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The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: A new poll on Texas statewide races is the first in a while to reflect on-the-ground political reality, or come close to such, for Texas. Talarico is up by two over Paxton and other statewide Republicans are up about five points over Democrat challengers. The best write up is at The Texan. The Texas Tribune seemed only interested in “black voters” and Talarico.Here is the actual poll results: New Poll: Senate Race A Toss-Up, With Narrow GOP Leads in Other RacesOther campaign stories I covered: Texas Republicans campaign with urgency despite decades of dominance In Texas, a Political Group, Somos Votantes, Bets $6 Million on Latino Voters Coming Back to Democrats Texas GOP cuts ticket prices to Trump's unconventional convention Gina Hinojosa makes big ad buy in effort to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Texas A&M System sued over limits on race, gender teachings. See also: A&M Officials Discussing ‘Race and Ethnic Studies Institute' With Attorneys .New federal lawsuit filed against Texas by the get-'em-high THC drug industry.Old Liberal Lon Burnam gets carried out of the Tarrant Co. Commissioners Court meeting by deputies. It was all grandstanding. Notice the old white guys with their communist fist salute in the photo!Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com
The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Fox News releases a poll showing Paxton behind by 3 points in the U.S. Senate race. I discuss what the detail in the poll tells us about a little cadre of sour grapes Republicans and about the confusion over what is character.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Gary Boren discusses his race to fill an unexpired term on the Lubbock City Council – election day is tomorrow. I fully endorse Gary in this race as I have said many times on the air. This is a balance of power election for Lubbock.Texas finds some registered voters wrongly flagged as noncitizens, reports the Texas Tribune as if this is some scandal. Of course that is the case. That's how it works: Those that don't match up get notified by their county and can then clear up the matter. Democrats complain that keeping voters rolls clean is somehow discriminatory but the only reason one would not keep such rolls clean and proper is if election cheating is the goal which, brings us back to why Democrats oppose cleaning the voter rolls.Johnson County's sheriff found himself back in jail today.Oil and gas drilling rig count up this week in Texas but not my much.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com
Despite reports from social media influencers, as of this morning, the Ken Paxton campaign has still not accepted times or terms for a debate with James Talarico. Texas has joined 11 other Republican-controlled states in a SCOTUS appeal for them to allow Donald Trump to place harsh new limits on mail-in voting. John Cornyn has helped stymie the confirmation of Todd Blanche, Trump's choice for U.S. Attorney General. A sweeping new ban on hemp products will take effect across Texas tomorrow. And, the Texas Tribune is strangely celebrating a new potential milestone for Republican women to be elected to Congress - representing a party that has done immense harm to American women in recent years.USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/07/29/texas-senate-debates-take-shape-as-talarico-paxton-trade-positions/91088811007/WFAA: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dates-times-announced-debate-paxton-talarico/287-3f31b225-e83a-4f1b-9276-e09223ae1d09MS Now: https://www.ms.now/the-last-word/watch/texans-deserve-answers-about-ken-paxton-dem-senate-nominee-james-talarico-says-demanding-debates-2508970051676Democracy Docket: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/gop-states-join-doj-in-asking-supreme-court-to-let-trump-block-some-mail-ballots/The Hill: https://thehill.com/newsletters/morning-report/5998751-todd-blanche-confirmation-delay-cornyn-tillis-gop-scorn/CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/29/todd-blanche-attorney-general-trump-irs-audit-cornyn.htmlAustin Chronicle: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/where-the-texas-hemp-market-currently-stands/KERA: https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2026-07-30/thc-businesses?_amp=trueTexas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/30/texas-republican-women-congress-house-record-steinmann-mealer-2026/This election year, you can support the real free press by investing in pro-democracy, pro-justice, pro-gressive storytelling. Become a monthly donor or increase your giving TODAY for our Summer Sustaining Donor Drive today, and we'll thank you with "perks for progress" - plus you'll get a shoutout on the Daily Dispatch: huge thanks to new monthly supporter Carolyn Frawley! Join Carolyn and the rest of the Progress Texas family now at https://act.progresstexas.org/a/summersustainers26.Check out the Substack version of the Daily Dispatch, which delivers each pod to your inbox and frequently includes extra video goodies: https://substack.com/@progresstexasProgress Texas is now part of the lineups at KPFT-FM in Houston, Empower House Radio in San Antonio, and KZSM True Community Radio in San Marcos! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
New polling has Democrat James Talarico ahead of Republican Ken Paxton in the race for the U.S. Senate by five percentage points, and shows Talarico performing well among independent and moderate voters. Renewable energy has been pulling Texas' fat out of the fire this summer - but will that continue under the strain of hundreds of data centers? Governor Abbott is under building pressure to call a special session on data centers - and in Texas, that's not just about natural resources - religion has a lot to say about Big Tech as well.Texas Tribune on polling: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/28/texas-senate-poll-james-talarico-ken-paxton-july-2026/Dallas Morning News: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/article/solar-wind-power-renewable-texas-heat-22363504.phpSan Antonio Express-News: https://www.expressnews.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-data-centers-22359062.php?utm_source=redditTexas Tribune/Religion News Service: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/29/texas-data-centers-religion-opposition/This election year, you can support the real free press by investing in pro-democracy, pro-justice, pro-gressive storytelling. Become a monthly donor or increase your giving TODAY for our Summer Sustaining Donor Drive today, and we'll thank you with "perks for progress" - plus you'll get a shoutout on the Daily Dispatch: huge thanks to new monthly supporter Carolyn Frawley! Join Carolyn and the rest of the Progress Texas family now at https://act.progresstexas.org/a/summersustainers26.Check out the Substack version of the Daily Dispatch, which delivers each pod to your inbox and frequently includes extra video goodies: https://substack.com/@progresstexasProgress Texas is now part of the lineups at KPFT-FM in Houston, Empower House Radio in San Antonio, and KZSM True Community Radio in San Marcos! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
A strange moment indeed in Texas, as our top two elected officials - Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick - have both openly declared war on the U.S. Constitution: Patrick in his assault on the separation of church and state, and Abbott in his zealous quest against birthright citizenship via "birth tourism" - a harmless, statistically insignificant non-issue.Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/27/texas-dan-patrick-religious-liberty-interim-charges-religion-public-life-legislature/Dallas Morning News: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/article/greg-abbott-texas-order-birth-tourism-citizenship-22361795.phpNPR: https://www.npr.org/2026/07/28/nx-s1-5869808/family-trump-profit-corruption-voters-ethics-democrats?unified=true&renderPlatform=nprone_iosThis election year, you can support the real free press by investing in pro-democracy, pro-justice, pro-gressive storytelling. Become a monthly donor or increase your giving TODAY for our Summer Sustaining Donor Drive today, and we'll thank you with "perks for progress" - plus you'll get a shoutout on the Daily Dispatch: huge thanks to new monthly supporter Carolyn Frawley! Join Carolyn and the rest of the Progress Texas family now at https://act.progresstexas.org/a/summersustainers26.Check out the Substack version of the Daily Dispatch, which delivers each pod to your inbox and frequently includes extra video goodies: https://substack.com/@progresstexasProgress Texas is now part of the lineups at KPFT-FM in Houston, Empower House Radio in San Antonio, and KZSM True Community Radio in San Marcos! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
The Midland school district is suing Education Commissioner Mike Morath and other state leaders in another challenge to the state's public school finance system, known as “Robin Hood,” according to The Texas Tribune. Three legal challenges over the past three decades have failed, with Texas courts ruling that the recapture system complies with the state constitution. Under recapture, wealthier school districts — such as Midland, with its considerable oil and gas holdings — send money to the state, which then distributes it to school districts with low property values. In the case of Midland, the district sent million back... Article Link
