepticism last month over Trump’s authority to construct the ballroom without express authorization from Congress. Yet, construction is moving ahead, with Trump claiming earlier this week that the project is ahead of schedule and within budget. The White House has said the ballroom would be privately funded. “When completed, it will be the finest Ballroom ever built anywhere in the World, one that has been sought by Presidents for over 150 years — and now they are getting THE BEST!” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that future presidential inaugurations — which are traditionally held in the US Capitol — could be held in the ballroom. The National Capital Planning Commission is set to meet next on March 5 to discuss the proposal. Trump has appointed loyalists to the NCPC, as well as to the Commission of Fine Arts, the other organization that must review the ballroom plans.
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Soaring coffee prices rewrite some Americans' daily routines
For years, it was a daily McDonald’s trip for a cup of coffee with 10 sugars and five creams. Later, it was Starbucks caramel macchiatos with almond milk and two pumps of syrup. Coffee has been a morning ritual for Chandra Donelson since she was old enough to drink it. But, dismayed by rising prices, the 35-year-old from Washington, D.C., did the unthinkable: She gave it up. “I did that daily for years. I loved it. That was just my routine,” she says. “And now it’s not.” Years of steadily climbing coffee prices have some in this country of coffee lovers upending their habits by nixing café visits, switching to cheaper brews or foregoing it altogether. Coffee prices in the U.S. were up 18.3% in January from a year ago, according to the latest Consumer Price Index released on Friday. Over five years, the government reported, coffee prices rose 47%.
That extraordinary rise has brought some to take extraordinary measures. “Before, I thought, ‘There’s no way I could make it through my day without coffee,’” says Liz Sweeney, 50, of Boise, Idaho, a former “coffee addict” who has cut her consumption. “Now my car’s not on automatic pilot.” Sweeney used to have three cups of coffee at home each day and stop at a café whenever she left the house. As prices climbed last year, though, she nixed coffee shop visits and cut her intake to a cup a day at home. To make up for the caffeine, she pops open a can of Diet Coke at home or rolls through McDonald’s for one. Dan DeBaun, 34, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, has likewise trimmed back on coffee shop visits, conscious of the increasing expense as he and his wife save up for a house.
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Several ICE agents were arrested in recent months, showing risk of misconduct
Investigators said one immigration enforcement official got away with physically assaulting his girlfriend for years. Another admitted he repeatedly sexually abused a woman in his custody. A third is charged with taking bribes to remove detention orders on people targeted for deportation. At least two dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees and contractors have been charged with crimes since 2020, and their documented wrongdoing includes patterns of physical and sexual abuse, corruption and other abuses of authority, a review by The Associated Press found. While most of the cases happened before Congress voted last year to give ICE $75 billion to hire more agents and detain more people, experts say these kinds of crimes could accelerate given the sheer volume of new employees and their empowerment to use aggressive tactics to arrest and deport people.
The Trump administration has emboldened agents by arguing they have “absolute immunity” for their actions on duty and by weakening oversight. One judge recently suggested that ICE was developing a troubling culture of lawlessness, while experts have questioned whether job applicants are getting enough vetting and training. “Once a person is hired, brought on, goes through the training and they are not the right person, it is difficult to get rid of them and there will be a price to be paid later down the road by everyone,” said Gil Kerlikowske, who served as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017. Almost every law enforcement agency contends with bad employees and crimes related to domestic violence and substance abuse are long-standing problems in the field. But ICE’s rapid growth and mission to deport millions are unprecedented, and the AP review found that the immense power that officers exercise over vulnerable populations can lead to abuses.
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