A federal judge ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency unlawfully clawed back more than $250 million in Solar for All grants intended for clean energy initiatives across Texas, siding with a legal challenge brought by Harris County after the EPA terminated the program in August 2025.
The Texas Department of Public Safety failed to send an unknown number of voter registration applications to county election officials, creating a backlog that counties must process less than two weeks before the October 5 deadline to register for the November 3 election.
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Texas must accelerate its $1 billion-plus plan to install air conditioning in all state prisons by the end of 2029, citing constitutional violations. The decision comes after inmate advocates argued the state was moving too slowly to address dangerous heat conditions that have led to at least two dozen deaths.
A Texas judge approved a wind-down bankruptcy plan for CVS Health subsidiary Omnicare LLC following the sale of its business operations for $250 million and resolution of a nearly $1 billion judgment related to improperly dispensing prescription drugs.
Christian Castro, a federal immigration officer, was arrested in Minneapolis and appeared in court to face state and federal charges for shooting and wounding a Venezuelan man in January 2026 and lying about the circumstances. The arrest came eight months after the incident and followed a protracted extradition dispute between Minnesota and Texas that was ultimately dropped.
The Trump administration's intensified immigration enforcement, including sending undocumented children to unlicensed Texas facilities and targeting pro-Palestinian international students, has triggered legal restrictions in California, Republican defections in Miami, and increased activism among young Latinos. The crackdown is emerging as a major issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
UT-Austin is eliminating four academic majors focused on diversity and multiculturalism, while Texas A&M has removed 350 core course listings. The changes come amid rising political pressure on Texas public universities over the past two years.
More than 25 people across four states became ill after receiving glutathione injections, with at least three hospitalized. The CDC is investigating the outbreak linked to dietary supplement-grade glutathione products, and three Texas compounding pharmacies have issued recalls.
The family of Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old San Antonio woman who died from preeclampsia in 2024 after being denied an abortion, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, doctors, and state health officials. The lawsuit alleges that Texas's abortion ban contributed to her death.
Sen. John Cornyn announced he will not vote for Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas railroad commissioner, calling him "an embarrassment to the Republican Party" and a "bigot" following racist comments French posted on social media. The controversy has drawn intense pushback from within the GOP.
Multiple states including Texas and Florida are halting or dismantling Flock Safety's automated license plate reader networks following bipartisan federal legislation threatening funding cuts and revelations from hackers showing the cameras collect more data than previously disclosed.
With two months until Election Day, Democrats are showing unexpected competitiveness in Texas and Kansas, with national forecasters rating Texas as a toss-up and prediction markets showing record-high odds for Democrats taking control of both chambers of Congress.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas announced federal charges against seven noncitizens for illegally voting in federal elections or falsely claiming citizenship. The charges are part of a broader Trump administration focus on election integrity and noncitizen voting.
Bo French, Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, faced widespread condemnation from prominent Texas Republicans after posting xenophobic remarks about Asian American students celebrating a University of Texas football victory, claiming they showed "how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners." French has doubled down on his comments despite the backlash.
Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old legal US permanent resident living in Texas, was deported to Afghanistan after conceding to being an 'alien terrorist' before a secretive court established three decades ago but never used until this year. She chose to leave rather than continue fighting the case.
U.S. authorities confirmed New World screwworm infections in horses in New Mexico and Texas, marking the first equine cases as the federal government prepared to resume livestock imports from Mexico. The flesh-eating parasite cases emerged near the border, with concerns raised about smuggling exposing vulnerabilities in containment efforts.
Texas District Judge Cory Liu ruled Thursday that TikTok violated the state's consumer protection laws by misleading the public about its ability to filter inappropriate and sexually-explicit content for minor users. The ruling found that TikTok's claims about its content-moderation policies and 'Restricted Mode' feature were deceptive.
Texas Republican leaders are advancing efforts to restrict birth tourism, coinciding with legal challenges to a Trump administration executive order targeting birthright citizenship. The state-level push comes as the federal policy encounters obstacles in court.
Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton are targeting businesses they say encourage noncitizens to come to Texas to give birth for citizenship purposes, while Rep. James Comer raised similar concerns during a House hearing on birthright citizenship. The efforts come as Trump's executive order on the issue faces legal challenges.
