By JAMES  A.  MARPLES **** I pay close attention to the news.  One legal case in Tennessee has widespread implications, even for Texas By federal statute, the U.S. Supreme Court starts its annual session “each first Monday in October”. This year, that will be October 5, 2026.  One case in Tennessee is surely to reach…

(Washington, D.C., October 2, 2026) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is taking steps to advance the Trump Administration’s commitment to unleashing American energy and economic prosperity and is streamlining program delivery for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Rural Development through the Rural Business Cooperative Service (RBCS) is issuing a final rule with…

Court blocks all construction and ground disturbance in the Big Bend Sector and suspends the waivers that let the government ignore dozens of federal laws   EL PASO — A federal judge on Friday ordered the federal government to stop building border barriers, roads and related infrastructure across the Big Bend region.   U.S. District…

With The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the country music singer proved she was a superstar of stage and screen By Brian D. Sweany September 17, 2026 Say what you will about Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds’ The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, but consider this: I am hard-pressed to find any other movie that…

As a kid growing up in Houston, I never even got close to El Paso. I like to think that Texans have a special aptitude for long stints on the road. But at 11 hours away from home, a trip to El Paso never entered my family’s mind. I’ve driven to the Big Bend region more…

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla., Oct. 2, 2026 — History often remembers those who chose sides. Ray Deptula examines what happens when loyalty to people becomes more important than loyalty to politics.   Drawing on 24 years as a U.S. Naval Aviator and Political-Military Officer, Deptula’s two-book Those Damned Yankees series follows Jack Halliday, a young man…

October 2, 2026 Today in Tokyo, the United States and Japan signed a protocol that extends and amends the U.S.-Japan Agreement on Cooperation in Research and Development in Science and Technology, also known as the U.S.-Japan Science and Technology Agreement. Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology…

Bowie County   Interstate 30 (I-30) – From Farm to Market road (FM) 989/Kings Highway to Arkansas state line, widening highway. Westbound lanes back to traditional, two-lane traffic pattern. Westbound entrance & exit ramps open. Traveling I-30 eastbound: Exit 217 to access Kings Highway & FM 2148. Lanes split. Exit 218 for local access east of Pecan…