The Texas Water Development Board doesn't have enough information about data center demand to include it in our resource projections, and they seem okay with that. A new college admissions test that emphasizes ideology over academics is approved for Texas' public universities. South Texas appears primed for a seismic shift away from Trump and the GOP, while Democratic nominee Bobby Pulido's chances to unseat his Republican opponent appear strong. And, James Talarico has officially "arrived" as Donald Trump includes him in his list of national enemies.Community Impact: https://communityimpact.com/central-austin/texas-legislature/texas-includes-minimal-data-center-info-in-state-water-plan-citing-limited-data/Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/27/conservative-college-entrance-exam-texas-universty-admissions/Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/the-texas-counties-that-could-decide-whether-democrats-flip-senate-seat-12223307Texas Observer: https://www.texasobserver.org/bobby-pulido-monica-de-la-cruz-south-texas/Dallas Morning News: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/article/trump-jabs-james-talarico-at-correspondents-dinner-22360074.phpThis election year, you can support the real free press by investing in pro-democracy, pro-justice, pro-gressive storytelling. Become a monthly donor or increase your giving TODAY for our Summer Sustaining Donor Drive today, and we'll thank you with "perks for progress" - plus you'll get a shoutout on the Daily Dispatch: huge thanks to new monthly supporter Carolyn Frawley! Join Carolyn and the rest of the Progress Texas family now at https://act.progresstexas.org/a/summersustainers26.Check out the Substack version of the Daily Dispatch, which delivers each pod to your inbox and frequently includes extra video goodies: https://substack.com/@progresstexasProgress Texas is now part of the lineups at KPFT-FM in Houston, Empower House Radio in San Antonio, and KZSM True Community Radio in San Marcos! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Part 1:We talk with Lexi Churchill, reporter for ProPublica and Texas Tribune.We discuss the Texas controversy about private school voucher that are being withheld from schools that are sponsored by Muslim organizations.Part 2.We talk with Bill Curry and Harold Meyerson.We discuss the agreement made by Trump and Saudi Arabia to allow them to enrich nuclear materials. We also discuss how the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund is investing in US companies, particularly in media companies such as Paramount.We also note that the US and Israeli military are now integrated, despite the actions of Israel, which has been accused of war crimes. WNHNFM.ORG productionMusic: "That's how every empire falls," John Prine
An analysis of the personal wealth of 15 first-time congressional candidates from Texas shows that only the rich can easily run for office, while Elon Musk dumps billions into GOP candidates and right wing PACs - and boorish billionaire behavior is fueling a growing populist backlash.Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/22/texas-congress-delegation-net-worth-millionaires-2026-midterms/San Antonio Express-News: https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/elon-musk-campaign-donations-texas-gop-abbott-22352250.php?utm_source=redditPaul Krugman: https://substack.com/home/post/p-208095884This election year, you can support the real free press by investing in pro-democracy, pro-justice, pro-gressive storytelling. Become a monthly donor or increase your giving TODAY for our Summer Sustaining Donor Drive today, and we'll thank you with "perks for progress" - plus you'll get a shoutout on the Daily Dispatch! Join the Progress Texas family at https://act.progresstexas.org/a/summersustainers26.Check out the Substack version of the Daily Dispatch, which delivers each pod to your inbox and frequently includes extra video goodies: https://substack.com/@progresstexasProgress Texas is part of the lineup at KPFT-FM in Houston! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
In this week's BIG 12 WINNERS & LOSERS, Heartland College Sports' Pete Mundo explains why a new Texas Tribune report is NOT a good look for Cody Campbell and Texas Tech. What is the Big 12 fallout from it?Plus, we look at teams with older players, who end up as BIG winners this week. And what other conference ended up a winner?Subscribe if you're exhausted by the SEC and BIG Ten bias in college football news.
The prognosticators of doom for traditional newspapers are everywhere and it’s hard to argue with them. But for more than a decade, Matthew Watkins has been part of a new model of non-profit journalism at The Texas Tribune as editor in chief.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this week's episode, our hosts speak with Texas Tribune reporters Uriel J. García and Colleen DeGuzman about the unanswered questions and incoming investigations in response to the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
Mark, Melynda & Ed Meta discontinued its new Muse AI feature on Instagram after backlash Texas Tribune story asks voters who will they vote for Houston City Council Member Edward Pollard asking for a 90 day moratorium on new gas stations near residences See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Texas Attorney General and Republican candidate for Senate, Ken Paxton's marriage fell apart two years ago when his wife accused him of having an affair and she moved out of the house they shared. According to new reporting from the Texas Tribune and ProPublica, the address of that house is still on Paxton's voting registration even though he hasn't lived there for years and does not appear to be going back. Zach Despart, Texas Tribune investigative reporter, talks with Jen Psaki about why Paxton may have committed voter fraud, and why that would be an especially rich irony. Graham Platner's time as Maine Democrats' candidate for Senate appears to be about to end, with another brutal round of reports of sexual impropriety. But Platner has been underperforming as a candidate anyway, so replacing him may be to Democrats' advantage if they can pick a good candidate. But how do they choose a new candidate in the short time they have, and straddle the requirements of mainstream Democratic politics while incorporating the renegade, grassroots spirit that has become a hallmark for a party in transition. Jim Messina, campaign manager for former President Barack Obama, and Amy Walter, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, talk with Jen Psaki about how the Democratic Party should navigate a potential Platner exit. Rep. Debbie Dingell joins to discuss the contentious Democratic primary in Michigan. To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A new report by ProPublica and the Texas Tribune alleges Ken Paxton, the Republican now in a dead heat against Democrat James Talarico in Texas’ U.S. Senate race, may have broken the law by casting ballots outside the district where he resides. We’ll hear details. A priestly group with churches in Texas has been excommunicated […] The post What a Catholic Church schism could mean for Texas parishioners appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.
The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Fourteen Texas Democrats missed the May 5th deadline to pay their fines for trying to tank “Democracy” by breaking quorum in the Texas legislature. Some who did pay wrote vulgarisms on their checks which is a reflection of who they are.Meanwhile, Democrat media is wondering if the extremely liberal, and on the record as such over and over for years and years, Austin-centric Dem ticket is that good of an idea for November (a little late, no?)Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Texas Justices Toss Cities' Challenge to Cable Franchise Fee Cap – great!Texas Tribune cries that Republicans might further reduce the scope of local governments' power and this story is a good example of why it's not a bad idea: Harris County electronic monitoring program doesn't track defendants who become fugitives. They don't track those who cut off the monitors!!! What's the point of the program then?Oil and gas rig count shows Texas adding more drilling rigs. Meanwhile Chevron and Exxon/Mobile execs warn of a disastrous price spike possibility.Alamo renovation moving along.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com
Sen. Ted Cruz joined Jake Sherman to unpack the Protect College Sports Act — what it means for student athletes, schools and more. Plus: A deep dive into Texas politics. Stick around: Texas Tribune's DC Correspondent Gabby Birenbaum and our own Policy Reporter Samantha Handler keep the conversation going with That's Not Gonna Fly! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What control do county officials have when a data center wants to move in? A look at an investigation from the Texas Tribune.The ballots are set for the midterm election in November, but at least one big thing is changing: Texas’ top elections leader, Secretary of State Jane Nelson, is stepping down.What do the results […] The post Rural Texas counties say data centers are arriving faster than regulations appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.
