Texas House Speaker Race Unresolved

Shortly after State Rep. David Cook of Mansfield emerged as the winner of the Texas House GOP caucus vote to nominate a speaker Saturday, fellow Republican Dustin Burrows of Lubbock announced he had secured commitments from 76 members—38 Republicans and 38 Democrats—declaring that “the speaker’s race is over.”

However, at least six Republicans were included on published lists of committed members for each candidate, and one Democrat said she had not given Burrows permission to include her name on his list.

Cook won the GOP caucus nomination on the third ballot after a group of Burrows supporters abruptly left the meeting. He insists “this is still a race” and says he is in discussions with Republicans who didn’t back his candidacy to support him for the speaker’s post.

Republican caucus rules stipulate that members must support the party’s nominee for speaker, although there is no official mechanism to enforce that rule.

Trains Collide In Houston

Two Union Pacific trains collided east of Houston on Friday evening, causing seven cars to derail, including two that fell into a canal connecting the San Jacinto and Trinity Rivers.

Train cars carrying plastic pellets and liquid propane gas overturned when one train reportedly rear-ended the other. No hazmat issues or injuries were reported, although water supply pumps in the canal were turned off as a precaution.

Officials have assured the public that the city’s water supply is not at risk of contamination. Crews were expected to complete the clean-up effort on Saturday afternoon.

Plano Native Wins Major Ice Skating Event

Figure skater Amber Glenn, a 25-year-old from Plano, won the women’s international Grand Prix Final competition on Saturday in Grenoble, France, becoming the first American to do so in 14 years.

Glenn is the oldest woman to win the prestigious event since 2004. Her victory caps a breakout year in which she’s won all four of her competitions. She landed the challenging triple Axel cleanly in each event and was the only competitor to do so in the Grand Prix.

She aims to defend her national title next month in Wichita and qualify for the world championships in March. If Glenn makes the 2026 U.S. Olympics team, she will be the oldest women’s singles skater in 98 years to achieve that feat.

➤ Happy: Tiny Hooves Rescue and Petting Zoo, a disabled pet and exotic animal shelter, is relocating to 62 acres south of Amarillo. The shelter cares for nearly 200 animals, including cows, goats, sheep, turkeys, ring-tailed lemurs, chinchillas, and parrots. (Watch Video)

➤ Harris County: A man who tried to cash a fraudulent check attempted to eat it in order to destroy the evidence when law enforcement arrived at the scene. (More)

➤ Dallas: Judy Garland’s sequin-covered ruby slippers, worn during filming for The Wizard of Oz, sold for $28 million at auction on Saturday, a record for movie memorabilia. (See Details)

➤ McGregor: A group of residents is raising money to restore the downtown Texas Theatre, which was built in 1912 but hasn’t been used for screening films in decades. (More)

➤ Houston: A family shared security footage of a woman wearing a blue vest stealing a delivered package and replacing it with an empty box. Houston ranks fifth in the nation for package theft, with $207 million in delivered goods reported stolen this year. (Watch Video)

➤ Hansford County: MARA Holdings, a cryptocurrency mining company based in Florida, has purchased a 114-megawatt wind farm to power its operation in North Texas. (See Details)

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➤ No. 2 Texas and No. 8 SMU both fell to lower-ranked opponents in their respective conference championship games on Saturday. Texas will be the fifth seed in the College Football Playoff tournament and host Clemson in the first round, while SMU dropped to the 11th seed and will have to go on the road to face Penn State. (More)

➤ Texas A&M’s volleyball team upset Arizona State on Saturday to join the University of Texas in the round of 16 in the NCAA postseason tournament. On Friday, Texas A&M will take on Wisconsin, and UT will face Creighton. (More)

➤ Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to a 125-118 win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday by scoring 30 points with 13 rebounds and 11 assists. (Watch Highlights)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NFL | NCAAF | NBA | NHL | NCAAM | NCAAW | PGA

➤ Want to stay up to date on everything related to name, image, and likeness in sports? NIL-Wire is just the place for you. Sign up here with one click!

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➤ The Port of Houston is expanding, with plans to spend $1.7 billion on multiple projects over the next five years as the region’s population continues to grow exponentially. (More)

➤ Patrick Dumont, the president of the Las Vegas-based casino conglomerate that owns the Dallas Mavericks, helped the NBA orchestrate a deal to resume playing preseason games in China, which were suspended after 2019. (See Details)

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➤ Portuguese man o’ wars are washing up on Texas beaches. The colorful, stinging creatures occasionally wash ashore when waves are exceptionally strong. (See Photo)

➤ Waco artist Rocky Kelley won an international competition aiming to raise awareness for an eye disease called keratoconus with a digital entry titled “Shattered.” (See Artwork)

➤ A five-mile-wide asteroid discovered in 1990 has been named after University of Texas engineering professor Maruthi Akella. (More)

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Which team do you think will go farther in the College Football Playoff?

1. Texas Longhorns
2. SMU Mustangs

Saturday’s Results:

Have you attended a high school football playoff game this year?

1. Yes: 15.4%
2. No: 72.1%
3. Planning on it: 12.5%

What Texan was the first African American to receive the Navy Cross?

Show me the answer