GOP Suit Seeks Statewide Hand Count

The Potter County Republican Party filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday to block Texas from certifying the Nov. 3 election until every paper ballot statewide is counted by hand, a request now before federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee.

Chairman Daniel Rogers and the party argue that foreign-made voting machine parts and rogue AI programs could alter results without detection. Texas already requires a partial hand-count audit when machines are used, but the suit says that isn’t enough.

The complaint doesn’t claim that any Texas machine was ever hacked or that votes were changed. University of Houston law professor David Froomkin called the case “weak” and expects it to be dismissed, saying the plaintiffs offer “nothing but wild conjectures.”

Silsbee Coach Saves Student

A Silsbee Middle School coach performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking student this week, clearing the airway and possibly saving the student’s life, the district said in a Facebook post.

The coach, Morgan Robberts, graduated from Silsbee High School in 2020 and is a former All-State offensive lineman. He returned to the district to teach and coach, working alongside the staff who had once coached him.

“Not all heroes wear capes,” the district wrote, thanking Robberts for his “quick thinking, calm demeanor, and life-saving actions.” Robberts said he “was praying the whole time” and thanked God for having “his hand over the whole situation.”

Rain Soaks Texas Ahead of Halloween

Tropical Storm Vance’s leftovers and Gulf moisture are spreading rain across Texas through the weekend, but forecasters from Dallas to Houston say Halloween won’t be a washout.

West Texas gets the heaviest rain. Forecasters in Midland expect remnants of Vance to stall over the region by Friday, dropping up to 6 inches in isolated spots and causing flash flooding in low-lying and urban areas.

In North Texas, showers and a few thunderstorms build Friday afternoon ahead of the evening commute and linger into Saturday morning. Rain is expected to clear out from west to east by afternoon, leaving a dry window for trick-or-treaters.

The Houston area expects a muggy Halloween with highs in the upper 70s to upper 80s and scattered daytime storms possible, though the evening looks fine for most. Early next week, a cold front could bring strong storms to Houston and North Texas Monday night into Tuesday.

A Note from Cole, CEO of The Flyover

Dear Reader,

Every year, auditors count how many copies America’s biggest newspapers actually put in people’s hands. The new numbers are brutal.

Of the 25 largest papers in the country, 24 shrank last year. Average decline: 12.5%. Nearly a quarter-million daily papers, gone in a single year. The Denver Post now prints about 24,000 copies a day. The Arizona Republic, 33,000. The Houston Chronicle, 35,000. The Dallas Morning News, under 40,000. These are metros of millions. And the steepest collapse in the country belonged to The Washington Post: down 21% in a single year to fewer than 88,000 print copies.

The industry will tell you it’s the internet. It’s a convenient story, because it means none of this is their fault.

Here’s the story they won’t tell: Americans didn’t stop caring about the news. They stopped trusting the people delivering it. Somewhere along the way, the papers stopped reporting what happened and started campaigning for what they wanted to happen—and their readers noticed. Trust in the media now sits at the lowest level ever recorded.
So no, that’s not an audience drifting away. That’s a jury coming back with a verdict.

And here’s the part the industry really doesn’t want to talk about: those readers didn’t give up on news. They went looking for someone who would just tell them the truth. Millions of them found their way to The Flyover—a morning news publication built on one simple deal:

We call things what they are.

We keep the spin out and trust you with the facts.

And The Flyover stays free.

It turns out that when you just give people the facts and trust them to think for themselves, people respond.

So today I’m asking: will you help us continue? If news that plays it straight is something you want to see thrive, will you stand behind us?

Chip in and support the news that gives it to you straight—and free, every morning.

Will you make a generous donation to support The Flyover?

While the biased legacy media is failing, will you join our movement to keep the bias out of the news, free to your inbox every morning?

I’d be grateful if you did.

Give $25
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Our promise: we answer to you. Help us keep it.

– Cole
CEO, The Flyover

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Bastrop County: Two contractors working on a TxDOT overpass project were killed in a crash early Thursday on westbound State Highway 71 at Tucker Hill Lane. The crash shut all westbound lanes until 7 a.m. and remains under investigation. (More)

➤ Bexar County: Methodist Hospital will seek a higher trauma rating in fall 2027, which would allow it to take more severely injured patients. County commissioners fear that would draw cases from Brooke Army Medical Center, the Pentagon’s only top-level trauma center. (More)

➤ Beaumont: The city is redesigning a water line project near downtown after archaeologists found 33 grave shafts at forgotten African American burial grounds. Records tie nearly 400 people, including formerly enslaved residents, to the sites. (More)

