Good morning! On this day in 1850, the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway was chartered. Three years later, it became the first railroad to operate in Texas, providing service along a twenty-mile route between Harrisburg and Stafford’s Point.
Super Bowl MVP and Houston native Jalen Hurts makes no bones about his love for crawdads, but an invasive critter could one day threaten the Texas variety if it isn’t kept in check. Read this story below, and let us know if you like to eat mudbugs in our daily poll!
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An American Airlines flight from Austin to Charlotte was delayed on Friday after a custom WiFi hotspot named “There is a bomb on this flight” was discovered prior to takeoff.
After being alerted to the suspected threat, the pilot returned the plane to the gate. A police officer boarded and warned passengers that a full investigation would be conducted unless the person who created the hotspot admitted it was a joke. When no one came forward, all passengers were escorted off for additional screening.
The aircraft and luggage were checked for explosives with the assistance of a bomb-sniffing dog before police gave the all-clear. The flight, originally scheduled for a 1:42 p.m. departure, finally left at 6:51 p.m. and arrived in Charlotte without further incident.
Fed: Tariffs Threaten Texas Job Growth
Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas predict 225,000 jobs will be added to payrolls in Texas this year, a growth rate of 1.6% from last year’s total of nearly 14.2 million jobs. In 2024, employment increased by 1.7% from the previous year, down from 2.4% in 2023.
The annual economic outlook was delivered at a meeting for business and community leaders last Friday. Senior economist Pia Orrenius said last year’s slowdown can be attributed to high interest rates, falling oil and gas prices, and uncertainty about the presidential election.
Orrenius said the biggest threat to growth this year is tariffs, particularly on goods from Mexico, the state’s No. 1 international trading partner. She and her staff calculated a 25% tariff on trade with Mexico could impact Texas GDP growth by 15-30%.
Still, she praised the Texas economy for being “flexible” and “market-driven” and acknowledged the prospect of deregulation and lower taxes provide business leaders reason to be optimistic.
Texans Featured in Super Bowl
Texans were featured prominently during the Super Bowl, both on the field and in between the action.
Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts previously played for Channelview High School, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes played for Whitehouse High School and Texas Tech University. In total, four Chiefs players and seven Eagles players played high school football in Texas.
Texas actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson appeared in commercials for Salesforce and Uber Eats, Glen Powell donned a wig to become Goldilocks in a Dodge Ram commercial, and Fast & Furious star Michelle Rodriguez hawked Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
Artists Aaron Watson and Post Malone also appeared in spots for H-E-B and Bud Light, and Fort Worth-based Bison Coolers were featured in an ad for Google’s AI products. Before the game started, Nacogdoches native Major Justin Pitcock of the U.S. Marines flew a V-22 Osprey over the field during the national anthem.
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➤ Atlas Van Lines reported that for the first time in several years, the number of people moving to Texas is about the same as the number of people leaving the state. The company cited affordability as a factor that has stabilized migration patterns. (See Details)
➤ El Paso: Border Patrol agents disrupted a smuggling operation at a hotel last Tuesday. Four suspected smugglers and 13 illegal immigrants were apprehended. (More)
➤ Ector County ISD: The board of trustees named Dr. Keeley Boyer as the sole finalist to become the district’s next superintendent. She has worked for ECISD since 2021 and was previously employed by Houston ISD and Portland Public Schools. (More)
➤ Meanwhile, Dr. Deidre Parish has been selected as the next superintendent of Amarillo ISD. Parish is the current superintendent for Sweetwater ISD and will start her new role in July. (More)
➤ San Antonio native and Army veteran Carol Mooers, 48, was one of the 10 passengers killed in a plane crash in the Bering Sea last Thursday. She was working as a school counselor in Unalakleet and was on her way to pick up students for college tours at the time of the crash. (More)
➤ Richmond: An employee of Lamar Consolidated Independent School District was arrested Sunday in the alleged murder of his wife, who was also a district employee. (More)
➤ Brownsville: Scientists are conducting tests to determine the prevalence of the invasive Australian redclaw crayfish in the Rio Grande wetlands. (See Photos)
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➤ No. 4 Texas women’s basketball snapped No. 2 South Carolina’s all-time record conference winning streak on Sunday with a 66-62 win. (More)
➤ Dallas Mavericks newly acquired forward Anthony Davis is expected to miss multiple weeks with a left adductor strain that was suffered in his first game with the team. (More)
➤ The Dallas Cowboys have brought in Junior Adams as the team’s next wide receivers coach. Adams helped the 2024 Oregon Ducks put together an undefeated regular season as a member of their staff. (More)
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➤ A 42-mile conveyor belt in West Texas began transporting sand for fracking operations last month. The $400 million Dune Express was built by Atlas Energy Solutions in an effort to reduce the number of sand trucks on the road. (See Details)
➤ A Las Vegas jury ordered San Antonio-based USAA to pay over $100 million in compensatory and punitive damages for failing to pay a customer’s claim related to a 2018 car crash. The company stated it disagreed with the verdict and “will evaluate our legal options.” (See Details)
➤ Austin-based SolarWinds Corporation, a provider of IT management software, is being acquired by Turn/River Capital in a $4.4 billion deal at $18.50 a share, a 35% premium over the stock’s 90-day average price. (More)
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➤ Asad Munir, a Los Angeles Lakers fan who lives in Dallas, snapped a photo of Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka at a coffee shop on Jan. 7, where he met with Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison to discuss trading Luka Doncic. (See Photo)
➤ The In Between, a documentary about growing up in the border town of Eagle Pass, debuted last night on PBS and is available to stream at no cost on their website. (See Details)
➤ Cedar Park 10-year-old Advik Manchanda, an expert chess player, was recognized by Gov. Greg Abbott for being the only Texan to medal in a national tournament in December. (More)
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Bomb Threat Delays Flight
