What to do if you’re one of the 1.2 million Texans on the state’s voter suspense list
Being on the list doesn’t mean you can’t vote. It includes registered voters who may need to update their address or confirm they haven’t moved.
SpaceX to fund up to $220M in Brownsville water projects in exchange for land
The city agreed to deannex roughly 445 acres near the Port of Brownsville at SpaceX’s request in exchange for funding for water and wastewater projects.
Two UT System institutions experience leadership changes as new semester begins
UT Arlington’s Jennifer Cowley is returning to faculty. Meanwhile, MD Anderson’s Peter Pisters is retiring after 32 years with the cancer center.
Texas mobilizes flood response ahead of Tropical Storm Edouard
The storm in the Gulf is expected to bring heavy rain and flash flooding to southeast Texas on Tuesday.
Texas hospitals expect to lose $27 million a day in Medicaid funding starting Tuesday
Starting Sept. 1, the Trump administration will withhold about $9.8 billion in extra funding that helps hospitals cover the difference between Medicaid payments and the actual cost of services.
Get right out of town
The House of Representatives is back in town after not voting since July 23. But the House is only back for less than a week. And the Senate doesn’t even return until Monday, September 14. The first day of school, this is not. House members descending on the Capitol this week – then abandoning Washington for Labor Day is kind of like the third and final preseason game in the NFL. THE WILL OF 100: TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT SIDELINED AFTER SENATE UNANIMOUSLY AGREED TO AUGUST EXIT Lots of fans show up for the first game of the NFL preseason. It’s usually a nice – if sweltering – August night. Not some bone-shivering chill in Cleveland with a foot of snow on the ground in mid-December. There’s anticipation. The first look at the new team. The first tailgate. First-string players and highly touted draft picks even play a series or two. But by the third preseason game, few want to be there. The die is cast for the roster spots. Players are cut. Even the most robust fans only show up for a quarter or two. In the NFL, everyone is waiting for the regular season to begin in a few weeks. That’s kind of where things are now in the House. Congress has tackled most of its business for the year. The highly-touted GOP “Reconciliation 3.0” likely falls by the wayside. Lawmakers even tucked into bed the usual autumn drama surrounding a possible government shutdown. The chances of a repeat following last year’s 43-day shutdown saga dissipated in early August when the Senate approved an interim, bipartisan bill which will fund the government through December 11. The House votes on that bill Tuesday. Everyone on Capitol Hill is now waiting for the regular season to begin. That’s what awaits the body politic following the midterm elections in November. And most members don’t even want to linger in Washington right now. As fast as they came to Washington, they wanted to skate out of town to campaign. That’s why attendance might be sparse over the next few days. The House had 384 members present for one non-controversial measure Monday night. A second vote recorded 388 members present. Those attendance figures could slide if the House returns to Washington in mid-September – as the schedule dictates. Especially among those who either lost their primaries or are retiring. In fact, Fox is told that some members in both camps have even considered resigning early. Imagine what that could do to the narrow Republican majority. TRUMP DEMAND PUTS VULNERABLE REPUBLICANS IN IMPOSSIBLE SPOT AHEAD OF MIDTERMS So, will the House stick it out this week, go home and come back in a few weeks? “Are we going to be here the entire period?” yours truly asked House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “We’re going to be here this week and then we’re going to come back in a couple weeks?” “Well, it’s on the schedule,” Johnson replied. That’s a schedule which the House Republican leadership etched out last December – on the heels of that epic government shutdown. Who could have anticipated that government funding could work out so easily this time around. So what’s on the agenda? Republicans plan a vote on a resolution to get Democrats on the record of either supporting socialism or democracy. In other words, the GOP wants Democrats to put their voting cards where their policies are. “They want to abolish things like the U.S. Supreme Court. The United States Senate,” said Rep. Jeff Crank R-Colo. Republicans hope to compel Democrats to either accept or reject progressive, left-wing ideologies. “We need to see where Democrats stand on this because the American people are rejecting it,” said Rep. Tom Tiffany R-Wis., on Fox. “They’re going to try