As Labor Day 2026 approaches, President Trump confronts challenging midterm election dynamics with 75,000 manufacturing jobs lost, rising inflation from trade wars, and new Gallup data showing Democrats holding a significant advantage in party identification. Trump-aligned groups are responding with major ad spending, including $10 million in Texas Senate races.
President Trump's super PAC MAGA Inc. has made a $10 million ad buy to support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Senate campaign, marking the PAC's entry into the 2026 midterm elections. The spending comes after polls showed Paxton trailing his Democratic opponent.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into a major military healthcare contractor following complaints about wrongfully denied medical claims. The investigation was announced by Paxton's office this week.
Tesla deployed dozens of autonomous Cybercabs without steering wheels or brake pedals onto Austin, Texas streets on Thursday, marking a major test of whether Americans will embrace fully driverless vehicles. The gold-colored robotaxis feature butterfly doors and seat two passengers.
President Donald Trump's vocal support for AI data centers is creating political tensions within the Republican party as local communities push back against facilities requesting massive amounts of electricity. The issue is emerging as a key factor in upcoming midterm races, particularly in Texas where Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa is campaigning against data centers.
AI company Anthropic has signed a $35 billion cloud-computing deal with Lambda, a cloud provider backed by Nvidia, for a data center in Nueces County, Texas. The project, being developed by Hut 8, covers approximately 350 megawatts of capacity.
SpaceX filed a lawsuit in Travis County against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Grimes County seeking to prevent the release of public records related to tax breaks for its Terafab project. The company is requesting a temporary restraining order and declaratory judgment to block disclosure of the records.
The Trump administration is reportedly seeking to transfer a parcel of Yosemite National Park land to a private Nevada developer, while simultaneously pushing forward with border wall construction projects affecting Big Bend National Park in Texas and tribal lands in Arizona, drawing bipartisan criticism.
A federal judge denied Minnesota's request to force Texas Governor Greg Abbott to extradite an ICE agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan man in the leg during a January deportation operation in Minneapolis. The Justice Department is separately considering criminal charges against the agent.
A Texas appeals court has reduced a $50 million judgment against Infowars founder Alex Jones to approximately $1.5 million over his false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax. Jones still faces over $1 billion in other verdicts related to his Sandy Hook conspiracy theories.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate ablution facilities installed at major Texas airports for Muslim ritual washing before prayers, escalating his campaign against the religious accommodations. A Muslim advocacy group has denounced the move as anti-Muslim political targeting.
Politicians across the US are shifting from championing data centers to restricting them as public opposition mounts over energy consumption and infrastructure strain. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott halted new approvals less than a year after celebrating a $40 billion Google investment, while Virginia's Loudoun County begins reining in development despite hosting over 250 data centers.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday to compel the extradition of ICE agent Christian Castro, who is charged with shooting a Venezuelan man in the leg during a January deportation operation in Minneapolis and allegedly lying about the incident. Abbott has refused to extradite Castro, who is being held in a Texas jail.
Minnesota has filed a lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott for refusing to extradite ICE agent Christian Castro, who is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly shooting a Venezuelan immigrant during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Castro is currently being held in a Texas jail.
Bulldozers have begun excavating land at the entrance to Big Bend national park's Santa Elena Canyon in Texas as part of the Trump administration's border wall expansion, prompting lawsuits and criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. The construction at Texas's largest national park has drawn opposition across party lines and could impact the state's high-profile Senate race.
The Justice Department has not appealed a Texas court ruling that struck down parts of the 1934 National Firearms Act, allowing Americans to possess silencers, short-barreled rifles and shotguns without federal registration. The decision has left gun control groups concerned while Second Amendment advocates celebrated the development.
AI company Anthropic has agreed to lease 191 megawatts of computing capacity from Riot Platforms' Rockdale, Texas campus under a 20-year contract worth $9.1 billion, with potential expansion to $16.1 billion. Riot's stock surged 25% on the news as the Bitcoin miner pivots toward AI infrastructure.
