Former Texas lottery director reindicted for abuse of office by grand jury
Gary Grief, former executive director of the now-dissolved Texas Lottery Commission, is alleged to have used his position to defraud the state during a 2023 Lotto Texas drawing.
A Texas town needs Waco’s help to realize its data center dreams. It’s not going well.
Lacy Lakeview’s hasty approach to the data center project has alienated the Waco officials who would control water service to the site. “Without the City of Waco agreeing to it, Lacy Lakeview can’t do anything out there and neither can Infrakey,” State Rep. Pat Curry said. “Those guys don’t know what the hell they’re doing.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blocks more than 130 cities from raising property taxes
Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the cities, most of them small, of violating a state law aimed at preventing cities from unduly raising property taxes.
Abbott’s public safety wish list includes statewide prosecutor, more bail restrictions
Some items on Abbott’s agenda would require amending the Texas Constitution, meaning they would need supermajority support in the Legislature.
Federal judge halts Texas immigration law the day before it was set to take effect
A U.S. judge on Thursday granted a preliminary injunction against sections of Senate Bill 4, which would have allowed local police to arrest suspected illegal border crossers.
Texas can execute death row inmate Edward Busby, U.S. Supreme Court says
Busby’s execution, set for Thursday evening, had been halted by a federal appeals court less than a week ago.
Texas executes 600th inmate since death penalty was reinstated in 1976
Edward Busby was executed by lethal injection Thursday, reinforcing Texas’ position as the nation’s leader in capital punishment.
Trump says Xi agreed US became a ‘declining nation’ during Biden years
President Donald Trump turned Chinese President Xi Jinping’s reported swipe at the West during the U.S. and China’s high-stakes meetings in Beijing into a political attack on former President Joe Biden Thursday. “When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct,” Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the second day of talks between the U.S. and China. After the U.S. delegation was greeted with pomp and circumstance at an opening ceremony Wednesday night, Xi invoked the so-called “Thucydides Trap” during opening remarks, asking whether China and the United States could avoid the historical pattern of conflict between a rising power and an established one. TRUMP-XI’S CHINA SUMMIT IS A DEFINING TEST FOR AMERICA IN THE NEW COLD WAR The line echoed Beijing’s broader view of a shifting global balance of power, though it is unclear if Xi explicitly called the U.S. or the West a “declining nation.” “President Xi was not referring to the incredible rise that the United States has displayed to the world during the 16 spectacular months of the Trump Administration, which includes all-time high stock markets and 401K’s, military victory and thriving relationship in Venezuela, the military decimation of Iran (to be continued!),” Trump added in his post. “The United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!” Trump continued. BEHIND SUMMIT SMILES, XI GIVES BLUNT WARNING TO TRUMP OF ‘CLASHES’ AND ‘CONFLICTS’ Trump went on to say that the United States “suffered immeasurably” under Biden-era policies like open borders, increased taxes, DEI, “transgender for everybody,” and sanctuary city ordinances. He agreed that “two years ago” the nation was “in decline.” Fox News Digital reached out to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the White House for comment. A White House spokesperson referred Fox News Digital back to the president’s Truth Social post, but a Chinese Embassy spokesperson said in a statement that “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand.” However, the Chinese embassy spokesperson did not respond to inquiries asking for more context about Xi’s reported comments. Xi’s “Thucydides Trap” reference was not a direct statement that the United States or the West is declining, but it invoked a geopolitical theory about the danger of conflict when a rising power challenges an established one and came as the Chinese president raised the prospect of a future U.S.-China clash over Taiwan. The phrase has been used in U.S.–China policy circles to describe fears that China’s rise could put it on a collision course with Washington. “On a welcoming banquet for President Trump, President Xi pointed out that this year marks the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. The over 1.4 billion people of China, drawing on the rich heritage of our over-5,000-year civilization, are advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. This year is also the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. The over 300 million American people are reinvigorating the spirit of patriotism, innovation and enterprise, and ushering in a new journey for the development of the United States,” the spokesperson said in their statement to Fox News Digital. “The peoples of China and the United States are both great peoples. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand. We can help each other succeed and advance the well-being of the whole world. President Xi and President Trump also agreed to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and bring more peace, prosperity and progress to the world.” Former President Biden’s personal history with Xi dates back to both their tenures as vice presidents. But as president, Biden’s relationship with Xi was one that involved an ongoing strategic rivalry, with the two leaders meeting in Bali in 2022 and California in 2023 as Washington and Beijing tried to stabilize ties amid disputes over Taiwan, a spy balloon caught over the United States, fentanyl and other disputes. Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s representatives for comment, but did not immediately hear back in time for publication. “We should be partners, not rivals,” Xi told Trump during opening remarks that followed the welcome ceremony in front of Great Hall of the People in Beijing. “We should help each other succeed and prosper together and find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era.”
