Good Morning! On this day in 1860, mysterious fires swept Dallas, Denton, and Pilot Point on a 110-degree afternoon. The blazes sparked the statewide panic known as the Texas Troubles.
We’ve officially entered the dog days of summer, which run from July 3 to August 11 and traditionally bring the year’s most brutal heat. We’re curious: What’s your favorite go-to strategy to escape the Texas summer sun? Hit reply to let us know.
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Toyota is bringing the Tacoma back to Texas. The automaker announced Monday a $3.6 billion expansion of its San Antonio plant, adding a second assembly line and roughly 2,000 jobs by 2030 as it shifts most Tacoma pickup production from its Tijuana, Mexico, facility to the Alamo City over the next four years.
The project adds 2.5 million square feet, doubling the South Side campus, already home to the Tundra and Sequoia, and bringing Toyota’s total investment there to $8.3 billion since 2003.
Gov. Greg Abbott, touting support from the Texas Enterprise Fund and JETI program, called it a “Texas-sized investment” that cements Texas as “the premier destination for world-class advanced manufacturing.”
President Trump, whose tariffs have pressured automakers to build stateside, celebrated on Truth Social: “A really big deal. Tariffs at work!“
Marshawn Kneeland Had Stage 1 CTE
Marshawn Kneeland, the Cowboys defensive end who died by suicide in November at 24, had Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), his family announced Tuesday.
Boston University CTE Center researchers made the diagnosis after Kneeland’s brain was donated through the Concussion & CTE Foundation, which cautioned that a post-mortem CTE diagnosis should not be considered the cause of a suicide.
Dr. Ann McKee, the center’s director, said she wasn’t surprised by the finding, noting researchers have identified the disease in nearly half of the athletes studied who died before 30.
Kneeland, a 2024 second-round pick out of Western Michigan, began playing tackle football at age 7. “We continue to remember Marshawn with compassion for the person he was,” his family said.
Bexar County Emerges as Rabies Hotspot
Bexar County has emerged as one of the state’s most active areas for rabies this year, with a state health department map updated July 6 showing a cluster of confirmed cases centered on San Antonio and its surrounding communities.
Statewide, bats lead Texas with 90 confirmed rabies cases in 2026, followed closely by skunks at 87 and raccoons at 25, according to the Department of State Health Services surveillance data. The virus is turning up well beyond South Texas, too: a skunk in Smith County tested positive on July 2.
Bexar County Public Health Director Andrea Guerrero is urging residents to keep pets vaccinated, report strays, and stay alert around wildlife. “Vaccination is the strongest tool against rabies infections,” Guerrero said.
Warning signs in animals include sudden aggression or unusual friendliness, staggering, drooling, and daytime activity in nocturnal species. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms begin.
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➤ Statewide: Texas will press ahead with its own ibogaine research program after failing to find a private drug company partner, tapping UTHealth Houston and the University of Texas Medical Branch to begin clinical trials of the psychedelic, which shows promise in treating PTSD and addiction. Lawmakers set aside $50 million last year for the effort. (More)
➤ Statewide: A Texas Senate committee will take testimony Wednesday on banning foreign nationals from contracting with Texas surrogates, an interim charge from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick that ties the fertility issue to birthright citizenship and immigration debates ahead of the January session. (See Details)
➤ Statewide: With a court-ordered ban on THCA hemp flower now in effect, Texas smoke shops are turning to THCP, a more potent cannabinoid that experts warn is loosely regulated. (More)
➤ Houston: Attorney Michael Driver has been charged with murder in the June 27 shooting death of his roommate Jesse Reyes, whom he described to police as his “best friend.” Driver flagged down officers and claimed self-defense. (See Details)
➤ DFW: Denton and Collin counties have each confirmed two cases of cyclosporiasis, a parasite that causes severe watery diarrhea and typically spreads through contaminated produce. Statewide, Texas has logged between 11 and 30 cases since May. Officials say the true count is likely higher. (More)
➤ Travis County: Two former county tax office employees and an outside coordinator were indicted on charges tied to an alleged fraud-for-profit vehicle registration scheme that used county login credentials to the state’s titling system to bypass inspection requirements. (See Details)
➤ Abilene: The city is moving to address elevated levels of PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in its water supply, with the city council set to weigh a planning contract to bring two treatment plants into federal compliance. (More)
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➤ A prominent sports economist cautioned that the World Cup’s projected $3 billion economic windfall for Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth is likely overstated, saying it’s “much more likely for there to be a modest negative impact or no impact at all.” (More)
➤ Texas Tech football landed seven players on the Preseason All-Big 12 team, the most of any program. Defensive lineman A.J. Holmes Jr. was named the conference’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, the second straight year a Red Raider has won the award. (More)
➤ The Houston Rockets reportedly don’t view Kevin Durant as untouchable in trade talks this offseason, and Durant himself is rumored to be interested in joining the Detroit Pistons. (More)
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➤ id Software, the Richardson studio behind Doom, Wolfenstein, and Quake, lost roughly half its staff—about 95 people—in sweeping layoffs across Microsoft’s Xbox division, which is cutting 4,800 jobs company-wide. (See Details)
➤ Midland County landed a $24 million federal grant to rebuild the I-20 and Lamesa Road interchange. The fiscal 2026 BUILD grant will fund reconstruction of the interchange, improvements to access ramps, and upgrades to traffic signals along one of the county’s busiest corridors. (See Details)
➤ Amazon plans a nearly 249,000-square-foot sorting warehouse in Georgetown, according to a July 6 state filing. The $48 million facility would be Amazon’s fourth in the Austin area, with construction slated to start in late August and wrap by July 2027. (More)
➤ U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, presented the city of Mercedes with $850,000 in federal funding Tuesday to expand and improve its sewer system, an effort sparked by last year’s historic flooding. The money is part of a $12.5 million package covering 15 community projects. (More)
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➤ Downtown Corpus Christi earned 2026 Main Street America Accreditation, a national mark of distinction for revitalization work that recognizes 838 communities across the country. (Read Story)
➤ Gov. Greg Abbott launched the Texas Classroom Commission, a teacher-led panel that will develop public-education recommendations ahead of the 90th legislative session. (See Details)
➤ Carrollton police rolled out a paleta cart over the Fourth of July weekend, sending officers out to hand cold treats to residents as a community outreach effort through the summer. (Read Story)
➤ An East Texas 5-year-old with nephrotic syndrome is recovering after a kidney transplant from her mother’s best friend—a donation the family never asked for. (Read Story)
➤ The El Paso Public Library is running a Summerween candy drive, offering a free book to anyone who donates candy at its Cielo Vista branch. (Read Story)
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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:
➤ Iran has resumed missile strikes on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials say, threatening the peace deal.(Hear Details)
➤ Ukrainian forces have struck deep into Siberia, putting Russia’s largest refineries within reach for the first time. (Hear Episode)
➤ Discarded items found behind a Georgia Cracker Barrel have helped authorities crack a man’s 1985 killing in Ohio. (Listen Now)
Toyota Moves Tacoma Production to Texas