to distance themselves as much as they can,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. “But the fact is that’s where the Democratic Party is going. That’s where the energy of the Democratic Party is going.” This is what’s described in Congress as a “gotcha” vote. Republicans will dare Democrats to vote no. And if they do, the GOP will deploy that vote against vulnerable Democrats in campaign ads this fall. Some Democrats could vote to reject any relationship with socialism. In fact, the vote could give those Democrats a gift to say they’re opposed to socialists in the Democratic Party. But Republicans ensconced a measure in the resolution which could oblige Democrats to vote no. The measure includes the SAVE America Act. That’s the hallmark of the GOP’s agenda. It requires proof of citizenship for voting. Most Democrats view the SAVE America Act as a poison pill. So Democrats could vote nay. And some Republicans will still say “gotcha” if they oppose it. “The resolution elevates the so-called Save America Act, which is just the ‘suppress the vote act,’ said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries D-N.Y. “I’m not clear how many Democrats are actually going to support a resolution whose focus is on trying to rig the midterm election by elevating this voter suppression legislation that Donald Trump has been trying to jam down the throats of the American people for the last year.” The House could also wrestle with a resolution to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C. He admitted to inappropriate conduct around female aides and dropped his reelection bid. There could be an effort to expel Rep. Cory Mills R-Fla. He faces allegations of financial misconduct and alleged assault of a woman at his apartment last year. But Mills lost his primary. Then there is Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio. The Ohio Republican faces allegations of spousal and child abuse. Republicans implored Miller to drop his reelection bid. But Miller doubled down, saying the allegations are false. Johnson says he supports Miller’s “reelection.” He contends the House shouldn’t take action until the Ethics Committee completes its inquiry. “He has been a great Member of Congress,” said Johnson of Miller. “He has some personal issues he’s still working through.” But it’s possible
Tensions erupt in House hearing as GOP advances anti-socialism resolution while Dems rage: ‘Silly season’
House Republicans are teeing up a pair of bills this week to put Democrats on the record about where they stand on their party’s socialist insurgency. The House Rules Committee just advanced a resolution to condemn socialism during its Monday meeting, with no Democrats voting in favor of moving it forward. Democrats, in fact, criticized the resolution as a waste of time. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., called the bill “nonsense” and argued it did little to better the lives of Americans. “So you’re concerned about rising gas, or are you concerned about grocery prices? You know, don’t worry. Republicans in Congress are passing another non-binding resolution condemning socialism,” McGovern said. HOUSE REPUBLICAN AIMS TO PUT DEMOCRATS ON THE RECORD OVER DSA WITH RESOLUTION CONDEMNING SOCIALISM Tensions erupted at one point as Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., clashed with Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., over the definition of socialism. Neguse had attempted to press Steil on whether he would see President Donald Trump trying to take a “20% stake” in Kroger grocery stores as socialism, to which Steil replied he would “want to see the details.” “Oh, you’d want to see the details,” Neguse yelled as the two men spoke over each other. “You said if the government owns grocery stores, that would be socialist. But if, of course, Donald Trump were to announce an equity stake in a grocery store, well, ‘I’d have to really see the details,’ because we all know the play.” Steil said he would be open to seeing such a proposal if it had a national security imperative, but stated repeatedly that Neguse was posing a hypothetical. At one point, Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chided Neguse for interrupting Steil. Steil shot back at one point, “Some folks on your side of the aisle would like to have government-run grocery stores. I think that’s nuts.” “And if the president of the United States announced that the United States government was taking an…equity stake in grocery stores?” Neguse pressed. After more back-and-forth, Steil said, “I think there would need to be a national security rationale for the action. I don’t see any in your hypothetical. I don’t see a national security focus.” Neguse called it a “helpful answer,” to which Steil quipped, “It’s a hypotherical. So we’re entering silly season.” A