Cold Weather Coming

A mass of arctic air will descend on much of the state this evening and linger until Friday, causing temperatures to plunge. Gov. Greg Abbott warned Monday that this could be “the coldest weather event of the year.”

Temperatures are expected to reach the single digits in the Panhandle, and residents there and in North Texas could see wintry precipitation today and tomorrow. The National Weather Service has issued extreme cold watches and warnings for large parts of North, West, and Central Texas.

Despite the potential for temperature records to be set in some places, Abbott assured Texans they can be “100% confident” the state’s power grid will hold up, saying it “has never been stronger than it is now.”

Pablo Vegas, the CEO of power grid operator ERCOT, echoed that sentiment, citing improved weatherization of power plants and the addition of 13,500 megawatts of generating capacity—enough to power nearly 3.4 million homes—since Winter Storm Uri in 2021.

Measles Outbreak Grows

A measles outbreak in Gaines County has grown to at least 49 confirmed cases. Lubbock Public Health announced the city’s first confirmed case on Friday. The outbreak is the state’s worst in nearly 30 years, and health officials suspect there could be hundreds more untested infections.

Gaines County has a large Mennonite population, many of whom are averse to vaccination. Its 18% vaccine exemption rate among school-age children is one of the highest in the state.

Thirteen people have been hospitalized thus far, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided the state with 2,000 doses of the measles vaccine.

Measles is a highly contagious disease characterized by symptoms such as fever, cough, and rash. In severe cases, it can cause pneumonia and swelling of the brain. The measles vaccine became available in the 1960s and is typically administered to young children in two doses.

North Texan Inundated with Mystery Seeds

Earlier this month, unsolicited packages containing mystery seeds began showing up in Texans’ mailboxes, prompting an advisory from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller asking recipients to report such packages to the state.

Now, it appears a North Texas resident’s address was fraudulently used as the return address for these packages, leading to a daily stream of 5-10 seed packages at the address.

The seeds have been identified as those of invasive water lilies and are thought to originate from China, where popular e-retailers Temu and Shein are based. In one instance, a man who ordered a dog toy through Temu received a package of seeds instead.

Miller has asked anyone who receives seeds in the mail to alert the Texas Department of Agriculture, which will pick them up and destroy them using a steam sterilization process.

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➤ Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into Chinese AI startup DeepSeek over concerns about its privacy practices. “DeepSeek appears to be no more than a proxy for the CCP to undermine American AI dominance and steal the data of our citizens,” Paxton said. (See Details)

➤ A group of local government officials from Central Texas met with several members of Congress last week to voice their opposition to federal funding for a proposal to build a high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas. (See Details)

➤ Richardson: Douglas Ervin, 81, called 911 last Thursday evening to tell police he had shot and killed his 59-year-old roommate. Ervin has been charged with murder and is being held on a $200,000 bond. (More)

➤ Carson County: About 100 workers employed by the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Pantex nuclear weapons assembly plant received notice of their termination last Thursday, only to be reinstated the following day. (More) 

➤ Dallas: Police are searching for the driver responsible for killing a 6-year-old girl during a hit-and-run Sunday evening. (More)

➤ Laredo: A plane caught fire during an airshow on Sunday, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. He was transported to a hospital in San Antonio with critical injuries. (See Photos)

➤ Pearland: Meanwhile, a small plane crashed in a wooded area near Pearland Regional Airport Sunday evening. Although the Cessna Skyhawk came to rest upside down, the pilot escaped without any apparent injuries. (See Photo)

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➤ San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama added another impressive block to his season highlight reel in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, chasing down Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham from behind. (Watch Video)

➤ Former Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman posted a heartfelt message for Astros fans on social media following his decision to sign with the Boston Red Sox. (See Post)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NHL | NCAAM | NCAAW | NCAASB | Soccer

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➤ Envirotech Vehicles announced plans to relocate from Osceola, Arkansas, to Houston last week. The company’s electric vehicles are used by school districts, universities, and transportation companies. (More)

➤ Powersports vehicle manufacturer Massimo Group announced plans to move the assembly of its golf carts from China to a 376,000-square-foot facility at its Garland headquarters to avoid tariffs imposed by President Trump. (See Details)

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➤ South Texas College in McAllen is among the first colleges in the U.S. to offer a nursing apprenticeship program, in which participants can get paid for working alongside a registered nurse while completing their studies. The program aims to address a growing shortage of nurses in the Rio Grande Valley. (More)

➤ Former UT student Summer Willis crawled a half marathon—13.1 miles—on Saturday in Austin before running a half marathon on Sunday to raise awareness about victims of sexual assault. (More)

➤ San Antonio’s Sotomayor High School Wildcat marching band won a national competition organized by heavy metal band Metallica. The band will receive $20,000 of new instruments for their “Master of Puppets” adaptation submitted via video last November. (Watch Video)

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Should the state require children to get vaccinated against certain diseases to attend public school?

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