Today is
Tuesday July 21, 2026
The Texas Tribune – As Texas struggles to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population, a state fund had $1.28 billion available this year to support projects that could deliver water even in a severe drought.
Unfortunately, 23 worthy projects requested a total of $4.2 billion, prompting the state to deny 13 of them — the first time the SWIFT fund had to say no to an applicant in its 11-year history.
It was lamentable timing for a state plagued by a brutal drought and aging water infrastructure.
“We have more demand than we actually have the capacity to fulfill this year,” said Marvin Cole-Chaney, director of program administration and reporting for the Texas Water Development Board, which administers SWIFT, the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas.
One of the denied projects is a desalination plant with the potential to create 100 million gallons of drinking water a day along the Coastal Bend in South Texas — an area including Corpus Christi, which is in the grips of a devastating drought.
The denial surprised John Byrum, executive director of the Nueces River Authority, which proposed building the plant as a critical source of water for Coastal Bend cities.
Under the scoring system used to set priorities for SWIFT, the river authority’s plant ranked 11th. The top 10 proposals will next submit more-detailed applications for the money.
“We really thought our project would rate higher,” Byrum said. “We were disappointed.”
The river authority requested $140 million to fuel plans to build a seawater desalination plant in Harbor Island, which sits within the cities of Aransas Pass and Port Aransas. A desalination plant filters salt and other minerals out of seawater to make it drinkable.
The proposed project, which received federal permitting in September and is projected to cost $3.2 billion, would distribute water to cities, water districts and businesses across South Texas, including Corpus Christi, which is nearing a water crisis. The coastal city is one of the biggest water suppliers in the region and may be just months away from a water crisis as its main reservoirs have shriveled to below 8% capacity.
Corpus Christi paid $2.7 million to the river authority to reserve an option to buy 50 million gallons of water a day once the Harbor Island desalination plant is running.
City leaders are bracing for a Level 1 water emergency, the point when the water supply is projected to be 180 days from falling short of demand, which could be triggered as soon as September. Commissioners in Nueces County, which includes Corpus Christi, voted unanimously last week to declare a county-wide water emergency, restricting residents’ outdoor watering.
SWIFT offers low-interest loans with extended and flexible repayment plans. The water development board said the denied projects may be eligible for other funding options, such as the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, but Byrum believes the SWIFT fund should place a higher priority on an area’s need for water.
The water development board considers several factors when prioritizing projects, ranking them on a scoring sheet with a maximum score of 86. Projects can earn the most points by serving large populations, with readiness and water conservation among other factors also taken into account.
A project’s “emergency need” carries little weight, earning a maximum five points.
None of the 10 highest-ranked projects earned any points for “emergency need,” a designation restricted to public water systems where supply is expected to fall short of demand within 180 days, federal money was sought or received to deal with the emergency, or the need for water will occur a decade sooner than anticipated by state planners.
The Harbor Island plant, despite targeting an area that critically needs water, earned no emergency need points and lost potential points because it is in rural Nueces County with a relatively low population. Its score of 62 was just one point behind the 10th-place project.
This year’s 10 highest-rated SWIFT projects span the state, including the Riverbend Water Resources District — the top-rated project on the SWIFT scorecard. Riverbend is seeking $2.98 million to assess and expand water infrastructure to meet Texarkana’s growing population.
The North Texas Municipal Water District is asking for nearly $419 million for a pipeline and treatment plant in Leonard, a town in Fannin County. The water district is also receiving around $611 million to design a new raw water pump station.
Money is also being directed to South Texas, where the Hidalgo County Drainage District made a pitch for $120 million for its proposed Santa Cruz Reservoir.
Byrum said the Nueces River Authority is going to apply for the water board’s other funding programs, as well as seek private funding, in hopes of getting the Harbor Island desalination plant built.
SWIFT was created by the Texas Legislature and approved by voters in 2013, allowing the one-time transfer of $2 billion from the state’s rainy day fund. Revenue bonds over the next 50 years, starting in 2015, will finance around $27 billion in water supply projects through SWIFT.
To date, the water development board has committed about $17.2 billion in SWIFT money to 76 projects. The agency estimates the funding saved entities almost $2.1 billion over the life of the debt compared to market rates.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK)– For more than a century, Stephen F. Austin State University has served as a cornerstone of higher education in East Texas. Now, the university is undergoing what leaders describe as a once-in-a-generation transformation fueled by the University of Texas System.
SFA officials say a 10-year campus master plan carrying an estimated $1 billion price tag is designed to modernize facilities, improve the student experience and position the university for another century of growth and success.
Construction equipment has now taken over portions of the campus known for its towering pine trees and blooming azaleas, signaling the start of a major expansion effort.
“This institution has a really strong history of being resilient and able to weather storms and get through tough times,” SFA President Dr. Neal Weaver said. “When you take that resilience and match it with the power and resources of the University of Texas System, you see what is happening here right now.”
Since joining the UT System in 2023, at least $58 million has already been invested into SFA. The university recently opened a new cafeteria — the first built on campus since the 1960s — while at least $160 million in additional projects are currently under construction or in development.
One of the most visible projects is underway at SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, where construction crews are building a more than 100,000-square-foot facility aimed at expanding a nationally recognized academic program.
“We’re about to break ground on a brand-new entrepreneurship center, about a $45 million project that should open in 2027,” Weaver said. “Then this summer, we’re breaking ground on a brand-new $70 million residence facility that will add about 350 beds to campus.”
The growth comes as student enrollment continues to rise. SFA welcomed the largest first-time undergraduate class in school history for the Fall 2025 semester and recently recorded its largest spring enrollment increase in more than 15 years.
Weaver credits the university’s focus on affordability and workforce preparation for helping attract students.
“Being a part of the University of Texas System has allowed us to invest in the Purple Promise program,” Weaver said. “That allows students to come to school tuition- and fee-free if they come from a family that earns less than $100,000 a year.”
According to a 2025 economic report from SFA’s Center for Business and Economic Research, the university generates nearly $348 million in local economic activity and supports approximately 4,819 jobs.
“As we see more people coming to town because of SFA, we’re going to see more investment, more consumers, and more workforce candidates being generated through the university,” Kelly Augustine, President of the Nacogdoches Chamber of Commerce, said. “We’re very excited about that.”
The report also found that during the 2022 school year, SFA attracted more than 205,000 visitors to Nacogdoches — spending nearly $9 million at local hotels, restaurants and retail stores.
Students themselves spent nearly $102 million locally, directly supporting about 1,100 jobs. Nearly $40 million of that spending was recirculated throughout the Nacogdoches area economy, supporting hundreds more jobs.
Augustine believes the university’s impact goes beyond economics.
“We see students giving their free time to volunteer activities,” Augustine said. “We see faculty and staff applying their talents and knowledge with nonprofits and businesses across town.”
University officials expect enrollment to reach 15,000 students over the next decade, a number that could significantly reshape the future of Nacogdoches and the surrounding East Texas region.
“Just think about it — $1 billion being spent right here in Nacogdoches,” Weaver said. “That alone is a powerful economic driver for this region. We know there’s going to be a lot of money and jobs coming to Nacogdoches and East Texas.”
As cranes rise and construction continues across campus, university leaders say SFA is not simply expanding buildings — it is investing in the future of an entire community.
LIVINGSTON (KETK)– After being sentenced to death earlier this week, the man responsible for the murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand has been transported to a correctional facility in Livingston.
Former FedEx driver Tanner Horner received the death sentence on Tuesday after pleading guilty earlier this year to murdering Strand in 2022. Horner was given the sentence by a jury in a Fort Worth courtroom that heard nearly a month of testimony and evidence, including audio from Strand’s final moments before her death.
Horner was arrested in December 2022 and charged with capital murder after Strand’s body was found in Wise County. It was later revealed that Horner had kidnapped Strand from her home while he was delivering a package and subsequently strangled her to death nearly an hour afterward.
Horner will now remain at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston for the foreseeable future until a date is scheduled for his execution.
DALLAS (AP) – Joni Lamb, who with her late husband founded the Daystar Television Network and guided it to become one of the world’s largest Christian TV networks, died Thursday. She was 65.
Lamb, the network’s president, had been suffering from serious health issues before sustaining a back injury that caused her health to deteriorate, the network said in a statement. A cause of death was not released.
“Joni’s love for the Lord and for the people we serve shaped this ministry from the beginning,” the network’s board of directors said in the statement.
The network said its ministry will continue on and that Lamb made sure a leadership team was in place.
She and her husband, Marcus Lamb, who died in 2021, began broadcasting in the Dallas area with a single station in 1993. Five years later, Joni Lamb began hosting her signature daily women’s show.
Based in Bedford, Texas, the Daystar Television Network grew to broadcast in more than 200 countries and has aired shows from many well-known evangelists, including Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes.
The network said it reaches 2.3 billion homes worldwide.
Its ministry was rooted in Pentecostalism, the Christian tradition known for its spirit-filled worship, and its belief in modern-day miracles and everyday battles with evil influences.
