Texas is running out of water. Here’s why and what state leaders plan to do about it.
The state’s water supply faces numerous threats. And by one estimate, the state’s municipal supply will not meet demand by 2030 if there’s a severe drought and no water solutions are implemented.
Want to understand Texas’ water crisis? Start with the guide to water terms.
Water is complex. So are the terms used to describe it. Get to know the language as Texas debates how to save its water supply.
Democrats are making early moves to line up 2028 presidential bids
The early moves in the next White House race, at least among the Democrats, are getting underway. Pete Buttigieg on Thursday ruled out a run for an open Democrat-held Senate seat in his adopted home state of Michigan. And the announcement by the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, who served four years as transportation secretary in former President Biden’s administration, appears to clear the path for a potential 2028 White House bid by Buttigieg. Buttigieg highlighted that “while my own plans don’t include running for office in 2026, I remain intensely focused on consolidating, communicating, and supporting a vision” that is an alternative to what he called the “cruel chaos” of President Donald Trump’s administration. THESE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028 A source familiar with Buttigieg’s thinking told Fox News that the former transportation secretary is in a strong possible position to run for president in 2028 and that running for either senator or Michigan governor “in 2026 would have taken that off the table.” NEWSOM MAKES MAJOR HEADLINES IN INAGURAL EDITION OF HIS NEW PODCAST Across the country, term-limited California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has long been suspected of harboring national ambitions, is grabbing tons of attention and millions of YouTube hits, thanks to a new and very high-profile podcast series. The first two guests were MAGA world superstars Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. Democrat JB Pritzker, the billionaire two-term governor of blue state Illinois and one of his party’s leaders in opposing President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda, will head to New Hampshire next month to headline the state party’s annual fundraising gala, sparking plenty of 2028 speculation. DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR’S TRIP TO THIS KEY STATE SPARKING 2028 SPECULATION Trips to New Hampshire – which for over a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House – are seen as an early indicator of a politician’s interest in running for the presidency in the next election. But there’s more. There is plenty of focus on former Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee last summer after he dropped out of the race amid mounting questions over his physical and mental stamina. KAMALA HARRIS REVEALS TIMETABLE FOR MAJOR POLITICAL DECISION Harris, who lost last November’s White House election to Trump, is seriously considering a 2026 bid to succeed Newsom in her home state of California. But a run for governor in 2026 would likely derail her from making a 2028 White House bid. A source in the former vice president’s political orbit confirmed to Fox News Digital that Harris has told allies she will decide by the end of the summer about whether to launch a gubernatorial campaign. And Harris recently made a stop in Nevada, an early-voting state on the Democrats’ primary calendar. Harris’ 2024 running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is not ruling out a White House run of his own in 2028. Walz on Friday kicks off a high-profile town hall tour in Iowa, the state that, through the 2020 cycle, kicked off the Democrats’ presidential nominating calendar. Meanwhile, three other prominent Democrats considered potential 2028 contenders, Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, on Thursday are addressing the House Democrats annual policy retreat. Even Rahm Emanuel, the former congressman from Illinois, White House chief of staff in President Obama’s administration, and Chicago mayor who most recently served as U.S. ambassador to Japan, is potentially mulling a 2028 run. Emanuel this week was the topic of a feature report by Politico. While 2028 seems like a very long way away, the early moves in the next White House race begin, well, early for the party out of power. VANCE IN ‘CATBIRD SEAT,’ BUT HERE ARE THE OTHER REPUBLICANS WHO MAY ALSO RUN IN 2028 That was the case for the Republicans in the 2024 cycle. The first stop in Iowa, which continues to kick off the GOP’s presidential nominating schedule, in the 2024 cycle by a potential White House contender came in March 2021 – just weeks after Biden assumed the presidency. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who eventually ended up not running for president, grabbed plenty of attention as he spoke to the Westside Conservative Club in suburban Des Moines. “There’s no sense in waiting,” New Hampshire-based political strategist Lucas Meyer told Fox News. “If anyone is serious about running for president, they would probably be well served in getting after it now.” Meyer, a former president of the New Hampshire Young Democrats who chairs the advocacy group 603 Forward, called it a “wide open field” for Democrats. “The crowd of leadership at the top of the Democratic Party isn’t very deep at the moment,” he observed. “There’s oxygen there for someone.”
Texas Southern University asks for $120 million to replace aging law school
Law students might lose financial aid if TSU does not address health and safety concerns about the building.
SCOOP: Trump crafts plan to cut spending without Congress after shutdown is averted
The White House has already started mapping out how to make good on its promise to slash federal spending in preparation for a six-month government funding bill to pass through Congress. Two people familiar with the conversations told Fox News Digital that President Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought are working on a strategy for impounding federal funds that Congress is expected to allocate this week, before the partial government shutdown deadline on March 14. Trump and his allies have made no secret of their belief that the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is unconstitutionally constraining the powers of the president. But the new development is a significant step toward a likely legal showdown as Democrats warn they will respond if Trump tries to bypass Congress on federal spending. The fight could go all the way up to the Supreme Court. CANADA EXPLOITING ‘LOOPHOLE’ HURTING US DAIRY FARMERS AMID TRUMP TARIFFS, SENATORS SAY It comes as Senate Republicans and Democrats are at an impasse over a Trump-backed government funding bill known as a continuing resolution (CR). The Senate GOP needs as many as eight Democrats to cross the aisle and vote for the bill, which the left has widely panned as an avenue to let Trump and Elon Musk dismantle the federal bureaucracy. The measure is a rough extension of fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding levels, meant to carry the government through the beginning of FY 2026 on Oct. 1. It’s the third such extension since the beginning of FY 2024, but the first to take place under a fully GOP-controlled Washington. Republicans have said it would give them more time to cobble together conservative spending bills for FY 2026, and have celebrated the CR essentially freezing government spending for a year. Trump and House GOP leaders worked overtime convincing holdouts to vote for the CR this week, as some conservatives balked at the idea of extending Biden administration-era funding. DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY REBUKE PARTY MEMBERS WHO JEERED TRUMP DURING SPEECH TO CONGRESS: REPORT But the promise of Trump using Congress’ funding allocations as a ceiling and not a floor ultimately played a big part in convincing conservatives. “We appropriate, that’s an important principle. But then the chief executive can make decisions below that spending level. The chief executive can say, ‘Hey this isn’t the best use of money,’” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview this week. Roy has been a key figure in government spending talks, acting as a liaison between conservative fiscal hawks and leaders in the House and White House. He and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., both agreed with Vought and Trump that the Impoundment Control Act – which was passed in response to Congress at the time believing President Richard Nixon was holding back lawful funding because he disagreed with it personally – was unconstitutional. “The chief executive can say, ‘I don’t have to buy a $500 hammer, I can buy a $100 hammer. I don’t have to buy a $100 million carrier, I could buy $50 million carrier,’ or whatever. He’s the executive. So if that money is then spent properly to carry out the functions of government, why should you have to spend every dollar of it, right? It’s literally unconstitutional,” Roy said. Roy said he believed the same authority would apply to a Democratic president. “By the way, I realize this means that would be true for Joe Biden or that would be true for some future Democrat, and I’m OK with that. There’s always going to be some debate,” Roy said. “There’s going to be some contours the courts would give us. Congress might step in and clarify the law, and that might be deemed constitutional… but to blanket to say the president can’t impound, I think is facially unconstitutional.” Norman told Fox News Digital, “The 1974 impoundment act was against Richard Nixon. It’s a different day now.” He also said Trump and Vought were “going to move forward” on impoundment. “He’s got the constitutional right to do it, so he’s going to push on with it, and thinks the courts will ultimately side with him,” Norman said. “I can’t get in Trump’s mind, but I know he’s hell-bent on interpreting the Constitution as his right to use impoundment.” TOP CONSERVATIVE GROUP VOWS TO WORK CLOSELY WITH PRESIDENT AFTER PAST CLASHES WITH TRUMP Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who served as House Democrats’ lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment, told Fox News Digital the move would be patently unconstitutional. “It is illegal for the president to act unilaterally and either rescind or change congressionally designated funds,” Goldman said. In the event of likely court challenges – which Goldman pointed out were already going on with Trump moving to cut various programs – House Democrats would likely move to help, he said. “We can file an amicus brief, and we