Texas
On Behalf of Texas Ag, Sen. Cruz Secures Extension of Drought Warning Sensors | U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Texas farmers and ranchers will still have access to early warning signs of potential droughts due to the efforts of U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
The federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had planned to retire soil moisture sensors in Texas relied upon by the state’s agricultural community to spot potential droughts. However, NOAA has delayed any action on the sensors after an inquiry from Sen. Cruz, who sent an oversight letter to NOAA about its initial decision and upcoming plans.
In November 2023, NOAA notified soil data users that it would begin in 2023 to retire 113 sensors across the country. NOAA claimed the program was being phased out due to a funding shortfall despite the network’s menial cost of about $904,000 per year to maintain, a small fraction of NOAA’s overall budget. Last year, Sen. Cruz raised concerns about some of NOAA’s non-core budget priorities, such as $9.1 million for “woke” grants focused on “environmental justice and equity [and] to support a more robust and diverse domestic seafood sector.”
As Sen. Cruz writes to NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad,
“I write to express my concern regarding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) recent steps to decommission 113 soil moisture sensors. Soil moisture measurements are essential for agricultural monitoring and accurate forecasts of drought and other hazards like flooding and wildfire. It is my understanding that after my office contacted NOAA expressing concern about this decommissioning, NOAA delayed taking action through this fiscal year. However, since the decommissioning is still under consideration, I strongly encourage to commit to keeping these soil moisture sensors in service.
“More than 248,000 farms and ranches in Texas rely on these forecasts to manage crops and livestock. Decommissioning these sensors would hurt farmers not just in Texas, but across the entire United States, especially in states that rely exclusively on NOAA’s network, such as Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
“The 2018 reauthorization of the National Integrated Drought Information System required NOAA to develop a strategy for monitoring the nation’s soil moisture. The resulting Strategy for the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Networkspecifically calls for ‘a strategic and coordinated increase of in situ moisture monitoring stations across the United States.’ NOAA’s short-sighted proposal to decommission these sensors does the exact opposite.”
Sen. Cruz’s letter asks:
- how the decommissioning proposal was informed by the Strategy for the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network
- what the status of the strategy implementation is
- how stakeholder input was incorporated
- what the impacts of this implementation might be on weather and drought forecasting, and
- what funding is required to use and maintain these sensors annually.
As the letter states, NOAA’s decommissioning proposal would have a deeply detrimental effect on Texas farmers and ranchers. In support of Sen. Cruz’s letter, Russell Boening, President of the Texas Farm Bureau said:
“NOAA’s soil moisture sensors provide data that helps Texas farmers and ranchers prepare for and respond to drought.Agricultural producers need NOAA to provide better drought predictions by maintaining and improving the networks that collect this essential data. We thank Sen. Cruz for listening to Texas Farm Bureau’s concerns and for his leadership on this vital issue.”
Read the full text of this letter HERE.
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AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday he has secured a settlement of bankruptcy claims against genetic testing company 23andMe stemming from a 2023 data breach that exposed personal information, including some genetic ancestry data, of 6.9 million customers worldwide.
Paxton’s office said the settlement includes $150 million for a multistate coalition of 42 states. But because of limited funds in 23andMe’s bankruptcy estate and competing claims, the states’ recovery will be $18 million paid immediately, with Texas receiving $1,266,860.
23andMe disclosed in October 2023 that attackers had accessed accounts affecting 6.9 million consumers. Some of the information was later posted for sale on the dark web, according to Paxton’s office, which said the company learned of the breach months after the data became publicly available. The office said 23andMe initially denied a breach and later blamed consumers’ account settings and password practices.
Paxton joined a multistate investigation that concluded 23andMe used unreasonable security practices and failed to implement adequate safeguards against hacking, the office said.
23andMe filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2025. Paxton’s office said the settlement incorporates privacy and cybersecurity requirements, including enhanced security standards, comprehensive risk assessments and creation of an independent advisory board, along with enforcement of state privacy laws and continued consumer data deletion rights.
“Companies that collect and profit from Texans’ most personal information have a legal duty to protect it,” Paxton said in a statement.
The company also agreed to a $46.75 million class-action settlement in the bankruptcy case for affected U.S. consumers who submitted claims by Feb. 17, 2026, Paxton’s office said.
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
The Texas Longhorns entered the 2025 season with more expectations than any team has had to deal with in recent memory.
Many among the media were ready to crown the team and quarterback Arch Manning before they even played one game. Of course, those unrealistic expectations were never met, even though the team finished with a 10-3 record and a Citrus Bowl win over the Michigan Wolverines.
2026 is heading in the same direction for the Longhorns. Many believe head coach Steve Sarkisian has the most talented team in the country. But in order to fix the issues from this past season, the Longhorns needed to fix one issue that has cost them in the past.
Changing The Narrative
One of the biggest issues the Longhorns had last season was the play of the offensive line. It was apparent in the first game of the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes that Manning didn’t have the pocket time needed to make big plays.
This offseason, Coach Sarkisian went out and found two massive transfer portal additions that should completely change the narrative on this offensive line.
It starts with potential starting right tackle Melvin Siani. Siani has spent time with the Temple Owls and last season with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Longhorns are set at left tackle with Trevor Goosby, who could play himself into being a top 10 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. If the team can get competent play from Siani, the offense will be able to open up the playbook, and the world may finally see Manning at his college peak.
The Longhorns also went out and found a potential fix at left guard for the 2026 season. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers transfer Laurence Seymore could be another strong patch for the holes in the offensive line.
After spending the first two seasons of his college career with the Miami Hurricanes, Seymore made stops with the Akron Zips and the Hilltoppers.
Of course, the one concern with Seymore is wondering if he can compete at the SEC level coming from the C-USA.
This season for the Longhorns starts and stops with the play of Manning. Coach Sarkisian and the rest of this coaching staff understood that protecting their quarterback was the most important goal when building the 2026 roster.
The Longhorns are going to be leaning on veteran talent to protect their quarterback, and it may very well be the best decision they made this offseason.
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