Good Morning! On this day in 1954, golfer Keith Fergus was born in Temple. After a career that included three PGA Tour wins and 40 top-10 finishes, he became the head coach of the golf team at his alma mater, the University of Houston.
If you haven’t voted yet, the polls are open until 7 p.m. Tomorrow’s edition will highlight the results of the state’s biggest primary contests.
Waymo was already under the microscope for repeated incidents in which its self-driving vehicles ignored school bus stop signs. On Sunday morning, one of them blocked first responders trying to get to the site of a mass shooting in downtown Austin. Check out today’s Around Texas section for details, and hit reply to share your thoughts.
Scam artists are stealing billions of dollars from Americans every year, and we want to ensure that Flyover readers are not prime targets! On today’s The Flyover Podcast, host Ayla Brown walks through the most common schemes, plus the FBI’s best advice for staying alert before your money is gone. Tune in here!
Big announcement: We’re launching The California Flyover on April 1! We’ve had our eyes on The Golden State for a long time, and we’re excited to add it to The Flyover family. Don’t miss the first edition; click here to sign up!
Today’s sponsor, Incogni, helps protect you from scam calls, phishing, and identity theft by removing your personal data from data brokers and continuously monitoring and deleting it as new threats emerge.
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Austin Shooting Sparks Political Debate
Savitha Shan, a 21-year-old student at UT Austin, and Texas Tech student Ryder Harrington, 19, have been identified as the two victims killed in Sunday morning’s mass shooting at a downtown Austin bar.
UT Austin student Nathan Comeaux captured a video of police engaging the shooter, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Senegal who was wearing a sweatshirt that said “Property of Allah.”
In the hours after the shooting, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Austin) lamented “America’s gun violence epidemic,” and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) urged Republicans to “find the courage to say no to the NRA,” while Republicans called for stronger immigrant vetting.
Gov. Greg Abbott and State Rep. James Talarico, running as a Democrat for U.S. Senate, got into an online quarrel, with Abbott suggesting that Talarico’s “immigration policies would make America less safe.” Talarico said that “dangerous people should not be allowed to get guns.”
In a response to a comment by Talarico, Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock urged politicians to stop using the tragedy to advance talking points. “Now is the time to focus on the victims and first responders impacted, not campaigns,” he said.
Big Bend Border Wall Gets Pushback
Residents, activists, and politicians on both sides of the aisle are pushing back on plans to build a border wall in the Big Bend region, arguing it’s not needed and would harm tourism and the environment.
Last month, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem waived multiple federal regulations to expedite the construction of a border wall along the Rio Grande in much of Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. Previously, those areas were slated to get “smart wall” technology.
Local landowners have reported receiving calls from contractors to build staging areas for hundreds of workers on their properties, and their reaction was “almost completely 100% negative,” according to a local reporter.
According to the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, “A wall is unnecessary in this rugged and challenging terrain” and would “destroy the wild and scenic beauty of this iconic national park and the surrounding area.” Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland said, “We’ve got a God-made barrier.”
Houston Airport Remodel Almost Done
A $1.46 billion project to revamp the international travel experience at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is nearly complete as Houston prepares to welcome thousands of soccer fans this summer for the World Cup.
Last week, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines moved their check-in operations from Terminal D to Terminal E, which offers a new self-service bag drop system and a 17-lane TSA screening area. IAH is only the second U.S. airport to introduce the Amadeus bag drop system.
Since the project began in 2019, Terminal D’s West Pier has been expanded, and additional drop-off and pick-up lanes have improved traffic flow for international flights. The Terminal Redevelopment Program represents Houston’s largest capital investment in the airport since it opened in 1969.
“This is about giving our passengers the world-class experience they deserve the moment they walk into the terminal,” Houston Airports Director of Aviation Jim Szczesniak said in a release.
The BBC caught scam-call workers on hidden cameras as they laughed at the people they were tricking. One worker bragged about making $250k from victims. The disturbing truth? Scammers don’t pick phone numbers at random. They buy your data from brokers.
Once your data is out there, it’s not just calls. It’s phishing, impersonation, and identity theft. That’s why we recommend Incogni: They delete your info from the web, monitor and follow up automatically, and continue to erase data as new risks appear.
