Faculty groups sue to block Texas Tech rules limiting instruction on race, gender, sexual orientation
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to halt the restrictions as discriminatory, improperly vague and a violation of free speech.
James Talarico raises over $30 million in second quarter, campaign says, more than triple Ken Paxton’s sum
The Austin Democrat’s haul is a record for a U.S. Senate candidate in the second quarter of an election year and is nearly three times what Beto O’Rourke raised in the same period in 2018.
Battle over East Texas water rights heats up after Dallas millionaire files federal lawsuit to lift moratorium
Investor Kyle Bass’ high-capacity water wells in East Texas have been blocked by a moratorium. He says his rights as a landowner are being violated.
Son of man killed by ICE agent calls for investigation, says “My father would have complied.”
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s son said his father would not have tried to flee a law enforcement stop. Local leaders say they’ve received little information from federal officials about the shooting.
Crowd demands justice at vigil for Houston man killed in ICE shooting
Speakers at the vigil and a statement from Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s family elevated calls for an independent investigation into his death and raised doubts about ICE’s description of events.
Houston mayor questions city’s authority to probe ICE shooting amid calls for independent investigation
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s family, federal lawmakers and community advocates are pushing for local scrutiny, expressing distrust in federal officials.
House Dem back in the spotlight as brother faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted
The efforts of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, to move past his indictment and subsequent pardon by President Donald Trump are clashing with his brother’s legal troubles. Martin Cuellar, sheriff of Webb County, Texas, faces a court hearing Thursday over accusations of having misappropriated county funds. The case, coupled with the closeness of the Cuellar family, is complicating Henry Cuellar’s political outlook as he wages a campaign to continue his congressional career in one of the country’s most competitive districts. It’s been over half a year since Trump pardoned Cuellar from an indictment on charges of bribery, conspiracy and money laundering. “This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains,” Cuellar said in a post to X, announcing that very same day that he would pursue re-election. FORMER INDIANA REP STEPHEN BUYER RECEIVES FULL PARDON FROM TRUMP FOR 2023 INSIDER TRADING CONVICTION Cuellar was accused of accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company controlled by the government of Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank. Although those charges are gone, Cuellar’s case is still very much in the public eye as his brother fends off accusations of siphoning funds. Martin Cuellar, who has pleaded not guilty, faces up to 10 years behind bars and a possible $250,000 maximum fine for allegedly using county employees and resources to run his own disinfecting business, Disinfect Pro Master. Martin allegedly took home about $175,000 in illegal proceeds between 2020 and 2022, according to the Department of Justice. “They allegedly opened Disinfect Pro Master in April 2020 and entered into service agreements with local businesses and restaurants despite having no employees or supplies of their own,” the U.S. attorney’s office wrote. SWALWELL FRIEND GALLEGO DEFENDS CAMPAIGN-FUNDED SUPER BOWL, MIAMI TRIPS: ‘GO WHERE THE MONEY IS’ “The indictment alleges WCSO employees handled the company’s day-to-day operations from the sheriff’s office, where they picked up schedules and equipment to conduct disinfecting services both on and off the clock with the county.” Connections between Cuellar and his siblings are further strengthened by their closeness. In the past, Cuellar has used his campaign fundraising apparatus to bolster his family’s chances in their own official pursuits, records show. According to FEC filings, Cuellar’s campaign and his leadership PAC have paid $11,000 to his sister Rosie Cuellar for doing work for the campaign in 2022 and then donated $1,200 to her bid to become a judge. He has similarly donated $8,400 to his brother, Martin Cuellar, and his campaign to become sheriff in 2008 and 2020. To at least one onlooker, the family’s woes look interconnected. “The latest legal trouble surrounding Henry Cuellar’s family proves one thing: The scandals didn’t end with Henry. They simply moved down the family tree,” Christian Martinez, the national Hispanic press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement. “The Cuellar family’s culture of corruption has turned South Texas into a case study of what happens when one self-serving family holds power for too long.” SWALWELL PAL ACCUSED OF USING CAMPAIGN CASH TO BANKROLL ‘LUXURY LIFESTYLE’ — INCLUDING SUPER BOWL TICKETS Cuellar’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Having cleared the Texas primary in March, Cuellar now heads to the general election on Nov. 3. Cuellar last won re-election in a 52.8% to 47.2% victory over Republican challenger Jay Furman in 2024.