US moving to indict former Cuban leader Raúl Castro: source
The United States is moving to indict Raúl Castro, the former Cuban president, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News Digital. The potential charges against Castro, 94, come after CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Thursday with counterparts from Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior during a high-level visit to the island nation. CBS News first reported on the potential charges. CUBA SAYS CIA CHIEF RATCLIFFE MET WITH OFFICIALS IN HAVANA AMID US TENSIONS Raúl Castro is the younger brother of longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who died in 2016. Castro is reportedly being indicted in connection with the downing of planes 30 years ago, U.S. officials familiar with the matter told CBS News. The indictment, which would require approval from a grand jury, would center on Cuba’s deadly 1996 shootdown of planes operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, according to the report. During his meeting Thursday, Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials including Raulito Rodriguez Castro, Interior Minister Lazaro Alvarez Casas and the head of Cuban intelligence services in Havana to “personally deliver President Trump’s message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes.” TRUMP TEASES US WILL BE ‘TAKING OVER’ CUBA ‘ALMOST IMMEDIATELY’ IN FLORIDA SPEECH A CIA official told Fox News that Ratcliffe and Cuban officials discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security issues, all against the backdrop that Cuba can no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere. Ratcliffe also stressed that the Trump administration was offering a genuine opportunity for cooperation and that Trump should be taken seriously, sources said. Earlier this month, Trump joked during remarks at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida that the U.S. would be “taking over” Cuba “almost immediately.” DESANTIS REVEALS WHICH DICTATORSHIP SHOULD BE ‘PUT OUT TO PASTURE’ NEXT “Cuba’s got problems. We’ll finish one first. I like to finish a job.” The Trump administration has recently expanded sanctions targeting countries and companies that do business with Cuba, particularly oil suppliers, increasing pressure on Havana amid fuel shortages and widespread power outages. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment. This is a developing story, check back for updates. Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.
McMaster revives Trump-backed push to oust Biden kingmaker from Congress
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a top Trump ally and fellow Republican, announced Thursday that he is convening the state legislature in Columbia, South Carolina, starting Friday for a special session to “address the state budget and congressional districts” in his largely Republican state. “I have issued an Executive Order calling the General Assembly back for an extra legislative session to address the state budget and congressional districts beginning Friday, May 15, at 11:00 AM,” McMaster wrote on X. The move comes amid intraparty Republican tensions over the Trump-backed effort to redraw the state’s congressional map — a push that could threaten the tenure of longtime Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, the man credited with reviving former President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, and four other senators earlier this week joined Democrats to defeat a proposal that would have allowed the chamber to vote on redistricting after the South Carolina legislative session closed Thursday. The roadblock came hours after President Donald Trump warned he is “watching closely” the redistricting effort. Trump’s message came a week after five Indiana Republican state senators who in December helped sink congressional redistricting in the solidly red Midwestern state were ousted by Trump-backed challengers in GOP primaries. Proponents of the South Carolina redraw hope that the new map will ultimately rid the state’s congressional delegation of its lone Democrat, while advising lawmakers to move the primary for House members to August. SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP, TANK REDISTRICTING, FOR NOW Clyburn, the octogenarian Orangeburg, South Carolina, lawmaker considered a kingmaker in Palmetto State Democratic politics — and credited with reviving then-candidate Biden’s floundering campaign with his endorsement in 2020 — may not be long for Capitol Hill, as a redraw would almost certainly redistribute the state’s heavy Republican advantage across its seven districts. Clyburn said he remains confident he can win re-election even under a new map. “I don’t know why people think I could not get re-elected if they redistrict South Carolina,” Clyburn said in a CNN interview. “I have a district that’s about 45 percent African American. I have no idea what the number will be after the legislature finishes, but whatever that number is, I will be running on my record and America’s promise.” Massey argued in a floor speech that following Trump’s lead on redistricting would run counter to the interests of the Palmetto State. “South Carolina has always punched above their weight,” Massey said. “Doing this will diminish that influence.” But he also acknowledged that he will likely face political payback from Trump and the president’s allies. TRUMP TARGETS RED STATE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS IN PUSH FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING “There are likely consequences for me, personally, taking the position that I am right now,” Massey said. “I’m comfortable with that. I may not like it, but I’m comfortable with it. … My conscience is clear on this one.” The recent Callais decision at the Supreme Court — which eliminated Louisiana’s race-conscious map that provided for two largely minority-heavy Democratic strongholds — has already spurred action in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, and with Clyburn’s district itself reportedly the product of a George H.W. Bush Justice Department request regarding racial makeup, its days may be numbered. The DOJ in 1992 recommended creating a majority-Black district in South Carolina, and Clyburn swiftly won the seat upon the retirement of fellow Democratic Rep. Robin Mooneyhan Tallon of Hemingway, according to a Government Printing Office publication on Black Americans in Congress. Clyburn is also reportedly a relative of the previous Black South Carolina congressman, Republican George Washington Murray, who served in the 1890s. The 85-year-old recently signed documents to make his run for re-election official, quipping that he is in good health and simply celebrating the 47th anniversary of his 39th birthday soon. If redistricting fails and Clyburn is able to run again, he will join a growing list of octogenarian — and some nonagenarian — lawmakers who remain bullish about their political prospects. The oldest sitting member is Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who is 92, while elderly lawmakers facing re-election in 2026 besides Clyburn include Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., who is 88, and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who is 87. Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, is 83 and running for re-election, which would make him 89 at the end of his next term. Four of the leading South Carolina Republicans running for governor this year, Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, Attorney Gen. Alan Wilson, and Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, earlier this week criticized the redistricting setback in the state Senate. Evette called McMaster’s move “a critical step for President Trump and the people of South Carolina.” And Wilson said, “South Carolina has the opportunity to lead, and lawmakers should move quickly to pass new maps before the June primary.” Alabama convened a special session earlier in May that House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, correctly predicted would force the courts to rule on the validity of a special-case redistricting referendum there. Tennessee successfully redrew its map, which is likely to result in the ouster of longtime Shelby County Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, while Mississippi hit a snag in its own efforts after Gov. Tate Reeves pumped the brakes on a Callais-spurred effort to boot former House Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson in the Delta. Republican state senators in Louisiana on Thursday advanced a plan to eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black congressional seats ahead of the midterms. Louisiana’s state House will likely vote on the map next week. The state holds its primary on Saturday, but the state’s congressional primaries are being postponed until November.