Texas
Daily Briefing: Redrawing Texas
Good morning!🙋🏼♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert. Happy Shark Week! 🦈
Quick look at Monday’s news:
Texas’ congressional map on the drawing board
The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature is poised to consider a new set of congressional maps during a special session that kicks off Monday.
Here’s the latest from the Caller-Times, part of the USA TODAY Network.
- Why this matters for America: After facing pressure from Trump’s political team, Gov. Greg Abbott has asked lawmakers to redraw some of Texas’ 38 U.S. House districts ahead of the 2026 midterms. Trump wants to disperse GOP voters across the state to help flip blue seats, rather then have them be consolidated in red districts.
- Can the president pressure state politics? Democrats from the state’s congressional delegation said they expect the new districts to violate the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting the votes of racial minorities.
- “I’m a Texan. How can I get involved?” Texans can follow the special session online, contact their lawmakers and testify at hearings to participate in the legislative process.
More from the USA TODAY Network: A special session could spark redistricting in Florida and Ohio is already scheduled to redraw maps this year.
Israel fire kills dozens more aid seekers in Gaza
At least 67 people were killed by Israeli fire while they waited for U.N. aid trucks Sunday in northern Gaza, the territory’s health ministry said, as Israel issued new evacuation orders for areas packed with displaced Gazans, some of whom began to leave. The ministry said dozens of people were also wounded in the incident in northern Gaza, in one of the highest reported tolls among repeated recent cases in which aid seekers have been killed. Much of Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland during more than 21 months of war and there are fears of accelerating starvation.
More news to know now
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ICE detention is growing in the South
Republican-led Southern states increasingly lead in detaining and deporting millions of immigrants ‒ from “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades to the expansion of a sprawling Georgia immigration facility. Far from the U.S.-Mexico border, Mississippi has the ICE jail with the highest average daily population. Louisiana has more detention centers than any other state besides Texas – nine total – after it converted nearly half a dozen correctional facilities to immigrant detention. Most are remote, scattered near farms and forests. And other states might follow Louisiana’s example as more federal funds flow to ICE detention.
A $10 billion lawsuit. More documents coming. Here’s the latest on Trump and Epstein.
Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit for libel and slander against the Wall Street Journal, its publisher, two of its reporters, and News Corp founder and former friend Rupert Murdoch. At issue is its story that Trump sent a “bawdy” 50th-birthday letter to Epstein in 2003, decorated with a crude drawing of a woman’s naked body that used his distinctive signature. Trump called the article “false” and demanded damages. But his attempt to convince Americans that there is nothing to see here is likely to be an uphill battle.
Today’s talkers
WNBA Commissioner booed by crowd chanting ‘Pay Them!’
In case their message to the WNBA and its owners wasn’t already clear, the players sent another one ahead of Saturday night’s All-Star Game. Taking the court for warmups, every single player wore a black T-shirt with “Pay Us What You Owe Us” emblazoned across the front. The players’ unwavering stance stands in stark contrast to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s impression this is just the normal back-and-forth that occurs in every labor negotiation. The crowd booed Engelbert and chanted “Pay Them! Pay Them!” as she presented the All-Star MVP trophy to Napheesa Collier, whose team beat Team Clark 151-131.
Photo of the day: This is dad’s special cup
Scratch “cup.” It’s the Claret Jug. American Scottie Scheffler stole hearts celebrating his win of the 2025 Open Championship, the first British Open victory of his career, giving him career wins at three of the four major tournaments. Only the U.S. Open remains.
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.
A day off at the pool — and a little sunburn — didn’t stop the Minnesota Twins’ momentum.
Brooks Lee hit a three-run homer as Minnesota scored multiple runs in the first inning for the third consecutive game, and the Twins went on to complete a series sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 9-3 win Thursday.
Minnesota has won four games in a row and scored 25 runs in the three-games series in Texas. The two teams had a rare, mid-series day off on Wednesday with the England-Croatia World Cup game being played in Arlington.
“We’re locked in every day,” Lee told Audra Martin on the team’s broadcast. “Yesterday, taking time off, lay out by the pool, get a little burnt and then right back to it. We did a good job getting focused. I feel like we do that with rain delays, too, just lock back in and we’re doing it.”
Lee’s 12th homer capped a four-run first off Jack Leiter (3-7). Trevor Larnach made it 6-0 in the fourth with a two-run shot to straightaway center that just cleared the extended glove of leaping Alejandro Osuna. Larnach’s third hit was an RBI single in the fifth, and Ryan Kriedler hit a two-run homer in the eighth.
Joe Ryan (5-3) struck out seven but needed 97 pitches to get through five scoreless innings while allowing three singles. Leiter was done after the fourth, and has given up 17 runs while losing three starts in a row.
The Twins never trailed in the sweep that extended their winning streak to four, matching their longest this season. Their 14-5 record at Globe Life Field is the best for any American League opponent since the ballpark opened in 2020.
Wyatt Langford, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue hit solo homers for the Rangers, who have lost five of six games. They are 0-15 when giving up multiple runs in the first inning.
Twins DH Josh Bell, who was born in nearby Irving and grew up in the area, had an RBI single before Lee’s homer. Bell hit a three-run homer in the first inning of the series-opening 4-2 win Monday, and had an RBI single for a 2-0 lead in the first of a 12-2 win on Tuesday.
“We’re just passing the baton each time,” Lee said of the offensive output. “Our guys are hot. They feel good and they came out swinging today. It was awesome to see. We’ve done that for a while now.”
Up next
Twins rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp (2-4, 5.26 ERA) starts Friday at Arizona. The Diamondbacks are scheduled to start right-hander Michael Soroka (8-3, 3.11).
Watch CBS News
A Texas state trooper was killed in a crash in the Panhandle, becoming the 244th Texas Department of Public Safety officer to die in the line of duty since 1823, according to the agency.
Sergio Romero, 27, died Wednesday after a semi-truck pulled in front of him as he attempted a traffic stop around 4 p.m. on U.S. 287 in Childress County, DPS said.
In a statement, Col. Freeman F. Martin praised Romero’s courage, integrity, and service.
“Today, we grieve the loss of one of our own,” Martin said. “… Our hearts break alongside his family, friends, fellow troopers, and all who loved him. We will never forget the ultimate sacrifice he made in service of his fellow Texans.”
Romero previously served with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office before joining DPS as part of Class B-2025 in Childress, the agency said.
He is survived by his wife, Francisca, and their two young sons.
Funeral arrangements are pending. The crash remains under investigation.
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