Texas AG Ken Paxton won the GOP Senate primary against Sen. John Cornyn after an 11th-hour endorsement by Trump. Gabby Birenbaum of the Texas Tribune breaks down the two very different campaigns. Political insecurity and public distrust are making it hard for officials in Congo and other countries to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak. The Washington Post’s Lauren Weber explains. Long wait lists at some colleges and universities are leaving thousands of students wondering whether they’ll ever be admitted. The Wall Street Journal’s Roshan Fernandez discusses why it can be harder to get off the wait list than getting into school. Plus, Alabama’s new congressional map was rejected by a federal court, Iran’s internet blackout appears to be partially over, and U.S. Soccer announced its World Cup squad. Today’s episode was hosted by Gideon Resnick.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Election Day is here for the 2026 midterm primary runoff - that record turnout in March has dwindled significantly for Democrats, but remains strong for voters in the Republican runoff, powered by the Cornyn/Paxton bloodbath: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-to-expect-in-the-texas-us-senate-republican-primary-runoff...A final Quantus Insights poll shows that Ken Paxton's advantage over John Cornyn has grown to nearly ten points: https://www.newsweek.com/ken-paxtons-chances-of-beating-john-cornyn-on-eve-of-senate-runoff-poll-11990938...The Cornyn/Paxton fight has led to $109 million in ad spending, most of it dedicated to worshiping Donald Trump: https://apnews.com/article/texas-senate-paxton-cornyn-trump-election-00cc96aa8db7fb1844f4ce8d39629f53...That worship continues even as Trump's disapproval numbers have hit a new all-time high: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-approval-rating-iran-groceries-b2983270.html...Republican candidates have saved a little room in their advertising to keep hatin' on Muslim Texans: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/26/texas-senate-runoff-anti-muslim-adYour last chance to vote in the primary runoff is today! See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/We're excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Ralph welcomes back union organizer, Chris Townsend, to discuss the reasons why the AFL-CIO shrinks from effectively fighting for its members and expanding the power of workers. Then, political scientist Lee Drutman lays out a system of proportional representation that would take away the incentive to gerrymander congressional districts. Plus, Ralph gives some quick takes on Thomas Massie's primary loss, fish hopped up on cocaine, and the situations in Lebanon and Ukraine.Chris Townsend has been a union member and labor leader for more than 45 years. He was most recently the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) International Union Organizing Director. Previously, he was an International Representative and Political Action Director for the United Electrical Workers Union (UE), and he has held local positions in both the SEIU and UFCW.[The upcoming AFL-CIO] convention is deliberately kept secret. It's what I describe as sort of a hideout strategy. It enables the leadership to not have to discuss or take positions that for them are difficult, such as: What is the labor movement going to do to confront the rampant lawlessness and criminality of the Trump regime? What is the labor movement going to do to address the rampaging inflation that is eating up living standards? There's no wage policy. There's no bargaining policy of the Federation. What are they going to do to address the ongoing national health care crisis and disaster?... And what are they doing about the crisis of the unorganized?Chris TownsendThe labor movement finds itself (I would submit) with the leadership disinterested in going out and organizing the unorganized. But even for those who do (and there are some), the laws—Taft-Hartley primary among them—provide such a minefield that we have to run through, that our ability to organize on any scale for decades has been stopped. And therefore, we are condemned to a perpetual shrinking size, resources, and whatnot. [And what] might help for folks to figure out how or why this is happening is that the labor movement is systematically being converted from trade union fighting organizations, membership-driven fighting organizations, to harmless not-for-profit organizations. And this is today's administrative layer of trade union leaders that don't see anything wrong with that. But that doesn't help anyone in the shop, in the office, in the workplace. And it doesn't help anyone looking to the labor movement for something better—better treatment, better wages, better benefits, better conditions, better health and safety in the workplace.Chris TownsendLee Drutman is a senior fellow in the Political Reform program at New America, where he focuses on electoral reform, Congress, and democratic health. He writes the newsletter Undercurrent Events and co-hosts the podcast Politics in Question. And he is the author of The Business of America is Lobbying and Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America.The whole issue of gerrymandering is really just an outgrowth of this way that we use single-winner districts with winner-take-all votes. It's also what entrenches the two-party system in the US, which limits the choice of voters. So there's this one weird voting mechanism that we have that most countries have gotten rid of, that is an antiquated voting system, that preserves the two-party system and makes gerrymandering just inevitable—and that's the use of single-member districts. Now, in a proportional system, you take away the districts, and you do this statewide, you can carve up larger states into a few multi-member districts. And then seats get allocated proportionally by party share. That takes away the entire incentive of gerrymandering, it gives voters everywhere meaningful choices, meaningful votes, and it is just a superior system of representing the pluralism and diversity of our pluralistic and diverse society.Lee DrutmanPeople like the idea of proportional representation as basic fairness—that people think that parties should get seats in proportion to the share of votes they get. I did some polling on it a few years ago, and I'm hoping to do a little bit more… But I think that one of the challenges is people don't entirely understand how it works. And so it's a challenge to poll people on a concept that they don't know about. But I think more and more people understand it. And from the polling I've seen, at a principles-based level, people get the idea that proportionality is a form of fairness, and people like fairness.Lee DrutmanKaty O'Donnell is the editorial director at Haymarket Books, a radical, independent, nonprofit book publisher based in Chicago.News 5/22/26* Our first story this week has to do with what appears to be the impending downfall of ultrazionist media personality, Bari Weiss. Weiss, who resigned from the New York Times to found the Free Press and then sold that venture to become “Editor-in-Chief” for CBS News under the Ellison regime, is reportedly facing down the barrel of her role being scaled back substantially. Puck reports “As Paramount closes in on its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery…members of the senior leadership team have had informal discussions about changing Bari's mandate at CBS News—and, eventually, CNN—in ways that would give her less control over the linear product.” This piece cites her missteps stewarding CBS News, including her inability to improve the ratings for Evening News, even failing to secure new anchor Tony Dokoupil a travel visa to China in time for President Trump's recent visit to the People's Republic. While a total dismissal of Weiss seems unlikely in the near future, such a dramatic reduction in her clout would constitute a tremendous, humbling blow.* Moving to state-level news, last week, Colorado Democratic Governor Jared Polis announced he would be commuting the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for tampering with voting systems to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the Centennial State. Peters will now be eligible for parole June 1st. This move has been widely condemned, most notably by the Colorado Democratic Party which voted by a margin of over 90% to officially censure Polis. In a statement, the CDP wrote, “Reducing [Peters'] sentence now, under pressure from Donald Trump, is not justice…It sends a message to future bad actors that election tampering has consequences, unless you're friends with the president.” According to NBC, the CDP also banned Polis from being able to “participate as an honored guest, speaker or officially recognized representative of the Colorado Democratic Party at party-sponsored functions.”* In more positive state-level news, NPR reports Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed a bill banning prediction market sites like Polymarket and Kalshi – which allow consumers to “place…wager[s] on…future outcome[s], like sports, elections, live entertainment” – from operating in the North Star State. This makes Minnesota the first state in the nation to ban the prediction betting platforms. As this story notes, the Trump administration is pursuing legal action on behalf of the platforms, ensuring a legal battle over whether states can act to protect their own consumers from these predatory betting services. Minnesota Rep. Emma Greenman, who introduced the measure, is quoted as saying, “We as a state should decide how best and what regulations we think should attach to gambling, to protect public safety, to protect our kids.” The administration, meanwhile, specifically the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is arguing in court that prediction market industry regulation should be the sole preserve of the federal government.* Looking toward Congress, this week saw a number of high-profile primaries, including in the state of Pennsylvania. Leading up to that primary, the Pennsylvania machine went all out against the congressional campaign of State Representative Chris Rabb. Rabb, who had won the endorsements of everyone from AOC and Rashida Tlaib to Jamie Raskin and Philly DSA to the Philadelphia Inquirer, was targeted by a barrage of anonymous text messages to Philadelphia voters accusing him of “spreading conspiracy theories and holding extremist views,” per the Inquirer. What is remarkable about this smear campaign, however, is that it was organized by Philadelphia's Democratic City Committee and that it violated federal election law by failing to disclose that fact. In another troubling portend of things to come, one of the texts featured an “AI-generated image of Rabb acknowledging his supposed lack of legislative accomplishments in Harrisburg.” Rumors have long circulated that Governor Josh Shapiro wanted Rabb to lose, and worked the backrooms to this end while avoiding public statements.* Yet, despite all of that, Rabb prevailed – winning over his two establishment-backed opponents with around 45% of the vote compared to his opponents, who each won approximately 30% and 24% respectively. The Pennsylvania primaries turned out to be a good night for progressives more generally, with Bob Brooks – a firefighter's union chief and former state rep. who successfully united the Democratic Party behind him, winning the endorsements of both Governor Josh Shapiro and Senator Bernie Sanders. Brooks will face off against freshman Republican Congressman Ryan Mackenzie in November in the R+1 seventh district of Pennsylvania, while Rabb's general election campaign is seen as little more than a formality in the D+40 PA-03.