In addition to being the network’s president and working behind the scenes, Joni Lamb could be seen on the air hosting “Joni Table Talk” and discussing daily issues.
She stood beside her late husband in 2010 when he admitted on television to an affair with a woman years before. Marcus Lamb also alleged that three people tried to extort money from him to stay quiet.
Joni Lamb said at the time that when she learned of his infidelity she was devastated and prayed to the Holy Spirit, who told her, “He’s worth fighting for.”
The couple said they had healed their marriage and had hoped to keep the matter private.
“All you can do is tell the truth and take your pain and use it to try to help someone else,” Joni Lamb said.
Following her first husband’s death at age 64, she married Doug Weiss two years later. Together they hosted the show “Ministry Now.”
POLK COUNTY (KETK) – A large indoor marijuana farm operating off U.S. Highway 59 was recently shut down after being discovered by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. On Tuesday, residents reported a persistent odor of marijuana in the area and suspicious activity involving frequent traffic to and from a property in the early morning hours, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were able to obtain a search warrant for the property, and during the search, they found a large quantity of marijuana, including over 1500 plants. The owner of the building Elier Jimenez, was placed under arrest following the search and charged with possession of marijuana between 50 and 2,000 pounds
COLLEGE STATION (AP) – Regents on Wednesday unanimously appointed Susan Ballabina as president of Texas A&M, putting her in charge of the state’s largest public university as it continues to deal with the fallout from its last president’s resignation.
Ballabina, who assumes the role on May 11, most recently served as executive vice chancellor for the Texas A&M University System, overseeing day-to-day operations across its 12 universities and eight state agencies. Prior to that, she was former Texas A&M President Mark A. Welsh III’s chief of staff.
Regents named Ballabina the sole finalist April 13. State law required them to wait 21 days before finalizing the hire. She initially served on the presidential search committee before recusing herself to apply for the job.
“I was a reluctant applicant. I wasn’t sure that this was something I wanted to do, but after going through the process and preparing for the various interviews, I got more and more excited,” Ballabina said during the regents’ meeting after their vote.
The decision follows months of upheaval at the flagship campus after Welsh resigned amid political backlash over a secretly recorded classroom discussion of gender identity that was posted online.
The search unfolded as regents took a more assertive role in responding to controversy and shaping what can be taught, part of a broader political remaking of Texas colleges under new state laws.
Ballabina holds a bachelor’s degree from Tarleton State University, a master’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University and a doctorate in public affairs from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Ballabina has worked in the system for more than three decades, holding senior leadership roles at both the university and Texas A&M Agrilife. She helped cultivate partnerships such as the Aplin Center, a new campus hub for hospitality, retail and food-and-nutrition education, and coordinated statewide disaster recovery efforts after Hurricane Harvey, according to the system.
Chancellor Glenn Hegar said she stood out among a pool of strong national candidates.
Board Chair Robert L. Albritton said, “This unified decision sends a strong signal that Texas A&M is aligned, confident and moving forward with momentum.”
“Absolutely,” regent James R. “Randy” Brooks added. “We are looking forward to some peace in this organization, and we’re confident you can provide it.”
Texas A&M has cycled through leaders in recent years.
In 2023, M. Katherine Banks resigned as president after the failed hiring of Kathleen McElroy, an experienced Black journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin whom Texas A&M recruited to revive its program. McElroy walked away from an offer that university officials watered down after vocal groups outside the university criticized her past work for the New York Times and support for diversity.
Welsh followed as president, working to rebuild trust with faculty by reversing some of Banks’ unpopular changes and promising not to micromanage. But that approach later put him at odds with regents who wanted a leader who would respond more quickly to political controversy. His downfall came in September 2025 after he initially told a student he would not fire lecturer Melissa McCoul for discussing gender identity in a children’s literature course. He ultimately fired McCoul.
Two months later, Texas A&M regents approved systemwide restrictions on classroom discussion of race, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity unless the course and relevant materials are approved in advance by a university president. They also prohibited faculty from teaching material inconsistent with an approved syllabus.
Leonard Bright, president of the Texas A&M chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said Ballabina’s selection brought “some level of relief” because faculty feared regents might choose a politician. However, he said her lack of classroom and research experience raises questions.
“Is she going to stand up for faculty when there are political attacks?” he asked.
B. Don Russell, a Texas A&M professor and chair of the university’s distinguished professors group, offered a more supportive view, saying Ballabina was “among the most open for discussions with faculty” of the administrators he has worked with. He said her broad experience across the university system and in state politics will serve A&M well. He did not see her lack of traditional classroom background as a major limitation.
Since Welsh’s resignation, Tommy Williams — a former Texas lawmaker, Texas A&M alum and one-time top government relations official for the system — has served as interim president.
Texas has seen a broader political remaking of higher education since 2023.
Lawmakers banned diversity, equity and inclusion offices, programs and training; expanded regents’ authority over curriculum; and imposed rules limiting protesting on campus, including bans on encampments and overnight demonstrations. Supporters of these new laws say they keep universities focused on their core mission of providing degrees that lead to profitable careers. Opponents say they undercut universities’ mission to be spaces for open inquiry.
Ballabina takes over as Texas A&M, which enrolled 72,289 students in fall 2025, wraps up the spring semester. Final exams ended Tuesday, commencement began Wednesday and ceremonies in College Station continue through Saturday, according to the university’s academic calendar.
“This is an important moment for us,” Ballabina said, after choking up. “We’re going to celebrate 150 years. We’re going to roll out a new strategic plan. And how lucky am I to get the opportunity to lead us through that and help everyone get focused on what matters — and that’s our students; that is our life-changing research; and that is our staff who help us do everything.”
AUSTIN (AP) — The gunman who killed three people and wounded more than a dozen others in a mass shooting at a downtown Austin, Texas, bar in March was a “lone actor” and there is no evidence he was supported or directed by a foreign terrorist group, FBI investigators said Thursday.
The agency released a two-page update of its investigation into the attack on Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in the early morning hours of March 1 that ended when gunman, Ndiaga Diagne, was killed by police.
The shooting happened after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran. Diagne was wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words “Property of Allah.”
Despite lacking direct evidence of a motive for the shooting, investigators said Diagne was likely triggered into violent behavior by the war against Iran, “culminating in a violent, impulsive attack” at the bar, the report said.
Investigators determined Diagne admired Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had been killed. His affinity for Iran and its former leader were likely factors in the attack Diagne perpetrated on his own, investigators said.
“The investigation to date indicates Diagne was a lone actor,” the report said. He had never been the subject of an FBI investigation prior to the shooting.
Diagne, 53, was born in Senegal. He first entered the U.S in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa and became a lawful permanent resident six years later after marrying a U.S. citizen, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“There is no evidence at this time that he was associated with a Foreign Terrorist Organization or that he received any direction, funding, or operational support for his attack,’ the report said.
The bar is located in the city’s popular hub of bars and nightclubs. Police said the gunman drove past the bar before circling back and firing the first shots from his SUV at people on the sidewalk and inside. He then parked, got out with a rifle and began shooting at people walking along the street before officers rushed to the intersection and shot him.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis has said officers arrived within 56 seconds of the first 911 call and killed the shooter after he fired at police.
Killed in the attack were 21-year-old Savitha Shan, 19-year-old Ryder Harrington and 30-year-old Jorge Pederson.
The FBI said the investigation into the attack remains open.
SULPHUR SPRINGS (KETK) — An ongoing narcotics investigation in Hopkins County has resulted in the arrest of several people, the seizure of a large amount of illegal substances and over $70,000, officials said on Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK and the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office, investigators executed a search warrant at an apartment complex on Sulphur Springs. Three people were arrested at the scene.
During the search, the following illegal substances and contraband were recovered:
*309 grams of cocaine
*1,677.5 grams of THC vape pens
*73 grams of psilocybin
*15 pounds of marijuana
*Two AR-platform rifles
*One pistol
*$73,294.02
“The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office remains vigilant and proactive in its mission to protect the citizens of Hopkins County and will continue to take decisive action against illegal activity,” the sheriff’s office said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man accused of firing a gun at law enforcement officers near the Washington Monument this week was following the path of Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade before the shooting and made a vulgar remark about the White House after the confrontation, according to a court filing Wednesday.
The suspect, Michael Marx, was shot multiple times during Monday’s confrontation and was in the back of an ambulance on his way to a hospital when he said, “‘F(asterisk)(asterisk)k the White House’ and “Kill me, kill me, kill me,’” a Secret Service agent said in an affidavit.
The sworn statement does not specify whether investigators believe Marx had a particular target.
Marx was walking along the path of Vance’s motorcade when officers spotted him near the intersection of 15th Street and Independence Avenue. The officers were responding to a Secret Service agent’s report that Marx was seen near with White House complex with a firearm concealed on the right side of his body, the affidavit says.
Marx pulled a firearm from his waistband as he ran away from Secret Service officers and fired at one of them, but a bystander behind the officer was shot in the leg, the affidavit says. Officers returned fire and struck Marx in his abdomen, a hand and his left arm, according to the filing. It says Marx spit at officers as they provided him with aid after the shooting.
