Good Morning! On this day in 1839, the schooner San Antonio was commissioned into the Texas Navy. Armed with five 12-pound cannons, she was lost at sea in October 1842 on her way to Mexico’s Bay of Campeche.
An item in Around Texas today gives Lubbock a shout-out for being No. 6 among large U.S. cities for income growth. Our Poll asks if you’ve ever been there. Feel free to hit reply if you’ve got good things to say about the Hub City and home of the Red Raiders.
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SpaceX will build a $16.8 billion semiconductor plant in Grimes County that’s expected to employ 3,000 people, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday. Grimes County Judge Joe Fauth III called it a “generational change” for the rural area.
The Terafab will span 100 million square feet, about 40 miles northwest of Houston and just east of College Station. It will handle logic, memory, and chip packaging under one roof, producing AI chips for use on Earth and in space.
Tesla is in on the buildout, too. The two companies expect their combined computing needs to top 1 terawatt, well beyond what the world produces now.
Texas is putting up a $30 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, and the plant qualifies for tax breaks under a 2023 state law aimed at landing big industrial projects. The Anderson-Shiro and Iola school districts have approved their own tax agreements.
Comptroller Urges Tax-Free Weekend Shopping
Comptroller Don Huffines is urging Texans to shop Friday through Sunday, when the state’s 6.25% sales tax is waived on most back-to-school goods.
Families are expected to save $142.5 million this year. Huffines said Texans have saved more than $2 billion during the tax holidays since 1999 on “everything from coats to crayons and scissors to sneakers.”
This holiday runs through midnight Sunday, Aug. 9. Clothing, shoes, school and office supplies, backpacks, and diapers qualify if each item costs less than $100, with no cap on how many you buy.
Online, phone, mail, and catalog orders count, too, as long as the seller does business in Texas. Plenty of items do not make the cut: jewelry, purses, wallets, watches, luggage, computers, textbooks, gym bags, and framed backpacks.
State Fair Names 15 Food Finalists
A pizza buried under Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and a taco shell built out of cheddar tater tots are among the 15 finalists for this year’s Big Tex Choice Awards.
Judges cut 30 semifinalists down to five savory dishes, five sweet ones, and five drinks, or “sippers.” Each is chasing a Best Taste title in its category. Concessionaires have competed for the honor since 2005. Fairgoers get their turn to judge when the fair opens in Dallas on Sept. 25.
This year’s savory list leans on smoke and heat. Dickel’s Texas Two Step Tacos pairs a fire-roasted jalapeño stuffed with pineapple-pork sausage with a second taco of brisket wrapped around another roasted jalapeño.
Also in the running: Nacho Wings and the Golden Crunch Melt, which packs chicken pastor, crispy potato strings, and chipotle crema into a grilled tortilla.
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➤ Lubbock ranked sixth nationally among 94 large cities in a SmartAsset study of income growth. Median household income reached $62,360, an 11.3% jump over two years after inflation. (See Report)
➤ Galveston: A massive two-alarm fire destroyed the Texas Gulf Seafood distribution warehouse near the Yacht Basin on Wednesday night. Crews pulled three people and a dog from the building, and no one was hurt. (See Details)
➤ Lyford: Body camera video shows officers charging into a swarm of bees to drag a disabled man into a patrol car after he fell while doing yard work. He was stung at least 30 times. (See Video)
➤ Killeen: Firefighters are now carrying whole blood on emergency units, the first agency between Dallas and San Antonio to do so. Crews can start a transfusion at the scene of a wreck or shooting under a $10 million state pilot program. (See Details)
➤ Austin: Austin Community College police arrested 48-year-old Victor Ramirez after a false emergency “swatting” call sent officers to the Eastview Campus on Tuesday. He’s charged with making a false report and drug paraphernalia possession, and isn’t affiliated with the school. (More)
➤ Houston: Joseph Roy Ozment, 35, faces a felony charge of threatening a public servant after the Department of Public Safety says he left a voicemail at Gov. Greg Abbott’s office threatening to stab staff over a law he blamed for blocking his anime. (See Details)
➤ Statewide: Three Texans are among roughly 345 people sickened in a 27-state salmonella outbreak the CDC traced to jalapeños from Sinaloa, Mexico. Nearly all of those interviewed had eaten at a Mexican-style restaurant beforehand. (See Details)
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➤ Tyler Guyton won the Dallas Cowboys’ starting left tackle job this week, with head coach Brian Schottenheimer shutting down the position battle just two days into padded practices. (More)
➤ Sporting Newsnamed its college football All-America team of the 2000s this week, and four Texas players made the cut: TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson, Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree, Texas’ Derrick Johnson, and Baylor’s Daniel Sepulveda. (More)
➤ Texas Tech basketball player Jamichael Stillwell won a court injunction against the NCAA this week, officially clearing the former UCF transfer to play for the Red Raiders this season. (More)
➤ Netflix released the trailer for Untold: The Testimony of Vince Young, a documentary chronicling the career and legal troubles of the former Texas quarterback. It premieres on Aug. 25. (More)
➤ Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray, a Dallas native, is donating $29,000 to the Dallas Independent School District to celebrate his 29th birthday today. The gift supports the district’s parent engagement specialists. (More)
➤ Never lose track of your wallet again with the SafeTrack Wallet.Combining a sleek, minimalist design with built-in tracking technology, it helps you locate your wallet quickly using your smartphone. With secure card storage and peace of mind wherever you go, SafeTrack makes everyday carry smarter and simpler.
➤ The Dallas Fed’s Texas Business Outlook Survey found 59.1% of Texas businesses used artificial intelligence in May 2025, up from 38.3% a year earlier. About 8% said the technology had cut their need for workers. (See Report)
➤ Buc-ee’s, based in Lake Jackson, sued a Georgia convenience chain, Teddy’s Market, claiming its hat-wearing mascot and name too closely resemble the Texas company’s own. Teddy’s Market owner Karan Ahuja answered in a court filing Friday, calling Buc-ee’s a “trademark bully.” (See Details)
➤ New World screwworm cases in Texas have climbed to 44 of the 45 reported nationwide, after a sheep in Terrell County tested positive Wednesday. Veterinarians are urging pet and livestock owners to stay alert. (More)
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➤ Swedish Candy Culture has had a line out the door since opening a few days ago on West Vickery Boulevard in Fort Worth. Lukas and Crimson Nathanson started it after hauling home two suitcases of candy from Sweden last summer. (More)
➤ Seven beluga whales arrived at SeaWorld San Antonio on Tuesday, riding nearly 2,000 miles from a shuttered Canadian park in water-filled tanks aboard flatbed trucks and a cargo plane. It’s the largest beluga transfer ever completed in the U.S. (See Details)
➤ Wynne Naylor’s parents gave $29,600 to put fishing rods, compasses, and an outdoors curriculum in all 44 Richardson ISD elementary and middle schools. The 8-year-old was one of 25 girls killed at Camp Mystic last July. (Read Story)
➤ Midland police will hold free fraud seminars for seniors in English and Spanish on Aug. 14, Aug. 20, and Aug. 31 at three senior centers. Officers are also checking gas pumps at night after finding more card skimmers. (See Details)
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:
➤ New research suggests avoiding three midlife health risks could mean nearly 13 more years of life without dementia. (Hear Details)
➤ You already know your phone drains focus and sleep, but doctors warn the hidden toll runs deeper. (Hear Episode)
➤ The FAA quietly rerouted noisy flights during Bohemian Grove’s elite retreat, fueling accusations of preferential treatment from frustrated locals. (Listen Now)
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