Good Morning! On this day in 1932, a Category 4 hurricane roared ashore just east of Freeport with 150 mph winds, killing 40 people. It dumped nearly 10 inches of rain on Angleton, wrecking the town’s pumping station.
A Texas state representative says that starting school in August is “one of the dumbest things we do as a state.” Find the story in Around Texas, and then answer our Poll question to let us know if you think schools should start up after Labor Day.
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Odin Hensley, a 17-year-old senior offensive lineman at Lake Travis High School, died Wednesday after collapsing at the team’s first football practice of the season.
Superintendent Curtis Null told families that Hensley had been in the district since Lake Pointe Elementary and was a two-sport athlete in football and wrestling. “His presence touched many lives, and he will be deeply missed,” Null wrote.
About 350 people gathered Wednesday evening for a vigil at Lake Hills Church. Coach Hank Carter called it a “very difficult time for us.”
Appeals Court Restores Texas Mail-Ballot Rules
A federal appeals court on Wednesday restored Texas’ requirement that mail voters provide an ID number matching state records.
The 5th Circuit reversed a district judge who struck down nine provisions of Senate Bill 1 in March 2025, ruling they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 2021 law also requires anyone assisting a voter to swear that no coercion occurred.
Voto Latino, LULAC Texas, and two other groups that sued called the law “draconian” and argued it falls hardest on older Texans and people of color.
The panel found most plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. “None of these members has shown a ‘substantial risk’ of disenfranchisement,” the court wrote.
Judge Andrew Oldham wrote that mail ballots have “long been established” as prone to fraud, and noted rejections tied to ID errors fell from 11% to 2.7%. Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a “major victory.”
Five Refugio Officials Indicted, Arrested
A grand jury indicted five current and former Refugio town officials on felony charges this week following a Texas Rangers investigation.
Mayor Wanda Dukes and Town Secretary Callie Shreckengost surrendered on Wednesday, each charged with misapplication of fiduciary property, a first-degree felony. Bond was $25,000 each.
Indictments accuse the pair of misusing money from the Refugio Economic Development Corporation between Oct. 3, 2023, and Oct. 29, 2025. The charging documents list 19 transactions totaling more than $1 million, including garbage collection, a police holiday party, and Fourth of July festivals.
Mayor Pro Tem Ixtlazihuatl “Lala” Vasquez and two former council members turned themselves in Thursday on charges of abuse of official capacity, a third-degree felony. Michael Rocha and Frank Hosey lost their seats in the May election.
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➤ Statewide: Denton County Rep. Jared Patterson wants Texas schools to start in September and run into late May or June, calling an August start “one of the dumbest things we do as a state.” A similar bill he filed died in committee. (See Details)
➤ DFW: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport will add Islamic foot-washing stations to Terminal D restrooms by year’s end, one in the men’s and one in the women’s. The privately funded $300,000 project is meant to keep water off restroom floors. (See Details)
➤ Tarrant County: Officials banned outdoor burning for 90 days Thursday as drought conditions push wildfire risk higher across the region. (More)
➤ Austin: Burnet and Webb middle schools drew a fifth straight F in preliminary state ratings, opening Austin ISD to a takeover that could replace its elected board. Superintendent Matias Segura said 35 campuses raised a letter grade. (See Details)
➤ San Antonio: Drivers who blow past a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing can be fined up to $1,250, and repeat offenders can lose their license, Northside ISD police say. Enforcement is ramping up as campuses reopen. (More)
➤ Rio Grande Valley: Crops are rotting in the fields for lack of workers, Rio Farms president Matt Klostermann told Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling during a tour in Monte Alto. Sonderling said fee waivers and new wage rules should save growers $2.5 billion. (See Details)
➤ East Texas: More districts, including Gladewater and Diboll, are banning energy drinks on campus this year. Some cans contain more than 200 milligrams of caffeine, twice the daily maximum the Mayo Clinic recommends for teens. (More)
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➤ Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire says the Red Raiders have been turned down by every major program they’ve approached for future non-conference games, including USC, Texas A&M, and NC State. (More)
➤ Baylor football added defensive lineman Traevon Mitchell from USF this week, bolstering what the coaching staff already considers one of the deepest defensive lines in the Big 12. (More)
➤ Former Rockets point guard Russell Westbrook announced his retirement this week after 18 NBA seasons, finishing as the league’s all-time triple-double leader with 209. (More)
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➤ Apple’s Houston plant opened an Advanced Manufacturing Center on Thursday, offering free training and lab time to small and mid-sized businesses. The same facility builds Apple’s AI servers and is scheduled to start turning out Mac minis later this year. (More)
➤ Paramount’s board approved a plan to leave California for Tennessee, Georgia, or Texas if the state’s attorney general won’t open settlement talks by Oct. 1 over the studio’s $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. (See Details)
➤ Delta Air Lines will fly nonstop from Austin to Paris starting March 27, the city’s first direct route to the French capital. (See Details)
➤ Texas Children’s Hospital in Austin will spend $39 million to more than double its newborn intensive care unit, from 14 rooms to 31. Work starts this fall and is scheduled to wrap up in fall 2027. (More)
➤ College Station ISD’s first career and technical center opened with the school year, training high school sophomores through seniors in welding, cosmetology, auto repair, and veterinary medicine. Cosmetology students can sit for the state licensing exam as soon as they graduate. (See Details)
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➤ The newest Buc-ee’s opened Wednesday off I-35 at Yarrington Road in San Marcos, with Gov. Greg Abbott chopping brisket behind the counter. The 74,000-square-foot store has 128 fueling stations and is the chain’s 57th. (More)
➤ Texas oil production averaged 5.75 million barrels of crude a day last year, about 42% of the U.S. total. Ranked against countries, that would put Texas fourth in the world, ahead of Canada, Iraq, and China. (See Report)
➤ A donated church lot in Lufkin will become up to 10 affordable homes after Habitat for Humanity of Deep East Texas broke ground Thursday on Denman Heights Subdivision. The congregation voted unanimously to give the land. (See Details)
➤ A Yappy Hour will be held at the 17th-floor rooftop bar at El Paso’s Plaza Hotel on Aug. 26 for National Dog Day, with free “pupuccinos” from 5 to 7 p.m. Guests can bring pet supplies to donate to Rescue Runners. (More)
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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:
➤ Hawaii’s Big Island is under a hurricane watch as a strengthening Pacific storm threatens heavy rain and flooding. (Hear Details)
➤ Luigi Mangione is reportedly weighing a courtroom move that could upend his murder trial in New York. (Hear Episode)
➤ Tech executives are cloning themselves with artificial intelligence, and some of the digital doubles are already going rogue. (Listen Now)
Do you think schools should start up after Labor Day instead of in August?
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