Following reports that former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s nonprofit Powered by People was helping fund Texas state Democrats’ exodus out of the state to halt Republican redistricting efforts, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Wednesday announced he would be launching an investigation into the matter. 

Texas House Democrats fled the state this week in an attempt to stop Republican efforts to redraw the state’s congressional maps. As a result, Texas House Republicans authorized civil arrest warrants for the absent lawmakers for depriving the House chamber of its ability to conduct official business. Meanwhile, Governor Greg Abbott subsequently called on the Texas Department of Public Safety to help arrest them. The civil arrest warrants, however, are only enforceable within state lines, and it is unclear how they will be executed.    

Meanwhile, amid the partisan battle, a report from The Texas Tribune on Tuesday claimed that O’Rourke’s nonprofit founded in 2019 called Powered by People was among one of the main groups funding air transport, lodging, logistical support, and helping with the $500-per-day fines for the absent state lawmakers, citing anonymous sources involved with the fundraising efforts. 

WATCH: TRUMP SAYS FBI ‘MAY HAVE TO’ HELP TEXAS ROUND UP AWOL DEM LAWMAKERS

The report followed a warning issued by Abbott, indicating the fleeing state lawmakers could potentially be in felonious territory if they solicit, accept or agree to accept funds «to assist in the violation of legislative duties or for purposes of skipping a vote.»

«Any Democrat coward breaking the law by taking a Beto Bribe will be held accountable,» Paxton said in a press release announcing the probe Wednesday. «Texas cannot be bought.»

In Paxton’s announcement, he charged Powered by People with being one of the «top groups» providing financial assistance to Texas House Democrats who have left the state in order to obstruct Republicans’ redistricting efforts, which they claim is essential to ensure racial gerrymandering is not taking place.

According to Paxton, the financial assistance could amount to a violation of Texas bribery laws and potentially other laws governing campaign finance, «coercion of a public servant, and abuse of office.»

In response to the investigation, O’Rourke described Republicans in Texas as «thugs» attempting to «steal our country,» and accused Paxton of bribery himself. In 2023, the Texas state Senate acquitted Paxton of 16 articles of impeachment accusing Paxton of corruption and bribery. 

«The guy impeached for bribery is going after the folks trying to stop the theft of five Congressional seats,» O’Rourke said in a statement to Fox News Digital. «I encourage everyone to text FIGHT to 20377. Let’s stop these thugs before they steal our country.»

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a probe into a nonprofit linked to Beto O’Rourke, citing potential violations of state bribery and campaign finance laws. (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

GEORGE SOROS, BETO O’ROURKE BEHIND FUNDING FOR DEMS FLEEING TEXAS OVER GOP CONGRESSIONAL MAP

Paxton is demanding documents and communications from Powered by People regarding the «potentially unlawful activity,» noting he is not afraid to take «aggressive legal action» against the Democrats who have obstructed legislative proceedings in Texas. 

The Texas Tribune’s report said that O’Rourke has been «working the phones» to encourage Texas lawmakers to leave the state to block the GOP’s legislative efforts, citing an individual familiar with the discussions. 

Powered by People is also actively soliciting donations on its website to support the Democratic effort, promising potential donors that «100% of your donation will go to supporting Texas Democrats in their fight against Trump’s power grab.»

Meanwhile, the outlet reported that, in 2021, O’Rourke’s group Powered by People reportedly helped raise $600,000 to help fund Texas House Democrats stay in the nation’s capital as they tried a similar tactic at the time to obstruct Republican reforms of Texas state election laws.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (L) and Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (R) listen as Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks to reporters during a press conference at the DuPage County Democratic Party headquarters on August 03, 2025 in Carol Stream, Illinois. Wu was with a group of Democratic Texas lawmakers who left the state earlier today so a quorum could not be reached during a special session called to redistrict the state. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

During a CNN interview Wednesday, O’Rourke was asked point-blank why he was helping Democrats flee Texas.

«We could see a similar scenario this time around. Is it worth it?» CNN anchor Pamela Brown asked in reference to O’Rourke’s 2021 efforts to obstruct Texas legislative proceedings.

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«Absolutely,» O’Rourke responded. «If we fail, the consolidation of authoritarian power in America will be nearly unstoppable.»

But Brown challenged O’Rourke on whether the funds might be «better spent» aiding vulnerable Texans instead.

«We’ve seen it in the past—they flee, but then inevitably they have to come back, right? You can’t just stay out in perpetuity, and the governor can continue to call these special sessions,» Brown said. «Do you think the money could be better spent helping those folks you mentioned?» 

«I actually believe that they can stay out long enough to stop this steal in Texas,» O’Rourke responded.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Kristine Parks contributed to this report.

France has reportedly stripped the residency permit of a man who lit a cigarette at a war memorial in Paris after he was caught on camera. 

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on Tuesday called the actions of a 47-year-old Moroccan man «indecent and pathetic» following his arrest. Video footage of him lighting a cigarette beneath the much-visited Arc de Triomphe sparked outrage after it was circulated. 

«The man who desecrated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by lighting a cigarette with the memorial flame was arrested in Paris for violating a burial site, tomb, urn, or monument erected in memory of the dead. He was taken into custody and admitted the facts,» Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau wrote on X.

FRANCE TO DEPORT PALESTINIAN WOMAN OVER ANTISEMITIC POST FEATURING HITLER, HALTS GAZA EVACUATIONS

On Wednesday, France’s Interior Ministry announced that the unidentified man had been stripped of his residency permit, Politico reported. 

The Unknown Soldier War Memorial contains a flame and the tomb of a soldier killed in World War I under an arch of the Arc de Triomphe.