likely would do that on such a critical issue of congressional power,” he said. At the same time, both Roy and Norman signaled Trump’s congressional allies were discussing rescission as another avenue to spend less than the CR allocates. The Impoundment Control Act provided a mechanism for the legislative and executive branches to enact spending cuts via specific rescissions. Such a bill would only require 51 votes in the Senate rather than the standard 60-vote threshold for passage, meaning Democrats in theory would not be needed. “I think that they are concurrent plans, and we will use all of those tools at the appropriate time, but I say that as an observer from Congress,” Roy said, noting he had no insight into White House discussions on impoundment. Norman said Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will play a role in identifying where the funds could be found. “There’s going to be a lot of things in it. What DOGE has done is identify, but now if he’s just going to identify and we don’t move forward on rescission – it’s gotta have some
Judge orders Trump admin to reinstate probationary workers fired at 6 agencies
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to reinstate probationary workers who were let go in recent mass firings from six different agencies, including the Department of Defense. The administration is expected to file an appeal against the ruling by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco. The judge’s order came during a federal court hearing over a lawsuit from labor unions and other groups challenging the mass termination being directed by the Office of Personnel Management. Those plaintiffs said it violates Administrative Procedure Act requirements and congressional laws that deal with agency hiring and firing practices. BLUE STATE OFFERS TO HIRE FEDERAL WORKERS FIRED BY DOGE The judge earlier ruled OPM lacked the power to fire workers, including probationary employees who normally have less than a year of civil service on the job. The agencies affected included Defense, Agriculture, Energy, Interior, Treasury and Veterans Affairs. Aslup appeared incredibly frustrated with the government during the hearing Thursday, which lasted around an hour and a half, saying “this is a sham” at least four times. He added that by not having anyone from OPM there to testify today, it was preventing them from getting to the truth. The number of fired workers was in the thousands, according to Reuters. This is a developing story and will be updated. Fox News’ Michael Lundin contributed to this report.
‘Needs to resign’: Blue state blasted for asking for loan amid skyrocketing immigrant healthcare costs
The California Department of Finance cleared a $3.44 billion loan to make up for a gap in Medi-Cal spending, which critics say is due to illegal immigrant healthcare costs, whereas the governor’s office argues it’s not out of the ordinary. It was revealed a few weeks ago that the state had $6 billion in expected costs for Medi-Cal, but it is now roughly $9.5 billion. This comes after it became state law to allow people to qualify for the program regardless of their immigration status. Medi-Cal is the state’s Medicaid system for certain Golden State residents, which takes both federal and state taxpayer dollars, according to a state government website. Critics of allowing the program’s availability to those who are in the country illegally strongly believe it is cause for concern. CALIFORNIA GOV NEWSOM SETS MENENDEZ BROTHERS PAROLE BOARD HEARING DATE IN BID FOR CLEMENCY “Gov. Gavin Newsom lied and cooked the books to gift all illegal immigrants free healthcare and now has stuck California taxpayers with a multi-billion dollar bill,” Rep. Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This is so egregious that he needs to resign,” he continued. DeMaio was the lawmaker who, in a hearing last month, questioned a state budget official who ended up revealing the higher spending figure for MediCal. DeMaio was later removed from the California State Assembly budget committee. CALIFORNIA EXPLOITING MEDICAID ‘LOOPHOLE’ TO PAY BILLIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS’ HEALTHCARE, STUDY SAYS However, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said that California is not the only state facing spending issues with their state-based healthcare programs, such as Pennsylvania, Colorado and Indiana. “This isn’t new — as the administration already outlined in the Governor’s January budget proposal, additional funding is needed to support Medi-Cal,” Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for the governor told Fox News Digital in a statement. BORDER AREA BUSTLING UNDER BIDEN NOW QUIET UNDER TRUMP, SAYS VETERANS GROUP: ‘AMAZING DIFFERENCE’ “Rising Medicaid costs are a national challenge, affecting both red and blue states alike. This is not unique to California.” The border state continues to face scrutiny for its policies pertaining to people in the country illegally, whether it is for healthcare eligibility or “sanctuary” policies.
