Friday, May 8, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1944, gospel music singer Dorothy Combs Morrison was born in Longview. She was the lead vocalist on the 1969 hit Oh Happy Day by the Edwin Hawkins Singers. The song was featured in the 2010 film Secretariat.

The "Epic Eid" event at Grand Prairie's Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark was canceled on Wednesday after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to pull state grants for the city. Get the details in today's Roundup, and check out the Poll to weigh in on the controversy.

Say goodbye to backbreaking scrubbing and tangled cords. Today's sponsor, the HydroX5 Cordless Pressure Washer delivers powerful, hassle-free cleaning that makes spring refreshes faster, easier, and oddly satisfying.

Take The Flyover with you. Busy day? Listen to our daily 15-minute podcast while commuting, cooking, or walking the dog—your Flyover fix, anywhere.

Grand Prairie Cancels 'Epic Eid' Event

A city-owned Grand Prairie water park canceled plans for a June 1 "Epic Eid" event, initially promoted as "Muslims only," shortly after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to pull $530,000 in state grants for the city on Wednesday.

The city's Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark had been rented out by organizer Dr. Aminah Knight, the owner of a local daycare, for Muslims to celebrate the holy day Eid al-Adha. While a website for the event initially advertised it as "Muslims only," it was later updated to clarify that guests would be expected to wear "modest dress only.”

Epic Waters opened in 2018 after voters approved a 0.25% sales tax. This year's event would have been the third time it was hosted at the water park. Despite the website's revised language stating that "all are welcome," guests were still advised to "uphold Islamic etiquette."

After Abbott criticized the "unconstitutional" event for promoting "religious discrimination" and threatened to pull state grants for Grand Prairie, officials for the city and the water park said it would be canceled.

"My faith is not something to fear," Knight said in a statement after the event's cancellation. "When people begin to see their neighbors as foreign or as though they do not belong, it weakens the fabric of our nation."

Gas Power Connection Requests Surpass Wind

For the first time in a decade, applications to build gas-fired power plants in Texas represent a higher generation capacity than those to develop wind power, according to data from state grid operator ERCOT.

While solar and battery projects account for 75% of the 458,000 megawatts in ERCOT's connection queue, applications for gas projects have jumped from 12,500 megawatts to nearly 64,000 megawatts over the last three years. In the same period, applications for wind projects have increased from 25,700 to 48,000 megawatts.

The shift is driven by incentives from the Texas Energy Fund (TEF) and by booming demand for data centers, which rely on 24/7 power and are often developed in conjunction with power generation projects.

A large portion of the 9,000 megawatts of prospective power generation projects supported by the TEF are "near-term gas projects we expect to come online," according to an ERCOT spokesperson. Meanwhile, 360,000 megawatts of power generation projects are tied to proposed data centers.

"We're going to clearly need a lot more of [gas] generation in order to have a balanced and reliable grid," ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas told a Texas Senate committee.

Mark Cuban Helps Basketball Team Go to London

Mark Cuban donated $30,000 to the University of Dallas men's basketball team so they can go to London later this month. The Catholic university's Division III program has been planning the trip for a year and a half, but it lost $60,000 to a travel company that recently filed for bankruptcy.

According to Coach Matt Grahn, the team tries to visit the hometown of any player who hasn't gotten to compete before family and friends in the past three years. Senior forward Michael Kennedy grew up in a London suburb, and the team has been fundraising for 18 months to pay for the trip.

"We did anything and everything," said Grahn. "We worked our tails off, and then it got ripped out from underneath us." Last month, GoPlay Sports Tours LLC shut down after filing for bankruptcy, and the school hasn't been refunded the $60,000 they paid the travel company.

The team has raised $13,000 from a social media campaign in the last month. Cuban said he wanted to support them "because it was the right thing to do.”

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➤ Hallsville: Caden Hawkins has returned home after being wrongfully imprisoned for more than a year in Mexico. He was arrested last March when police were alerted to a gun in his vehicle after he inadvertently crossed into Mexico from the United States. (More)

➤ San Antonio: A couple is suing city-owned CPS Energy and two of its vendors for more than $1 million in damages after an allegedly defective transformer exploded at their home in February. Their lawsuit cites a $109 million judgment against the utility for a similar incident in 2021. (More)

➤ Uhland: Mayor Lacee Duke resigned on Monday, five months after she was arrested by the Texas Rangers for allegedly misappropriating city funds in 2024. The mayor pro tem, city attorney, and other staff have also stepped down in recent days. (More)

➤ Connally ISD: Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appointed a three-member Board of Managers and a new superintendent to lead the district after previously announcing a state takeover due to multiple years of poor academic performance. (More)

➤ Godley: Matthew Cantrell, the city's former chief of police, who was arrested last month on charges related to a prostitution investigation, was arrested again for alleged sexual assault. His mother, a former employee at the Johnson County Jail, was also arrested for providing Cantrell with information about outstanding warrants for his arrest. (More)

➤ Maverick County: Rolando Jasso was appointed interim county judge after incumbent Ramsey Cantú was temporarily suspended due to accusations of official misconduct and incompetence. Cantú will face Gerardo "Jerry" Morales in the Democratic primary runoff for the post later this month. (More)

➤ Austin: Police chased a garbage truck from New Braunfels to Austin on I-35 on Wednesday morning before the driver crashed and was arrested. (Watch Video)

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➤ The San Antonio Spurs routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 133-95 in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals to tie the series at 1-1. Game 3 is tonight in Minnesota. (More)

➤ Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick directed state senators to study how prediction market platforms like Kalshi are using federal regulation to sidestep Texas sports gambling laws. (More)

➤ Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said this week the team "feels really good" about the return from last summer's Micah Parsons trade, which ultimately netted Dallas five players. (More)

➤ Carson Tinney hit a go-ahead 483-foot grand slam earlier this week to lift No. 4 Texas baseball past UTSA 11-8. (More)

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➤ Southwest Airlines took the top spot in the Economy/Basic Economy segment of J.D. Power’s 2026 North America Airline Satisfaction Study for the fifth year in a row. American Airlines scored below the industry average in the First/Business, Premium Economy, and Economy/Basic Economy categories. (More)

➤ Miami-based technology firm Hut 8 signed a 15-year, $9.8 billion lease for a $17 billion data center under development in Nueces County. Once completed, the campus is expected to employ up to 230 people. (More)

➤ Amarillo-based Pantex, the U.S. government's primary contractor for the assembly and disassembly of nuclear weapons, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday for its new High Explosives Science and Engineering (HESE) facility. Construction on the project began in November 2020. (More)

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➤ Texas home insurance premiums have gone up 58% since 2020 due to the increased cost of building materials and the higher-than-average number of severe storms. (More)

➤ The Fort Worth Zoo announced the April 1 birth of an Asian elephant named Sam Houston. "Given his remarkable size—the largest calf in Zoo history—it felt only fitting to honor one of Texas' most iconic figures." (See Photos)

➤ Meanwhile, the Houston Zoo announced the March 20 birth of a howler monkey named Tuve, a nod to Houston Astros slugger Jose Altuve. "Altuve hits dingers. Tuve turns up the volume," the zoo wrote in a Wednesday post. (See Photos)

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