LOCALS RANT THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD NOW ‘LIKE DISNEYLAND’ AS POST-OLYMPICS TOURISM SURGES

The Eternal Flame in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, dedicated to the dead of World War I, circa 1970.  (Harvey Meston/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Footage of the incident shows a man kneeling beside the memorial, which appears to be off limits to visitors. He is seen leaning over the flame emitting from the memorial to light his cigarette before immediately leaving, as the stunned tourists watch. 

The man reportedly has legal status in France and was known to police, according to local reports. 

Patricia Miralles, the deputy minister for Memory and Veterans’ Affairs, said she was «outraged» by what happened. 

Cars drive on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées with the Arc de Triomphe visible in the background, Paris, Thursday, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

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«Walking on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Lighting his cigarette with the eternal flame. This is not a mere misstep: it is a desecration,» she wrote on X. «France will never tolerate the tarnishing of the memory of those who died for her. Never.»

El presidente Donald Trump anunció este miércoles que Apple se compromete a invertir US$ 100.000 millones adicionales en EE.UU.. Esta es la última medida de la compañía para comprar más componentes a proveedores estadounidenses y evitar la amenaza presidencial de imponer aranceles a los iPhones.

El anuncio en el Despacho Oval, realizado junto a Tim Cook, el CEO de Apple, destacó la creación del Programa de Manufactura Estadounidense de Apple, centrado en traer una mayor parte de la cadena de suministro y la manufactura avanzada de la compañía a EE.UU.

Apple anunció en febrero que planeaba invertir US$ 500.000 millones y contratar a 20.000 personas en EE.UU. durante los próximos cuatro años, además de abrir una fábrica en Texas para fabricar las máquinas que impulsan su incursión en la inteligencia artificial. Apple hizo promesas similares, aunque más pequeñas, a Joe Biden y el primer mandato de Trump, aunque aún no cumplió algunas.

Sin embargo, el anuncio de ayer no cumpliría con la exigencia de Trump de que Apple comience a fabricar iPhones en EE.UU.

“El objetivo final aquí es llegar a un acuerdo con el gobierno en materia de aranceles”, declaró Gene Munster, director de Deepwater Asset Management. “No veo que Apple regrese dentro de seis meses con otros 50.000 millones de dólares. Esto debería ser suficiente”.

A pesar de una década de presión por parte de Trump para que empiece a fabricar sus computadoras y demás en el país, Apple ha seguido fabricando la mayor parte de sus productos (iPhones, iPads y Macs) en Asia. China ha sido la principal base de fabricación de la compañía desde la década de 2000.

En los últimos años, ha trasladado parte de su producción a Vietnam, Tailandia e India, pero nunca ha invertido en la construcción de una fábrica para un producto clave en EE.UU.

Apple afirma que sustenta más de 450.000 empleos estadounidenses con miles de proveedores y socios en 50 estados. Depende de más de tres millones de trabajadores en su red de suministro en China y ha expandido su producción en India, lo que indignó al presidente.

Apple ha eludido los ultimátums de Trump sobre su fabricación debido a los costos de trasladar su cadena de suministro. Un análisis de la compañía reveló que EE.UU. tiene menos ingenieros de fabricación que China e India, así como una menor cantidad de trabajadores con habilidades para ensamblar un iPhone.

Invertir en el desarrollo de esa fuerza laboral obligaría a la compañía a duplicar con creces el precio del iPhone, a 2000 dólares o más, según Wayne Lam, analista de TechInsights, una firma de investigación de mercado.

En mayo, Trump amenazó a Apple y a otros fabricantes de teléfonos con un arancel del 25% sobre los productos fabricados fuera de EE.UU. La amenaza supuso un cambio de rumbo para Apple después de que el gobierno de Trump eximiera a los smartphones, ordenadores y otros dispositivos electrónicos de los aranceles recíprocos sobre los productos chinos.

Durante un discurso pronunciado en mayo en Arabia Saudita, Trump elogió a Jensen Huang, el CEO de Nvidia, por viajar con la delegación de la Casa Blanca. Cook, el jefe de Apple, se negó a asistir al viaje. “Tim Cook no está aquí, pero tú sí”, le dijo Trump a Huang.

Más tarde, en Qatar, Trump comentó que “tuvo un pequeño problema con Tim Cook”. El presidente elogió la inversión de Apple en EE.UU. y luego contó que le había dicho a Cook: “Pero ahora me entero de que están construyendo en toda la India. No quiero que construyan en la India”.

Ante los esfuerzos de Trump por reestructurar el comercio global con aranceles, Apple ha intentado reducir su exposición a los gravámenes sobre los productos que fabrica en el extranjero, incluso trasladando la producción de un país a otro, aunque el panorama arancelario en constante cambio dificulta mucho esta medida.

Apple tiene un historial desigual en el cumplimiento de sus promesas de inversión. En 2018, se comprometió a invertir US$ 350.000 millones en EE.UU. y Cook afirmó que construiría un nuevo campus en un nuevo estado, pero aún no lo ha hecho. Un año después, Cook visitó con Trump una fábrica en Texas que se anunciaba como una nueva planta de fabricación. Pero la planta fabricaba computadoras Apple desde 2013, y desde entonces la compañía ha trasladado la producción de esa planta a Tailandia.

Las promesas de inversión anteriores de la compañía se referían a fondos que ya planeaba invertir en EE.UU. dijo Munster. “Estos US$ 100.000 millones representan un aumento mensurable”, declaró. El gobierno quiere crear un sistema de suministro más independiente, “y ésa es una iniciativa que durará una década”, concluyó.

Luke Broadwater y Tripp Mickle. The New York Times