Delhi-NCR Weather Update: 3-day heatwave alert issued, temperature may rise to 44°Celsius
A heatwave yellow alert is in effect for Delhi from Tuesday to Friday, as the IMD forecasts a steep temperature spike and persistent hot weather.
AI is changing how Texas universities teach computer science as job market slows
Admissions to Texas computer science programs are down roughly 20%, professors said, but they still see a future for their students.
Corpus Christi leaders weigh how much to reduce customers’ water use amid growing crisis
A proposal the city council is expected to vote on next week includes requiring customers to cut their water use by 25% and imposing additional fees on water used beyond certain limits.
Some Dallas County Republicans trying to revive precinct voting that created chaos in primary
A new lawsuit wants a court to set aside an agreement to let voters use any countywide voting location for next month’s runoff.
Testing finds toxic metals where Tesla lithium refinery discharges wastewater in South Texas
The drainage district that commissioned the testing has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company, which says it is in compliance with all requirements for its state wastewater discharge permit.
Michael and Susan Dell become UT Austin’s first $1 billion donors
The couple’s latest $750 million investment will help build a new Austin medical center that will provide specialized care, such as MD Anderson cancer treatment, and integrate AI into care.
James Talarico calls for federal gas tax pause to combat surging fuel prices
A trade group argued that a federal gas tax suspension would be unlikely to show up in savings for drivers and would diminish needed infrastructure revenue.
Eva-Marie Ayala will lead the Tribune’s education team into a new era
A renowned Texas journalist, the Education Writers Association president joins us as we expand our team covering Texas schools and universities.
Top California Dem running for office tied to Chinese school accused of US diploma scandal
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who is running for lieutenant governor, is facing blowback for promising jobs and internships to students at a China-based boarding school accused of committing diploma fraud in conjunction with a California school district, after the school’s founder poured tens-of-thousands of dollars into her campaigns. Pegasus California School, based in Qingdao, China, was the subject of a probe completed in February by California education officials in Riverside County, following concerns that the Val Verde Unified School District was illegally issuing diplomas to Pegasus’ China-based students. It also identified other potential concerns related to Pegasus and California education officials working for the district and the California Department of Education, indicating there was evidence of them engaging in potential fraud, misappropriation of funds and other illegal fiscal practices. The audit concluded that investigators found “a pattern of favors, official acts, promises, and payments” leading to the California Department of Education’s ultimate approval of a pilot program that allowed wealthy Chinese students to obtain a U.S. high school diploma overseas. Meanwhile, a post on the school’s website shows Ma visiting in 2023, telling students, parents and teachers there that she would be able to help the enrollees at the school get jobs and internships back in the U.S. The same post on the school’s website heralded Ma’s visit as evidence of “the California government’s recognition and attention to Pegasus,” which became a sister-school to California’s Val Verde Unified School District in 2016 and started its pilot program issuing California diplomas a year later. “Fiona chose Pegasus as the only school to visit in China, which shows the California government’s recognition and attention to Pegasus,” Pegasus bragged in the now-archived post from its website. CHINESE EDUCATOR WITH SEVERAL CCP TIES COZIES UP TO TOP NEW YORK DEMOCRATS: ‘OUR OLD FRIEND WHO LISTENS’ It then included an excerpt from Ma: “I am honored to come to Qingdao Pegasus California School today to see many students perform and communicate with them. If they want to intern in California, they can come to me, I will provide some internship and employment opportunities.” Steven Ma, who is unrelated to Fiona Ma but is Pegasus’ founder, directly contributed over $13,200 to her campaigns for State Treasurer and Lt. Gov., according to California campaign finance records dating back to 2021. The Pegasus founder’s college-admissions consulting firm, ThinkTank Learning Inc. also contributed $23,800 to Ma’s campaigns since 2010, according to state campaign finance records. TRUMP ADMIN SENDS WARNING TO CALIFORNIA AS TRANS ATHLETE ADVANCES IN STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP Fox News Digital reached out to Ma multiple times for comment on her visit to the China-based school, and to the Val Verde school district itself to inquire whether it was aware of Ma’s visit, but did not receive a response. Business Insider released a scathing report in 2021 calling out the Pegasus California School for its improper relationship with the Val Verde Unified School District, which Business Insider argues spurred the recently completed audit into Pegasus by California education officials. The China-based school, according to Business Insider, was charging up to $34,000 a year for students to enroll and, despite drawing on Val Verde resources, it functioned as a private boarding school. The school’s own website describes itself as an “independent” international school that uses a “fee payment and registration” framework for students after gaining admission, similar to how private schools in the U.S. operate, according to a Fox News Digital review. A February 2018 Memorandum of Understanding between the China-based boarding school and Val Verde, reviewed by Fox News Digital, indicated that in return for receiving diplomas and teachers from the United States, ten students from the Val Verde school district would be afforded the opportunity to travel to China and attend Pegasus for 10 days at the cost of $300 a student. It also laid out an exchange program for students at Pegasus to visit schools’ in California. While the audit does not appear to identify any clear direct repayment from Pegasus to Val Verde itself, it does highlight travel, consulting opportunities, scholarships and other perks, like “great publicity,” that benefited officials and the district more than its own students. Meanwhile, Pegasus was allegedly telling its students and parents that it could guarantee them admission to one of the top 100 universities in the U.S., and if that didn’t happen, they would get a complete tuition reimbursement. A 2019 Memorandum of Understanding, included in the California audit, showed the University of California – Riverside even made a commitment that students who met certain academic thresholds would “receive a UCR scholarship.” Following the completion of the audit from Riverside County officials in February, announced publicly in March by Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edwin Gomez, the California Department of Education issued a cease-and-desist demanding Pegasus terminate official statements on its website claiming it was founded in 2016 with the department’s “blessing and support.” “California Business and Professions Code Section 17533.6 makes it unlawful for a non-governmental entity to use a state government name in a manner that could reasonably be interpreted or construed as implying connection, approval or endorsement by the state government,” stated the March cease-and-desist. “The above statement on your website could reasonably be interpreted or construed to imply that the California Department of Education is connected to, approves or endorses Pegasus California School. You are on notice that the California Department of Education is not connected to, does not approve and does not endorse Pegasus California School.”