The teenage bystander was not seriously injured and has been released from a hospital, ABC News reported. ABC was first to report what the suspect allegedly said after the shooting.
Marx, who had a Texas driver’s license, was charged in a complaint with assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm during a violent crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The shooting came just over a week after a California man tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner while armed with guns and knives. Cole Tomas Allen has been charged in that incident with attempting to assassinate the president and firing a gun at a Secret Service officer.
Around the time of Monday’s shooting, President Donald Trump was holding a small business event at the White House, which was briefly locked down as authorities investigated.
Online court records did not immediately list the name of a lawyer representing Marx.
Marx has used aliases, including Michael Patrick and Michael Zavici, according to the affidavit. It says Marx had a 2011 drug trafficking conviction in Florida that made it illegal for him to possess a firearm.
DALLAS (AP) — A former FedEx driver was sentenced to death on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to killing a 7-year-old girl he took from her Texas home while delivering a Christmas gift.
Jurors in a Fort Worth courtroom decided on Tanner Horner’s punishment after hearing about a month of testimony and evidence that included audio of Athena Strand’s last moments from inside his delivery van. Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to capital murder last month in the 2022 killing just as his trial began. Athena’s body was found two days after she was reported missing from her home in the rural town of Paradise, near Fort Worth.
Horner didn’t visibly react when the judge read the sentence, according to a livestream of the court proceedings.
Jurors found there was a probability Horner would commit criminal violence and be a continuing threat to society. They said there was nothing in the commission of the crime or in Horner’s background to warrant life without parole instead of death.
Prosecutor James Stainton told jurors in opening statements that Horner had told, “lie upon lie upon lie upon lie” in the case, including telling authorities that he accidentally struck Athena with his van while making the delivery and then killed her in a fit of panic.
Several jurors cried as they were shown video and heard audio from inside the van after Athena was taken. He could be seen lifting her into the van, and then driving away, telling her not to scream or he’d hurt her.
Horner then covered the camera, but the audio continued recording. Horner asks Athena questions, including how old she is and where she goes to school, before stopping the van and telling her they are going to “hang out.” Horner tells her to take off her shirt and she begins crying, and asks whether he’s a kidnapper.
She asks him: “Why are you doing this?” He replies, “Because you are pretty.”
“My mom says I can’t do that to somebody,” she tells him. “And you can’t do that to me either.”
As the recording, which lasts over an hour, continues, Athena’s screams can be heard. At one point he tells her: “If you don’t shut up, I will hurt you worse.”
A medical examiner testified that Athena died of blunt force injuries with smothering and strangulation.
While acknowledging during opening statements that the evidence against Horner was “overwhelming” and “terrible,” Horner’s attorney, Steven Goble, told jurors that Horner’s mother drank while she was pregnant, that he has autism and suffered from “various mental illnesses throughout his life” in addition to being exposed to a “massive amount of lead.”
Goble had asked jurors to sentence Horner to life in prison.
Athena’s family has said that the package Horner had dropped off was a Christmas present for her — a box of “You Can Be Anything” Barbies.
The trial was moved from rural Wise County to Fort Worth after Horner’s attorneys argued that he would not have received a fair trial.
CROCKETT (KETK) – A man was arrested in Crockett on Saturday evening after a stolen firearm and illegal drugs were found inside his vehicle during a traffic stop.
According to our news partner KETK and the Crockett Police Department, at around 10 p.m., an officer initiated a traffic stop of 25-year-old Jeremy Frizzell after police said he was seen recklessly driving his Dodge Charger on East Loop 304, across from Los Ranchos Mexican Restaurant.
During the traffic stop, Frizzell was taken into custody and charged with reckless driving. Following the arrest, a probable cause search of Frizzell’s car was conducted and officers said they discovered multiple firearms, one of which was confirmed to be stolen from a recent burglary in Houston County.
Officers also discovered what is suspected to be meth and marijuana inside the vehicle, along with drug paraphernalia.
Frizzell now faces the following charges after the search of his vehicle, including: Unlawful carrying of a weapon with a felony conviction, possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft of a firearm.
Frizzell is currently being held in the Houston County Jail and the investigation remains ongoing.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the San Francisco home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of attempted murder and attempted arson.
Daniel Alejandro Moreno-Gama, wearing an orange jail uniform, did not speak as his attorney entered the pleas during his arraignment in state court. The 20-year-old also faces federal charges.
Moreno-Gama, of Spring, Texas, hurled the flammable bomb at Altman’s home last month, setting an exterior gate alight before fleeing on foot, authorities allege. Less than an hour later, he went to OpenAI’s headquarters about 3 miles (5 kilometers) away and threatened to burn down the building, they say.
After an initial court appearance last month, his lawyer, Diamond Ward, said Moreno-Gama was experiencing a mental health crisis and had been excessively charged. Ward, a San Francisco deputy public defender, said it was a “property crime, at best” and that prosecutors were trying to curry favor with Altman.
On Tuesday, Ward requested a mental health evaluation for Moreno-Gama. The judge granted the request and scheduled another hearing for later this month.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said last month that Moreno-Gama carried out a “targeted attack on Mr. Altman” and that prosecutors had evidence to substantiate the charges.
Moreno-Gama’s parents said in a statement shortly after the attack that he has never harmed anyone and recently began having mental health issues.
Authorities said Moreno-Gama, who works part-time at a pizzeria and is attending community college, expressed hatred of artificial intelligence in his writings, describing it as a danger to humanity and warning of “impending extinction,” according to court filings.
Officials haven’t said whether Altman was home at the time of the attack.
The state charges carry penalties ranging from 19 years to life in prison.
AUSTIN (THE TEXAS TRIBUNE) — In March, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick directed state senators to explore ways to close “gambling loopholes” that allow online prediction markets to operate in Texas, raising concerns that state elections and sporting events could be manipulated for profit.
Patrick’s directive was the first time a state leader officially acknowledged the existence of rapidly growing prediction markets, which let users wager on outcomes tied to anything from the weather to election winners and sports scores.
Most prediction markets didn’t operate in the U.S. before 2025.
Texas Lottery intensifies campaign against harmful gambling habits
Any attempts by the Texas Legislature to restrict prediction operators, however, would run into federal roadblocks as the Trump administration insists that oversight belongs to a U.S. agency, not the states.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has taken vigorous steps to retain exclusive regulatory oversight, suing to block five states from taking legal action against predictive markets, including a lawsuit filed Tuesday against Wisconsin.
Prediction market operators argue that state gambling laws don’t apply to them because users aren’t placing bets, they’re risking money on predictions — no different than other exchange-traded financial contracts that speculate on the future performance of commodities. Congress created the CFTC in 1974 to regulate futures trading.
Sara Slane, head of corporate development for Kalshi, the country’s largest prediction market, said she believes federal regulators provide adequate oversight, a perspective Kalshi is “never shy” about sharing with state officials.
“We are regulated at the federal level, but of course, given now the popularity of prediction markets, we are doing a lot of educating on the state level,” Slane said. “That’s the dialogue that we’ll envision having, certainly, in the state of Texas.”
Amid fears of insider trading and market manipulation, other states have struggled to regulate prediction markets under their current gambling laws, including 15 states that have sued, investigated or sent cease and desist orders to operators for allegedly violating gambling restrictions or failing to acquire gambling licenses.
Texas, however, has been slower to react, uncharacteristic for a state that has stood firm against efforts to expand online wagering.
The National Association of Attorneys General and the Ohio attorney general’s office asked Texas in March to join a legal brief arguing that the CFTC does not have sole authority to regulate the markets, emails obtained by The Texas Tribune show. Although 39 states signed on, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office didn’t respond.
Prediction markets say they’re different from sportsbooks. Gambling addicts say it’s all the same
The same thing happened last week when the two organizations again asked Texas to support a similar brief joined by 37 states.
In August 2025, Paxton was one of four state attorneys general who did not sign a letter urging then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to crack down on offshore gambling.
Paxton’s office did not respond to requests for comment on whether state gambling laws applied to prediction markets and why Texas did not join the two briefs or the letter to Bondi. When the Tribune asked to view internal communications related to prediction markets, the office declined, saying the information was protected by attorney-client privilege. The Ohio attorney general’s office and the national group declined to comment.
Opponents of legalized gambling say prediction markets, despite being portrayed as a form of futures trading, are simply a new form of gaming, producing the same problems as other types of wagering, including addiction, financial ruin and family strain.
“This is public health. It rewires the brain, it requires increasing amounts of dopamine, people will bet more and more and more,” said Russ Coleman, board chair for Texans Against Gambling. “The number of suicides that will result, the number of families that will be broken up, the number of embezzlement cases — it will hit.”
Jonathan Covey, director of policy for Texas Values, a conservative advocacy group, said the markets have the potential for additional harm because many facilitate wagering on elections.
“Elections, they’re not just economic activity, they’re core functions of our state sovereignty,” Covey said. “We have Penal Code chapter 47 that says election betting is illegal, and prediction markets have been trying to sort of relabel that activity.”
