Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Abbott's Space Academy Bid, Screwworm Found in Horse, and AI Cattle Scams

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Good morning! On this day in 1922, anti-Klan Democrats met in Dallas and picked Houston lawyer George Peddy to challenge the Ku Klux Klan-backed Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. Kept off the ballot, Peddy still drew 130,744 write-in votes.

You'll find an article in Et Cetera about a math teacher who used the Heimlich maneuver to save a choking sixth-grader. Our Poll asks if you've ever been present when the maneuver was used to save someone. Hit reply to tell us your story.

Millions of Americans may have prediabetes and not even know it. Your body sends warning signs years before prediabetes shows up, and doctors say most people miss them completely. Researchers point to five key findings that change how we think about the condition, including one small change that could slash your risk by more than half. Join Ayla on The Flyover Podcast to hear what your body may be trying to tell you. Tune in here!

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Trump Taps Hunt for Saudi Post

President Trump nominated Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia on Monday, a post that has lacked a full-time appointee since the end of the Biden administration and requires Senate confirmation.

The 44-year-old West Point graduate flew Apache helicopters for eight years and spent two deployments in the kingdom as a diplomatic liaison. Hunt called the nomination the "honor of a lifetime" and said his family has given more than 60 years to the military.

Iran has been firing on Saudi Arabia and blockading its energy shipments since February, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked Trump to strike the Iran-backed Houthis. Trump declined to do so.

Hunt leaves the House in January after two terms, following a third-place finish in March's Senate Republican primary won by Attorney General Ken Paxton. He announced the nomination with an AI-generated image of himself in mirrored aviator sunglasses against the Riyadh skyline.

Abbott Launches Space Academy Bid

Gov. Greg Abbott named a seven-member leadership team Tuesday to make a bid for Texas as the permanent home of the new United States Space Academy.

President Trump signed an executive order at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston last month, creating a presidential commission that will recommend a permanent site. House Appropriations Chairman Greg Bonnen of Friendswood will lead the Texas team, which is working with the Texas Space Commission on a statewide proposal.

"No state can match what Texas brings to this mission," Abbott said, pointing to Johnson Space Center, the state's universities, and its commercial space industry. Speaker Dustin Burrows cited the state's 15 military installations and research universities as reasons to put the academy here.

The team includes UTEP President Heather Wilson, a former secretary of the Air Force, and two former NASA astronauts, Nancy Currie-Gregg and Jack Fischer. Texas A&M's Space Institute and UT-Austin's Center for Space Research also have directors on the team.

Texas Children's Hospital Leads Rankings

Texas Children's Hospital in Houston earned the nation's No. 1 ranking for pediatric heart care for the 10th straight year in U.S. News & World Report's new Best Children's Hospitals rankings.

The hospital also took No. 1 in diabetes and endocrinology, No. 2 in kidney care, lung surgery, and urology, and No. 3 in neurology and neurosurgery. All 11 specialties U.S. News evaluated earned national rankings.

Texas Children's has been No. 1 in Texas for 18 straight years and No. 1 in the Southwest for six. President and CEO Debra Sukin said the honors reflect "the skill, compassion, and relentless commitment" of the hospital's physicians, nurses, and researchers.

Children's Medical Center Dallas ranked No. 2 in Texas and the Southwest, followed by Dell Children's in Austin at No. 4 and Cook Children's in Fort Worth at No. 5. Scottish Rite for Children in Dallas led the country in pediatric orthopedics.

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➤ Presidio County: A working ranch horse tested positive for New World screwworm on Sept. 9, the first case in a horse anywhere in the U.S. The flesh-eating fly larvae turned up in its hind leg. Texas has logged 49 cases. (See Details)

➤ Houston: Doctors at Ben Taub and other public hospitals are treating men in their 20s and 30s for kidney failure with none of the usual causes. Heat, dehydration, and pesticide exposure are among the suspects. (More)

➤ Fort Hood: A 1st Cavalry Division soldier died in a vehicle rollover during training Sept. 14, and a second soldier was hurt. The Army will release his name once his family is notified. The crash remains under investigation. (More)

➤ Knippa: A Border Patrol dog sniffed out three illegal immigrants on Sept. 7 who had been locked inside a train freight car by smugglers. Agents pulled eight more from the same rail siding Aug. 30. (See Details)

➤ Statewide: Federal prosecutors charged more than 160 people nationwide in a summer sweep of COVID-era small business loan fraud, with at least $15.4 million tied to Texas cases. A former Austin accountant pleaded guilty to taking $905,264. (See Report)

➤ El Paso: A Mexican national pleaded guilty in federal court to running a cartel smuggling tunnel under the border from Ciudad Juárez, charging up to $30,000 per crossing. (More)