House-wide test known as a “rule vote” on the resolution will take place on Tuesday afternoon, followed finally by a vote on the resolution itself on Tuesday evening, according to a provisional schedule obtained by Fox News Digital. SOCIALISM SURGES AMONG DEMOCRATS AS PARTY LEADERS REJECT DSA AGENDA: ‘PACK OF FOOLS’ It’s not uncommon for Democrats on the House Rules Committee to oppose GOP-led measures. But the move is especially stark as Republicans seize on the left’s inter-party civil war that has dominated the midterm election cycle. Republicans are capitalizing on that civil war with another measure expected for a vote on Wednesday afternoon, according to that provisional schedule. That vote will be on a constitutional amendment to cap the number of Supreme Court justices at nine. DEMOCRATIC SENATOR CLAIMS GOP ‘STOLE’ TWO SCOTUS SEATS IN 2016, 2020, CALLS FOR EXPANSION Several top progressives, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., have called for expanding the Supreme Court to up to 13 seats. House GOP leaders have opted to fast-track that legislation past the House Rules Committee. In exchange, however, it will need two-thirds of the chamber to pass as opposed to a simple majority. CARVILLE UNLOADS ON DSA SOCIALISTS: ‘DON’T USE OUR GOD—- NAME’ “It’s time for the Democrats to pick a side. Stop playing the middle. Be proud of who you are. You were elected to lead, so lead. Have an opinion. We intend to put you on record,” House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told Fox News Digital. “Do you want to pack the Supreme Court or not? It’s really simple. It’s a yes or no vote. It’s no bigger than that. Two — do you believe in socialism? If you do, you should say it loud and say it proud. I personally don’t believe in socialism. I like the fact that we have a democracy, that we have a republic, that we have a free society. And I’m proud to put myself on record.” Meanwhile the top Democrat, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., side-stepped a question on whether he supports the anti-socialism resolution on Monday. “I haven’t taken a look at that resolution, although it’s my understanding that the resolution elevates the so-called SAVE America Act, which is just the ‘Suppress the Vote Act.’ And I’m not clear how many Democrats are actually gonna support a resolution whose focus is on trying to rig the midterm election by elevating this voter suppression legislation that Donald Trump has been trying to jam down the road to the American people for the last year,” he told reporters. JOHNSON SCORES COMMANDING VICTORY IN FIGHT TO RAM SAVE AMERICA ACT THROUGH DEMOCRAT OPPOSITION In addition to condemning socialism, the resolution also hails Republican-led election security bills as “common-sense election integrity measures, including proof of citizenship, photo identification, and database checks.” It calls for the “enforcement” of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which has passed the House but has not been taken up in the Senate. Democrats have largely panned that legislation as attempts at voter suppression. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., said the bill was a bid to “silence political opponents.” “Let’s scare people with yet another boogeyman and not do anything about it. Not really solve problems, just try to scare people,” Scanlon said. Meanwhile, Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., pointed out that Democratic socialists were already in power in his own state and warned it could spread elsewhere. “I’ve seen firsthand the alarming rise of socialism…families in western New York have watched one-party rule in Albany pile on more taxes, more mandates, more government control, while hardworking taxpayers are
Who pays for US power boom? Blue, red states offer starkly different ways to lower utility bills amid AI surge
As the AI boom drives an unprecedented hunt for electricity, two states are taking sharply different approaches to assuage fears that Big Tech’s massive energy needs will raise Americans’ utility bills. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s approach is to set statewide ground rules before large data centers connect to the grid. Under legislation she signed in July, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities must create a separate rate structure for large data centers and ensure that the costs of new substations, transmission lines or other grid upgrades built mainly for the data center, are not added to other customers’ bills. The law also requires large data centers to commit to paying for at least 85% of the electricity capacity they request for a 10-year period, in case they scale back their power use or close, and it directs regulators to encourage data centers to bring clean generation or energy storage online, use power more