County jails in Texas are failing to release inmates on time after they’ve served their sentences, resulting in over-detentions that can cost counties plenty in lawsuit settlement fees. The current process for releasing inmates lacks effective enforcement, adding to ongoing problems.
Counties frequently delay sending release documents to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which results in inmates remaining incarcerated longer than legally permitted, with inmates often suffering personal and financial hardship.
Without government oversight, victims of over-detention have resorted to private lawsuits for compensation. For example, Smith County reached a $1.5 million settlement after over 100 inmates were held for too long.
Overcrowded jails and high costs worsen the situation, highlighting the need for efficient processes to protect individual freedoms.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is launching a pilot program in Dallas County for a quick document portal; however, without statewide enforcement, delays are likely to persist.
— From Jeff Rottman
____FROM THE TEXAS TRIBUNE____
Voting Rights Groups Sue Texas Officials Over Voter Roll Purges
Voting rights groups are suing the Texas Secretary of State’s Office and some county election officials to prevent the removal of voters from the state’s voter roll based on use of a federal database to verify citizenship. They also claim the state failed to crosscheck its own records for proof of citizenship it already possessed before seeking to remove voters.
What’s the dispute?
Last fall, the Texas Secretary of State’s Office announced it had used a federal database newly overhauled by the Trump administration — a tool from the Department of Homeland Security previously used for years to verify the immigration status of individuals seeking benefits— to verify the citizenship of more than 18 million Texans on the state’s voter roll. The office said at the time it had identified 2,724 “potential noncitizens,” and had directed counties to investigate.
Votebeat subsequently exclusively reported that some voters included in that figure may have already provided proof of citizenship to the state while obtaining a driver’s license or state ID at the Texas Department of Public Safety. At least one county later confirmed that some of the flagged voters there had done so.
Rural Pharmacies Struggling to Survive
Texas has grappled with pharmacy closures over the past decade. Sixty percent of Texas counties did not have a pharmacy in 2023. In 2025, more than 4.3 million Texans lived in pharmacy deserts, meaning they must travel farther to reach a pharmacy than a supermarket. And one pharmacy closes each week in Texas, according to the Texas Pharmacy Association.
Many independent pharmacists place the blame for their financial challenges on pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. PBMs, which are usually listed on people’s insurance cards, negotiate drug prices for large employers and insurance companies and maintain the list of drugs that are covered by insurance plans, giving PBMs control over how much money a pharmacy can make per prescription. Reimbursement rates have gotten so bad for some prescriptions that pharmacies are having to sell some at a loss.
Dana Tilton, who owns Dana’s Pharmacy in Spur, about 67 miles east of Lubbock, recently filled an insulin prescription that cost Tilton $414.21 to stock. The PBM reimbursed Tilton $403.16 and the customer didn’t have to pay anything, meaning she lost $11.05.
Extremist RRC Candidate Wants to Deport 100 Million
Bo French, a Republican candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner, on Friday said Republicans should more openly embrace Islamophobia and called on the U.S. to deport 100 million people, nearly a third of the country’s population.
French, a former Tarrant County GOP chair who has previously come under fire by his own party for his repeated use of slurs on social media, made the comments at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine during a panel titled, “Don’t Sharia My Texas.”
The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. reached 14 million in 2023, according to the Pew Research Center, meaning that French is calling for deporting millions of American citizens.
____ASSOCIATED PRESS____
WNBA Team Will Move to Houston in 2027
The Connecticut Sun reached an agreement to sell the team to Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and will move to Houston in 2027.
The WNBA Board of Governors still needs to approve the sale and the move. The Sun are being sold for a record $300 million, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the sale.
The team will play in Connecticut for the upcoming season before moving to Houston and becoming the Comets again.
“I would have loved to remain in the region for our fan base and for the fact that I think this region deserves a women’s basketball team,” Connecticut Sun president Jen Rizzotti told the AP. “At the same time, it wasn’t my decision and I’m at a point now where my focus turns to making this the best season we can have and a memorable one for our fans. It’s an opportunity to say thank you to them.”
This will end a 23-year run by the team in New England after the team moved to Connecticut from Orlando in 2003.
Texas-Based Sysco to Acquire Restaurant Depot for $29B
Sysco, the nation’s largest food distributor, will acquire supplier Restaurant Depot in a deal worth more than $29 billion.
The acquisition would create a closer link between Sysco and customers that rely on Restaurant Depot for supplies needed quickly in an industry segment known as “cash-and-carry wholesale.”
Sysco, based in Houston, serves more than 700,000 restaurants, hospitals, schools, hotels, supplying them with everything from butter and eggs to napkins. Those goods are typically acquired on a regular basis to cover items that these locations know they’ll need.
Restaurant Depot offers memberships to mom-and-pop restaurants and other businesses, giving them access to warehouses stocked with supplies for when they run short of what they’ve purchased from suppliers like Sysco.
It is a fast growing and high-margin segment that will likely mean thousands of restaurants will rely increasingly on Sysco for day-to-day needs.
Restaurant Depot shareholders will receive $21.6 billion in cash and 91.5 million Sysco shares. Based on Sysco’s closing share price of $81.80 as of March 27, 2026, the deal has an enterprise value of about $29.1 billion.
Restaurant Depot was founded in Brooklyn in 1976. The family run business then known as Jetro Restaurant Depot, has become the nation’s largest cash-and-carry wholesaler.
The boards of both companies have approved the acquisition, but it would still need regulatory approval.