* Yet, if it was a good streak for Democratic progressives, it was a very bad one for Trump critics within the GOP. This week, Thomas Massie lost his primary in Kentucky's fourth congressional district, buckling under the war chest deployed against him in what amounted to the most expensive House primary on record. Massie joked that “My vote was never for sale, so they bought a congressional seat. They found out what it cost.” Massie, perhaps Trump's most formidable intra-party opponent in the House during his second term, worked with Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna on bills ranging from the Epstein Files Transparency Act to War Powers Resolutions related to the administration's actions in Venezuela and Iran. In retaliation, Trump made it clear that he would go to any lengths to ensure Massie would not be reelected. That said, Massie will remain in the House until January and has indicated that he will make that time as painful for Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson as he possibly can. Moreover, during his concession speech, Massie's supporters chanted for him to run for president in 2028, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Whether he is even entertaining that thought is unclear, but if he did run as a right-wing independent candidate, one could easily imagine him capturing a large enough share of the vote to deny certain states to the Republican nominee. Meanwhile, his ally across the aisle, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, said in a statement that Massie “lost because he had the guts to stand up to the Epstein class and against the war…He won voters under 45 by 30 points…Tonight, I say to [his] voters who feel rejected by Trump. We welcome you. Join our coalition to take on a rotten system and stand for the working class over the Epstein class.”* Massie isn't the only Republican targeted in the latest round of Trump purges. Downballot, Trump loyalists have ousted the Indiana Republicans who resisted Trump's pressure to implement mid-decade redistricting, but the real scalps he is claiming are in the Senate. Last weekend, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana lost his primary runoff. Fox reports this makes Cassidy the “first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012.” Trump wasted no time in dancing on Cassidy's political grave, writing on Truth Social, “His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of a legend, and it's nice to see that his political career is OVER!” His supposed disloyalty, of course, refers to Cassidy's vote to convict Trump in the Senate trial for his second impeachment following January 6th. Former Senator Mitt Romney, who also voted to convict, is quoted in this article saying that Cassidy is a “person of character,” and that his “departure is a loss for the country.” Cassidy, however, is likely soon to be joined by longtime Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn. Cornyn is currently making his last stand against scandal-ridden Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in that runoff election. Trump has long prevaricated regarding whether and whom he would endorse in this race, at times leaning towards either candidate but remaining neutral up until this week, when he formally gave the nod to Paxton, per the Texas Tribune. This move has caused great consternation amongst Senate Republicans and cautious optimism among Democrats, who see Paxton as the weaker opponent to go up against Democratic nominee James Talarico in November – giving Democrats their best chance in years to flip a Senate seat in Texas.* What Cornyn's next move will be is a mystery, especially as he has not yet officially lost the Texas primary. Cassidy, however, appears to have chosen the Massie route of going down fighting. This week, Cassidy flipped his position to become the deciding vote in favor of the Senate War Powers Resolution on Iran – successfully pushing it through along with support from fellow Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Rand Paul, despite disloyal opposition from Democratic Senator John Fetterman. The measure was then sent back to the House, but fearful it might actually pass – Democratic holdout Jared Golden had vowed to vote yes, and war-weary House Republicans Thomas Massie, Warren Davidson, Brian Fitzpatrick and Tom Barrett were all signaling their support – leadership abruptly canceled the vote, per MSN.* One factor cited in the Republicans' calculus around this latest War Powers push was the absences of Members of Congress. In their view, the absences would have given Democrats the votes they needed to win. Two of these absences have garnered substantial attention in the media: those of Republican Congressman Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey and Democratic Congresswoman Frederica Wilson of Florida. The 83-year-old Wilson, who was missing for a month with little public acknowledgment or explanation, has finally resurfaced, saying that she was undergoing a major eye surgery but still plans to seek reelection. In a remarkably tone-deaf comment, a source close to the Congresswoman was quoted in Axios saying “missing votes is not a sign she's sick or retiring…She shows up when she wants to.” Still, at least her absence has been explained and she has now returned to her duties in the House. Congressman Kean's disappearance is more mysterious. As of May 21st, Kean has not “been seen in Washington for more than 75 days,” NOTUS reports. When his absence first began to gain media traction, his Chief of Staff added fuel to the fire with the cryptic remark “there are no cameras where Tom is.” Now it is being reported that his neighbors back in New Jersey haven't seen hide nor hair either. There has been some indication that Kean is dealing with a personal or medical issue, but Speaker Mike Johnson claims to have no knowledge of the particulars. It is not controversial to say that being an American Member of Congress is too important to simply be AWOL for long periods of time, especially without deigning to explain why to one's constituents. Something must be done.* Finally, we turn to Latin America, where former president Evo Morales has leveled claims that the government of his native Bolivia, in coordination with the DEA and the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is plotting to “detain or kill” him, TeleSUR reports. According to this report, “Morales detailed specific military units allegedly involved, including the Army's Ninth Division in the tropical region under Colonel Franz Andrade Loza, whom he said the government promised to promote to general and appoint as armed forces commander ‘if he finishes off Evo.'” Morales also “cited an F-10 unit under Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Giménez Ortuño,” a former aide to the defense minister in the government of the unelected U.S.-backed regime of Jeanine Áñez. These allegations sound somewhat outlandish, but in a moment when the U.S. has recently kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, worked to undermine the governments of Mexico and Colombia via the Hondurasgate scheme, and just recently moved to indict 94 year old Raúl Castro for his role in an incident three decades ago when the Cuban government downed a civilian aircraft that entered their sovereign airspace, it does not seem so far fetched.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe
https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260522.mp3 Right-click here to download this episode (“Save link as…”). Texas Tribune (5/20/26) This week on CounterSpin: You may have seen videos of college commencement speakers telling students who've spent time and money learning how to read, write and think critically that that was dumb, cuz AI is going to be doing that from now on, so just get on the train or else—wait, why are you booing? That's far from the only disconnect between students and teachers who think higher education means engagement with a range of perspectives, and right-wing politicians and their administrative acolytes saying “not so fast.” We'll hear from Karma Chávez, professor at the University of Texas at Austin, at the center of this assault on academic freedoms. https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260522Chavez.mp3 CEPR (3/10/26) Also on the show: There is a US State Department memo that calls for “a line of action which, while as adroit and inconspicuous as possible, makes the greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government.” Thing is: That memo is from 1960. So while Trump is making everything old, new—and ugly and violent—again, he isn't inventing it all. We try not to do media criticism by counterfactual, but consider: What if another country were cutting off resources to the US, in an explicit effort to cause us misery, in hopes that would make us overthrow our government? We'll talk about what sounds reasonable as long as it's about Cuba with Alex Main, director of international policy at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260522Main.mp3
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:On this last day of early voting in the runoff, a tour through the reasons Texas is notorious for bad voter turnout - and several good ideas to fix that are presented in the new Party Politics show from Houston Public Media: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/party-politics/2026/03/20/546612/why-texans-dont-vote-and-what-could-change-that/Texas Republican Party Chair Abraham George is begging Ken Paxton and John Cornyn to knock off their all-out blood battle - but the damage to Republican voter unity is probably already done: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/article/texas-gop-chair-wants-john-cornyn-ken-paxton-22270714.phpThe NAACP has launched an "Out Of Bounds" campaign, encouraging Black athletes to use their outsized influence over Southern colleges - including Texas and Texas A&M - to oppose the marginalization of Black voters in the South: https://www.statesman.com/sports/college/article/texas-texas-am-naacp-sec-boycott-22270162.phpMassive damage is being done to Texas public schools by the private school voucher scam, the immigration crackdown and more - a massive enrollment drop impacted the just-completed school year, and with it, state funding: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/05/21/texas-public-school-enrollment-drops-by-more-than-76k-students-with-hispanic-students-accounting-for-most-of-decline/...Nationally, voucher programs are becoming, as predicted, a public subsidy for wealthy families whose kids were already attending private schools: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/headway/school-choice-movement-vouchers-education.htmlEarly voting in the primary runoff ends after today! See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/We're excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:A Guatemalan woman, denied a critical surgery by her ICE captors, has become the latest symbol of the cruelty of the Trump immigration enforcement machine: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-news/doctors-say-woman-in-texas-ice-detention-center-urgently-requires-surgery-shes-being-denied/...An ICE arrest in the parking lot of a San Antonio voting location has prompted warnings against immigration enforcement visibility near the polls - an unacceptable combination for the