AI company Anthropic has agreed to a 20-year, $9.1 billion deal to lease 191 megawatts of computing capacity from Riot Platforms' Rockdale, Texas data center, with extension options potentially pushing the total value to $16.1 billion. The agreement marks a major pivot for the Bitcoin mining company into AI infrastructure.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored key provisions of Texas' 2021 election law requiring mail-in voters to provide identification or Social Security numbers, overturning a lower court's 2025 ruling that had struck down nine provisions related to mail-in ballots and voter assistance.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, running for U.S. Senate with Trump's endorsement, announced a plan to restrict data center growth in Texas, addressing GOP voter concerns about AI infrastructure's impact on power and water resources. The plan includes banning Chinese technology from data centers and holding companies criminally liable for AI chatbots that endanger children.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered a comprehensive audit of data centers seeking connection to the state's power grid, pausing ERCOT's interconnection review process amid concerns over electricity demand and water usage. President Trump criticized the move, warning Texas against resisting the AI data center industry.
Tesla and SpaceX confirmed Thursday they will build 'Terafab,' a vertically integrated semiconductor fabrication facility in Grimes County, Texas, near College Station, with an initial investment of $16.8 billion. Governor Greg Abbott announced the project, which will be located at the site of the former Gibbons Creek Power Plant.
A federal judge in Texas ruled that registration and approval requirements for firearm suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns under the National Firearms Act are unconstitutional, following a July 2025 tax reduction to $0 that undermined the law's original tax-based justification from 1934.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered a pause on approvals for new data center connections to the state's electric grid, directing the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to audit pending projects amid concerns that surging electricity demand from data centers could threaten grid reliability.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday ordered state regulators to pause all new data center approvals and conduct comprehensive audits of projects seeking to connect to the state's power grid. The directive requires the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to verify energy and water usage of data centers in the interconnection process before any additional approvals are granted.
The rapid expansion of Flock Safety license plate reader cameras across Texas, including over 650 cameras in Dallas, has triggered privacy concerns and prompted Congressman Keith Self to propose the "Privacy Act" even as police defend the technology for solving crimes.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered state regulators to pause approvals for new data center projects seeking connection to the state's electric grid, citing concerns about surging electricity demand threatening grid reliability. The directive affects approximately 1,800 pending projects and requires audits before any new approvals.
Data-center developer Nexus Data Centers is in advanced talks to raise $15 billion in bank financing for a Texas campus associated with AI company Anthropic, with Google providing financial guarantees and chip supply, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Poolin Technology, once the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool with 18-20% of global hashrate in 2019, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey on July 22, 2026, owing $163.7 million to 11,700 wallet users. The company and two U.S. affiliates are seeking court approval to sell Texas mining assets with opening bids totaling $52 million.
Federal prosecutors announced indictments against 11 individuals connected to a human smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of six or seven migrants, including a 14-year-old, who were found dead inside a sealed, unventilated shipping container on a Union Pacific freight train in Texas in May 2026.
Multiple US states and municipalities, including Michigan's Ypsilanti Township, New York, Texas, and Gibraltar, Michigan, have enacted moratoriums or pauses on new data center construction in 2026. The measures, ranging from six months to one year, aim to study the infrastructure, electrical grid, and energy impacts of hyperscale facilities, including a controversial nuclear weapons research data center backed by University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
President Donald Trump overturned a temporary suspension of ICE vehicle stops that had been announced following two fatal shootings by immigration agents in Texas and Maine. Trump called traffic stops one of ICE's "most important and effective" enforcement tools, reversing the policy within a day amid criticism from his political base.
Democratic candidate James Talarico is leading Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas U.S. Senate race, prompting Donald Trump to campaign in the traditionally conservative state and attack Talarico with nicknames like 'Talafreako.' The Republican National Convention is coming to Texas as the GOP confronts the state's emerging competitiveness.
President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Republican primary runoff against incumbent Senator John Cornyn, one week before the election. The endorsement came despite advisers urging Trump to support Cornyn, citing concerns about Paxton's baggage.
The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday petitioned the Supreme Court to hear a challenge to a Texas law mandating that all public school classrooms display the Ten Commandments. The civil liberties group, representing parents from various faiths, argues the requirement violates constitutional protections.
