Good morning! On this day in 1835, the first Texas Navy was established with the purchase of four schooners: the Liberty, the Independence, the Brutus, and the Invincible.
If you’re flying with American Airlines for Thanksgiving, don’t board before your group is called unless you want to call attention to yourself. If you’re driving, check out this article for the best travel times.
We have a new sponsor today: Nuts.com. If you’re looking for holiday gifts for those hard-to-shop-for people, check out all they have to offer!
Abilene 🌥️ 64/42° | Amarillo ☁️ 56/33° | Austin 🌤️ 83/53° | Brownsville 🌤️ 88/69° | Corpus Christi 🌤️ 86/69° | DFW ☁️ 69/48° | El Paso ☁️ 74/48° | Houston 🌥️ 84/63° | Lubbock 🌥️ 56/40° | San Antonio 🌤️ 83/58° | Texarkana ☁️ 75/49°
Texans Joining Trump Administration
President-elect Donald Trump selected two more Texans to join his administration when he takes office next January.
Brooke Rollins, the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, has been nominated to lead the Department of Agriculture. She previously served as director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first Trump administration.
Former NFL defensive back and state lawmaker Scott Turner has been nominated to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Turner is the chair of the Center for Education Opportunity at the America First Policy Institute, and he led the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has requested state funding to hire nearly 1,800 additional employees and overhaul IT systems to address delays in processing Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications.
Currently, 233,000 Medicaid applications are overdue, with an average processing time of 71 days—far exceeding the federal requirement of 45 days. Between 2019 and 2023, HHSC processed SNAP applications within the required 30-day timeframe in only 5 of those 60 months.
The agency has been under a federal Corrective Action Plan since 2020, and it risks financial penalties if it does not meet timeliness standards.
Chuck Woolery Dies In Texas
Chuck Woolery, the iconic game show host known for “Love Connection,” “Scrabble,” and “Wheel of Fortune,” passed away at his home in Texas at the age of 83.
Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Woolery hosted “Wheel of Fortune” from 1975 until 1982, when he was succeeded by Pat Sajak after a contract dispute. He later expressed regret over his decision to leave the show, telling the New York Times in 2003 that he would have been making $10 million a year if he had remained its host.
Woolery is best remembered for his role as host of the “Love Connection,” a show on which single men or women watched audition tapes of potential mates and then picked one for a date. In this role, he popularized the catchphrase “2 and 2,” signaling a two-minute, two-second commercial break.
Woolery was married several times and has five children.
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➤ The University of Texas System will allow undergraduate students whose families make less than $100,000 per year to attend any of its nine universities for free starting next fall. (More)
➤ Dallas: A state district court judge ruled the city must adopt a plan proposed by the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System to resolve a projected $3 billion shortfall in the pension fund for the city’s first responders. (See Details)
➤ Brownsville: Ting Ting Zhang, 25, was arrested Tuesday after trespassing on SpaceX property and claiming to be Elon Musk’s girlfriend. (More)
➤ Meanwhile, a 74-year-old Frisco woman was scammed out of $600,000 by a Florida man claiming to be Elon Musk himself. (Watch Video)
➤ Austin: The Texas Department of Public Safety is receiving a $3.2 million federal grant to reduce the state’s DNA testing and analysis backlog, aiding crime investigation and prosecution. (More)
➤ Dallas: Ashley Grayson, a 35-year-old social media influencer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for hiring a Memphis couple to kill three people: her ex-boyfriend, a rival influencer, and someone who made negative comments about her online. (See Details)
➤ Houston: A local business owner gave a father of three a brand-new semi-truck after the one he bought with his life savings was stolen. (Watch Video)
➤ The Dallas Cowboys handed the Washington Commanders their third straight loss, grabbing a 34-26 win on the road. The Cowboys returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. (More)
➤ The Houston Texans lost a home division game to the Tennessee Titans 32-27. The Texans had 11 penalties for 81 yards, including one that nullified a touchdown that would have given them a lead in the closing minutes of the contest. (More)
➤ No. 3 Texas improved to 10-1 on the season with a 31-14 win over Kentucky. (More)
➤ Also in the SEC, No. 15 Texas A&M lost a 43-41 heartbreaker in four overtimes to Auburn. (More)
➤ Over in the ACC, No. 13 SMU moved one step closer to the College Football Playoff with a 33-7 win over Virginia. (More)
➤ Baylor extended their win streak to five games with a 20-10 victory over Big 12 rival Houston. (More)
➤ Texas Tech outlasted Oklahoma State in a 56-48 road win. (More)
➤ Houston Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet was ejected with four seconds left in the team’s 104-98 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday for a vulgar outburst after a foul call he objected to. (More)
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➤ Coppell-based The Container Store is pessimistic about securing financing to continue business operations, jeopardizing a potential $40 million buyout by Beyond Inc. (See Details)
➤ Fewer than 1,000 licensed commercial shrimpers are working in Texas today, down from 2,500 at the turn of the century. Competition from India, Vietnam, Thailand, and South America has diminished profitability for domestic suppliers. (More)
➤ A social impact holding company led by Dallas megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes launched an e-commerce platform called Nourysh for entrepreneurs with limited resources. (More)
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➤ A black-footed cat named Gaia is being transferred from a zoo in Utah to Cameron Park Zoo in Waco to participate in a breeding program. Though small, Gaia’s species is known as the “world’s most dangerous cat.” (See Photos)
➤ Ten of OpenTable’s top 100 restaurants in America are in Texas. With seven of those ten, Austin trailed only Chicago for the city with the most restaurants to make the list. (See List)
➤ An Austin TV station created an interactive, precinct-level map showing how Texans voted in the presidential election. Did your neighbors vote how you expected? (See Map)
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Texans Joining Trump Administration