Deadline looms for federal agencies to submit mass layoff plans as Trump admin guts ‘bloated’ workforce
Federal agencies are required to submit layoff plans to the White House and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Thursday as the Trump administration works to slim down and streamline the federal government. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 11 that ordered federal agency leaders to “undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force.” The order focused on removing employees in offices suspended or closed by the Trump administration, roles that were considered nonessential during government shutdowns and temporary employees. The executive order stipulated that the layoff plans would not affect roles related to “public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement.” On Feb. 26, the Office of Management and Budget and OPM — which works as the federal government’s human resources office — issued guidance to agency heads that they had until March 13 to submit “Agency Reorganization Plans” to comply with the large-scale reductions in force order. TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE “The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt,” the OPM and OMB guidance read. “At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public. Instead, tax dollars are being siphoned off to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs that benefit radical interest groups while hurting hardworking American citizens. The American people registered their verdict on the bloated, corrupt federal bureaucracy on November 5, 2024, by voting for President Trump and his promises to sweepingly reform the federal government.” WH LAMBASTS ‘HEAD-IN-THE-SAND’ LIBERAL PROSECUTORS AFTER 20 AGS SUE TO HALT DOGE CUTS Some agency heads have already submitted plans or announced how they plan to gut their respective departments. The Department of Education, for example, announced on Tuesday that it was rolling out its reduction in force plan that impacted nearly 50% of its staff, translating to roughly 1,300 terminations. “Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents and teachers,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said. “I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department. This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Wednesday he will shutter the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, the Office of Inclusive Excellence and the Environmental Justice Division within EPA regional offices to come into compliance with the Trump order. DC FEDERAL WORKERS IN A ‘PANIC’ OVER NOVEL EXPERIENCE OF JOB INSECURITY WITH JOB CUTS NASA announced Monday it will shutter three offices — the Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy, the Office of the Chief Scientist and the Diversity Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility office — as part of a “phased reduction in force.” The Department of Veterans Affairs began firing employees earlier in March after announcing in February that it would lay off about 76,000 employees as part of its mission to return staffing levels to those under the first Trump administration in 2019. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in March that it was laying off more than 1,000 of its employees, accounting for roughly 20% of its total staff. The IRS is in the midst of firing roughly 12,000 employees — most of whom were hired under the Biden administration — while the CIA is firing an undisclosed number of probationary employees. The Pentagon fired roughly 5,400 probationary employees in February. Probationary employees are individuals who have not yet secured permanent employment, including new hires and those who had recently been moved to a new role within the government. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT BEGINS STAFFING CUTS AS 31,000 EMPLOYEES OFFER TO RESIGN: REPORT Cabinet secretaries and agency leaders are working alongside the Department of Government Efficiency, which is led by Elon Musk, to cut spending and reduce the overall federal workforce, though the agency leaders have final say over terminations. OPM’S SECOND EMAIL TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ASKS WHAT THEY DID LAST WEEK — AND ADDS A NEW REQUIREMENT: REPORT The Thursday deadline comes after the administration already offered the roughly two million employees who were on the federal payroll a buyout offer, known as the “Fork in the Road” offer. Roughly 75,000 employees took the offer by the Feb. 12 deadline, which provided them with eight months of pay and benefits. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Thursday for additional comment on the layoff plans but did not immediately receive a reply. The OPM and OMB directive noted that Social Security, Medicare and veterans health care will not be affected by the Thursday deadline, directing appropriate agency heads to not carry out layoffs until the two offices can review plans for such terminations. TRUMP CUTS OFF FEDERAL RESOURCES FOR LAW FIRM THAT HELPED FUEL 2016 RUSSIA HOAX Trump was asked about the mass layoffs from the Oval Office on Wednesday, including bucking the notion that the terminations will weaken the labor market. “I think the labor market’s going to be fantastic,” Trump told the media when asked about a potentially weakened labor market. “But it’s going to have high-paying manufacturing jobs as opposed to government jobs. We had too many people in government. You can’t just do that. We had many, many, too many. This is for 40 years, you know, this isn’t just now. This built up and got worse and worse, and they just hire more and more people.” Trump campaigned on, and has championed, states having broader authority over policies and issues stretching from abortion access, to disaster relief preparation and response to education. The president on Wednesday said the Department of Education, specifically, needs to shift from the federal level to allow states individual control over their respective systems, arguing that the U.S. has academically dragged behind nations such as Norway and China. “We want the education to be given by the states,” he said. “It’ll be much better. It’ll move us to the top of the list from the bottom of the list and actually save us
‘Squad’ member rails against alleged Trump healthcare cuts: ‘We ain’t stupid’
Leading House Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and “Squad” member Rashida Tlaib, railed against the Department of Government Efficiency’s “cruel” cuts at a healthcare rally outside the Capitol, demanding the Trump administration not make “even a minor cut to Medicaid.” For weeks now, Democrats have been pushing a narrative that the Trump administration is planning massive cuts to government health programs, including ObamaCare, Medicare and Medicaid. Several hundred protesters joined the rally organized by left-leaning groups, including the Women’s March, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and National Nurses United. Speaking during the rally, Pelosi said: “They said they were going to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. In fact, that guy who’s in the White House said, ‘ObamaCare sucks,’ crude as he is. But nonetheless, we said it doesn’t suck, it cures.” DOGE PROTESTERS RALLY OUTSIDE KEY DEPARTMENT AFTER EMPLOYEES ARE TOLD NOT TO REPORT TO WORK WEDNESDAY “They say they want to cut waste, fraud and abuse. We’ve always done that. We have oversight. We know what we’re doing,” she said. “Firing half the people at the Department of Education, that’s not waste, fraud and abuse, that’s brutal.” She also slammed the continuing resolution budget bill passed by House Republicans this week. “What they did in that bill that passed the House last night was disgraceful, it was harmful, it was deadly for some people,” she said. Pelosi said Democratic leadership is planning a national messaging push to “save our Medicaid.” DEMOCRAT REP. STANSBURY GOES ON PROFANE TIRADE DURING SANCTUARY CITY HEARING: ‘TOTAL BULLS—‘ “Our leadership under Hakeem Jeffries and Catherine Clarke, our leadership next week we will be having a day all over the country, one word, ‘Medicaid,’ ‘Save our Medicaid,” she said. Tlaib, who represents Detroit, accused the Trump administration and Republicans of wanting to make cuts to healthcare to provide tax cuts to billionaires. “Here they are choosing the billionaires and the corporations over the people they’re supposed to represent,” she said. “Republicans want to ram through not millions but $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for billionaires and profit corporations. You know, corporate greed kills and it’s a disease in our country.” “You know I have colleagues who will go up and say, ‘This budget proposal doesn’t have the word Medicaid in it.’ Yeah, OK, we ain’t stupid. We understand what nearly a trillion dollars out of energy and commerce committee really means. Stop lying to the American people,” she shouted. “It’s obvious to me that they prefer to put profits before people and, in order to pay for these tax breaks, giving away our money, they want to rip healthcare away from millions of our families. It is shameful.” MAJOR BLUE STATE OFFERS TO HIRE FEDERAL WORKERS FIRED BY DOGE: ‘CLUELESS CADRE OF CAREER KILLERS’ Tlaib told Fox News Digital that Medicaid “is the most American thing you can ever support.” “People don’t plan to get sick, we got to protect Medicaid,” she said. The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by the time of publication.
Trump softens Gaza stance, says Palestinians will not be expelled from the war-torn territory
President Donald Trump insisted that no one would be “expelled” from Gaza, amid questions about his audacious plan to rebuild the war-torn strip. “Nobody’s expelling any Palestinians,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin. Egypt, which led negotiations on an Arab-led plan to rebuild Gaza, welcomed the president’s comment. “This position reflects an understanding of the need to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the importance of finding fair, sustainable solutions to the Palestinian issue,” theEgyptian foreign ministry said. ISRAEL SAYS HAMAS SENT A TODDLER TO A MILITARY OUTPOST In February, Trump proposed that the U.S. “take over” war-torn Gaza. “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” Trump stated. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site.” He had said at the time that Gaza’s population of about 2 million would be “permanently” relocated. Asked whether that would be done by force, he claimed no Palestinians wanted to live among the rubble in Gaza. “We’re moving them to a beautiful location where they have new homes, where they can live safely, where they’ll have doctors and medical and all of those things,” he said while meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan last month. “And I think it’s going to be great.” But finding a Middle Eastern nation willing to take in masses of Palestinian refugees has proven difficult. After receiving pushback from Egyptian and Jordanian leaders on his vision for a Gaza without Palestinians, Trump said he would not “force it.” ‘LEVEL IT’: TRUMP SAYS US WILL ‘TAKE OVER’ GAZA STRIP, REBUILD IT TO STABILIZE MIDDLE EAST “The way to do it is my plan. I think that’s the plan that really works. But I’m not forcing it. I’m just going to sit back and recommend it,” he told Fox News in February. Earlier this month, Arab leaders agreed on a $53 million Egyptian-led reconstruction plan, but the White House rejected it. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the Arab proposal “does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described Trump’s plan as a “revolutionary, creative vision.” But Hamas also welcomed Trump’s assurance that Palestinians would not be expelled. “If US President Trump’s statements represent a retreat from any idea of displacing the people of the Gaza Strip, they are welcomed,” Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in the statement. “We call for this position to be reinforced by obligating the Israeli occupation to implement all the terms of the ceasefire agreements,” he added. White House envoy Steve Witkoff is in Qatar for intensive talks on the next phase of the ceasefire agreement. Israel wants a two-month pause in fighting in exchange for about half of the remaining living hostages. Hamas is pushing for a full cessation of hostilities.