efficiently and reduce their electricity demand during emergencies. CHINESE BOT FARM CAUGHT RED-HANDED TRYING TO INFLUENCE HEATED AI DATA CENTER DEBATE Sherrill has paired those ratepayer protections with new disclosure and local-planning measures. A separate law she signed this week requires operators to report their energy and water use to the state twice a year. Sherrill’s administration says the reporting and new municipal guidance will give officials a clearer picture of data centers’ demands and help communities assess local impacts and negotiate with developers. Meanwhile, Indiana is taking a different approach. Rather than impose statewide rules for every large data center, state regulators approved a deal negotiated by Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), the Fort Wayne-based utility serving customers in Indiana and Michigan, along with consumer advocates and major technology companies. The deal grew out of a wave of huge planned projects in I&M’s service area. Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced an $11 billion data-center campus near New Carlisle, Indiana, in 2024, while Google announced a $2 billion project in Fort Wayne. I&M and state officials then had to determine who would cover the cost of the additional power and grid infrastructure needed to serve those projects. FROM NETFLIX TO GPS: 10 WAYS THIS HIDDEN TECH INFRASTRUCTURE QUIETLY POWERS MODERN LIFE According to I&M, the 2025 agreement requires new large customers, including data centers, to make long-term financial commitments to pay for the electric service they request, even if their future demand falls short of expectations. With those commitments in place, I&M says it can turn the new demand into a benefit for existing customers. The utility is now asking regulators to cut base rates by $59 million in 2027, saying revenue from large customers, including data centers, makes the reduction possible. If the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approves the plan, I&M says an Indiana household using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month would save about $100 a year. The utility is also proposing to freeze all rates on customers’ monthly bills for three years, with a decision expected in June 2027 and any savings beginning that summer. Daniel Turner, executive director of the energy advocacy group Power The Future, said Indiana’s approach was better than New Jersey’s more prescriptive framework, but argued neither state had gone far enough to ensure the AI buildout adds power to the grid rather than simply consuming it. DSA CANDIDATE PUSHES FEDERAL AI DATA CENTER MORATORIUM WITH MICHIGAN EARLY VOTING UNDERWAY “Indiana’s approach is definitely the better of the two,” Turner told Fox News Digital. “At least Indiana is saying, ‘Hey, we don’t know where this is going, but we’re not going to put in all of the guardrails yet to stop progress from happening. Let’s work together and figure out what the solution is.’” Turner said he would make new power generation part of the deal from the start. New Jersey’s law encourages data centers to bring clean generation or energy storage online, but Turner said facilities should be built alongside the generation needed to run them and add capacity to the broader grid. “Every data center should be built in conjunction with the necessary power-generating facility to power it and give back to the grid,” he said. Turner posited that data centers have become a political football, with officials too often choosing sweeping restrictions or open-ended delays instead of working with utilities, developers and local communities on plans that protect ratepayers while adding needed power. KEVIN O’LEARY DETAILS MASSIVE UTAH AI DATA CENTER TO RIVAL CHINA’S TECH DOMINANCE “The solutions to data centers are not complicated issues to solve,” he said. “They just require political will.” The Trump administration has already sought to turn that argument into a national model. In March, the White House announced a Ratepayer Protection Pledge signed by major technology companies, including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI, which the administration says commits the companies to cover the cost of additional electricity generation needed for AI data centers rather than pass it along to families. Turner noted the stakes of the data-center debate extend well beyond local utility bills, arguing that the United States cannot afford to fall behind China in the race to build and control artificial intelligence. “When you tell Americans why we have to win the AI race, look at what China did with the Wuhan flu and how they tried to lie about that,” Turner said. “Now imagine they can do that with every single piece of intellectual property on every platform in real time. That alone should scare the crap out of Americans.”