Last week, Kalshi revealed that it had fined three congressional candidates, including one in Texas, for attempting to wager on their own elections. That revelation — and the recent arrest of a U.S. Army soldier accused of using classified information for an almost $410,000 payday on another platform — has added fuel to opponents’ concerns that the current regulatory framework is unprepared to address potential manipulation.
Betting on federal oversight
Prediction markets operate by offering “event contracts” tied to different outcomes, such as the number of strikeouts in an Astros’ ballgame or the winner of the Texas attorney general Republican runoff. Sports-related contracts represent 80% to 90% of Kalshi’s monthly trading volume, according to investment research platform Artemis.
There are very few explicit federal restrictions on futures trading beyond motion picture box office receipts and, thanks to the Onion Futures Act of 1958, the price of onions. A CFTC advisory in March also clarified that contracts related to war, assassination or terrorism are not allowed.
Polymarket, which bills itself as the world’s largest prediction market, has offered contracts based on the wars in Iran and Ukraine, but those are hosted on a platform outside of the U.S. and are not subject to CFTC regulation. Polymarket also maintains a U.S. product under CFTC regulation.
The CFTC permits prediction market operators to self-regulate their contracts, a structure Chair Michael Selig described as the government granting them “quasi-regulatory authority.” The CFTC, he told a U.S. House hearing mid-April, can review and reject contracts, acting as the “second line of defense” after the operators themselves.
“The Commodity Exchange Act sets forth a regulatory scheme where the exchanges are the first line of defense,” Selig said.
That self-governing was displayed last week when Kalshi announced enforcement action against the congressional candidates who bet on their own races, including Zeke Enriquez, who finished 11th in the 21st Congressional District Republican primary. Kalshi fined Enriquez $784 and banned him from using the exchange for five years for buying less than $100 worth of event contracts in the GOP primary.
The CFTC also solicited public comments from mid-March through Thursday for input on future rules specifically addressing prediction markets. On Thursday, the National Conference of State Legislatures, which represents state lawmakers including those in Texas, submitted a comment urging the CFTC to place event contracts related to sports under state gambling laws.
In Texas, Patrick opened the door to potential regulation in March when he directed the State Affairs Committee to study how federal law has been exploited to “circumvent Texas gambling prohibitions.” As presiding officer of the Texas Senate, he has long opposed efforts to loosen state gambling restrictions.
Patrick also told senators to prepare recommendations for the 2027 session of the Legislature to ensure prediction markets do not endanger the integrity of elections and sports in Texas.
The committee has no meetings currently scheduled.
Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby takes leave for gambling addiction
Coleman said Patrick’s directive was a “happy surprise” as his organization works to raise awareness of the rapidly expanding prediction markets. While uncertain what effect it will have, he hoped it indicated Patrick’s continued opposition to gambling writ large.
“Maybe it was stretching a little bit to read too much into that, but it says that he’s paying attention,” Coleman said.
The CFTC’s efforts to discourage states from regulating prediction markets started after Selig, appointed by President Donald Trump, began in December as the only commissioner at the agency, which is designed to be led by five presidential appointees. Selig and the CFTC did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Covey said Selig’s treatment of prediction markets was “concerning” because states have traditionally had the power to determine what kinds of gambling are permitted within their borders.
“The CFTC is treating these as financial documents, but the states are the ones that have always regulated gambling,” Covey said. “When a federal agency pushes to expand these markets nationwide, it risks overriding state authority and exposing consumers to something that many states would otherwise restrict.”
Covey said operators, relying on federal oversight, have set up shop in states without formal notification, leaving political leaders playing catch-up.
“I think that this issue has not been highlighted, and a lot of people are not aware of it,” Covey said.
In Republican-led Texas, efforts to regulate prediction markets may be complicated by many state officials’ close ties to Trump. Truth Social, the social media platform created by the president, announced in October it would launch its own prediction market platform. Donald Trump Jr. is an adviser for Kalshi and Polymarket.
“There’s a lot of political overtones to this,” Coleman said.
As courts, Congress weigh in, sportsbooks enter the picture
People on both sides of the issue expect questions about state vs. federal regulation to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Three federal appeals courts are reviewing disputes between prediction market operators and states, with oral arguments completed in two cases and a third set for next week — although no cases are pending before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees Texas.
“This is so, so far down the road that I can truly understand why state lawmakers are saying, ‘OK, great, Dan Patrick, it’s on the interim charge, thank you, we’ll keep our eye on this,’ but at this point it’s got to play out in the courts,” Coleman said.
Several bills have been introduced in Congress to restrict who can use prediction markets and prohibit contracts related to sports or war, including one sponsored by Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin. On Thursday, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution banning senators from using prediction markets. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said on the Senate floor that the ban also applied to Senate staff.
Meanwhile, prediction markets have provided sportsbooks access to residents of states like Texas where online gambling is generally forbidden.
Two of the largest online sportsbooks, FanDuel and DraftKings, have launched prediction market products offering sports contracts that accept money from Texans. Gaming advocates had worked, unsuccessfully, to persuade Texas lawmakers to legalize daily fantasy sports in 2017 and online sports betting in 2023 and 2025. Today, opening DraftKings’ sports betting app in Texas automatically pivots players to its prediction market.
DraftKings says there is “clear consumer interest” in Texas.
“Drawing on more than a decade of experience serving sports fans, and informed by ongoing, thoughtful dialogue with regulators and policymakers, DraftKings has developed a platform designed to enhance the fan experience while making available responsible engagement tools and resources,” a statement from a DraftKings spokesperson read.
FanDuel responded to questions about their prediction markets by pointing to interviews with other outlets, including a CNN interview with company President Christian Genetski, who described the markets as a “reasonable facsimile” to sportsbooks.
What could Texas do?
Carol Ann Maner, chair of the Texas Coalition on Problem Gambling, a nonpartisan organization focused on bolstering resources to combat gambling addiction, said the exponential growth of prediction markets is a great concern from a public health perspective.
The coalition has not identified examples of problem gambling stemming from prediction markets, but Maner said the similarities between them and sportsbooks means the risks are no different.
“It would be almost like malpractice on our part to pretend not to know that this would be harmful,” she said.
Gambling opponents say Texas lawmakers still have several opportunities to regulate or investigate prediction markets without crossing the CFTC.
Covey suggested scrutinizing advertising that is often indistinguishable from sportsbook operations and can target younger audiences. Federal regulations allow prediction markets to be used by those 18 and older, while most states restrict gambling to those 21 and up.
“Their advertising really is a pretty significant insight into where they feel like they’re pulling their customer base from,” Covey said.
Kalshi and Polymarket previously ran Instagram ads in Texas that explicitly called their services “betting,” the Tribune found in September. Ads using direct gambling terminology were removed after Event Horizon and the Tribune reported on their proliferation, but new ads still frame the markets as a more profitable alternative to sportsbooks.
Legislators could also request or subpoena information from operators to glean details on how Texans use prediction markets. The Senate State Affairs Committee used that tool last year when it scrutinized lottery couriers, learning that 99.9% of the largest courier’s sales in 2024 were done online, which Patrick and other lawmakers said violated state law.
Another idea is banning state officials and employees from participating in prediction markets if they have insider information. Four state governors have issued executive orders barring state employees from using nonpublic information to influence contracts purchased on prediction markets. The orders do not outright ban employees from using the markets.
Slane said she understands why state leaders may be apprehensive about giving up oversight but is confident Kalshi is on “firm legal ground” being regulated exclusively by the feds.
“It’s not a fight that we want to be in, but we’re not surprised that we are in it,” Slane said. “I think when people sort of take a step back, certainly from a state level, and they’re simply viewing this as a federal preemption issue over states’ rights, your natural intuition is to be the defender of your state rights.”
Nayomie Mendoza has become accustomed to how Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in the U.S.: the platters of tacos, the pitchers of margaritas and the jubilant sounds of mariachi bands.
She is among a number of Mexican American business owners who’ve become more vocal about also honoring Mexican history and the significance of the holiday, as a way to combat anti-immigrant sentiments amid heightened immigration enforcement efforts that have targeted Latino communities.
Mendoza, owner of Cuernavaca’s Grill in Los Angeles, said she prefers a celebration that reflects “everything that as a community we’re enduring today.” So, Mendoza will host Cinco de Mayo festivities at her restaurant that, along with traditional mariachi and Mexican cuisine, will include a nod to Mexican perseverance over the French in the Battle of Puebla over 160 years ago.
“Just looking at how much they did with very little resources,” she said. “It just showed resilience. So, on Cinco de Mayo we always make it a testament of our resilience.”
Restaurants owners aren’t the first Latino community leaders to reclaim Cinco de Mayo in the U.S. — moving away from a flattening of Mexican culture toward highlighting history and community. This year, the celebrations are noticeably embracing traditional Mexican culture and focused on preservation, said Sehila Mota Casper, director of Latinos in Heritage Conservation.
“These are just incredible moments of educating and knowledge sharing,” Mota Casper said. “The more we educate, the more knowledge we share, the better a community and people we become.”