November midterms: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/san-antonio-news/ice-conducts-enforcement-action-at-san-antonio-voting-location-witnesses-say/Officials in Sinton, Texas - near Corpus Christi - are being accused of hoarding water for data centers as the regional water supply drops to a dangerous low: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19052026/corpus-christi-emergency-water-supply-delays/Another endorsement for CD 35 congressional candidate Johnny Garcia - and another condemnation of his antisemitic, conspiracist Democratic runoff opponent Maureen Galindo - comes from the editorial board at the Houston Chronicle: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/endorsements/article/johnny-garcia-maureen-galindo-antisemitism-texas-22269254.php...Our recent visit with Johnny Garcia: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-hour-282-johnny-garcia-progress-texas-endorsed/id1552998795?i=1000768641904Early voting in the primary runoff has begun! See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/We're excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Donald Trump's endorsement of Ken Paxton over John Cornyn in the Republican runoff for Senate has sent shockwaves through the GOP elite: https://apnews.com/article/trump-texas-senate-endorsement-paxton-cornyn-adb4c7213fc2d0db0b29d0ab65d49384...Paxton's manipulation of Trump appears to have paid off handsomely: https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/19/politics/ken-paxton-donald-trump-endorsement-john-cornyn...Senate Republicans are now deeply concerned about hanging on to their majority: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/oh-boy-republican-senators-recoil-at-trump-endorsement-in-texas-race-worry-it-could-give-dems-the-senate/...Paxton is seen as a liability not only in Texas but nationally, as defending that Senate seat will require a massive investment in what has been considered a safe state for the GOP: https://www.notus.org/campaigns/trump-paxton-endorsement-cornyn-senate-2026-republican-majorityIn CD 35, the Democratic runoff has made national news as candidate Maureen Galindo has spouted wild anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, effectively killing her own credibility: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/house-democratic-texas-candidate-maureen-galindo-antisemitic-comments-rcna346022...Galindo's campaign has also been raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars from "Lead Left PAC", which is suspected of being a conservative funding operation designed to elevate an inferior Democratic candidate for the general election: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/democratic-candidate-pledges-to-convert-ice-jail-into-prison-for-american-zionists-that-will-also-be-castration-processing-center/...The San Antonio Jewish Federation has condemned Galindo's campaign: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/politics-and-elections/house-candidate-maureen-galindo-pledges-to-send-american-zionists-to-internment-camp/Early voting in the primary runoff has begun! See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/We're excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Our board at Progress Texas has issued a late endorsement for Johnny Garcia, running in the primary runoff in South Texas' CD 35 against Maureen Galindo, whose campaign has been marred by a broad variety of rhetorical missteps: https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/antisemitism-congressional-election-22260523.phpNew polling shows higher favorability ratings for James Talarico than either Senator John Cornyn or Ken Paxton - but the November race against either a toss-up: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/poll-shows-texas-senate-race-toss-up-cornyn-and-paxton-vie-for-gop-nod/287-3e6e6e91-af0b-4f44-9be2-431654e07184Paxton's office continues its bungling of high-profile cases with an extremely light sentence imposed upon an admitted child molester in Waco: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/19/ken-paxton-waco-plea-deal-child-sex-abuse-texas-attorney-general/...While sex offenders are sliding, Paxton is ramping up his attacks on Muslim schools: https://www.keranews.org/news/2026-05-18/texas-ag-ken-paxton-sues-texam-university-alleging-illegal-degree-programs-and-deceptive-branding...And piling on with the Trump DOJ with a highly dubious legal action against the Southern Poverty Law Center: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5884347-texas-investigates-splc-funding/Meanwhile the hard-right media - clearly on Team Paxton - are making hay of Cornyn's prior support of Islamic Relief USA, a purely humanitaritan charity, simply on the basis of their Muslim affiliation: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/05/18/report-cornyn-funded-islamic-group-linked-planned-texas-muslim-community/An Austin Chick-Fil-A franchisee - part of a chain known for closing on Sunday's to uphold a Christian religious veneer - is being sued for refusing to honor the religious rights of one of its own managers: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/chick-fil-a-austin-texas-lawsuit-saturday-sabbath/269-e84e7adc-debb-4051-a1d7-a3fca50bb84dEarly voting in the primary runoff has begun! See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/We're excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Early voting in the 2026 primary runoffs has begun, continuing through Friday, and culminating in Election Day on Tuesday May 26th. Progress Texas has made several endorsements in the runoff: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-endorsements-may-primary-runoffsGovernor Abbott's push for the Texas Supreme Court to remove Houston Rep. Gene Wu and other State House Democrats from office over the summer quorum break has failed: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/15/texas-supreme-court-gene-wu-greg-abbott-redistricting-map-quorum-break/...Abbott's campaign team, apparently fearing the threat posed by Democratic nominee and State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, has starting digging for dirt - specifically, photos of Hinojosa as a teenager at pool parties in the Valley: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-news/gov-abbotts-top-strategist-seeks-underage-photos-of-gina-hinojosa-as-he-tries-to-dig-up-dirt/Ken Paxton and the Trump DOJ have succeeded in forcing Texas Children's Hospital in Houston to establish a "detransition" clinic: https://apnews.com/article/genderaffirming-care-minors-texas-hospital-29f0f2d157395cb6a70f53ba29c36b5b...The settlement also requires Texas Children's to fire five "ideologically-motivated" doctors: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/paxton-forces-texas-hospital-to-open-detransition-clinic-as-part-of-settlement-40674995/Early voting in the primary runoff has begun! See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/Lots more on voting in Texas: https://govotetexas.org/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Through sheer determination, Ken Paxton and the state of Texas overcame a federal court stay of execution and put to death Edward Busby in Huntsville last night - a man that multiple experts agreed was intellectually disabled. Both the Trump SCOTUS and Texas' Republican leadership, in their zeal to achieve our 600th state-sanctioned killing in the modern era, demonstrate the callous indifference regarding human dignity and equal justice of the Republican regime - and also demonstrate why progressives must work even harder for long-overdue change.Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/14/texas-600-execution-edward-busby-death-penalty/Runoff elections are coming up, with early voting starting on May 18 and Election Day on May 26. See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/Lots more on voting in Texas: https://govotetexas.org/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Despite orders from the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to suspend the scheduled execution of Edward Busby, state officials are still trying to kill him today: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/after-having-his-execution-halted-edward-busby-awaits-supreme-court-ruling/Governor Abbott is attempting a novel legal maneuver claiming that State Rep. Gene Wu's leadership of last summer's quorum break constitutes abdication of his office - he's asking the Texas Supreme Court to thus forcibly remove Wu from office: https://www.statesman.com/news/politics/state/article/gene-wu-greg-abbott-lawsuit-22235273.phpTexas Super Bowl viewers led the nation in complaining to the FCC about the "decency" of Bad Bunny's record-breaking halftime show - no indecency or violations were found: https://www.expressnews.com/news/texas/article/texans-filed-most-complaints-bad-bunny-halftime-22257755.phpAn HBCU-specific sports writer argues that Black SEC football players do possess collective political power relevant to the undermining of Black voters in the South via aggressive redistricting allowed by the SCOTUS Callais decision: https://hbcugameday.com/2026/05/12/sec-boycott-calls-lane-kiffin-interview-creating-needed-discussions/Runoff elections are coming up, with early voting starting on May 18 and Election Day on May 26. See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/Lots more on voting in Texas: https://govotetexas.org/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:President Barack Obama joined Democratic nominees James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa yesterday at The Taco Joint in East Austin to fire up progressive voters in Texas: https://www.statesman.com/news/politics/article/barack-obama-austin-james-talarico-tacos-22255610.php...Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders has been added to the speakers at this year's Texas Democratic Party Convention in Corpus Christi: https://www.kiiitv.com/article/news/local/texas-political-conventions-expected-to-bring-economic-boost-to-corpus-christi-houston/503-df597b38-cba9-4a1f-bbd3-387be68204acThe conservative Ragnar Research Parners find that high-propensity Republican voters in Texas, especially in the suburbs, are abandoning the party in droves: https://x.com/ragnarresearch/status/2053943231818117219?s=20An extensive and damning expose on the Southern Baptist Convention details its years-long resistance to reforming internal policy that allows for the unfettered sexual abuse of its young, vulnerable members: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/quiet-collapse-southern-baptist-convention/Runoff elections are coming up, with early voting starting on May 18 and Election Day on May 26. See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/Lots more on voting in Texas: https://govotetexas.org/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Pending a SCOTUS call on intellectual eligibility for execution, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed the Thursday execution of Edward Busby of Tarrant County: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/11/texas-execution-edward-busby-appeal/With the runoff election coming up next week, Senator John Corynyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton have beaten each other to a pulp - and that fight continues to escalate: https://www.statesman.com/news/columns/article/texas-senate-paxton-cornyn-republican-runoff-22249941.php...Cornyn's attacks have devolved into insider niche stuff that most voters will not understand - belying a state of desperation: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/john-cornyn-obscure-campaign-ken-paxton/The two runoff contests for Texas Attorney General portray a much more disparate vision for the office between the parties than between the candidates on either side: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/election-2026/2026/05/07/551136/texas-attorney-general-candidates-make-their-final-pitches-to-voters-as-primary-runoffs-approach/Runoff elections are coming up, with early voting starting on May 18 and Election Day on May 26. See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/Lots more on voting in Texas: https://govotetexas.org/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
