Area News

View as a webpage  /  Share (Washington, D.C., October 19, 2026) – Today, President Donald J. Trump, alongside U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will make $8 billion available for one-time payments to American farmers this harvest season to provide relief during temporary market disruptions and increased…

By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune October 20, 2026 Texas has some of the nation’s highest property tax bills, but many may not know there’s a way to bring down their payments. Texas homeowners can apply for a homestead exemption, which can cut thousands of dollars off the taxable value of a home. That gives…

By Colleen DeGuzman, Alex Nguyen and Uriel J. García, The Texas Tribune October 19, 2026 The 56-year-old Mexican man who died Saturday while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody was a lawful permanent resident in the country, the agency said in a statement a day after The Texas Tribune reported about his death. Emiliano…

By Berenice Garcia, The Texas Tribune October 19, 2026 Gov. Greg Abbott said the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department commission would not be taking up the issue of a potential sale of Boca Chica State Park to Elon Musk’s SpaceX anytime soon, following a Texas Monthly news article saying as much. At a news conference…

By Terri Langford, The Texas Tribune October 20, 2026 For the first time in two years, a federal judge on Tuesday will hold the first public court hearing on the 15-year-old class action lawsuit against the Texas foster care system.  The pressing question before U.S. District Judge Randy Crane over the multiple-day hearing in Houston…

LIVING ON PURPOSE By Dr. Billy Holland It seems the two topics that cause the most anger and division are politics and religion. I remember years ago speaking with an elderly man who was fondly known around town as friendly, successful, and wise, and he told me these were the two areas that he refused…

By Alejandra Martinez, The Texas Tribune October 20, 2026 Texas’ rapidly growing data center industry could reverse much of the state’s progress on air quality by the end of the decade, according to a new report released Tuesday. The air emissions report published by the Houston Advanced Research Center revealed that the industry’s impact on…

By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune October 20, 2026 DALLAS — When the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge opened more than a decade ago, it connected downtown Dallas to West Dallas, one of the poorest parts of the city. With the new bridge came a spike of new development interest in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, once…

By Jayme Lozano Carver, The Texas Tribune October 19, 2026 On the first day of early voting, outgoing Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller escalated his beef with Republican candidate Nate Sheets, posting an essay discouraging people from voting for him. In the essay, posted to his own website, Miller repeated the claim that Sheets isn’t…

2026 Festival Flyer **BIG SANDY, TX** — The community of Big Sandy is preparing for a full day of autumn celebrations. The annual Big Sandy Fall Heritage Festival is officially scheduled for **Saturday, October 31, 2026**, bringing a jam-packed lineup of family-friendly events, local vendors, and seasonal entertainment to downtown and the surrounding areas. ###…