➤ Balcones Heights: Police released video of a young man with a bowl haircut who they say walked the neighborhood overnight Sept. 1-2, testing car doors and breaking into several vehicles. Multiple cameras caught him. (See Video)

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➤ One bettor wagered $1.2 million on Texas football to beat Ohio State last weekend, then watched the Longhorns erase a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit and won a $2.1 million payout. (More)

➤ SMU volleyball climbed to No. 5 in the national poll, the highest ranking in program history, after back-to-back wins over top-10 opponents Texas and Kentucky last week. (More)

➤ No. 13 Texas Tech football has sold out Friday night's Big 12 opener against No. 22 Houston at Galaxy Stadium. It’s the program's 10th consecutive home sellout dating back to 2025. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Soccer | NCAA Volleyball

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➤ AI-generated cattle photos are turning up in online livestock listings, and one Texas producer lost about $70,000 in a fake sale. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told buyers to study an animal's ears, legs, and tail for distortion. (See Details)

➤ Airbnb is giving Austin $6.4 million for the St. Johns redevelopment, a 19-acre project on a former Home Depot site with 500-plus housing units. Austin is the first city tapped under the company's $250 million housing fund. (More)

➤ A surf resort with cliff diving and lazy rivers is planned for 35 acres at Stacy Road and Highway 121 in McKinney. The $200 million Cannon Beach project, aided by city incentives, could begin opening in phases by mid-2027. (See Details)

➤ Three AI companies handed Colorado City a $10 million check Monday to help rebuild the water system that failed in July. Cipher Digital, Fluidstack, and Anthropic are funding a new well field, water tower, and replacement main. (See Details)

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➤ A sixth-grader choking on a grape at lunch turned purple before a LaPoynor ISD math teacher and baseball coach spotted her, asked if she was choking, and performed the Heimlich. Chris Burroughs credits the district's summer emergency training. (More)

➤ Sixty-four horned lizards hatched at Tyler's Caldwell Zoo this season, the sixth year of its breeding program for the state reptile, run in coordination with Texas Parks and Wildlife. (See Details)

➤ SpaceX's Starship has a tentative date of Tuesday, Sept. 22, for its 14th flight from Starbase, the first aiming to reach orbit. The window opens at 7:15 a.m., and the launch will close Highway 4 and Boca Chica Beach. (More)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes.

➤ Doctors say prediabetes can show warning signs years before a diagnosis, and most people miss them completely. (Five Findings)

➤ The Anthropic and Nvidia CEOs took the same stage hours apart and collided over whether AI is moving too fast. (Hear Story)

➤ Prosecutors have shifted course in the case against Rob Reiner's son, Nick, accused of murdering his parents. (Hear Details)

Have you ever been present when the Heimlich maneuver was used to save someone who was choking?

Yesterday's Results:

How long after air taxis start running will you agree to ride in one?

Never: 44%
Longer than 3 years: 19%
Three years: 17%
Six months: 15%
First in line: 5%

Which Texas cave did the founder of the National Speleological Society call "the most indescribably beautiful cave in the world"?

Show me the answer

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The Texas Flyover
1942 W Gray St
Unit #158
Houston, TX 77019

Homicides Down, Renaming Lake Erie, and Zoo Proposal

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1988, Cincinnati Reds left-hander Tom Browning retired all 27 Los Angeles Dodgers he faced, throwing the first perfect game in franchise history.

Gov. Mike DeWine declared Dolly Parton Day in Ohio, and the date he picked contains a tribute to her hit song 9 to 5. Find out more in Et Cetera.

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Cleveland Homicides Down 44% since 2023

Criminal homicides in Cleveland are down 44% through the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2023, according to figures released by the police department.

Robberies fell 40% over that stretch, car thefts dropped 52%, and felonious assaults slipped 13%. Police Chief Dorothy Todd credited residents who now tell officers about trouble before it escalates: "We've made a significant dent in the violent crime in our city."

Mayor Justin Bibb tied the numbers to the city's Summer Safety Plan, which put 1,526 young people into summer jobs and, through police operations, recovered 466 firearms and 90 stolen vehicles. Bibb said the city has hired more than 300 officers in three years after hiring 21 in 2023.

Against a narrower baseline the drops are smaller. Measured against the city's 2024 summer operation, homicides fell 22.8% and robberies 33.9%.

Ohio State Law School Moving Downtown

Ohio State will move its Moritz College of Law off campus and into the 1926 Huntington National Bank Building at 17 S. High St., across from the Statehouse.

The university and the City of Columbus announced the move Monday, with an opening planned for fall 2029. Downtown Columbus Inc. will own and renovate the 13-story building and lease it to Ohio State for 30 years, with an option to buy later.

