Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:
The Gámez-Cuéllar family, including their two sons who are members of the acclaimed McAllen High School mariachi troupe, were released by ICE yesterday after a significant public outcry: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/09/texas-antonio-gamez-cuellar-monica-de-la-cruz-ice/
Laredo Congressman Henry Cuellar was one of four Congressional Democrats to vote against a blocking of Donald Trump's Iran war funding last week - that resolution would have passed with the party solidarity of those four: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/south-texas-democrat-henry-cuellar-helps-kill-resolution-to-end-u-s-involvement-in-iran/
Donald Trump, irked at media anticipation of his endorsement of John Cornyn and goaded by Ken Paxton's pledge to step down should the Senate pass the SAVE America Act, is now again withholding this endorsement as a bargaining tool for a legal tool he could use to neutralize millions of American voters ahead of the midterm election: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/09/trump-is-delaying-texas-senate-endorsement-to-pressure-gop-senators-on-save-america-act-00819991
An official search of the former Zorro Ranch - formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein but never searched despite his crimes, and now owned by Texas Republican Comptroller candidate Don Huffines - has begun in New Mexico: https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/epstein/new-mexico-department-of-justice-begins-search-of-epsteins-zorro-ranch/article_697b6470-861c-4c33-b8e4-1d0c308c006f.html
While Democrats and progressives have celebrated record turnout in the primary, their polar opposites in the House Freedom Caucus appear poised to add a new group of extremist right-wingers to the Texas delegation: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/10/steve-toth-brandon-herrera-house-freedom-caucus-texas-republican-primaries-2026/
...One of them is Brandon "The AK Guy" Herrera, who once demonstrated on his YouTube channel the rifle used to kill Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by shooting at a target resembling Dr. King: https://meidasnews.com/news/texas-gop-candidate-recreated-mlk-assassination-reviewed-shooters-rifle
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