Restaurants emphasize authenticity over tequila shots
Hispanic-owned firms accounted for 8.4% of 5.9 million U.S. employers in 2024, according to the Census Bureau’s annual survey of businesses. They also were approximately 18% of all restaurant businesses in the United States last month, according to the National Restaurant Association, which uses census data.
U.S. revelers hoping to crowd restaurants and toss back shots of tequila may find more wholesome and intentionally planned offerings, said Raul Luis, who owns the Birrieria Chalio Mexican Restaurant, with locations in Los Angeles and Fort Worth, Texas. On Cinco de Mayo, he wants his customers to eat and drink the types of “guisados” — traditional Mexican braises or stews served as taco filling — that one would eat when invited into a Mexican family’s home.
Well-made, traditional cooking will keep customers coming back, even if they aren’t Hispanic, Luis said.
“It’s the ultimate opportunity for restaurants to take advantage of that moment and bring them in and entice them to authentic Mexican food,” Luis said.
What Cinco de Mayo celebrates
Cinco de Mayo marks the anniversary of the 1862 victory by Mexican troops over invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla. The triumph over much larger French troops who were better-equipped was an enormous emotional boost for Mexican soldiers led by Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza.
In Mexico, historical reenactments are held annually in the central city of Puebla to commemorate the victory. Participants dress as Mexican and French troops and as Zacapoaxtlas — the Indigenous and farmer contingent that helped Mexican troops win.
In the U.S., May 5 is seen as a day to celebrate Mexican American culture, stretching back to the 1800s in California. Festivities typically include parades, street food, block parties, mariachi competitions and baile.
Folklórico, or folkloric ballet, features whirling dancers in bright, ruffled dresses and their hair tied with shiny ribbons.
The day often is mistaken for Mexican Independence Day, which is on Sept. 16.
Latino activists and scholars say that disconnect in the U.S. is bolstered by the hazy history of Cinco de Mayo and marketing that plays on stereotypes that include fake, droopy mustaches and gigantic, colorful sombreros.
A testament to Mexican resilience
Since returning to the White House in 2025, President Donald Trump has continued to label Mexican immigrants as criminals and gang members, and Latino communities have been a target of his hard-line immigration tactics. Memes shared from official White House social media accounts perpetuate negative stereotypes about Latinos, while a federally led English-only initiative and ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs all seem to target communities of color.
All together, it’s generated a great deal of fear in Latino communities.
Mendoza, the Los Angeles restaurant owner, said it’s also been a hard time for the restaurant industry because of rising costs. But in spite of it all, Cuernavaca’s Grill will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
As part of the restaurant’s Cinco de Mayo festivities, she’ll invite customers to contribute to a food and toy drive meant to support those who are struggling in the current climate.
“This is a testament of our resilience,” Mendoza said. “It’s a testament of our hard work. It is pride to our community and everything that we’ve accomplished.”
TRINITY COUNTY, Texas (KETK)— The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation after gallon barrels of chemicals and paint were illegally dumped into a local creek.
According to the sheriff’s office, 55-gallon barrels containing chemicals, paint and unknown substances were dumped from a white rental truck into a creek near the Port Adventure subdivision, less than half a mile from Lake Livingston.
“Dumping chemicals into our waterways can harm wildlife, contaminate drinking water, and create long-term environmental damage that affects this county for years to come,” Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace said.
A cleanup effort to remove the chemicals from the water has begun and crews from Lone Star Hazmat are currently on the scene. The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who witnessed the products being dumped to contact authorities at 936-642-1424 so they can build a strong case against potential suspects.
“If we allow this kind of behavior, we are inviting more of it,” Wallace said. “A dirty environment attracts more crime, more dumping, and more people who have no respect for this county.”
SAN AUGUSTINE, Texas (KETK)– An East Texas man was sentenced to 99 years in prison on Thursday after committing murder with a crossbow in 2022.
Lorenza White was arrested in December 2022 after deputies from the San Augustine County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding an unresponsive and bloodied man lying in the front yard of a house on FM 711.
Once on the scene, deputies found the victim dead from injuries he sustained after being shot by a crossbow in the back. White was later arrested in Lufkin after he was seen driving in the victim’s truck, which had been reported stolen.
After being placed under arrest, White admitted to officials that he had shot the victim with a crossbow and then stole his truck. White was later charged with murder, aggravated robbery and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
On Thursday, White was sentenced to 99 years in prison after being found guilty by a jury of murder.
EL PASO (AP) – A group of civil rights organizations on Monday filed a new lawsuit seeking to stop parts of the law that would let Texas police arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
The law can go into effect next week after a federal appeals court lifted a lower court ruling that had kept it paused for years.
Senate Bill 4, as the law is known, created a state-level crime for entering the country without authorization and created pathways for state authorities to remove such people from the country if convicted.
Courts have long held that immigration enforcement is the sole responsibility of the federal government, but with the state law, Texas Republicans sought to challenge that precedent.
The Texas Civil Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, and ACLU argue in Monday’s lawsuit the law is unconstitutional because immigration law is exclusively the federal government’s domain and should preempt the state law.
They are trying to stop four provisions of SB 4: the creation of a crime for re-entering the country without authorization, even if a person has since obtained legal status; granting state magistrates authority to order a person’s deportation; the creation of a crime for failing to comply with a magistrate’s order; and requiring that magistrates continue a prosecution even if a person has a pending immigration case such as an asylum claim.
“Our fight against SB 4 isn’t over until justice wins,” Kate Gibson Kumar, of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said in a statement. “SB 4 is not only unconstitutional, but a vile law that uses our Texas resources to harm communities across our state.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton ’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit is the latest effort to stop the 2023 law, passed by the Legislature in response to record border crossings that GOP state leaders argued amounted to an invasion.
The Biden administration was among the plaintiffs to initially challenge the law in 2024, but the Trump administration last year terminated the Department of Justice’s participation in the lawsuit amid his immigration crackdown.
That lawsuit continued until two weeks ago, when a federal appeals court lifted an injunction that had stopped the law when it ruled that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue.
The law can go into effect May 15 unless it’s halted by another court.
HOUSTON COUNTY (KETK) – The Houston County Sheriff’s Office recently recovered several items that had been stolen from homes near State Highway 7, including pieces of jewelry and sports memorabilia. According to our news partner KETK, on April 7, sheriff’s office deputies were sent out to a home on State Highway 7 west to investigate a reported robbery. Several items were reportedly missing from this first home.
Then, on April 25, a deputy responded to another home on State Highway 7 west where several purses, credit cards and debit cards were stolen. Hours after that robbery, one of the debit cards was reportedly used at an ATM in Crockett.
The sheriff’s office got bank video from the ATM and identified a suspect in the robberies as the person trying to use the stolen debit card. The sheriff’s office added that information from several citizens was essential in identifying the suspect.
On Wednesday, April 29, deputies headed to a residence in the area near the burgled homes. Once at the residence, deputies located the suspect and found probable cause to arrest them and charge them for burglary of a habitation, burglary of a vehicle and credit card abuse.
EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — Authorities in Oklahoma were looking for suspects Monday in a weekend shooting at an unsanctioned lakeside party packed with young adults that left at least 23 people injured, some critically, according to police and hospital officials.
It wasn’t clear how many of those injured had suffered gunshot wounds, according to a statement released by police Monday. No arrests had been made.
The shooting broke out Sunday night during a party near a campground at Arcadia Lake, a popular swimming and boating spot in Edmond, just outside Oklahoma City, said Edmond police spokesperson Emily Ward.
At least 18 people were treated at hospitals in the Oklahoma City area. One healthcare system said the victims it treated ranged in age from 16 to 30. It said three people were in critical condition and four were listed as serious.
Jason Hearne told ABC News that he was nearby when the shooting started and saw people who had been shot in the legs and one young woman with a head wound who was still breathing.
“These kids came out to have a, probably a good time, and for this to break out, I know that wasn’t what they expected, and it’s just tragic,” he said.
Police in Edmond said Monday that the party was not a permitted or reserved gathering and had been advertised across social media, drawing a large crowd of mostly young adults from across the Oklahoma City area.
“There is no reason to believe there is an ongoing threat to the public,” police said in a statement.
Some of those injured were transported from the scene while others sought treatment on their own, police said.
Integris Health said it treated 13 people at its hospitals in Edmond and Oklahoma City. Seven remained in Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, including three in critical condition.
OU Health said it received five people at its trauma center but provided no other details.
While police did not provide more details about the party, a flyer circulated on social media after the shooting suggested that an event called Sunday Funday was scheduled at a pavilion near the lake until midnight.
It advertised food, drinks, music and “good vibes, good people.”
Arcadia Lake sits just north of Oklahoma City and is dotted with picnic pavilions, campgrounds, a fishing pier, and swimming beaches.
It was built in the 1980s for outdoor recreation and flood control and also provides water to the city of Edmond, a suburb with about with about 100,000 residents.
Forty years ago, Edmond was the site of one of the deadliest workplace shootings in U.S. history. On Aug. 20, 1986, postal worker Patrick Sherrill shot 20 co-workers, killing 14 of them. He then killed himself.
