Talarico lands endorsement from lawyer who defended Paxton in impeachment, securities fraud cases
By Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune June 8, 2026 WASHINGTON — One of the lawyers who defended Attorney General Ken Paxton during his three-year-old impeachment trial endorsed Democrat James Talarico Monday in Texas’ U.S. Senate race. Dan Cogdell, a veteran Houston attorney who represented Paxton in his long-running felony securities fraud case and his 2023…
Read MoreTrump Administration Announces Texas Cattleman and Food Safety Entrepreneur, John Bellinger, as Senior Advisor New World Screwworm Preparedness
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 8, 2026 — Today U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced President Donald J. Trump has appointed John Bellinger as the new Senior Advisor for New World Screwworm Preparedness. In this role, Bellinger will integrate into USDA’s team to help further drive its robust effort to explore all available technologies to combat…
Read MoreTWC Awards More than $1.3 Million in Grants to Expand Paid Internship Opportunities
AUSTIN – The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has awarded eight grants totaling more than $1.3 million to local workforce development boards (Boards) through the Texas Internship Initiative (TII). The Boards will use these grants to support local partnerships that foster new, paid internship opportunities for students, recent college graduates, and transitioning service members. “The Texas Workforce Commission is committed to not only…
Read MoreUT Tyler Hosts Workshop for Public Educators June 11
TYLER, Texas (June 8, 2026) – The University of Texas at Tyler is one of five education partners hosting a hybrid professional development workshop addressing important legal topics facing public educators. “Teachers Law School on Education and the Law” will be 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 11. Participants can attend on site at…
Read MoreAmerican Red Cross Encourages East Texans to Stay Safe This Summe
TYLER, Texas, June 8, 2026 — As families spend more time outdoors this summer, the American Red Cross East Texas Chapter is encouraging families to make sure their homes are protected with working smoke alarms while also practicing heat, grilling and water safety. Home fires remain one of the most frequent disasters the Red Cross…
Read MoreSWEPCO Takes Next Step in Powering the Future with Hallsville Site Preparation Underway
HALLSVILLE, Tx, (June 8) – Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) and American Electric Power (AEP) recently marked a major construction milestone at the Hallsville plant site, formerly home to the H.W. Pirkey Power Plant, with the completion of a large-scale concrete pour for the new turbine foundation. The pour was completed in a single continuous…
Read MoreBarrio Energy Data Center in Tyler
While major tech giants like Google and Meta are dropping multi-billion dollar “hyperscale” data center campuses across Texas, Tyler’s current development footprint is focused on a highly targeted, mid-sized project right near downtown. The primary development making waves in Tyler is the **Barrio Energy Data Center** project. The Barrio Energy Project: “Project Rose” Rather than…
Read MoreAn unprecedented data center boom means new challenges for Texas. Find out what’s planned near you.
By Emily Foxhall, Apurva Mahajan and Alex Ford, The Texas Tribune June 8, 2026 Late last year, Texas electricity officials faced an astonishing rush of requests from data center developers wanting to connect to the state’s grid. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator, was logging dozens of new requests each quarter from…
Read MoreLocal Texas election officials await appointment of new secretary of state as midterm preparations ramp up
By Natalia Contreras, The Texas Tribune June 8, 2026 This coverage is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting access. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletters here. Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson’s unexpected departure only a few months before the November midterm election, which includes one…
Read MoreWhere are the data centers in Texas? Help us continue our reporting.
By María Méndez, The Texas Tribune June 8, 2026 Across Texas, more than 200 new data centers are planned as computing demand grows for the artificial intelligence boom. For many communities, this has raised conversations about how these data centers will affect regional power and water resources. However, the state grid does not publicly disclose…
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