Platner drops out of crucial Senate race after bombshell rape allegation torpedoes campaign
Graham Platner, the embattled Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, suspended his campaign on Wednesday amid mounting controversies and growing calls from top Democrats in his home state, in the nation’s capital, and across the country for him to immediately quit the race. Platner, a populist Democrat backed last September by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was challenging longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a high-profile, combustible and expensive race in Maine, which is one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November’s midterm elections. “For the movement to continue, it can’t be me. For that reason, we are suspending campaign operations,” Platner said in a video posted to social media. Platner’s exit from the race comes five days before a crucial deadline, which, if he had missed, would have prevented Maine Democrats from replacing him with a new nominee on the general election ballot. The suspension of his campaign took place one month after Platner won a landslide victory in Maine’s June 9 Democratic Senate primary, but just two days after an explosive report on Monday afternoon contained an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated. SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER CAPTURES DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINATION DESPITE MOUNTING CONTROVERSIES Addressing those allegations, a visibly irritated Platner charged, “This is all false. The things that have been claimed did not happen. It is not real.” And Platner, who has run an outsider, anti-establishment campaign for nearly a year, pointed to the political class and argued, “the brutal political reality is they are going to take everything away from us.” Platner said that if he continued his bid, he’d lose the ability to raise money and access crucial voter data, essential elements to any campaign. “Those in power who have the ability to do so are using these allegations as an excuse to take away all the things that we need to run a campaign,” he charged. Longtime Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, following Platner’s announcement, said in a post on X, “Democrats are going to defeat Susan Collins, win Maine, and take back the Senate.” The Marine Corps combat veteran and oyster farmer became the all-but-certain party nominee in the spring, after two-term Gov. Janet Mills, who had been backed by Schumer and the Democratic establishment, suspended her bid after significantly trailing Platner in fundraising and polling. Platner’s suspension of his campaign comes ahead of a 5 p.m. deadline on Monday, July 13, set by state law, for candidates to withdraw from the race. Since Platner dropped out ahead of the deadline, the Maine Democratic Party will be able to replace him on the general election ballot. The party needs to select a new nominee by July 27. The Maine Democratic Party on Tuesday night, in a stunning announcement, said that party officials were working “around the clock” to determine a replacement process, but claimed that Platner and his team were trying “to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like.” Platner’s team, responding, said they had reached out to the party but denied they were trying to put any “finger on the scale.” A couple of hours before Platner dropped out, the state party announced it would hold a nominating convention to choose a new Senate nominee, if Platner were to exit the race. That didn’t appear to sit well with Platner, who in his video said, “What comes next needs to come from the people. Needs to come from the people of Maine. Needs to come from the voters who on June 9….said no to this kind of politics. Voted for a politics that would actually represent them. Vote against the political system. Against the donor class. Against the entrenched forces.” “I’m not asking for how this process is going to work. I’m not trying to dictate to anyone how it should be or how we get there,” he emphasized. “But I will say this, it needs to be open, transparent, and democratic. It needs to be reflective of the will and the values of the people that built this movement, the people that showed up on June 9. People in DC should stay in DC. Decisions should not be made in backrooms by people in places of political power.” The allegation that triggered Platner’s exit from the race came from Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, who told CNN’s Jake Tapper that “by dictionary definition” Platner “raped” her. “I thought, here’s a man who was drunk and who, by dictionary definition, raped me. And he’s blaming drunk women,” Racicot said. “So I just felt like that was a very odd take to have on that. And I also feel like with all of the comments that he made about women, sexual assault, rape, even, um, you know, the comments that he had made that was in The New York Times article about, you know, threatening people with rape, like, why does this person have this issue, like scattered throughout their life, throughout their commentary, like it‘s on their mind?” Racicot also said over the course of three interviews with Politico that Platner forced her to have sex five years ago against her will, a claim that Platner denied in the Politico story. Additionally, the report says that a man Racicot dated afterward confirmed she had told him about the incident, which was also corroborated by emails between Racicot and her therapist. “I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” Racicot told the outlet about the incident, which allegedly took place while Platner was “almost blackout drunk.” “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’” Racicot alleged that Platner entered her home uninvited and forced her to have unprotected sex despite her telling him to stop multiple times. Racicot said in the report that “one of the reasons” she didn’t come forward until now was the “huge moral conflict” she had between her support
Who is Valli Geiger? Meet the Maine Dem that Platner urged to run for Senate
Maine state Rep. Valli Geiger, a Rockland Democrat, former nurse and former mayor, is drawing sudden national attention after saying now-former Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner encouraged her to consider taking his place on the ballot in the Maine Senate race. While Geiger has not been named the replacement nominee, her name entered the Maine Senate scramble after she told local outlet WMTW that Platner called her Monday night, praised her as a “fighter” and asked whether he could put her name forward. Platner’s campaign told the outlet he had not made an endorsement decision but confirmed he encouraged Geiger to consider running if he stepped aside. After Geiger said Platner called her about potentially putting her name forward, Geiger posted Tuesday she would not “throw Graham under the bus,” while also saying she would not “slander or accuse” Jenny Racicot, the woman who accused Platner of rape, “of anything more than telling the truth as she experienced it.” By Wednesday, local outlets were reporting that Geiger said Platner had encouraged her to consider running if he withdrew. Platner, who suspended his campaign Wednesday night, has denied the claim. