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Today's Big Stories

1. Charges dropped against 57 individuals arrested in relation to the UT-Austin pro-Palestinian protest

During the protests at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday, numerous pro-Palestinian activists were arrested and faced criminal trespassing charges.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, all charges against the 57 arrested individuals have been dropped.

The Travis County attorney’s office said that the charges were dropped because they lacked probable cause.

All individuals arrested in relation to the protest were released from Travis County Jail on Thursday afternoon.

2. Milk is safe, despite bird flu fragments, FDA says

The Food and Drug Administration said the U.S. milk supply is safe, despite this week’s finding of bird flu fragments in 20% of commercial milk samples.

The majority of milk samples that tested positive for the strain of avian flu known as H5N1 were in areas with infected dairy herds.

The FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture said pasteurization and the diversion or destruction of milk from sick cows has kept the U.S. milk supply safe.

On Tuesday, the USDA said it had found the H5N1 virus in livestock in Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico and Texas. 

Darryl Williams pours a cold glass of fresh milk for a guest during a lunch break at his family's farm in Hatfield, Monday, Mass., May 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

3. Harris County DA asks Texas AG to take over bid-rigging case against former staffers of Judge Lina Hidalgo

Outgoing Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday that she has asked the Texas Attorney General’s Office to take over a public corruption case involving some former staffers in Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s office. 

The case stems from allegations that three members of Hidalgo’s staff manipulated the bidding process for a COVID-19 vaccine community outreach program in order to make sure the project went to Elevate Strategies, a one-person organization run by a political consultant with ties to Democratic officials. 

Prosecutors allege that the staffers recommended Elevate Strategies to Hidalgo “despite other entities achieving higher scores on internal evaluations,” according to a news release from the attorney general’s office. The staffers are also accused of waiving financial fitness requirements and sharing details of the bid to the organization before it was made public. 

The contract was nearly $11 million. It was later canceled by Hidalgo, who said there was nothing improper about the contract, but it had become too political. 

4. Biden administration delays ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes

The Biden administration delayed a sweeping plan to ban menthol cigarettes, a decision that is certain to infuriate anti-smoking advocates but could avoid angering Black voters ahead of November elections.

In a statement Friday, Biden’s top health official gave no timeline for issuing the rule, saying only that the administration would take more time to consider feedback, including from civil rights groups.

"This rule has garnered historic attention and the public comment period has yielded an immense amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movement," Health and Human Service Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time."

The White House has held dozens of meetings in recent months with groups opposing the ban, including civil rights organizers, law enforcement officials and small business owners.

Notes for This Weekend

In Case You Missed It 

Seahawks target the defensive line by selecting Byron Murphy II from Texas with No. 16 pick in draft

The Seattle Seahawks filled a need on the defensive front, selecting Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II with the No. 16 pick of the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday.