Musk’s Boring Co. is getting help from a Texas congressman in its bid to divert floodwater.<a href="[link removed]><img src="[link removed]" alt="" border="0" /></a>

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The Big Story
August 28, 2025 · View in browser <[link removed]>

In today’s newsletter: A Texas congressman quietly helps Elon Musk’s tunneling company <[link removed]>; North Dakota mineral owners feel cheated by oil companies <[link removed]>; coroners in Idaho suggest ways to fix a broken system <[link removed]>; and more from our newsroom.

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A Texas Congressman Is Quietly Helping Elon Musk Pitch a $760M Plan to Build Tunnels Under Houston to Ease Flooding <[link removed]>

For years, experts in Houston have been studying the idea of building massive tunnels to divert floodwaters and save lives and property. Now Elon Musk’s tunneling company wants a piece of the project.

Read story <[link removed]>

 
📺 Watch on YouTube

 
A North Dakota man wearing overalls stands with his hands crossed in a promotional image for a video. <[link removed]>
North Dakota prohibits oil and gas companies from deducting expenses from the mineral royalties that are paid to the state. But lawmakers haven’t provided the same protections for the state’s roughly 300,000 private mineral owners, ProPublica and the North Dakota Monitor found.

Even using an oil industry lobbyist’s estimate, North Dakota mineral owners lost at least $322 million in withheld royalties to oil companies in 2023. “It’s a matter of fairness,” one owner said. “You feel like you’re being cheated. <[link removed]>”

Officials from three oil companies that operate in North Dakota — Hess Corp., Slawson Exploration Co. and Zavanna Energy — said they follow the language in their leases with the private landowners. Most leases don’t explicitly mention deductions.

In this video, North Dakota Monitor reporter Jacob Orledge breaks down his investigation <[link removed]>.

Watch now <[link removed]>

 
Idaho

 
Want to know how to fix a broken coroner system? Ask a local coroner. <[link removed]>

ProPublica reporter Audrey Dutton has been reporting on the troubled system for death investigations in Idaho <[link removed]>, where a person’s cause of death is determined by elected coroners with no oversight or state support and, often, little training or education.

The failures documented by ProPublica left parents without answers in their baby’s sudden death <[link removed]> and let clues vanish in the death of a woman whose family suspected foul play by her husband <[link removed]>, a man later charged with killing his next wife.

This week, Dutton published a story that outlines five concrete steps that Idaho coroners have suggested for how to fix a broken system. Their ideas include more autopsies, dedicated office space and higher pay.

Read story <[link removed]>

 
More from the newsroom

 

Local Officials Have a Powerful Tool to Warn Residents of Emergencies. They Don’t Always Use It. <[link removed]>

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Trump’s Pick to Help Run the FBI Has a History of Prosecuting Influential Democrats <[link removed]>

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The Leader of Trump’s Assault on Higher Education Has a Troubled Legal and Financial History <[link removed]>

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She Pushed to Overturn Trump’s Loss in the 2020 Election. Now She’ll Help Oversee U.S. Election Security. <[link removed]>

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Idaho’s Coroner System Is “Broken and a Joke.” Here Are 5 Ideas From Coroners on How to Fix It. <[link removed]>

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