The numbers remain in the favor of Democrats to regain control of the U.S. House, despite interference by the Virginia Supreme Court: https://thehill.com/newsletters/morning-report/5872121-democrats-house-control-midterms-trump-iran/A new University of Houston study shows the dissatisfaction with Trump and Republican governing that's likely to be the real factor this fall - in particular regarding Trump's war of adventure in Iran: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/even-republican-houstonians-dont-want-a-ground-war-in-iran/...And regarding ICE's heavy-handed impact on Houston: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/immigration/2026/05/08/551384/ice-houston-residents-survey-uh-police/SBOE-approved Bible-infused Bluebonnet Learning materials will require a full reprint before they're distributed to schools, due to over 4,000 required corrections - all on the taxpayers' dime: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/state-board-of-education-texas-education-agency-bluebonnet-learning-errors-taxpayers/...Religious overrun of public life is only getting started, as the Dan Patrick-led Religious Liberty Commission prepares its "wish list": https://apnews.com/article/trump-religious-liberty-commission-conservative-christians-f61eba23ca5cda88a6df1ac525ef12c5...Progress Texas has endorsed Democrat and State Rep. Vikki Goodwin in her run to face Patrick for Texas Lt. Governor: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-hour-276-catching-up-with-vikki-goodwin/id1552998795?i=1000763844790...Religious leaders in Fort Worth, conversely, are voicing their opposition to the systemic racism evident in the huge number of Black men Tarrant County sends to death row: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/tarrant-county-leaders-protest-death-penalty-40672028/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastRunoff elections are coming up, with early voting starting on May 18 and Election Day on May 26. See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/Lots more on voting in Texas: https://govotetexas.org/We're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:State Rep. Mihela Plesa outlines the advantages that Texas is missing out on due to partisan gerrymandering - and how the Callais decision will make things worse: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/texas-doesn-t-many-real-elections-anymore-22247593.php...The same is happening next door in Louisiana: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/louisiana-shows-what-happens-when-democracy-crumblesPolling data shows that a Ken Paxton runoff win will hurt Republican prospects in Texas down-ballot: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1346681003947329&id=100058163255011&rdid=ZSzRdic9xyIWZpR1#...Paxton's campaign aims are portrayed in a new AG's office press against Texas ISD's to enforce new religious laws: https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/paxton-ten-commandments-prayer-school-investigation-texas-houston/285-61d80ef5-7216-4fdc-acbb-a918c4e6fb98Several Texas summer camps have successfully bypassed a new (and poorly-written) state law requiring fiber optic internet connections at their rural properties: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-youth-camps-fiber-optic-rule-agreement-lawsuit/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastRunoff elections are coming up, with early voting starting on May 18 and Election Day on May 26. See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/Lots more on voting in Texas: https://govotetexas.org/We're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:As a protest against the conservative undermining of academic integrity at Texas Tech under new Chancellor Brandon Creighton happens today, officials there are accused of asking faculty to downplay the limitations that have been placed on research: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/06/texas-tech-university-graduate-research-limit-warnings/...Today's "Funeral" for academic freedom at Tech gets underway this morning at 8: https://www.instagram.com/p/DX2ztKDGvEE/?img_index=1SB 4, which would make crossing the border into Texas a state crime enforceable by any law enforcement officer in the state - opening the door to unfettered racial profiling of Latino people - is set to take effect in about a week: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/north-texas-police-prepare-for-sb-4-immigration-law-40671495/Global anti-American sentiment, hostility towards foreign visitors in Texas, and overpriced tickets are threatening to kill the golden goose promised by the FIFA World Cup: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/06/texas-world-cup-tourists-economic-impact/New studies find widespread instances of "political breakups" as Americans choose to exclude people with whom they disagree politically from their lives - and Democrats tend to be the ones who initiate these separations: https://socialecology.uci.edu/news/losing-relationships-over-politics-0We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastRunoff elections are coming up, with early voting starting on May 18 and Election Day on May 26. See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/Lots more on voting in Texas: https://govotetexas.org/We're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Tomorrow marks an overdue significant student and alumni pushback against the ultra-conservative transformation of Texas Tech under Chancellor Brandon Creighton: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/texas-tech-academic-freedom-funeral-22242520.php...More about the "funeral" at Tech tomorrow: https://www.instagram.com/p/DX2ztKDGvEE/?img_index=1As the runoffs approach, new polling finds a virtual tie between Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Republican race for Senate, with a slight edge for Democratic nominee James Talarico over Paxton: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5863849-paxton-leading-cornyn-poll/...Supporters of Wesley Hunt are tending to back Paxton, by about 20 points: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/election-2026/2026/05/05/550879/paxton-cornyn-texas-senate-republican-primary-runoff-poll-uh/...Also in the Republican runoff: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, perhaps reading the anti-MAGA tea leaves, has backed incumbent Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright over his mega-MAGA challenger Bo French: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/05/dan-patrick-mayes-middleton-endorsement-texas-attorney-general-chip-roy-2026-gop-runoff/Decades of public policy failure, mostly under Republican legislative dominance, contributed heavily to the conditions that killed 137 people in last July's flooding disaster: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/06/texas-legislature-flood-protection-bills-failed-july-4/...Still, GOP leaders are now advocating to allow Hill Country summer camps to bypass internet communications requirments imposed by lawmakers after that disaster: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/05/texas-summer-camps-internet-floods-regulations/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastRunoff elections are coming up, with early voting starting on May 18 and Election Day on May 26. See a convenient form to see who will be on YOUR runoff ballot from the Texas Tribune: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/Lots more on voting in Texas: https://govotetexas.org/We're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:May Day StrongLone Star Labor: Mourn the dead. Fight like hell for the living. Texas AFL-CIO: https://texasaflcio.org/news/lone-star-labor-mourn-dead-fight-hell-livingWhat is May Day? Where San Antonio protests are planned. MySA: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/may-day-protests-san-antonio-22234392.phpJames Broadnax Executed on April 30James Broadnax executed by Texas: Live updates and final words. Dallas Morning News: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/article/james-broadnax-texas-execution-live-updates-22232220.phpTexas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty: https://tcadp.org/Camp Mystic Will Not Re-OpenCamp Mystic abandons bid to reopen this summer. Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/30/texas-camp-mystic-reopen-canceled-2025-flood/Vouchers UpdatePersonal decisions, not politics, drove interest in school vouchers. Here are takeaways from Houston families. Houston Chronicle: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/personal-decisions-drove-interest-school-100000306.htmlWe have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:SCOTUS Decision Overturns Decades of Voting Rights ProtectionsSupreme Court Callais Decision Overturns Decades of Voting Rights Protections. Progress Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/statement-supreme-court-callais-decision-overturns-decades-voting-rights-protections U.S. Supreme Court weakens key pillar of Voting Rights Act, opening the door for Texas to redraw political maps. Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/29/us-supreme-court-voting-rights-act-section-2-decision-texas-redistricting-maps/ James Broadnax Execution Scheduled TodayJames Broadnax set for execution today: A look back at the case and new developments. Dallas Morning News: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/article/james-broadnax-texas-execution-live-updates-22232220.php Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty: https://tcadp.org/Tech Takeover of TexasAustin officials say as many as 5 Waymo robotaxis interfered with ambulances after mass shooting. Austin American-Statesman: https://archive.is/Ga87D#selection-924.0-924.1 Waymo skips Austin meeting after robotaxi blocked ambulance: ‘We answered all questions'.San Antonio Express-News: https://archive.is/29p2k#selection-926.0-926.1 How Data Centers Are Eating Up Rural Texas.Austin Chronicle: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/how-data-centers-are-eating-up-rural-texas/ We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE. Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: The U.S. Supreme Court made another step toward stopping Leftwing Democrats from perverting our nation's foundational principles of non-discrimination. The court ruled against drawing political district lines for racial purposes – and the liberal Democrats are furious. Here is the best summary of the decision in the case of Louisiana v. Callais.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.The Texas Tribune and Votebeat published a long feature story on Texas political party primary elections that, while containing much accurate information, is based on a falsehood, a false premise.Attorney General Paxton sues Houston-area “Birth Tourism” center for exploiting birthright citizenship by unlawfully facilitating the invasion of Chinese nationals into Texas for the sole purpose of giving birth.