Over the weekend, another shooting at a party in the Texas Panhandle left two people teenagers dead and 10 others wounded. Police in Amarillo said two people opened fire at an apartment complex early Saturday.
SULPHUR SPRINGS – Authorities in Sulphur Springs are working to identify human remains found Saturday morning.
The Sulphur Springs Police Department said officers were dispatched to Mark Street, across from the Hopkins Veterinary Clinic, at around 8:55 a.m. , where they discovered human remains near a residence. Criminal investigators and the Texas Rangers searched the surrounding area and found additional remains.
The skeletal remains have since been transported to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas, where they will attempt to identify the remains and the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing, the Sulphur Springs Police Department said.
AUSTIN — A Richardson resident claimed a Lotto Texas jackpot prize worth an estimated $41 million for the drawing held on April 20. The cash value option was selected at the time of purchase and the winner received $22,574,163.57 before taxes. The winning Quick Pick ticket matched all six of the numbers drawn (21-28-33-34-43-44). The ticket was purchased at 7-Eleven Convenience Store on Interstate Highway 30, in Mesquite.
“We haven’t missed a Lotto Texas drawing in 30 years,” said the claimant, who elected to remain anonymous.
After the claimant’s spouse checked the ticket several times to confirm the jackpot win, the spouse woke the claimant late at night with the exciting news. The spouse went straight to sleep, but the claimant told the Texas Lottery, “I stayed up all night thinking about it!”
When asked what they may do with the winnings, the winner shared that they look forward to using the prize to help their children and grandchildren, along with making time to travel, adding, “There’s a whole world out there I need to see!”
ARLINGTON (AP) – Just months into the pandemic, Matthew Haines, like landlords across the country, learned he was barred from evicting tenants who didn’t pay their rent under a federal eviction moratorium that lasted almost a year — costing him and his investors over $1 million.
Now, the 57-year-old Texan is hoping to get some relief.
Haines is among more than 1,500 property owners who filed a federal lawsuit arguing the moratorium enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention violated the Fifth Amendment by unlawfully denying them compensation. Plaintiffs range from those who lost thousands of dollars to one who lost over $14.5 million.
After initially losing in the Court of Federal Claims in 2022, the plaintiffs won on appeal and are now in settlement discussions with the Justice Department. Landlords are hoping to recoup as much as $1.5 billion — a fraction of what the industry lost.
“It’s important for us to stand up when a group like the CDC unilaterally, functionally, decides that they have a right to oversee our business,” said Haines, who owns three rental communities with 240 units in Arlington and Irving, Texas.
“What I hope that we will accomplish and, to some extent, we already have, is vindication for ourselves,” he said. “But what’s more important to me is that hopefully my investors will recover some of that money that they should have had coming in over the last six years.”
The federal eviction moratorium lasted from September 2020 through July 2021, and was among the pandemic’s most divisive policies. It ended after the Supreme Court ruled the CDC lacked authority to impose the ban without congressional authorization.
The Justice Department, responding to Associated Press questions about the landlords’ case, said it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Moratoriums were also imposed in 43 states and scores of cities, which lasted longer than the federal ban because states and cities have broader regulatory powers than federal agencies like the CDC.
Landlords say the bans devastated their businesses. Unable to collect rent, many were forced to take on debt, lay off staff, delay repairs and, in some cases, sell their property. They say the impact lingers, with longer delays for evictions, tighter screening for riskier tenants and growing numbers of owners getting out of the rental business altogether.
Tenant advocates counter that eviction bans were a lifesaver. They credit them with keeping millions of tenants housed during the pandemic and slowing the spread of the coronavirus. They also argue landlords were already paid — in the form of tens of billions of dollars in rental assistance.
From the moment the pandemic hit, Haines said he knew he was in trouble: Many tenants lost their jobs, so he didn’t require new leases and tried to be flexible with those who couldn’t pay.
But when the moratorium took hold, it was the biggest threat he’d faced in 30 years in real estate.
“It was terrifying,” Haines said. “We knew almost immediately that we were going to a massive deficit in cash flow that we probably weren’t going to be able to cover.”
A survey by the National Rental Home Council, a trade association, published weeks after the federal moratorium ended, found that half of small landlords had tenants who missed rent and a third sold or planned to sell properties. The moratorium and backlog of eviction cases cost owners $57 billion, according to the lawsuit, with more than 10 million delinquent renters in just the ban’s first four months.
“Public health measures like this, they may be well intentioned,” said Creighton Magid, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “But when the government imposes this type of moratorium, the financial burden should be borne by the government, not individual property owners.”
Liz Leone, who has 52 apartments in Las Vegas and is part of the lawsuit, said the moratorium almost forced her out of business. She lost over $250,000, she said, and borrowed $60,000 from the federal Small Business Administration “just to keep my nose above water.” She’s still paying it off.
“I was definitely questioning whether I would survive,” said Leone, who’s been in the business for 35 years. “You delay all the expenses you can, but we still had to pay our property taxes. We still have to pay our utilities. … So that’s what you did: I borrowed.”
Housing advocates maintain the policy kept families housed, noting a significant spike in evictions after the moratorium ended.
Eviction bans “were a powerful intervention to keep people in their homes,” said Kathryn Leifheit, assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and lead author of a study published in April in the medical journal JAMA Network Open that found homelessness rose 11% in a typical state in 2022, and would have increased 20% without state eviction moratoriums.
That was the case for Dulcee Barnes. The 28-year-old and her two roommates lost their restaurant jobs in Miami during the pandemic. Two months behind on rent, they would have been evicted if not for the moratorium.
“It gave us breathing room. It took away the fear of having to possibly pack up within 24 hours and live in somebody’s car or couch surfing,” she said.
Eric Dunn, director of litigation at the National Housing Law Project, a tenants’ rights nonprofit, disputed that landlords suffered significant losses, saying they were able to collect rent and sell their properties during the moratorium.
They also benefited from $46.5 billion in federal emergency rental assistance, which the Eviction Lab at Princeton University found in April was largely targeted to areas where landlords filed the most evictions before the pandemic.
Landlords said rental assistance never fully compensated them for their losses, contending programs were often mired in red tape and poorly run. States were slow to spend the money, struggled to set up programs and, in the case of Arkansas and Nebraska, didn’t accept all federal funding.
Landlords also complained some tenants took advantage of the moratorium to live rent free. “They were doing things like buying cars,” Leone said. “They didn’t have to pay rent, and here I was driving a car that was 18 years old.”
Despite the moratorium ending five years ago, landlords say fallout from the policy remains. They are taking fewer risks and being more cautious about renting to tenants with checkered rental histories.
Rick Jones, vice chairman of Management Services Corporation, which owns 4,000 apartment units in Virginia and is party to the lawsuit, said that’s partly due to increasing fraud. Applicants fake employment records and payroll checks, he said, adding: “There are companies that just advertise really creating a whole new identity for you.”
“Most property owners and managers realize that it’s more important to keep that unit vacant than to put a bad resident in. That’s probably what the eviction moratorium reinforced,” said Jones, whose company lost more than $230,000 in unpaid rent during the pandemic.
“When you have somebody that’s bad and you can’t get them out, you’re helpless.”
Haines said he’s increased tenant screenings and turns away some low-income applicants he might have accepted before the pandemic. That’s partly because evicting a tenant takes months longer than before the pandemic, he said.
“It’s done more harm,” he said, to low-income people “that we might have considered leasing an apartment to that now we simply can’t take the risk.”
AMARILLO (AP) — Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying suspects in a shooting at a party in Amarillo, Texas, that killed two teenagers and wounded 10 other people.
City authorities say they are looking for two people who opened fire at an apartment complex at about 2 a.m. Saturday and are asking local residents to check their doorbell and surveillance cameras for any unusual activity around that time. Details on a motive were not released.
Surveillance video released by police shows two suspects opening fire at the outside of an apartment. Yelling and screaming follow, then more gunshots ring out.
“When I looked outside and came outside it was complete chaos,” neighbor Phillip Thrasher told KTVT-TV. “I mean there was kids running everywhere, just screaming and running. They didn’t even know where they were running to, you know. And then moms and dads showed up and came to their kids’ rescues. The ones that could, the ones that couldn’t were so upset. I mean there was nothing you could do.”
Amarillo police said two teens, ages 16 and 17, were killed and 10 others injured. The conditions of the wounded were not released.
“The investigation into this morning’s events have identified that the suspects have an affiliation with the targeted location and were known to one of the occupants at the party,” Police Chief Thomas Hover said in a statement on Saturday.
Police said the people involved had been at a party at a different location and were asked to leave, then went to the complex where the shooting occurred.
Phone messages were left Sunday for police officials and management of the apartment complex, located close to Interstate 40 about 6 miles (10 kilometers) west of downtown Amarillo.
Hover said police had increased patrol staffing after separate shootings killed six people in Amarillo on March 22.
TRAVIS COUNTY (TEXAS TRIBUNE) – For the time being, a Travis County district judge has permitted the sale of naturally smokeable hemp products like rolled joints and flower buds.