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submits resignation to Trump
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation to President Donald Trump, a senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News. The resignation remains pending and has not been accepted by the White House, the official said. A source familiar with the matter told Fox News that Driscoll had raised concerns with the administration about the Army’s transformation and readiness, including his belief that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had hindered those efforts. “Driscoll brought up concerns with the administration surrounding Army transformation and readiness and Hegseth’s blocking those efforts specifically by firing the Generals who were responsible,” the source said. TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION GETS ANOTHER LIFELINE FROM SCOTUS AMID HEATED LEGAL FIGHT Tensions reportedly intensified as Hegseth removed several senior Army leaders, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. Driscoll addressed George’s departure during an April 16 House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, recalling he was in North Carolina on vacation with his family and drove directly to the general’s home after learning that George had been asked to submit his resignation. HEGSETH UPGRADES ABBEY GATE MARINES’ VALOR AWARDS AFTER 5-YEAR DELAY: ‘THOSE DAYS ARE OVER’ “We walked right in, and we all gave him a hug,” Driscoll said. “There is no person that has more respect for General George and his 42 years of service, his Purple Heart, his wife, Patty, their grandkids, their kids. I adore them, and he was an amazing, transformational leader.” He added, “The design of our system is that they get to pick the leaders that they want, and we execute on those orders.” PROGRESSIVE PRAISE FOR TRUMP AS WARREN BACKS PUSH TO CURB DEFENSE CONTRACTOR CEO PAYOUTS Driscoll is expected to leave the Pentagon in the coming days, according to The Wall Street Journal. Driscoll, a close ally of Vice President JD Vance, attended Yale Law School with Vance after both served in the military. As Army secretary, Driscoll has worked with Silicon Valley companies to expand the Army’s drone capabilities.
Vance unloads on El-Sayed after Usha swipe with brutal warning: ‘Way out of your league’
Vice President JD Vance urged Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed during a rally on Monday to focus on substantive policy issues instead of attacking his wife. “I actually think that the people of Michigan think it’s kind of weird when you talk about another guy’s wife,” Vance said at a metro Detroit rally organized by MAGA Inc., a super PAC aligned with the president. “I think the people of Michigan would like you to talk about the public policy ideas …I think the people of Michigan would like you to talk about how you’re going to protect auto workers when you’re supporting every single policy that has undercut the wages and jobs of Michigan auto workers your entire life in public service.” EL-SAYED UNDER FIRE ONLINE AFTER TAKING AIM AT USHA VANCE, FEMALE TRUMP AIDE IN WEEKEND SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS “But whatever you want to talk about, Abdul, keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth because she’s way out of your league,” the vice president added. Vance’s quip was in response to El-Sayed saying “do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no” after the vice president suggested that Sharia law would have been an alien concept to his grandfather. Critics said the post appeared to take aim at Usha Vance’s Indian heritage. El-Sayed later said his point was that Vance seemed to be suggesting some people are “more American” than others because their families have been in the country longer, noting that Vance’s own in-laws are immigrants. “If you’re a rural White American living in Michigan, just remember El-Sayed believes you’re a racist,” conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky said in response to the Democratic hopeful’s statement. SECOND LADY USHA VANCE FIRES BACK AT POINTED JAB FROM DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINEE ABDUL EL-SAYED Earlier in his speech, Vance accused El-Sayed of undercutting his support for working people by taking liberal positions on immigration issues. “We’re here to talk about protecting Michigan truck drivers, but also protecting the safety of every single person who drives on the road with a semi truck, which is all of us,” Vance said. “Here’s the crazy thing. Just a few years ago, Abdul El-Sayed said that we need to make sure that illegal aliens have driver’s licenses in this country. He would love to undercut the wages of American truckers.” Vance said El-Sayed represents a “terrible evil” during his speech, prompting El-Sayed to turn the characterization back on the vice president. “Evil is ripping healthcare away from working people in exchange for tax breaks for billionaires. Evil is making people pay more for groceries and gas while pushing for trade wars and actual war. Evil is dividing people for your own gain. Evil is selling out your morals for a little bit of power,” El-Sayed said later Monday in response to Vance’s charge. “Michigan is better than being lectured to by sock puppets from Ohio and Florida. We understand what’s at stake, and Michiganders will show you at the ballot box this November when we send Mike Rogers packing.” TRUMP ADMIN INVESTIGATING 75 TRUCK DRIVER SCHOOLS FOR FRAUD, HELPING NON-CITIZENS GET LICENSES In 2018, El-Sayed expressed support for allowing illegal immigrants to obtain standard driver’s licenses, though he did not specifically push for those in the country illegally to receive the commercial driver’s licenses necessary to operate long-haul trucks. While Vance and El-Sayed differ in their approaches to immigration, the two both agree, in principle, that tariffs should be used to benefit American industry. The El-Sayed campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.