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The Two “T”s impacting Texas: Talarico and TrumpTalarico leads both Cornyn, Paxton in new poll of Texas' U.S. Senate race. Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/28/texas-us-senate-poll-talarico-cornyn-paxton-2026-midterms/"Editing my words': Talarico's Austin pastor says Cornyn is misrepresenting his sermon. Austin American-Statesman: https://www.statesman.com/news/politics/article/talarico-pastor-cornyn-sermon-remarks-22229939.phpSome Texas Republicans rally behind Trump's White House ballroom plan. Houston Chronicle: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/white-house-ballroom-texas-funding-22230835.phpTexas Weather WoesTrump's proposed cuts to NOAA draw pushback from key Texas GOP congressman. San Antonio Express-News: https://www.expressnews.com/politics/texas/article/noaa-cuts-trump-brian-babin-22230030.php Giant hail, tornado threat rising across parts of Texas on Tuesday. Here's where. San Antonio Express-News: https://www.expressnews.com/san-antonio-weather/article/hail-texas-severe-storm-cold-front-weather-22230117.phpCorpus Christi delays action on plan to cut water use by 25% if emergency is declared. Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/28/texas-corpus-christi-emergency-water-restrictions/Disaster declarations ripple through South Texas amid water crisis. Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/28/texas-drought-corpus-christi-water-crisis-towns-declare-emergencies/Two Somber UpdatesPoor preparation doomed Camp Mystic victims, investigator tells Texas lawmakers in harrowing account. Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/27/texas-legislature-flood-investigating-committee-hearing-camp-mystic/Texas parole board denies clemency to James Broadnax two days before scheduled execution. Dallas Morning News: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/article/james-broadnax-clemency-denied-22228908.phpWe have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE.Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
08:00 — J.W. Glass, Senior EPA Policy Specialist at Center for Biological Diversity. 33:00 — Uriel J. García is an immigration reporter at the Texas Tribune based in El Paso. 45:00 — Shawn VanDiver is the founder and President of #AfghanEvac. The post Monsanto Roundup Lawsuit; Plus, 300 DACA Recipients Arrested Under Trump Administration; And, DHS Plan to Deport Afghans Who Aided US War Efforts from Qatar to DRC appeared first on KPFA.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Amendments to Houston's ICE ordinance put forth by Mayor John Whitmire were voted in yesterday by the Houston City Council - an effective caving to pressure from Governor Greg Abbott: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/city-of-houston/2026/04/22/549776/ice-houston-police-policy-revised-city-council-whitmire-abbott/...The ordinance was designed to ensure that Houston police follow the Fourth Amendment - and its rescinding encourages those officers to violate it: https://reason.com/2026/04/22/houston-irks-texas-gov-greg-abbott-by-reminding-cops-to-comply-with-the-fourth-amendment/The court decision to allow Texas to force public schools to display the Ten Commandments is a continuation of our state's role as the primary national laboratory for Christian nationalism: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/election-2026/2026/04/22/549723/christian-nationalism-texas-republican-primary-runoff-paxton-patrick-middleton-talarico/...Biblical doctrine has successully bridged the gap between rhetoric and policy - the very divide supposedly guarded by church/state separation: https://arkvalleyvoice.com/is-texas-fifth-circuit-decision-a-judicial-endorsement-of-christian-nationalism/The Texas Tribune has published a search tool to find out who will be on your primary runoff ballot: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE.Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Continuing the redistricting fight started by Donald Trump in Texas and highlighted by quorum-breaking Texas State House Democrats, Virginia voters have approved a redraw of their congressional map that may yield as many as four additional blue seats in the U.S. House: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/us/elections/redistricting-gerrymandering-virginia-takeaways.htmlThere's a big special session of the Houston City Council today, as Mayor John Whitmire proposes language changes to the city's ordinance governing Houston police interactions with ICE that some council members fear may undermine its intent to protect the rights of citizens: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/04/22/whats-changing-mayor-john-whitmire-moves-to-revise-controversial-immigration-policy/...Meanwhile Governor Abbott has been invoking a 19-year-old Venezuelan murder suspect as an example of Houston's failed policies - but, this suspect had no contact with Houston police before he was arrested: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/immigration/article/abbott-immigration-police-ice-policy-22217833.phpCorpus Christi's city council is now considering a mandatory and universal 25% water use cut by as early as this September: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20042026/corpus-christi-projects-september-emergency-water-restrictions/The Texas Tribune has published a search tool to find out who will be on your primary runoff ballot: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE.Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
In this week's episode, Matthew speaks with Texas Tribune politics reporter Alejandro Serrano and Houston Chronicle reporter Abby Church over Gov. Greg Abbott's treat to pull more than $200 million in law enforcement funds from Houston, Dallas and Austin unless their police start cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
There's a growing movement to make sure colleges offer ‘degrees of value,' meaning that offerings lead to higher-paying jobs for graduates than if they hadn't gone to college. Jeff and Michael talk to a key proponent of the idea, Harrison Keller, the president of the University of North Texas and former Commissioner of Higher Education in Texas. He talks about his experiments to redesign colleges to better match their offerings to the needs of the labor market. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group. Relevant Links “Building a Talent Strong Texas,” strategic plan from Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “University launches regional partnership for Texas Talent Accelerator to meet industry demands,” in the North Texas Daily. “University of North Texas to cut more than 70 programs and minors to trim $45 million deficit,” in the Texas Tribune.“ Syracuse Drops 84 Majors Including Classics, Ceramics and Italian,” in The New York Times (gift link). Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 1:30 - A President Trying to Align Degrees to the Labor Market 3:43 - The Elevator Pitch for Ensuring ‘Credentials of Value' 5:50 - Creating a ‘Hub' to Analyze Fast-Changing Employment Landscape 9:04 - Is There a Danger of Training Students for Dying Jobs? 12:11 - What Programs at UNT Aren't Working? 14:14 - What About Majors With Social Value That Don't Pay Much? 17:21 - How Do State Funding Formulas Need to Change? 20:06 - How Do Universities Need to Change Their Structures? 23:32 - What Should Universities Do to Respond to AI? 28:07 - Sponsor Break 28:46 - Colleges Need to Do More to Connect Liberal Arts to Job Skills 33:14 - The Case for a More-Detailed Mapping of Liberal Arts Skills to Work 41:56 - A Move to Shorter Degree Offerings in Some Fields 45:33 - Eliminating Programs With Low Demand 50:40 - Lightning Round with Harrison Keller Connect with Michael Horn: Sign Up for the The Future of Education Newsletter Website LinkedIn X (Twitter) Threads Connect with Jeff Selingo: Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You Sign Up for the Next Newsletter Website X (Twitter) Threads LinkedIn Connect with Future U: Twitter YouTube Threads Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Submit a question and if we answer it on air we'll send you Future U. swag! Sign up for Future U. emails to get special updates and behind-the-scenes content.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The Texas Medical Board has reprimanded the doctors involved in the deaths of Neveah Crain and Porsha Ngumezi, both of whom were denied critical care as their doctors tried to accommodate Texas' ban on abortion: https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/17/health/texas-medical-board-pregnant-women-propublica...Meanwhile a California doctor targeted by a state law against sending abortion medication into Texas has filed his own lawsuit, countering that the law is unconstitutional: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/texas-abortion-drug-bounty-hunter-law-is-unconstitutional-california-doctor-says-2026-04-17/Texas transplant Elon Musk has been summoned to Paris, France, to answer charges that the Grok AI built into X (which we still call Twitter) has been deliberately programmed to crank out child sex and Holocaust denial material: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/elon-musk-grok-x-france-b2960831.htmlEarly voting in the May 2 local elections starts today, including that $845 million bond package in Fort Worth: https://fortworthreport.org/election-central/The Texas Tribune has published a search tool to find out who will be on your primary runoff ballot: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-may-2026-primary-runoff-ballot/We have TWO live events on the calendar! The first is in Houston on Wednesday May 20, when we'll record a live podcast with the newly-elected members of the Cy-Fair ISD board to discuss the undoing of MAGA damage to that district. Space is limited! Please RSVP here: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/cypressisdpodcastWe're also excited to see you in Dallas for our 16th anniversary celebration on Tuesday June 16! Make your reservation now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/anniversary2026Progress Texas is expanding into both broadcast radio - including a new partnership with KPFT-FM in Houston - and into Spanish language media! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE, and to our Spanish expansion HERE.Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Texas congressman calls out yet another DC attempt at mass amnesty for illegal aliens; Houston trims its police cooperation with ICE due to Democrat pressure; El Paso County sues for information related to a big immigration detention facility the feds are building, and; Chip Roy wants Obama rule changed related to collecting immigration data in public schools – but why now and not years ago? Well he wasn't in a GOP runoff for Texas attorney general back then.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Local government sales tax collection report for April released. Look up your city here.Texas Tribune's dishonest headline and reporting picked up by large amount of state's media: Texas to pay $700 million in SNAP penalties to the feds. No, Texas isn't to pay $700 million per year. Texas will only have to pay if it doesn't reduce a specific error rate to under 6 percent by 2027.Acclaimed Taylor Sheridan to produce & direct Alamo Battle film for new Alamo museum.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates. www.PrattonTexas.com