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IF PLATNER DROPS OUT? HERE’S WHO COULD REPLACE HIM ON THE BALLOT AND HOW IT COULD WORK “For the movement to continue, it can’t be me. For that reason, we are suspending campaign operations,” Platner said in a video posted to social media. Geiger is a third-term Democratic state representative from Rockland, according to her legislative biography, representing a coastal House district in Maine that includes Rockland, Criehaven Township, Matinicus Isle Plantation, the Muscle Ridge Islands, North Haven and part of Owls Head. Her biography says she serves on the Labor Committee and the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. Before entering the state legislature, Geiger served six years on the Rockland City Council, including one year as mayor and four years on the Rockland Comprehensive Planning Commission, three of them as chair. Her biography says she holds a master’s degree in sustainable design and built her own passive-solar, net-zero-energy house. It also describes her as a former nurse at Pen Bay Medical Center who later worked as a health policy analyst and health administrator, including as director of the Healthreach Hospice program and clinical director for Federally Qualified Health Centers around Maine. PLATNER CAMPAIGN PUTTING ‘THUMB ON SCALE’ TO INFLUENCE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT, MAINE DEM ALLEGES Geiger’s connection to Platner predates the latest replacement speculation. Local reporting has described her as a close Platner supporter, and WMTW reported she previously stood with him and credited him with helping secure funding for rape kit tracking in Maine. In her Facebook post responding to Racicot’s allegation, Geiger wrote that Racicot’s story “seems credible” but added that “none of us knows the truth nor will we ever.” She also described Platner as “a man becoming a better man” and said she had hoped he would lead the political movement his campaign had built and will not “throw Graham under the bus.” In the post, Geiger also praised Platner’s “passion for economic populism” and said she had granted him “an enormous amount of grace” for his behavior during what she described as his “dark years” after multiple deployments. The Maine state representative is not the only Democrat whose name has surfaced as Maine Democrats prepare for the possibility that Platner exits the race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Several Democrats have expressed interest or are considering bids, including former gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah. Under Maine law, the Maine Democratic Party can replace him on the general election ballot by selecting a new nominee through its party process, with the replacement required to be chosen by July 27.
Bernie-backed socialist who allied with Platner could supplant him on ballot
With Graham Platner facing mounting pressure to end his Senate campaign after rape allegations surfaced Monday, longtime Maine Democrat Troy Jackson filed paperwork Tuesday positioning himself to enter the U.S. Senate race should the Democratic nomination become available. Prominent Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have withdrawn their support for Platner and urged him to end his campaign. Platner has denied the allegations as “categorically false” and has remained in the race. Under Maine law, Platner has until Monday, July 13, to withdraw if Democrats hope to replace him on the November ballot. If he steps aside before the deadline, the state Democratic Party will have until July 27 to choose a new nominee. Jackson, who lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary just weeks ago, signaled his interest in the Senate race by filing a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. He later took to social media to condemn the allegations against Platner while emphasizing that he has not yet decided whether to seek the nomination. PLATNER CAMPAIGN PUTTING ‘THUMB ON SCALE’ TO INFLUENCE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT, MAINE DEM ALLEGES “While I haven’t made any final decisions yet, I’m deeply humbled by the outpouring of support and encouragement I’ve received,” Jackson wrote. “I’m currently weighing the best path forward to support our progressive movement and the working class political revolution Mainers are fighting for.” Jackson and Platner ran closely aligned progressive campaigns and appeared together at campaign events throughout the 2026 election cycle. Both embraced a progressive platform and earned the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. KINGMAKER MAMDANI CALLS ON PLATNER TO ‘DROP OUT OF THE RACE’ AFTER RAPE ALLEGATION Following the allegations against Platner, however, Our Revolution — the progressive political organization Sanders founded after his 2016 presidential campaign — withdrew its endorsement of Platner and instead backed Jackson, whom it had also endorsed during his gubernatorial campaign. “We have days, not weeks, to make sure a real progressive is on this ballot,” Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese said in a statement. “If we do not organize now, we risk watching the Democratic establishment handing Maine a corporate placeholder while the party that just got outvoted decides it knows better. We refuse to let that happen.” Jackson’s ties to Sanders stretch back more than a decade. He was one of the few Democratic National Committee superdelegates to endorse Sanders over Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Democratic presidential primary and later served as Sanders’ Maine political director, introducing him at campaign rallies across the state. Sanders later returned the favor, endorsing Jackson’s gubernatorial campaign and appearing alongside him on the campaign trail. FOX NEWS POLL: MAINE SENATE RACE IS TIGHT, WITH CONCERNS ABOUT BOTH CANDIDATES “Fighting for the working class of Maine is not something new for Troy,” Sanders said during a campaign rally. “That’s what he has done for his entire life as a logger and as a member of the Maine state legislature. Troy knows what’s going on with the working class of Maine because he’s part of that working class.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER A fifth-generation logger and one of Maine’s best-known labor Democrats, Jackson spent more than two decades in the state Legislature, including six years as president of the Maine Senate before leaving the post in 2024. During his gubernatorial campaign, he ran on a platform that included universal child care, Medicare for all and the creation of a Department of Affordable Housing. He also secured endorsements from more than 20 labor unions, cementing his reputation as a working-class progressive. Despite his progressive politics, Jackson has repeatedly won elections in one of Maine’s most Republican regions. He represented northern Aroostook County, a largely rural district that has consistently supported President Donald Trump by double-digit margins in recent presidential elections. Jackson has argued that his success stems from focusing on working-class economic issues rather than partisan labels. Fox News Digital reached out to Jackson for comment.