Many Latinos are over Trump. The shift is especially striking in Texas

EDINBURG, Texas — Clad in pressed jeans and cowboy hats, dozens of riders on horseback and drivers in pickups kicked up dust along a dirt road in Edinburg, near the southern tip of Texas. They were there for a cabalgata, a traditional horse procession, with a political message: Send Tejano singer Bobby Pulido to Congress.

Some were lifelong Democrats. Others had voted for President Donald Trump two years ago. But on this Saturday, they all rode for Pulido, a Democrat trying to flip a House seat Trump carried by 18 percentage points in 2024.

Among them was David Lopez, 54, astride his brown horse, Black Jack. He voted for Trump because he saw him as a good businessman. But now, Lopez says the president's tariffs have hurt his truck and trailer repair shop in nearby McAllen, and business is down about 20% from last year.

"I am voting Democrats all the way. Trump is no longer doing a good job," Lopez said. "We need to find a way to make it out of this together."

—Los Angeles Times

NJ schools are wrestling with how teachers and students should use AI in the classroom

New Jersey public schools are weighing policies on how generative AI is making its way into classrooms and whether students and teachers should be allowed to use the technology.

Some require schools to get parental consent at the beginning of the school year for students to use AI for assignments, while others like Cherry Hill considered but backed away from a proposal that would have let parents opt out for their children.

It comes amid a growing debate about the use of digital devices in the classroom and concerns that evolving artificial intelligence compromises learning. Schools across the country are tackling policies to address the rapidly changing technology. Rather than an outright ban, many districts are deciding how and when AI may be used, at what age, and what tools should be permitted.

“Everybody is wrestling with this challenge,” said Sarah Schneider Kavanagh, an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. “This is an enormous paradigm shift for education.”

—The Philadelphia Inquirer

Minnesota seniors navigating ‘incredibly complex’ system for Medicare Advantage

A Minnesota Star Tribune analysis shows roughly two-thirds of state residents in Medicare Advantage will lose their plans next year, forcing about 340,000 people to find new private coverage or evaluate options with original Medicare.

The disruption in Minnesota is greater than in any other state, reflecting a mix of local and national financial challenges for health insurers, the analysis shows.

The costs of health care are rising everywhere. Insurers argue that federal funding for Medicare Advantage, the privatized form of the federal health care program for seniors and some younger people, hasn’t kept pace with the expenses.

In Minnesota, there’s the added problem of UCare — the popular health insurer in Minneapolis that shut down at the end of 2025, sending tens of thousands of enrollees to other insurers’ Medicare Advantage plans, which were already were struggling to break even.

—The Minnesota Star Tribune

France plans military presence to contain weekend protests

French authorities are bracing for a new round of protests Saturday, rolling out the military to back up police in a bid to prevent a repeat of last weekend’s riots and reassure markets unnerved by the violence.

There will be 20% more police on the ground than last Saturday, according to the Interior Ministry. The chaos that followed cost-of-living protests then led to the looting of 3,000 stores and 2,700 arrests.

On top of the reinforced police presence, special-intervention forces normally used for risky missions like counter-terrorism will be used if needed, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Wednesday. Soldiers will help guard sensitive buildings. Helicopters, water canons and armored vehicles known as Centaurs will also be available.

“It’s not just Paris, it’s many cities across France,” Thierry Clair, national secretary of the Unsa Police union, said in an interview. “There will be large-scale operations everywhere.” At least 75% of the police force will be mobilized, a very high rate, with many postponing days off, he added.

—Bloomberg News