Good morning! On this day in 1908, Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on a Hill Country farm near Stonewall. The future president taught school in Cotulla before winning a seat in Congress at 28.
Have you heard about this debate over whether couples should combine all their finances? Maybe you, your kids, or even your grandchildren are dealing with this decision right now. It’s one of the first big money decisions every couple makes, and most people assume there’s an obvious right answer. Today on The Flyover Podcast, Ayla shares the ins and outs of combining finances and which way today’s generation is leaning. Tune in here!
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Meta will pay Texas more than $1 billion and cap teen users at two hours a day on Facebook and Instagram under a settlement Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday.
The deal requires muting notifications during school hours unless a parent changes the setting, hiding likes and reactions, and restricting nighttime access. Meta also agreed to tighter age checks.
The funds will pay for youth mental health services, digital literacy, after-school programs, and school grants. “This is a historic settlement and a major win for the safety of Texas children,” Paxton said.
The Texas deal is separate from a roughly $18 billion agreement Meta reached the same day with 33 other states over claims its platforms harmed teens. It’s Paxton’s third settlement above $1 billion with a tech company. He goes to trial against TikTok this fall.
Ross Fire Knocks Out Power
Hundreds of homes and businesses near Possum Kingdom Lake lost power on Wednesday after the Ross Fire burned 300 power poles in Palo Pinto County.
The fire broke out Monday afternoon about 60 miles west of Fort Worth and has since blackened 80,000 acres with 12% containment as of Wednesday morning. Crews rebuilt lines along Highway 254 overnight, only to watch flames flare back up and take them out again.
About 100 line workers are on the ground, and bulldozers are clearing burned debris to open a path into areas crews still can’t safely reach.
The fire ran toward the town of Bryson in Jack County overnight before crews stopped it outside the town limits. Roughly 350 people were evacuated, and those orders have since been lifted.
Judge Again Blocks Drag Show Law
A federal judge again struck down Texas’ 2023 limits on sexually oriented performances on Tuesday, blocking the state from enforcing them. Senate Bill 12, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, fined businesses up to $10,000 for hosting such shows and made performing in one punishable by a fine.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner, a Reagan appointee, first blocked it in 2023. An appeals court revived the law in March and sent the case back to him.
Hittner called the law too vague to tell performers what’s off limits, writing that it could reach convention cosplay, swimmers, and Dolly Parton impersonators. Drag performer Brigitte Bandit, a plaintiff, said the state is trying to “censor art.”
“Finally, for those who find such activities as described in this case offensive, the solution is relatively simple … just don’t go,” the judge wrote.
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➤ Statewide: Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to build a statewide framework for three-year bachelor’s degrees, with recommendations due to his office by Dec. 31. He wants the Legislature to write the pathway into law next session. (See Details)
➤ Fort Worth: The city council unanimously approved an $11.25 million settlement with the family of Atatiana Jefferson, shot through her own window by officer Aaron Dean in 2019. Dean was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to more than 11 years. (More)
➤ Harris County: Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth turned down a raise to $305,000 approved by Commissioners Court, saying it came with no new money to fund it and would have to come out of her office’s own budget. She made around $180,000 last year. (See Details)
➤ Midland: A tip led U.S. marshals and Midland officers to Ronnie Velarde, 37, a West Texas Tango gang member on the state’s 10 Most Wanted list, at a Midland home Aug. 18. The tipster is due up to $5,000. (More)
➤ Statewide: Democrat James Talarico asked a court to unseal depositions involving Senate opponent Ken Paxton from a fraud suit in which Paxton wasn’t a defendant. Paxton, who beat Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary, calls the request politically motivated. (More)
➤ Laredo: A driver scooped a 2-year-old boy out of an intersection Tuesday afternoon after he wandered out of his daycare. Police charged the 41-year-old sitter, Norma Martinez, with endangering a child, saying the front door hadn’t been properly secured. (See Details)
➤ Harris County: Gov. Abbott appointed former state Rep. Shawn Thierry to the new 515th District Court. Thierry, a four-term Democrat, lost her 2024 primary after backing bills barring sex-change procedures for minors, then switched to the Republican Party. (More)
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➤ H-E-B became the Dallas Cowboys’ exclusive grocery partner in a multiyear deal that includes game-day tailgate sponsorships, player commercials, and $500,000 in donations to Dallas-Fort Worth nonprofits. (More)
➤ Texas Techfootball landed four-star offensive tackle Austin Attalah, a 6-foot-7, 270-pound junior who chose the Red Raiders over the Longhorns and USC. He is Tech’s first commitment in the 2028 class. (More)
➤ The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders paid tribute to Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at 80. Parton famously dressed as a Cowboys cheerleader during the 2023 Thanksgiving halftime show at AT&T Stadium. (More)
➤ The Dallas Wings clinched the final WNBA playoff spot Tuesday night with a 96-78 win over Portland. A year after going 10-34, the league’s worst record, Dallas has already set a franchise record with 23 wins. (More)
➤ SpaceX’s next Starbase will rise in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, a $100 billion site that will become the main launch pad for SpaceX Starship. The rocket now flies from Boca Chica. Elon Musk says the project will bring about 10,000 jobs. (See Details)
➤ Corpus Christi is spending $35 million on parks. The $30 million for four parks and a six-lane pool in Hillcrest and Washington-Coles is the city’s largest single investment in parks. (More)
➤ An industrial gas plant will open in Bryan in late 2027, where Messer will separate air into gases from carbon dioxide to xenon for food, health care, and manufacturing customers. (See Details)
➤ A free alert system from the Harris County Clerk’s office will notify property owners whenever a document is recorded under their name, a check against deed fraud. (More)
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➤ A tree kangaroo joey has started poking its head out of mom’s pouch at the San Antonio Zoo. Fewer than 2,500 Matschie’s tree kangaroos remain in the wild, all on Papua New Guinea’s Huon Peninsula. (See Photos)
➤ The Baylor Line won best walk-out tradition in college football in USA Today Sports‘ fan-voted 2026 awards, finishing ahead of Auburn’s Tiger Walk. First-year students rush McLane Stadium’s field to form a human tunnel for the team. (See List)
➤ Ector County’s library landed a $1 million gift from the Permian Basin Area Foundation toward a bigger building in Odessa. The library opened in 1938 and holds about 200,000 printed books. (More)
➤ A bomb-sniffing dog at DFW won TSA’s 2026 Cutest Canine Contest, beating out 84 other dogs nationwide. Bolt, a 3-year-old German shorthaired pointer, is “always 1,000% excited to go to work,” handler Daphne Wang said. (See Photos)
Meta to Pay Texas $1 Billion