The ban that was granted earlier this month is still on hold as a result of Judge Daniella DeSeta Lyttle’s Friday decision. The Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, and a number of dispensaries and manufacturers in Texas were granted a temporary injunction by Lyttle against new testing regulations that establish a 0.3% total THC threshold, thereby prohibiting the sale of natural smokeable hemp products. Additionally, a 3,000% increase in hemp retailers’ licensing fees is temporarily halted by the ruling.
The ban will be temporarily suspended until the next hearing, which is currently set for July 27. However, if the state appeals the most recent decision and the court consents to hear the appeal, the suspension may end sooner. The state’s regulations will resume once the court grants the appeal, necessitating the removal of smokeable hemp from store shelves.
Attorneys representing the hemp industry contended during a three-day hearing this week that the Texas Department of State Health Services had overreached its constitutional authority by amending the statutory definitions of hemp that were created by legislators in 2019.
State attorneys contended in court that Texas law permits the health agency to enact new hemp regulations by requiring them to give Texans’ welfare top priority when making rules. The judge disagreed, claiming that the regulations were causing the industry irreversible harm.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The next bishop for West Virginia Catholics will be an El Salvador-born advocate for immigrants who has opposed U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown policies.
Pope Leo XIV announced Friday the appointment of the Most Rev. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, an auxiliary bishop in Washington, D.C., as the new leader of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, which comprises West Virginia, one of the nation’s least racially diverse states.
Menjivar-Ayala, 55, fled El Salvador’s civil war as a teen in the late 1980s, eventually crossing illegally into the United States in 1990, he told The Associated Press in an interview last year. But within “a couple of weeks” he gained humanitarian protection, later was granted a visa as a religious worker, and became a U.S. citizen two decades ago.
Nonetheless, he feels close to immigrants who have been caught up by raids, including last year’s federal law enforcement surge in Washington, because “that could have been me,” he said in 2025.
The Catholic Church has long advocated for humane treatment of migrants and refugees in the United States and around the world. Menjivar-Ayala and other U.S. church leaders have strongly condemned the Trump administration’s mass deportation policies while also affirming a nation’s right to control its borders and urging reconciliation.
New bishop to prioritize those on the margins
Menjivar-Ayala did not mention immigration policies nor Trump is his speech Friday, instead focusing on his desire to be accepted by West Virginians and his willingness to listen to the community. A portion of his speech was in Spanish.
“I have much to learn, but my heart is ready and wide-open,” he said. “Above all, I want to listen to the poor. Those in the margins of the church and society. To workers, to the immigrants, because as Matthew 25 says, the way we treat the least is the way we treat Jesus.”
In the Washington archdiocese, which includes the District of Columbia and parts of Maryland, more than 40% of parishioners are Latino. In West Virginia — all of which is covered by the Wheeling-Charleston diocese — only 2.4% of the population is Latino and 92.6% of its 1.77 million residents identify as white, according to the U.S. Census.
Menjivar-Ayala replaces the Most Rev. Mark Brennan, 79, who has served as West Virginia’s bishop since 2019. Brennan had taken over after a scandal over a former bishop’s sexual harassment of adults and lavish spending of church money. In a shared news conference in Wheeling on Friday, Brennan reminded West Virginians that many in America come from somewhere else.
“But he loves all the people here. He’s not going to be bishop just for one group within the diocese. He’ll be bishop for all the people. I can assure you of that.”
The new bishop, who has spent his ministerial career in the nation’s capital and surrounding communities, will work in a less Catholic and more rural region, overseeing the diocese’s 61,000 Catholics and 92 parishes throughout West Virginia.
While acknowledging the beauty of West Virginia mountains and natural resources, he said many people in one of the nation’s poorest states “continue to endure hardship, marginalization and inequality.”
Lauded for his immigration advocacy
Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington praised Menjivar-Ayala’s advocacy for migrants during his tenure in the capital, saying in a statement that “his passion for justice and sensitive care for the Hispanic and immigrant communities of our Archdiocese have planted seeds of grace that will yield a harvest here for decades to come.”
In an article he wrote last year for the Catholic Standard, the official newspaper of the Washington archdiocese, Menjivar-Ayala spoke out against the treatment of immigrants by Trump’s administration.
“Each day this situation is getting worse and more ominous,” Menjivar-Ayala wrote. “For weeks now, the federal government has pursued a ‘shock and awe’ campaign of aggressive threats and highly visible operations of questionable legality that go far beyond mere immigration ‘enforcement.’”
Menjivar-Ayala, whose appointment comes a few weeks after the pope’s disagreement with Trump over the U.S. war against Iran, will be installed as bishop at a ceremony on July 2. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Menjivar-Ayala’s appointment.
Another Latin America-born priest was also named a U.S. bishop on Friday. The Rev. John Gomez will start his tenure in the Diocese of Laredo, Texas, on June 30. Gomez was born in Colombia, came to the United States on a student visa in 2002 and became a U.S. citizen in 2021, according to his current diocese in Tyler, Texas. In a statement, Bishop Gregory Kelly of Tyler praised his “commitment to Hispanic Ministry.”
Pope Leo’s first American bishop appointment, two weeks after his own election in May 2025, was a former refugee: Michael Pham, who was born in Vietnam and became bishop of San Diego, California.
The number of priestly ordinations in the United States has been declining for decades, making foreign-born clergy essential to many parishes nationwide.
CASS COUNTY (KETK) — An East Texas special education teacher is in custody following an anonymous tip of continuous sexual abuse of a disabled person, the Texarkana Police Department said on Friday. Pleasant Grove ISD’s Police Department reached out to the Texarkana PD after receiving an anonymous tip on Monday. Texarkana PD said evidence supported the allegation and law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for 63-year-old Jeffrey Parker of Queen City.
Parker was identified by law enforcement as a special education teacher at Pleasant Grove ISD. He was arrested in Cass County for continuous sexual abuse of a disabled person and three counts of improper relationship between an educator and student, the police department said. The school district released a statement following the arrest, saying they are aware of the allegations connected to Parker:
” Upon receiving an anonymous report on Monday, April 27, 2026, the District began investigating and took appropriate steps to ensure the matter was promptly referred to Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Texarkana Texas Police Department and the Texas Education Agency. The District is fully cooperating with all investigative authorities. In addition, the employee was removed from the campus and will not return to PGISD.
The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority. We want our students, families and community to know that we take allegations of this nature with the utmost seriousness, and we will continue to support our students and families during this time.
Due to student privacy protections under federal and state law, as well as the sensitive nature of this matter, the District is limited in what it can share publicly. Additionally, under Texas law, including Texas Penal Code § 21.12(d-1), the District is prohibited from releasing the name of the accused unless and until an indictment is returned.
The District understands the serious nature of this situation and remains committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all students and staff.”
Pleasant Grove ISD
When asked if Parker remains an employee of the district, Pleasant Grove ISD said they could not comment at the moment. Parker is expected to be transferred to the Bi-State Jail and the case remains under investigation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was questioned by senators during his confirmation hearing about his vision for implementing President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, he said his goal was to keep his department off the front pages of the news.
To some degree, he has. Gone are the social media video clips of now-retired Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino clashing with protesters. Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem, made her first trip as secretary to New York City to make arrests with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In contrast, Mullin went to North Carolina to review hurricane recovery efforts.
The Republican administration appears to be recalibrating its approach to a centerpiece policy that helped bring Trump back to the White House, moving in many ways away from aggressive, public-facing tactics toward a quieter approach to enforcement. Despite that shift, the administration insists it is not backing down from its lofty deportation goals.
“Clearly they’ve stepped back from the, for want of a better word, the Bovinoist tactics of before,” said Mark Krikorian, the president of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for immigration restrictions. “But it’s not clear this means they’re actually stepping back from immigration.”
The Trump administration launched a series of immigration enforcement operations last year in mostly Democratic-led cities, which drove up arrests in large-scale sweeps. The crackdown sparked clashes between protesters and enforcement officers and led to the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two U.S. citizens.
Since then, the president’s hard-line anti-immigration agenda has lost popularity with voters and there have been no new high-profile city-based operations launched, raising questions about the administration’s strategy.
“We’re still enforcing immigration laws. We’re still deporting illegals that shouldn’t be here. We’re still going after the worst of the worst — but we’re doing it in a more quiet way,” Mullin said in an interview April 16 with CNBC.
ICE arrests have fallen in recent months, and the number of people in immigration detention has dropped from a high of roughly 72,000 in January to 58,000 this week, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.
But in a sign of its continued determination, ICE in budget documents says it plans to remove 1 million people this fiscal year and the next compared with roughly 442,000 people last year. The agency also has plenty of money to carry out its mission, with Congress granting the Department of Homeland Security more than $170 billion for Trump’s immigration agenda last year.
The administration aims to have enough space to detain roughly 100,000 people this fiscal year, which would more than double the average daily number held in ICE detention last year. The administration has already expanded its detention capacity with the purchase of 11 warehouses across the country.
“They are working really on building a juggernaut of a system,” said Doris Meissner, who headed the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, a predecessor to ICE, during President Bill Clinton’s Democratic administration and is now a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said there had been no change to Trump’s strategy.
