Ed. Commissioner Investigates Student Protests

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to investigate district-wide student protests at 14 Austin Independent School District campuses tied to concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Gov. Abbott’s announcement, which came in an X post, said, “Our schools are for educating our children, not political indoctrination. “

Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura said  the protests, which were held last Thursday and Friday, weren’t sponsored by the school system. Segura also said that schools can’t physically stop students from leaving, but that leaving campus is considered an unexcused absence.

Several of the walkouts were organized by students, and school resource officers were on hand to ensure safety.

Congressional District Runoff

Voters in Texas’ 18th Congressional District voted on Saturday between Democrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards in a special election runoff to fill the long-vacant Houston-area seat.

A runoff election was held yesterday to fill the vacancy in Texas’ 18th Congressional District. Houston-district voters decided between Democrats Christian Menefee, former Harris County Attorney, and Amanda Edwards, former Houston City Council member.

The congressional seat was formerly held by U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, who passed away last March. Sixteen candidates were on last November’s ballot — which had no primaries — but none of the candidates received the 50% plus one vote to avoid a runoff. Menefee and Edwards were the highest vote-receivers.

The winner will hold the seat for the remainder of Turner’s term before elections will be held in March, where they’ll be challenging Rep. Al Green.

Olympian Snubbed From Games

Five-time Olympic skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender of MacGregor was left out of the Milan Cortina Winter Games after an investigation found Team Canada manipulated results in an Olympic qualifying event.

Team Canada withdrew four racers from the North America Cup, an event held in Lake Placid earlier this month, and reduced the amount of points needed to qualify for the Olympics. The reduction in points made it impossible for Uhlaender to qualify.

Uhlaedner, along with four other nations and three other racers, appealed the decision. She reached out to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in an attempt to land a wild card spot for the Olympic team. She also reached out to Vice President J.D. Vance, who is leading the U.S.’s Olympic delegation.

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➤ Statewide: Former Texas Ranger James Holland said more than 700 hours of interviews led serial killer Samuel Little to confess, revealing crime details only the perpetrator would know, according to the true-crime host. (More)

➤ Bee Cave: A prerecorded, computerized bomb threat prompted a large police response at the International School of Texas on Friday, but authorities found no active threat and confirmed all students were safe. (More)

➤ Dallas: Police arrested two men in a New Year’s Eve overpass shooting that went viral online after recovering more than 100 shell casings; a third suspect was arrested on an unrelated charge. (More)

➤ Galveston: A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report said extreme low visibility and communication errors contributed to a December crash of a Mexican Navy Beechcraft King Air near Galveston that killed six people and seriously injured two. (More)

➤ Austin: Goods, an autonomous grocery store developed by an Austin-based robotics company, will open on Valentine’s Day, using humans and robots to deliver customer orders to cars within two minutes. (More)

➤ El Paso: U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported seizing thousands of dollars and several kilograms of cocaine, including a 15.92-kilo haul, at border crossings into Mexico last week. (More)

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➤ Texas men’s basketball on Saturday beat conference rival Oklahoma 79-69 after a dominant second half, outscoring the Sooners by 13 points. (More)

➤ No. 11 Texas Tech men’s basketball was upset by unranked UCF 88-80 on Saturday, snapping the Red Raiders’ five-game winning streak. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NBA | NHL | NCAAM | NCAAW | Soccer | PGA | LPGA | Tennis

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➤ New Hope Equine Assisted Therapy launched a GoFundMe after an ice storm collapsed its roof, seeking help to sustain therapeutic riding and horsemanship programs for children and adults with disabilities. (More)

➤ An East Texas woman provides neonatal and maternity foster care for abandoned puppies and kittens, offering round-the-clock attention and often sacrificing sleep to nurse vulnerable animals back to health. (More)

➤ Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb partnered with veterans organizations to send U.S. Air Force veteran Chris Ferrell and his wife to Super Bowl 60. (More)

Fort Worth residents embraced a rare snowfall, seizing the opportunity for snowball fights, sledding, and fun.

Were your 2025 property taxes higher, lower, or the same as those for 2024?

1. Higher
2. Lower
3. Same
4. Not sure
5. Don’t pay them

Yesterday’s Results:

Do you drink tap or purified water?

1. Purified: 37% 
2. Both: 35%
3. Tap: 28%

Which Texas town is home to an abandoned concrete oil reservoir that was once turned into a water park?

Show me the answer