Dean Kent Barnett called it a "full circle moment," noting the college started at the Franklin County Courthouse before moving to campus. The Ohio Supreme Court, city hall, and most of the city's large law firms sit within a few blocks.

The ground-floor banking lobby, teller cages and all, will become an event space, and Huntington will move its branch next door by summer 2027. Ohio State hasn't said what the renovation will cost or what happens to Drinko Hall.

Cleveland Council Renames Lake Erie Stretch

Cleveland City Council voted Monday to rename the stretch of Lake Erie along the city's shoreline the Gulf of Cleveland.

Resolution 1047-2026, sponsored by Ward 4 Councilman Kris Harsh, covers the water from the easternmost to the westernmost points of the shoreline and two miles out. City departments are to use the name on maps and in documents, and the council clerk will write to Apple and Google.

The council cast it as an answer to federal renamings, though the resolution carries no legal authority over the lake's name. President Trump signed an executive order last year replacing Gulf of Mexico with Gulf of America and signed another last month renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.

Harsh said he expects criticism: "I can already hear some of you saying 'Kris, it's not even a gulf. It's a lake.' To which I say, 'Who cares?'"

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➤ Cincinnati: Mt. Airy residents went nearly two weeks without trash pickup, with some Shadymist Lane homes last serviced Sept. 3. The city blamed Public Services staff calling out sick and said normal operations resumed Monday. (More)

➤ Columbus: The Ohio Controlling Board approved $500,000 in emergency disaster assistance for residents of Franklin, Morgan, Muskingum, and Perry counties after August's storms and flooding. (See Details)

➤ Fairfield: Mayor Steve Miller announced his resignation during Monday night's city council meeting in the Butler County city. (See Video)

➤ Akron: Mayor Shammas Malik's administration introduced legislation Monday to scrap minimum lot-size rules that require 4,000 square feet for a single-family home and 7,000 for anything larger. City council has set a public hearing for Sept. 28. (More)

➤ Aurora: The first phase of Aurora Park at Geauga Lake, on the old SeaWorld Ohio grounds, should open by the end of October with a plaza, a welcome gatehouse, and lawn along the water. A beach comes in a later phase. (See Details)

➤ Avon: Sixty years after a woman calling herself "Janet" died in a 1965 crash on Mills Road, Avon police still don't know her name. Investigators have partnered with the DNA Doe Project on Ohio's oldest missing person case. (Read Story)

➤ Youngstown: A Coleman Drive house is off Airbnb after Fifth Ward Councilman Pat Kelly got the home removed from the site. Kelly says more than 200 rounds were fired there during an Aug. 28 party; no one was hurt. (Read Story)

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➤ Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz hit a 457-foot home run against the Dodgers that bounced out of Great American Ball Park. It was his 27th homer of the season, a new career high with three weeks still to play. (See Hit)

➤ The Cleveland Browns will stick with Deshaun Watson as their starting quarterback for Week 2 at Tampa Bay despite losing big to the Jaguars in their opener. Coach Todd Monken cited operational issues as the main problem. (More)

➤ FC Cincinnati formally waived defender Matt Miazga this week, ending the veteran's five-season run with the club. Miazga was named MLS Defender of the Year in 2023 when Cincinnati captured the league's regular-season title. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Soccer

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➤ An Ohio Department of Transportation study puts the Findlay Airport in Hancock County's annual economic impact at about $29 million, up 47% from 2013. Director Amanda McGee credited new services like de-icing and ground starting, plus a cargo uptick. (See Report)

➤ Barnes & Noble acquired Joseph-Beth Booksellers' stores at Lexington Green in Kentucky and Rookwood Pavilion in Cincinnati. Both keep their names, staff, and programming, along with their Bronte Bistro restaurants. (See Details)

➤ L'uva Bella Winery in Mahoning County broke ground on a $1.1 million, 7,000-square-foot production warehouse. A Resilient Food System Infrastructure grant covers just over half the cost; owner Marisa Sergi-Schumann says the rest is company capital. (More)

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➤ Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel signed a proclamation Monday setting Sept. 25 as Dolly Parton Day in Ohio, three weeks after her death at 80. Written out as 9-2-5, the date echoes her 1980 hit 9 to 5. (See Details)

➤ The Elyria Apple Festival runs Friday through Sunday in Ely Square downtown, featuring an apple baking contest, a police dunk tank, a Kids Zone with a climbing wall and bounce houses, and a car show. (See Schedule)

➤ A man proposed to his girlfriend on Aug. 29 during a behind-the-scenes tour with the Columbus Zoo's Asian small-clawed otters. The couple visits so often they've mapped out their own routes through the grounds. (See Video)

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