➤ Travis County: A Travis County judge ordered the Wyoming-registered group behind statewide mailers offering advice to transgender youth to sit for a deposition today. A transgender advocacy group says the mailers impersonated it. The Wyoming group, citing free speech, will appeal. (More)

➤ Kerr County: The sheriff’s office arrested nine people in a warrant roundup tied to drug cases, seizing 9.5 ounces of cocaine, 1.4 ounces of meth, and a gram of ketamine. Bonds ranged from $20,000 to $200,000. (See Arrests)

➤ Sugar Land: A youth softball club permanently dismissed everyone involved in an Oct. 24 brawl at a girls’ game for 12-year-olds, where a father allegedly knocked another dad unconscious with a metal water bottle. He and his wife face assault charges. (More)

➤ San Antonio: Residents dropped off 3,648 pounds of unused medications at 14 Methodist Healthcare sites from San Antonio to Fredericksburg on Oct. 24, up 72% from last year. The annual drive has topped 9,800 pounds in eight years. (More)

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➤ The Houston Texans reportedly lost wide receiver Jaylin Noel for the season to a toe injury suffered during Sunday’s game against the New York Giants. The second-year player led the team with 331 receiving yards. (More)

➤ Sam Houston fired football coach Phil Longo on Wednesday, with the Bearkats off to a 1-7 start. Longo went 3-17 in two seasons. (More)

➤ UTSA suspended men’s basketball coach Austin Claunch after his arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, days before the Roadrunners’ Nov. 2 opener. (More)

➤ Miriam Adelson, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, spent at least $67.6 million on the midterms, more than any other principal sports team owner, federal filings show. (More)

➤ Houston, which lost four starters, was picked second in the Big 12 preseason men’s basketball media poll behind Arizona. Texas Tech was No. 4, Baylor No. 7, and TCU No. 8. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: NFL | NCAAF | WNBA | NHL | NBA | Soccer | Golf | NCAA Volleyball

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➤ Torchy’s Tacos CEO Paul Macaluso says the Austin chain grew into too many markets at once and built stores the wrong size, leading to 14 closures since August 2025. Torchy’s now has about 120 locations and has opened several since February. (More)

➤ San Antonio laid out plans Wednesday to grow its convention center from 514,000 to 650,000 square feet for $850 million, plus $125 million in Alamodome upgrades. Talks with the Spurs over the $1.3 billion arena anchoring the district continue. (More)

➤ Fort Worth’s TEXRail commuter line started building a $270 million, 2.1-mile extension Thursday that will link the Near Southside and Medical District to downtown and DFW Airport. Baylor Scott & White Health donated 1.76 acres for the station. (More)

➤ Texas job-training grants totaling $1.7 million will train 689 workers in Houston and the Rio Grande Valley, Gov. Greg Abbott announced. The largest, $782,998, will prepare 261 workers for Tesla manufacturing jobs through Houston City College. (More)

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➤ A space rock that punched through a Spring family’s roof on March 21 and landed near a daughter’s bed goes on display Nov. 6 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The free exhibit, Fall To Earth, features the meteorite. (More)

➤ DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium will host its first major ticketed concert in more than 30 years when singer-songwriter Noah Kahan plays there on May 15. Presale sign-ups close Nov. 5, and general sales open Nov. 12. (Get Ticket Info)

➤ A 100-year-old golfer took her first swing in eight years at TPC Houston in Sugar Land, standing with help from an electric mobility device. Anita Weiner, the 1995 Texas Senior Women’s champion, took up golf at 52. (Watch Swing)

➤ Austin’s film festival opened its 33rd year Thursday with more than 200 films at five venues, starting with Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut, starring Julianne Moore. The writers’ conference expects about 5,000 screenwriters over four days. (More)

➤ An endangered antelope named Harris made a 32-hour journey from the Houston Zoo to Taiwan to join Taipei Zoo’s breeding program. (Meet Harris)

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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. 

➤ Protesters clashed with riot police in Madrid, demanding the prime minister’s resignation after Wednesday’s train crash killed nearly seventy people. (Hear Details)

➤ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reportedly grew close to a suspected Chinese spy whom U.S. intelligence spent a year tracking. (Hear Story)

➤ A popular WNBA star said the FBI is monitoring roughly 20 people tied to stalking and threats against her. (Listen Now)

How often do you eat Mexican food, either out or at home?

1. Most days
2. Most weeks
3. Every few months
4. 2-3 times a year
5. Never

Yesterday’s Results:

When was the last time you carved a jack-o’-lantern?

1. Long ago: 68%
2. In the last few years: 19%
3. Never have I ever: 11%
4. This year: 2%

What Texan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his role in developing the integrated circuit?

Show me the answer