Democrats win Virginia redistricting fight, threatening Republican House majority
Democrats scored a major victory Tuesday when Virginia voters narrowly passed a congressional redistricting referendum that could give the party a significant boost in the battle for the U.S. House of Representatives majority in this year’s midterm elections, The Associated Press reported at 8:49 p.m. ET. The ballot measure gives the Democrat-controlled Virginia legislature — rather than the state’s current nonpartisan commission — temporary redistricting power through the 2030 election. It could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge. The referendum, which follows President Donald Trump’s push for rare but not unheard-of mid-decade redistricting in Republican-led states, would give the Democrats four additional left-leaning U.S. House seats ahead of the midterms as the party tries to win back control of the chamber from the GOP, which currently holds a razor-thin majority. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who in many ways became the face of her party’s push to pass the ballot initiative, said in a statement that “Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they approved a temporary measure to push back against a President who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress.” “Virginians watched other states go along with those demands without voter input — and we refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box,” the governor said. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB And Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin emphasized that “Virginians refused to let Trump play games with Americans’ right to fair representation.” But Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said that “Virginia Democrats can’t redraw reality. This close margin reinforces that Virginia is a purple state that shouldn’t be represented by a severe partisan gerrymander. That’s exactly why the courts, who have already ruled twice to block this egregious power grab, should uphold Virginia law.” And Hudson predicted, “Even under this map, Republicans will hold our majority based on our record cleaning up Democrats’ mess and a historic war chest to litigate the Democrats’ failures.” Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jeff Ryer said in a statement, “I know we are disappointed by tonight’s result. Evidently, a sufficient number of Virginians trusted the blatantly dishonest language the Democrats placed on the ballot to make our Commonwealth the most severely gerrymandered state in the nation.” The standalone spring referendum capped months of political crossfire and court battles, sky-high early voting turnout and tons of national attention and money poured into the ballot box showdown. Even though a majority of voters gave the ballot initiative a thumbs-up, it still faces legal challenges. The Supreme Court of Virginia allowed the referendum to move forward after a lower court struck it down. But legal challenges to the referendum, filed in part by the Republican National Committee, the NRCC and the state GOP, remain unresolved and are still before Virginia’s highest court. Former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who was one of the leaders of the GOP effort against the Democrat-backed referendum, took to social media on Tuesday night to “urge the Virginia Supreme Court to rule against this unconstitutional process that will disenfranchise millions of Virginians.” Youngkin, at his final campaign stop in northern Virginia on the eve of the election, told supporters “it’s the most partisan map in America.” Pointing to the Democrats, Youngkin charged, “What they are doing is immoral.” Teaming up with Youngkin to crisscross the state in leading the GOP opposition to the ballot initiative was former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who told the crowd the Democrats’ map is one that “you draw when you’re drunk with power.” BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE RUNS THROUGH VIRGINIA AS COURT OKS HIGH-STAKES REDISTRICTING VOTE Speaking with Fox News Digital ahead of their final election eve rally, Miyares charged that “Democrats want to take away the voices of millions of Virginians and gerrymander the state.” Youngkin, pointing to the duo’s relentless campaigning in recent weeks, said, “What we’re hearing over and over and over again is Virginians want fair maps. And what the yes vote represents are unfair maps.” And the two Republicans reiterated their charge that the referendum was an “unconstitutional power grab” by Spanberger and the Democrats who control the state legislature. As Youngkin and Miyares spoke in Leesburg, Trump took to the airwaves on a popular Virginia-based conservative talk show and later teamed up with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to urge voters to defeat the referendum. Pointing to congressional Democrats, Trump warned that “if they get these additional seats, they’re going to be making changes at the federal level.” SPANBERGER FACES ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’ BACKLASH AHEAD OF CRUCIAL ELECTION Democrats countered that the redrawing of the maps was a necessary step to balance partisan gerrymandering already implemented by Republicans in other states at Trump’s urging. “By voting yes, you have the chance to do something important — not just for the commonwealth, but for our entire country,” former President Barack Obama said in a video released Friday on the eve of the final day of early voting. “By voting yes, you can push back against the Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms. “By voting yes, you can take a temporary step to level the playing field. And we’re counting on you.” The video by Obama was the former president’s latest effort for the referendum. He had previously appeared in ads released by Virginians for Fair Elections, the Democrat-aligned group working to pass the ballot initiative. OBAMA GOES ALL IN ON HIGH-STAKES REFERENDUM THAT MAY IMPACT MIDTERM ELECTIONS But Virginians for Fair Maps, the leading Republican-aligned group opposing redistricting, used past comments by Obama against political gerrymandering in its ads opposing the referendum. “Because of things like political gerrymandering, our parties have moved further and further apart, and it’s harder and harder to find common ground,” the former president said in an old clip showcased in the spot. Republicans pointed