Government Shutdown: The federal government shut down Wednesday, Oct. 1, after Congress failed to reach terms to keep it funded. Dems have hung their vote on gaining health care concessions – specifically, they’re trying to reverse cuts Republicans made to Medicaid and to extend government subsidies for lower-income folks who purchase health care out of pocket on the ACA marketplace. A previous shutdown was avoided this spring when Dems agreed to pass a spending bill at the last minute; the GOP repaid the favor by passing the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, which (among many, many things) gutted health care programs. Insurance companies are already warning of higher premiums in 2026, and experts estimate millions will lose their health care coverage as a result of the OBBB. At press time, critical services are still being performed – Social Security and Medicare payments are still going out, for instance – but the vast majority of government workers are either furloughed or expected to work without pay. Trump has shown little interest in reaching consensus, turning a negotiation meeting with Dem leaders into a troll when he had “Trump 2028” merch placed in sightlines of cameras and then sending out on social media a racist deepfake video mocking Democrats. “He’s an unserious individual. Republicans are unserious at this point. They have no interest in having a good faith conversation,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN Tuesday.
Meanwhile at the Department of War: Former Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth, who recently rebranded as the United States Secretary of War, summoned to Washington Tuesday senior military leaders to lecture them on the warrior ethos – also the subject of his 2024 book, he reminded the room. Trump then told the assembled 800 generals and admirals that American cities “run by the radical left Democrats … they’re very unsafe places and we’re going to straighten them out one by one.” Specifically and explicitly, the president said he told Hegseth “we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds” for the military, escalating fears the president intends to send not just the National Guard but active duty military into more American cities.
New Money for Housing: On Monday, Sept. 29, the city of Austin announced that they’ve approved $46.1 million towards more affordable housing this year. The Austin Housing Finance Corporation board has allocated funding for apartment complexes like Manor Apartments, Bailey at Stassney, the Bloom at Lamar Square, and Waverly North, with new units available for rent below the city’s median family income.
Closure on Austin’s Most Infamous Unsolved Crime?: Austin police say they have finally solved the most haunting crime in the city’s history, the 1991 Yogurt Shop Murders. Last week, APD identified Robert Brashers, a serial predator, as the man who bound, gagged, and shot to death four teenaged girls at a North Austin yogurt shop in 1991. Brashers killed himself during a standoff with police in 1999. APD Detective Daniel Jackson, who has worked on the cold case since 2022, had DNA and a bullet casing from the crime scene reexamined. In July, a match for the bullet casing was found in Kentucky. DNA from that case also matched the DNA found in Austin. The breakthrough vindicates four young men accused of the killings, including two who were convicted but later released.
Abbott Donors’ No-Bid Contracts: A Sept. 24 report from the research nonprofit Public Citizen found Gov. Greg Abbott to have funneled nearly $1 billion in Texans’ taxpayer dollars through no-bid, state emergency contracts to companies that have donated to his PAC, Texans for Greg Abbott, over the last decade. Public Citizen looked at 89 such contracts – most tied to issues like COVID-19, disaster relief, and border security – and 96 corresponding contributions to the governor’s PAC. Rep. Gina Hinojosa is asking AG Ken Paxton to open an investigation into Abbott’s potential abuse of his emergency powers to grant such contracts. “This is not politics as usual. This is a level of corruption the likes of which we have not seen in modern history in Texas,” Hinojosa said in a video posted on X.
City Drops AI Surveillance for Now: Austin is reconsidering whether to expand a program that uses security cameras to help catch thieves and other ne’er-do-wells in city parks and greenbelts. In August, city officials proposed entering into a $2 million contract with LiveView Technologies, a security company that uses AI to analyze recorded video, but pulled consideration of the proposal after grassroots opposition from people who fear it would lead to invasions of privacy. The question of whether to approve the contract comes after the city ended its automated license plate reader program over similar concerns.
Easier Report Card Access: After years of regular complaints from parents, AISD Superintendent Matias Segura finally announced last Thursday a new system to let parents see their kids’ report cards more easily, which was ridiculously hard to do before. Parents now have access to the Parent Portal on their cellphones, clicking a button through the portal that pops up the report cards.
Redistricted Map Under Fire: The state’s gerrymandered congressional map is (once again) under suit for violating the Voting Rights Act and discriminating against voters on the basis of race. Abbott has defended his map by pointing out that five districts the GOP intends to win are made up of majority-Hispanic voters. The Democrat plaintiffs accuse them of drawing lines through rural districts, isolating and banking on continued low rates of Hispanic voting turnout, allowing Republicans to win, per Texas Tribune reporting. Moreover, it’s true that Hispanic voters skewed Republican in the last election cycle, but the GOP might be in for a nasty surprise if they assume that the voter bloc will continue to lean right.
Confusing State Guidance: College students living in the U.S. under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are getting told by state universities that they have to pay out-of-state tuition, even though they don’t legally. New state guidance released this month, meant to clarify state university rules regarding undocumented students’ enrollment, hasn’t made that clear enough for administrations who are still trying to illegally charge DACA students the higher tuition, per Texas Tribune reporting.
Ruling Restores Fired Texas State Prof: Texas State has reinstated Tom Alter, the professor summarily fired in early September for private comments made at a socialist conference. Hays County Judge Alicia Key granted Alter’s request for a temporary injunction last week, reversing his termination until a suit challenging it is settled. Texas State officials said he will continue receiving his salary but won’t be allowed to teach classes. Alter’s abrupt firing came hours after a far-right influencer – notable for having repeatedly claimed that “Hitler went to heaven” – posted a video in which Alter speculates on the need for socialists to organize. Education advocates believe Texas State broke state and federal law by violating Alter’s free speech and due process rights.
Trump Hurts Austin Tech: The Trump administration has imposed a one-time $100,000 fee per HB-1 visa petition for employers that went into effect Sept. 21, making it much harder and potentially impossible for some companies, especially in tech industries nationwide, to hire foreign nationals. Tech folks in the Austin area say the new fee will seriously hinder industries like chip manufacturing in Central Texas, especially as mega-tech companies like Oracle, Samsung, and Tesla have set their stakes here. Experts also warn that smaller tech firms won’t be able to compete with such giants, KUT reports.
Quote of the Week:
“Donald Trump and Republicans have shut the government down because they don’t want to provide health care to working-class Americans.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
This article appears in October 3 • 2025.