“President Trump’s highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities,” Jackson said.
ICE did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Advocates for immigrants are bracing for the Trump administration to turn its attention more intently to stripping away protections for migrants with temporary legal status to remain in the U.S. while their cases are being adjudicated.
In one example of this, the number of green cards approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services dropped by half over the course of a year under the Trump administration, according to an analysis by the Cato Institute, which supports immigration into the U.S. Humanitarian visas for refugees or people who qualified for asylum saw the biggest declines.
USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said the drop was due to increased vetting of applicants by the administration.
The Trump administration has also pushed to strip Temporary Protected Status from hundreds of thousands of people, with a key case weighing whether it’s overstepped its power to do so being heard at the Supreme Court this week.
Advocates see it as a way to send a chilling message to immigrant communities and make more people vulnerable to deportation. It also enables the department to operate without the public spectacle of workplace raids or home arrests.
ICE has also focused over the past year on creating agreements with jurisdictions around the country that allow local and state law enforcement to carry out an expanding array of immigration enforcement tasks, ranging from checking the immigration status of people in their jails to incorporating immigration checks during routine traffic stops.
These agreements, known as 287g, have grown from 135 in 20 states before Trump took office to more than 1,400 in 41 states and territories now.
Some states, most noticeably Florida and Texas, have mandated various forms of cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE.
Meissner, from MPI, said Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, is likely to prioritize further discussions about how cities and states can cooperate with ICE.
“At the end of the day, some of this may very well succeed in increasing the numbers,” Meissner said.
Conservatives who want more deportations say the only way to truly crack down on illegal immigration is to make it so difficult for the migrants to work that they’ll leave on their own.
The Trump administration has already taken steps to make life harder for people in the country illegally including limiting who can live in public housing by immigration status, sharing Medicaid information with ICE and requiring people in the country illegally to register with the federal government.
Krikorian, of the Center for Immigration Studies, said the Social Security Administration could send out letters alerting employers when an employee’s name doesn’t match their Social Security number. Authorities could repeatedly and consistently carry out audits of I-9 forms, which companies are supposed to fill out and submit to the federal government showing that new hires are legally able to work. And they could require banks to collect citizenship information on customers.
Whatever the strategy going forward, the administration is facing heavy pressure not to back away from its goals.
“The numbers are too low,” said Mike Howell, part of the Mass Deportation Coalition, which launched a playbook for how the administration can actually get to a million deportations a year by using tactics such as worksite enforcement.
“The deportation numbers are just too low,” Howell said, “and they need to be much higher, and they can be much higher.”
HOUSTON (AP) – Profit for the two largest oil companies in the U.S. tumbled during the first quarter, a three-month period in which the price of crude and gasoline rocketed higher. It’s a setback on paper only, however, the result of financial hedges that backfired after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February.
Exxon Mobil and Chevron reported quarterly results on Friday, with adjusted profits for both companies topping Wall Street expectations. The shares of both companies, up sharply this week, ticked higher before the opening bell.
With energy prices depressed at the start of the year, Exxon Mobil and Chevron had arranged hedges to offset volatility, a standard practice in the industry.
In the aftermath of an attack by the U.S. and Israel on Iran, however, the physical delivery of oil became impossible with the Strait of Hormuz essentially closed. Exxon and Chevron cannot book gains on those hedges until the crude is physically delivered.
The near closure of the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran is a flashpoint in the war and the source of much of the economic pain being felt globally. About 20% of the world’s oil passes through the strait on a typical day, but the passage has been choked off since the war began in late February.
Exxon earned $4.18 billion, or $1 per share, for the period ended March 31. A year earlier it earned $7.7 billion, or $1.76 per share. The company lost almost $4 billion in the quarter on what it called “unfavorable estimated timing effects” of its hedges.
Removing such one-time impacts, Exxon earned $1.16 per share, easily topping the $1.07 per share analyst surveyed by Zacks Investment Research predicted. Exxon does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales.
Revenue totaled $85.14 billion, breezing past Wall Street’s expectation of $81.49 billion.
First-quarter net production was 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day. That’s down from 5 million oil-equivalent barrels per day in the previous quarter.
Chevron reported a first-quarter profit of $2.21 billion, or $1.11 per share. It earned $3.5 billion, or $2 per share, a year earlier.
The company said that its quarter included a $360 million net loss related to a legal reserve and that foreign currency effects lowered earnings by $223 million.
Chevron’s adjusted profit was $1.41 per share, easily beating the 92 cents per share Wall Street was calling for. Like Exxon, Chevron does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales.
The company’s revenue totaled $48.61 billion, also better than expected.
Exxon and Chevron are among the big drillers reporting earnings this week. On Tuesday BP said that its first-quarter profit more than doubled.
The oil companies’ results come at a time when gasoline prices in the U.S. hit new multiyear highs, a point of increasing agitation for travelers, households and also businesses that are particularly sensitive to higher energy prices.
The average price of gasoline in the U.S. hit $4.39 on Friday, according to motor club AAA. up more than 8% this week.
Inflation in the U.S. rose sharply last month during largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. The surge in gas prices has squeezed the budgets of lower- and middle-income families, making it more difficult to pay for necessities.
But it’s disrupting businesses as well, particularly those sensitive to higher fuel costs. Airlines worldwide have begun canceling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up ticket prices.
TYLER, Texas (KETK) – AAA Texas said the statewide average gas price spiked by 25 cents since last week amid continued uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz.
“Drivers had been seeing some minor relief at the pump, but that trend has quickly reversed as crude oil prices climb and uncertainty continues around the Strait of Hormuz,” AAA Texas spokesperson Daniel Armbruster said. “Because crude oil is the main driver of gasoline prices, continued volatility in the global oil market could keep upward pressure on pump prices in the days ahead.”
Oil prices surged above $100 this week, prompting Texas’s average regular unleaded gas price to reach $3.85 per gallon, well below the nationwide average of $4.30 per gallon.
According to AAA Texas, fuel prices haven’t been this high since 2022, as the world continues to wait and see whether the Strait of Hormuz will reopen.
HUNTSVILLE (AP) — A North Texas man who claimed he wasn’t the shooter in a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago and who said prosecutors misused rap lyrics he wrote to secure his death sentence was executed Thursday evening.
James Broadnax was pronounced dead after receiving a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Houston.
Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by Broadnax’s attorneys to stop his execution.
He was condemned for the 2008 shooting deaths of two men outside a suburban Dallas music studio. Prosecutors say Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, fatally shot and robbed Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler in the parking lot of Butler’s recording studio in Garland. Cummings was sentenced to life without parole.
Broadnax was defiant in a final statement in which he also sought forgiveness from the victims’ relatives. Seven relatives, including parents of each of the victims, were present.
“I prayed to God for your forgiveness,” he said, when asked by the warden if he had a final statement. “Despite what you think about me, I hope to God that prayer was answered. But no matter what you think about me, Texas got it wrong. I’m innocent, the facts of my case should speak for itself. Period,” he said.
The execution also was punctuated by screams of “I love you” from his wife, who also was among witnesses to the punishment. She was emotional at times during the procedure, leaning up to the death chamber window with arms spread, and had to be helped out of the prison.
As the lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital began, Broadnax urged his supporters to keep fighting. “Don’t give up,” he said, and was stopped in another mid-sentence by a gasp. He shook his head briefly and all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead 21 minutes later, at 6:47 p.m. CDT.
Prosecutors said Broadnax, 37, confessed to the shooting, telling reporters during jailhouse interviews that “I pulled the trigger” and that he had no remorse.
His lawyers had focused his final appeals on two issues: Cummings had recently confessed to being the shooter; and Broadnax’s constitutional rights were violated because prosecutors eliminated potential jurors during his trial on the basis of race.
“I’m really gonna tell it like it’s supposed to be told, that it was me, that I was the killer. I shot Matthew Bullard, Steve Swan,” Cummings said recently from prison in a video created as part of the efforts to stop Broadnax’s execution.
His attorneys also alleged prosecutors dismissed all seven potential Black jurors on the basis of their race, “utilizing a spreadsheet during jury selection that bolded only the names of every Black juror,” according to court documents. One Black juror was later reinstated to the jury. Broadnax was Black.
In a 1986 ruling known as Batson v. Kentucky, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that excluding jurors because of their race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Broadnax’s attorneys had argued in an earlier appeal that prosecutors had violated his constitutional rights by using some of the rap lyrics he wrote to portray him as a violent and dangerous person in order to secure a death sentence. A number of A-list rappers, including Travis Scott,T.I. and Killer Mike, had filed briefs at the Supreme Court in support of Broadnax’s appeal.
Theresa Butler, Matthew Butler’s mother, had asked that the execution proceed.
“This so called confession from cummings is just a stall tactic by Broadnax’s desperate defense team. Its all a lie,” Butler wrote in a post on social media.
Broadnax was the third person put to death this year in Texas and the 10th in the country. Texas has historically held more executions than any other state.
About an hour before Broadnax’s execution on Thursday, Florida put to death James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, for beating and choking his 13-year-old step-niece to death.