Good Morning! On this day in 1889, the Texas Spring Palace opened in Fort Worth to host a fair promoting the state’s natural products. Constructed in just 30 days, the elaborate oriental-style structure was destroyed by a fire the following year.
Apparently, having a vehicle with four-wheel drive doesn’t mean you can navigate railroad tracks. Just ask the owner of a Jeep that got stuck on the tracks in Houston. Check out this story and more in today’s edition.
Today’s sponsor is Pacaso, offering an investment opportunity in the real estate industry.
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ICE: Suspect in Jet Ski Death Is an Illegal Immigrant
ICE has identified Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez, the 21-year-old woman accused of killing a kayaker on Lake Grapevine when she struck her with a jet ski Sunday, as an illegal immigrant from Venezuela.
Gonzalez fled the scene with 21-year-old Maikel Coello Perozo, also a Venezuelan illegal immigrant. They were arrested in Dallas with a packed suitcase yesterday, and Gonzalez has been charged with second-degree felony manslaughter.
The victim, 18-year-old Ava Moore, was a 2024 graduate of Keller Timber Creek High School and had just completed her first year at the Air Force Preparatory School in Colorado Springs, where she was a star basketball player.
“They took a bright, bright star from our lives,” said Moore’s coach, Ke’sha Blanton. In a social media post, Gov. Greg Abbott called for the death penalty.
Bills Passed to Combat Sex Crimes, Trafficking
Three bills aimed at protecting victims of sexual abuse, combating human trafficking, and closing a loophole in the criteria for inclusion in the state’s sex offender registry are on their way to becoming law.
On Monday, the Texas House unanimously passed Senate Bill 835, known as “Trey’s Law,” which prohibits the use of nondisclosure agreements in civil settlements with victims of sexual assault. The measure is named for a man who sued the summer camp where he was abused.
Later that day, the House passed Senate Bill 2167, which suspends massage parlor applications if the applicant is suspected of human trafficking. “I told you I was coming for the pimps,” said State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), one of the bill’s sponsors.
On Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 2000, known as “Audrii’s Law,” which requires a person convicted of enticing a child to be included in the state’s sex offender registry. The measure is named after 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham of Livingston, who was murdered last year.
SpaceX Conducts 9th Starship Test Flight
SpaceX launched its Starship megarocket from South Texas for the ninth time on Tuesday, and the first since its Starbase launch site incorporated as a city.
The launch marked the first reuse of a Super Heavy booster and the first time Starship reached suborbital space. The booster and rocket both disintegrated during reentry.
The company had planned to deploy eight dummy Starlink satellites, but Starship’s payload door malfunctioned. A fuel tank leak caused the spacecraft to spiral out of control over the Indian Ocean.
“We’re going to learn, iterate, and iterate … until we figure it out,” said SpaceX manufacturing engineer Jessie Anderson. With the FAA’s recent approval of up to 25 test flights a year, the next three launches could occur every three to four weeks.
Flying together with our sponsor
He’s Already IPO’d Once – This TIme’s Different
Spencer Rascoff co-founded Zillow, scaling it into a $16B real estate giant. But everyday investors couldn’t invest until after the IPO, missing early gains.
“I wish we had done a round accessible to retail investors prior to Zillow’s IPO,” Spencer later said.
Now he’s doing just that. Spencer teamed up with fellow Zillow exec Austin Allison to launch Pacaso. Pacaso’s co-ownership marketplace is disrupting the $1.3T vacation home market. They’ve already surpassed $110M in gross profit and $1B in transactions.
➤ McKinney: A local conservation group has filed a lawsuit alleging the environmental review conducted by TxDOT for the planned expansion of McKinney National Airport did not meet federal standards. (See Details)
➤ Temple: A massive fire destroyed a vacant nursing home Tuesday evening. Officials evacuated nearby apartment buildings as firefighters battled the blaze. (See Photos)
➤ Mercedes ISD: Superintendent Benjamin Clinton has resigned following his arrest earlier this month for driving while intoxicated. (More)
➤ San Antonio: The Edwards Aquifer Authority imposed Stage 5 water restrictions on suppliers in the region last Friday. Recent rains have not significantly increased the aquifer’s 10-day average water level. (See Details)
➤ Uhland: Andrew Farias, 18, was shot and killed at his own high school graduation party Sunday night after he confronted a man who allegedly hit a relative in the head with a pistol. Chad Lee-Gardner, 18, fled the scene but was arrested in nearby Austin. (More)
➤ Houston: A Jeep that got stuck on the downtown METRORail tracks was removed by a crane Wednesday morning. The driver abandoned the vehicle before officers arrived at the scene. (See Photos)
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➤ ESPN’s No. 40-ranked prospect Elijah Williams has committed to play basketball for Baylor. Williams was coached by his father, former NBA coach Monty Williams, at TMI Episcopal High School in San Antonio. (More)
➤ Texas Tech’s 2025 Hall of Fame class is headlined by quarterback BJ Symons, Olympic soccer player Janine Beckie, and high jump champion JaCorian Duffield. (More)
➤ Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco will have season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He’s the second Astros pitcher this season to get the procedure. (More)
➤ Alex Foster, a redshirt freshman for Baylor’s football team, was shot and killed Wednesday morning in his hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. (More)
➤ Goldman Sachs says this phenomenon is creating 1,600 new millionaires daily—yet it’s flying under the radar. The analyst who foresaw Amazon and Qualcomm’s rise is now revealing his next big prediction, claiming this opportunity could surpass anything investors have seen before. (See It Here)
➤ Austin was ranked the top “innovation hub” in the South, according to an analysis that examined the availability of local talent. Irving, Houston, Richardson, College Station, and McKinney also landed in the top 20. (More)
➤ McDonald’s announced it is closing its spinoff drink shop CosMc’s next month. Four of the country’s five locations are in Texas. (More)
➤ A Houston-area real estate firm is reportedly planning a $1 billion mixed-use development in Magnolia that could be completed within two years. The 200-acre Magnolia Town Center is expected to include 187 single-family homes, condos, retail and office space, and three public-access lakes. (More)
Founded by the man who took Zillow from seed to IPO, Pacaso brings co-ownership to the $1.3T vacation home industry. They’ve already generated $1B+ worth of luxury home transactions across 2,000+ buyers. Top firms like SoftBank and Maveron are already holding shares.
Now, after 41% gross profit growth last year, surpassing $110M+ total, Pacaso is ready for what’s next. Best of all? You don’t have to wait to join, but time is of the essence.
This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals. Under Regulation A+, a company has the ability to change its share price by up to 20%, without requalifying the offering with the SEC.
➤ Henderson resident Wilma Bennett celebrated her 102nd birthday on Tuesday. Although Bennett likes Dr Pepper and Cheetos, her granddaughter said Bennett “lived on a ranch and ate good vegetables out of the garden.” (Watch Video)
➤ A tagged Kemp’s ridley sea turtle laid her second nest of the season—96 eggs—on Surfside Beach. According to Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research, it’s her fifth known nest on the upper Texas coast in recent years. (See Photos)
➤ Canton’s First Monday Trade Days, marketed as the world’s largest flea market, dates back to the 1850s, when a district judge would auction off stray horses at the county courthouse. Today marks the first day of this month’s market. (Watch Video)
Flying together with our sponsor
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