Senate GOP opens wallet for Paxton’s campaign

The Senate Republican leadership is pouring tens of millions of dollars into the U.S. Senate campaign of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is locked in a tight race with Democratic nominee James Talarico.

EDITORS: This is an early bulldog edition of Capital Highlights to accommodate early holiday deadlines. It will be updated Sunday if needed.

Texas hospitals could lose $27 million daily in Medicaid funding

Industry warns of blackouts if data center opposition overreacts

The pushback against booming data center construction continues to grow, even as the state’s grid operator warns of rolling blackouts in West Texas if new transmission lines aren’t built, the Texas Standard reported.

Border barrier construction halted in Big Bend

Amidst mounting public outcry, the federal government last week halted construction of border barriers through state park property in far West Texas, The Texas Tribune reported.

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodeny Scott personally stopped construction until he could visit the region.

Texas schools see little change in TEA grading

Texas public school campuses and districts received their state report cards late last week from the Texas Education Agency, with most showing little change from the previous school year, The Texas Tribune reported.

SpaceX, Tesla make Grimes plant official

What CEO Elon Musk says will be the world’s largest computer chip manufacturing plant is planned for Grimes County, east of College Station, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Cyclosporiasis mostly in two regions in state

Nearly three-fourths of cyclosporiasis cases detected in Texas have been confined to two regions, The Dallas Morning News reported. The Texas Department of State Health Services provided numbers for each of the state’s eight public health regions. Most cases this year, from the beginning of May until late July, have been reported in two regions: Region 11 and Region 6/5S.

New challenge to school funding system

The Midland school district is suing Education Commissioner Mike Morath and other state leaders in another challenge to the state’s public school finance system, known as “Robin Hood,” according to The Texas Tribune.

Flooding batters Hill Country once again

A massive amount of rain once again engulfed the Hill Country, causing widespread flooding in several counties, including Uvalde, Kerr, Kendall and Gillespie. At least two fatalities were reported near Comfort and Uvalde.

Texas home insurers see record profits

Preliminary data indicates Texas home insurers earned a 22% profit on premiums collected last year, according to the Houston Chronicle. It was the best year insurers have had in two decades and follows several years of double-digit rate increases and flat or slightly negative returns for insurers due to increased natural disasters.