➤ Austin: A self-driving Waymo vehicle temporarily blocked an ambulance responding to the mass shooting at a downtown bar on Sunday morning. In a video, a bystander can be heard shouting, “This is why we shouldn’t have self-driving cars!” (Watch Video)
➤ Longview: Crews are removing the shredded remains of the hot air balloon that collided with a communication tower on Saturday. “It’ll be an all‑day process,” said contractor Nathan Wilson. “You can’t rush these kinds of things.” (More)
➤ Dallas: An on-duty police officer was injured Monday when the motorcycle he was riding was hit from behind. The suspect fled the scene, and the officer was transported to the hospital in stable condition. (More)
➤ Austin: Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion Monday clarifying that mental health practitioners are subject to the state’s ban on gender transition procedures for minors. The opinion was issued in response to an inquiry from Darrel Spinks, executive director of the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. (See Details)
➤ San Antonio: A 27-year-old man allegedly injured his girlfriend’s parents with a car after an argument, fleeing the scene before authorities arrived Monday morning. The woman’s mother sustained life-threatening injuries. (More)
➤ Georgetown: Attorneys representing the Sun City Community Association and 19 homeowners participated in a Friday hearing related to allegations that the association’s deer culling practices are inhumane. (See Details)
➤ Pipe Creek: Rock Solid Trail Contracting, a Michigan company that specializes in trail construction, is engaged in its “most ambitious project ever” at the site of the anticipated 3,800-acre Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area, where it’s building up to 30 miles of trails. (More)
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➤The Houston Texans traded starting right tackle Tytus Howard to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick, then traded fourth-round and seventh-round picks, along with offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, to the Detroit Lions for running back David Montgomery. (More)
➤ No. 11 TCU women’s basketball beat No. 18 Baylor on Sunday to clinch their second consecutive Big 12 regular season title. TCU has now beaten Baylor in five straight games after losing to them in every single matchup since 1990. (More)
➤ Former Longhorns tennis player Peyton Stearns won the ATX Open tournament this weekend in Austin. (More)
➤ Dallas Cowboys pass-rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku had hip surgery to repair the labrum he tore five weeks ago. He is expected to be ready for walkthroughs in the spring and the June minicamp. (More)
➤ No. 1 Baylor acrobatics and tumbling team—winners of the last ten national championships—beat No. 2 Oregon this weekend in a hotly contested matchup between the sport’s two most dominant teams. (More)
➤ Coffee Lovers Can’t Stop Talking About Javvy—Now 50% Off With Free Gift. Javvy isn’t just coffee—it’s protein-powered fuel for healthier mornings. With 10g whey protein, zero sugar, and gut-friendly ingredients, it’s 50% off today and comes with a free gift. Don’t miss out. (LEARN MORE)
➤ The Dallas-based Texas Stock Exchange is launching an ad campaign as it prepares to begin trading later this year. “Welcome to the real bull market,” says the commercial, which features a Texas longhorn confronting Wall Street’s iconic Charging Bull on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. (More)
➤ West Texas Intermediate jumped more than 7.4% to $72.01 a barrel in early trading yesterday following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend. Houston-based ExxonMobil and Chevron also saw significant gains. (More)
➤ Texas won the Governor’s Cup award from Site Selection magazine for the 14th year in a row. Last year, the state attracted more than 1,400 business location and expansion projects totaling over $75 billion in capital investment and creating more than 42,000 new jobs. (More)
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➤ Austin was the most popular destination in Texas—and No. 6 in the country—for new millennial residents in 2024, according to a SmartAsset analysis that found 10.57% of the city’s population were residents aged 25 to 44 who had moved there within the past year. (More)
➤ Researchers at SMU found that toddlers who watch more digital media tended to say fewer body-part words and more words associated with furniture and people. (More)
➤ College Station hosted a mountain bike race for roughly 500 students at Millican Reserve over the weekend. “I love these trails,” said competitor Braden Taylor. (Watch Video)
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Should the federal government build a physical border wall in Big Bend National Park?
Austin Shooting Sparks Political Debate
