Headlines

No regular City Council meeting this week – the next is June 8 – but Council expects to be conferring in work sessions on CodeNEXT and budget details. "Council: The Numbers Game."

Still no Sanctuary: In a May 22 memorandum, Attorney General Jeff Sessions reiterated Trump administration policy to sanction "sanctuary jurisdictions," defined as those which do not share "immigration status" info with federal authorities – neither Austin nor Travis County fit the definition.

Bad, Bad Budget: While President Trump is engaged in a world tour, his administration released a proposed budget that would boost military spending by 10% and slash social spending, including Medicaid, food stamps, student loans, even Meals on Wheels. Former Reagan budget director David Stockman called it "dead before arrival."

Sine Die is nearly here. The 85th Legislat­ure's regular session ends Monday. A lot still has to happen, though; a special session remains a possibility.

School finance reform looks dead for the session, as the Texas House refused to accept Senate amendments that would cut the increase in funding from $1.6 billion to $530 million, and dedicate much of that increase to school vouchers and construction cash for charter schools. See "Lege Lines: Respect Us or Expect Us."

SB 4 Litigation: The Texas Civil Rights Proj­ect and Texas Organizing Project Educa­tion Fund filed federal suit May 22 to stop anti-immigrant SB 4, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott two weeks ago. The groups say it invites racial profiling.

Where Is Lamar? The list of candidates to challenge GOP Congressman Lamar Smith for his HD 21 seat continues to grow. See "The Effort to Unseat Rep. Lamar Smith Is On."

South Congress Shooting: Police are seeking witnesses of the fatal South Congress shooting last Friday morning, during which 51-year-old Van White was killed. APD has made no arrests.

Turtle Power! The Turtle Survival Alliance held a shell count on Tuesday (World Turtle Day) along Bull Creek. The group reports that a healthy turtle population will help keep environment-destroying invasive species like Asian snails and zebra mussels out of Town Lake.

Shameless in Texas: Playing loyal trooper to Trump, U.S. Rep. Blake "Ducky Pajamas" Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, went on CNN to repeat the debunked conspiracy theory that murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich was assassinated by "the deep state" for leaking documents to WikiLeaks.

Memorial Day is Monday, and the Chronicle office is closed – though we'll be cooking online with coverage of the last day of the Lege session.