All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. - Prairieland and Antifa Terrorism - The Scariest Court in America feat. Steven Monacelli & Dr. Michael Phillips - Israel’s Attack on Lebanon - Shadow Banking: The Once and Future Economic Apocalypse - Executive Disorder: ICE at Airports, New DHS Secretary, Iran Negotiations You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone Sources/Links: Prairieland and Antifa Terrorism https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488.367.0.pdf https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488.366.0.pdf https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/antifa-cell-members-convicted-prairieland-ice-detention-center-shooting https://www.nacdl.org/getattachment/f536e696-072c-4982-bc47-d2dc7f42f766/gov-uscourts-txnd-411041-89-0_1.pdf https://prairielanddefendants.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Superseding-Indictment-2.pdf https://www.keranews.org/criminal-justice/2026-03-03/prairieland-ice-detention-center-shooting-trial-defendants-self-defense-third-party-defense-theory-judge-mark-pittman https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-3rd-federal-trial-day-7/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-6th-federal-trial-day-10/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-10-federal-trial-day-12/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-10-federal-trial-day-12/#kyle-shideler-prosecutions-antifa-expert-redirect https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/february-26-federal-trial-day-5/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/february-27th-federal-trial-day-6/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-9th-federal-trial-day-11/ https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R41333 https://www.keranews.org/criminal-justice/2026-03-10/dario-sanchez-prairieland-ice-shooting The Scariest Court in America feat. Steven Monacelli & Dr. Michael Phillips Jack Bass, “John Minor Wisdom, Appeals Court Judge Who Helped to End Segregation, Dies at 93,” New York Times, May 16, 1999, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/16/us/john-minor-wisdom-appeals-court-judge-who-helped-to-end-segregation-dies.html Jonathan Entin, “The Surprising History of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals,” Governing, January 23, 2024, https://www.governing.com/policy/the-surprising-history-of-the-5th-circuit-court-of-appeals. Eleanor Klibanoff, “Again and again, U.S. Supreme Court slaps down 5th Circuit,” The Texas Tribune, July 3, 2024, https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/supreme-court-5th-circuit-court-rulings-texas-overturned/ Mattathias Schwartz, “This Federal Judge Is the ‘Tip of the Spear’ of Trump-Era Conservatism,” New York Times, August 9, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/us/judge-ho-trump-border.html Israel’s Attack on Lebanon Lebanese news source Megaphone news – https://megaphone.news Elia at +972mag - https://www.972mag.com/israels-renewed-war-on-lebanon-is-about-more-than-just-hezbollah/ Death toll and displacement numbers in Lebanon - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/22/hezbollah-attack-kills-one-in-north-israel-as-assault-on-lebanon-continues Nathan Brown on “Israel’s Forever Wars” - https://carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/diwan/2026/03/dominance-degradation-and-debilitation Land for peace concept - https://archive.unescwa.org/land-peace-principle Foundation for Defense of Democracy on “Peace for Land” - https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/01/23/peace-for-land-not-land-for-peace/ The book Beware of Small States - https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/david-hirst/beware-of-small-states/9780786744411/?lens=bold-type-books The Fire These Times podcast - https://thefirethesetimes.com/ Shadow Banking: The Once and Future Economic Apocalypse https://www.fsb.org/work-of-the-fsb/financial-innovation-and-structural-change/non-bank-financial-intermediation/ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/shadow-banking-is-now-a-52-trillion-industry-and-posing-risks.html https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7992100/ https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2013/06/basics.htm https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/inside-the-cdo-market-that-catalyzed-the-financial-crisis https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48512#ifn146 https://www.jstor.org/stable/26153238 https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/economists/adrian/1306adri_map.pdf https://tellerwindow.newyorkfed.org/2025/10/17/nbfis-in-focus-the-basics-of-private-credit/ https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/bank-lending-to-private-credit-size-characteristics-and-financial-stability-implications-20250523.html https://libcom.org/article/debt-first-5000-years-david-graeber Executive Disorder: ICE at Airports, New DHS Secretary, Iran Negotiations https://x.com/Holden_Culotta/status/2034419794099777620?s=20 https://www.semafor.com/article/03/18/2026/fbi-investigates-national-security-aide-who-resigned-over-war https://abcnews.com/Politics/pentagon-plans-national-guard-dc-2029-2-us/story?id=131234530 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/openai-shutting-down-sora-ai-video-app-1236546187/ https://x.com/cspan/status/2036514340896121179?s=20 https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036105325326016658?s=20 https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036083777164775452 https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036253584090685709?s=20 https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/5799345-ice-deployment-tsa-criticism/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/us/tsa-data-ice-deportation-san-francisco-airport.html https://punchbowl.news/archive/32326-am/ https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116275668825285445 https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2036511652275703864?s=20 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/us/gregory-bovino-border-patrol.html https://x.com/atrupar/status/2031414203920077123 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Fh_K2gxDA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fW9E2zneDg https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/18/politics/mullin-confirmation-hearing-senate-paul-dhs https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036510924173963558?s=20 https://archive.ph/SmBos https://archive.vn/Xg3zP#selection-717.162-717.174 https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/25/iran-war-us-trump.html https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/trump-iran-war-power-plants-energy-infrastructure-middle-east.html https://time.com/article/2026/03/25/trump-peace-proposal-us-iran-war-israel-pakistan/ https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indias-reliance-buys-5-million-barrels-iranian-oil-after-us-waiver-sources-say-2026-03-24/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1450zj6n48o https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgrzr9ynpn1o https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/oil-prices-trump-iran-strait-of-hormuz-wti-crude-middle-east-lng-gas.html https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-gets-daily-video-montage-briefing-iran-war-rcna263912 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thai-tanker-strait-hormuz-iran-6015671See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) is a young rising star in the Republican Party. She sits down with POLITICO's Dasha Burns to talk about how the war against Iran could affect Americans at home and the urgency of the midterm elections for the Republican Party. Britt also gets candid about her unique relationship with the White House and what it was like having Scarlett Johansson play her on SNL. And later on the show, Dasha breaks down the exciting Texas primary elections with a panel of journalists. Elaine Godrey of “The Atlantic,” Gabby Birenbaum of “The Texas Tribune” and POLITICO's Adam Wren share their takeaways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In "The Bells Still Ring," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss a recent poll on Americans' trust in vaccine information from the CDC, the measles outbreaks in immigration detention centers, and explain the controversy over a US-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Africa. Dr. Osterholm will also bring you some good news on US funding for global health and answer an ID Query about Nipah virus.Interactive vaccine map for US schools (Washington Post) Large share of older US adults haven't had a recent flu or COVID vaccine, poll finds (CIDRAP News)Two cases of tuberculosis detected at El Paso ICE facility (The Texas Tribune) Detained Immigrants Detail Physical Abuse and Inhumane Conditions at Largest Immigration Detention Center in the U.S. (ACLU) ‘No Humanity': Detainees describe conditions inside Whipple Federal Building (The Star Tribune) Resources for vaccine and public health advocacy: Voices for Vaccines Families Fighting Flu Vaccinate Your Family Shot@Life Medical Reserve Corps Learn more about the Vaccine Integrity Project MORE EPISODES SUPPORT THIS PODCAST Music: "Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Payton and Garrett unravel the chilling case of Marjorie Nugent, a reclusive woman living alone in a sprawling mansion on the edge of town. When loved ones begin to fear she's vanished, police make a welfare check, only to uncover a horrifying secret hidden in her freezer. Links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderwithmyhusband NEW MERCH LINK: https://mwmhshop.com Discount Codes: https://mailchi.mp/c6f48670aeac/oh-no-media-discount-codes Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/themwmh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/murderwithmyhusband/ Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@murderwithmyhusband Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/into-the-dark/id1662304327 Listen on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/36SDVKB2MEWpFGVs9kRgQ7?si=f5224c9fd99542a7 Case Sources: TexasMonthly.com - https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/midnight-in-the-garden-of-east-texas/ CBSNews.com - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-the-mortician-the-murder-the-movie/ Wikipedia.org - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Tiede Variety.com - https://variety.com/2014/film/news/richard-linklater-bernie-tiede-1201243497/ InvestigationDiscovery.com - https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/bernie-marge-the-mysterious-case-of-the-murderous-mortician-the-wealthy-widow KLTV.com - https://www.kltv.com/story/31770727/bernie-tiede-trial-victims-sister-says-she-was-afraid-of-marjorie/ TexasTribune.org - https://www.texastribune.org/2016/03/31/bernie-tiedes-sentencing-trial-redo-starts-wednesd/ TribTalk.org - https://www.tribtalk.org/2014/05/12/bernie-was-nothing-like-the-movie/ Grunge.com - https://www.grunge.com/357384/bernie-the-truth-about-bernie-tiede-and-marjorie-nugents-relationship/ NYTimes.com - https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/magazine/how-my-aunt-marge-ended-up-in-the-deep-freeze.html Telegraph.co.uk - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/9243732/How-my-wicked-aunts-murder-became-a-Shirley-Maclaine-comedy.html AllThatsInteresting.com - https://allthatsinteresting.com/bernie-tiede Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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