Saturday, April 18, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1934, entrepreneur C. A. Tannahill opened the country’s first laundromat in Fort Worth. The “Wash-a-teria” contained four electric washing machines that were rented out by the hour.

Buc-ee’s is closing one of its Texas locations. It’s a big gas station, but not a Buc-ee’s-size gas station, if you know what we mean. Read the story in Around Texas.

One year ago, President Trump called it “a Great Honor for our Country” when an American was elected Pope for the first time in history, then, earlier this month, posted that “if I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” Now Trump is calling Pope Leo “WEAK on Crime,” and Pope Leo is firing back: “I have no fear of the Trump administration.” This isn’t a diplomatic spat. This is an open feud between the President of the United States and the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics. Only on today’s episode of The Flyover Podcast, Ayla Brown shares an exclusive breakdown of what’s been said and how we got here. Listen here!

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Abbott Threatens $200M Cut Over ICE Policies

Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to pull a combined total of about $200 million in state funding from Houston, Dallas, and Austin over their ICE cooperation policies, sending letters to the cities’ respective mayors this week.

Houston stands to lose $110 million in public safety grants, Dallas nearly $90 million, and Austin about $2.5 million if the governor’s demands aren’t met.

Abbott cited a city ordinance in Houston and a recently adopted Austin Police Department policy that limits cooperation between the police department and Homeland Security in detaining illegal immigrants. Similarly, the governor said a General Order from Dallas PD contradicts the city’s promise to “fully participate” in ICE efforts.

Houston officials paused crucial votes on updates to county ICE cooperation policies amid the pressure from Abbott, while Dallas said it would comply with all state and federal laws and respond by the governor’s deadline. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson indicated that no adjustments would be made to their recent policy changes.

Texas Needs $174B for Future Water Demand

The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) is estimating $174 billion in costs to avoid a future water crisis in the state, according to a draft of its 2027 state water plan released Thursday.

The $174 billion figure would cover 3,000 water management strategy projects, including designating water reservoir sites and consolidating and resolving interregional water initiatives.

The board predicted that, should its proposed strategies not be implemented, a severe drought could cost the state $91 billion in economic damages by 2030 and $177 billion in damages per year by 2080.

Texas’ data center boom and population growth, combined with ongoing drought conditions, are the primary culprits in the water development board’s hiking its projected costs from $80 billion to $174 billion in just four years.

Texas Cities Among Best in U.S. for New Grads

Texas is an attractive destination for new college graduates to land jobs, according to a ranking from real estate site Redfin and the Glassdoor job community.

The study ranked the top 10 big, mid-sized, and small cities for new grads based on average starting salaries and the affordability of starter homes, with Texas grabbing four spots across the board.

Dallas earned No. 4 on the big-city list, along with Houston and Austin at No. 6 and No. 10, respectively. Waco ranked ninth on the mid-sized list.

Washington D.C., New Orleans, and Springfield, Ill. all received No. 1 rankings. You can see the full list here.

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➤ Statewide: U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico’s campaign raised $27 million in the last quarter, outpacing his GOP counterparts. Meanwhile, Sen. John Cornyn reported about $9 million raised compared to runoff competitor Ken Paxton’s $2.2 million. (More)

➤ Dallas: A federal jury convicted Donald McCray of sending threatening letters to judges in Texas and New York, as well as for a biological weapons hoax against a federal courthouse in Fort Worth. (More)

➤ Edinburg: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn attended the groundbreaking of a sterile fly production facility in South Texas yesterday. The facility is designed to mitigate the spread of screwworms, which threaten the health of livestock. (More)

➤ McKinney: Paralympic gold medalist Dory Selinger was killed Thursday in a cycling accident in which he was struck by a vehicle. A friend said of Selinger: “If you knew him, you would swear he loved you because he did. I loved him with my whole heart. And I’m aching immensely.” (More)

➤ Statewide: Four Texas cities—Edinburg, Georgetown, Conroe, and Grand Prairie—ranked in the top 20 for highest property taxes nationwide, according to a new study. No Texas city was included in the top 10. (See List)

➤ Port Lavaca: One of Texas’ smallest Buc-ee’s is closing down after 26 years and will be replaced by a 7-Eleven with a Laredo Taco shop. The location is a plus-size gas station, but not the mega-size that is a Buc-ee’s trademark. (More)

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➤ Will Anderson signed a three-year, $150 million contract extension with the Houston Texans, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. (More)

➤ The Houston Rockets take on the LA Lakers tonight in Los Angeles in their first game of the NBA Playoffs. (How to Watch)

➤ Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars play the Minnesota Wild tonight in their first NHL postseason matchup of the year. (More)

➤ Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg ranked ninth on the NBA’s top-selling jersey list for the 2025-26 regular season. (More)

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Courtesy @GregAbbott_TX via X.

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➤ Designs have been released for a surf community in Texas that would include 88 3D-printed houses and two artificial surf lagoons. (See Photos)

➤ Texas A&M researchers have developed a nasal spray that was shown to reverse brain aging in preclinical animal trials by neutralizing the inflammation that leads to brain fog and memory issues. (See Details)

➤ A new billboard promoting pet adoption in Dallas honors a golden retriever named Kensington Campbell, who had 120,000 Instagram followers. Kensington passed away recently from cancer. (See Report)

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