Thursday, September 10, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1869, a former slave working as a Dallas washerwoman borrowed $50 from a banker to buy a lot on Elm Street, repaying him with laundry. By 1885, Hope Thompson's property was appraised at about $35,000.

An item in Et Cetera reveals the Texas high school with the most National Merit semifinalists. Our Poll asks what your best subject in high school was. Hit reply to let us know what you'd study now if you were 18 with a full college scholarship.

There has been no shortage of noise around the Lindsay Clancy trial. Conspiracy theories, hot takes, and bad legal analyses have drowned out the actual facts. So we stripped away the bias and the agenda and laid out what really happened, including the courtroom decision everyone was talking about last week. Plus, what three jurors just revealed about the chaos inside that deliberation room. Join Ayla on The Flyover Podcast for the story without the spin. Tune in here!

Later today, watch for an email from our partner, Insurify, about a quick way to compare car insurance rates from more than 100 companies and potentially save up to $1,100 a year.

Today's edition is brought to you by Cacao Bliss. Try their delicious, heart-healthy hot cocoa superfood drink.

GOP Convention Opens in Dallas

Republicans opened their first-ever midterm convention Wednesday at Dallas' American Airlines Center, where President Trump promised a $5,000 "dividend" for every adult citizen if Republicans hold Congress, provided the money is spent in the U.S. He offered no funding details.

Trump pledged heavy support for Attorney General Ken Paxton's Senate bid, telling the crowd he'd return to Texas "once or twice or three" times because "we have to elect Ken Paxton." An August University of Texas poll had Paxton at 39%, Democrat James Talarico at 42%.

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Sen. Ted Cruz led the Texas speakers. Dozens of Republicans in tight races skipped the gathering.

The night's surprise: Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., appeared in a video introducing Republican Sen. Dave McCormick, pledging to work with the president. Vice President JD Vance presents the keynote tonight, and donors could pay $250,000 for a roundtable with Trump.

Democrats countered with their own Dallas events. Gina Hinojosa, the Democrat challenging Abbott, said voters have little patience for a convention about culture wars: "People don't want politics as usual."

Abbott Pitches 50% Property Tax Cut

Gov. Greg Abbott wants to cut Texans' property tax bills by more than half, with the state picking up the cost of funding public schools that homeowners now pay for through their property taxes.

Abbott laid out the plan on Friday in Lubbock alongside House Speaker Dustin Burrows and Sen. Charles Perry. He said he would cap appraisal growth at 3% per year, reappraise homes every five years, and require a two-thirds vote of the public to raise rates.

Abbott's health care pitch includes a new insurance option covering a primary care doctor, preventive visits, and emergency room care, plus a $55 monthly cap on inhalers and EpiPens.

Texas Colleges Add AI Degrees

Students at UT Arlington and Texas Wesleyan University can major in artificial intelligence for the first time this fall.

Texas colleges now offer more than 20 AI degrees, and UTA expanded its business track from the school's analytics track, teaching students to spot biases in data as much as crunch it. Junior David Olugbodi is wary, saying AI "could be used for taking people's jobs."

Texas Wesleyan went a different route, pairing AI with an 18-hour humanities core in art, history, philosophy, and political science. Associate Dean Christopher Ohan tells students they won't "be the tech," but they might be "the adviser in the room" at a bank, school district, or police department.

Up the road in Denton, the University of North Texas used a $20 million gift from Anuradha and Vikas Sinha to create a College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics, funding scholarships and research.

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Longevity breakfast dessert enjoyed by Blue Zone Costa Ricans helps them live to 100?

Most Americans think eating sweets for breakfast is unhealthy.

But according to Stanford researchers, there's one delicious “dessert” food that Costa Ricans in the famous "blue zone" eat each morning that:

✅ Keeps them lean even into their 70s, 80s, and 90s
✅ Slows blood sugar spikes and maintains healthy insulin sensitivity
✅ Keeps their blood pressure at normal, healthy levels
✅ Keeps their hearts and arteries strong and clean well into old age, with a striking lack of heart disease in their population
✅ Even helps them have seven times more centenarians than in Japan

So what's the No. 1 “dessert” food that helps Costa Ricans live healthy, lean, and energetic past 100?

Click below to discover Costa Rica's Blue Zone secret:

>> Eat this Costa Rican longevity "dessert" for breakfast.

P.S. Here's the crazy part: while Costa Ricans are living longer with this morning ritual, Americans trying it are losing 7 lbs in a couple of weeks as a "side effect." Not a bad bonus, right?

➤ Harris County: Commissioners gave initial approval Tuesday, 3-2, to the highest property tax rate in county history: 67 cents per $100 of value, up from 62. The increase would help close a $180 million shortfall and cost the average homeowner $198. (See Details)

➤ Dallas: An Iranian hacking group claimed credit for Monday's AT&T outage that cut internet, TV, and phone service to thousands across North Texas. AT&T says that an attempted cable theft caused the outage and has no evidence to support the Iranian claim. (More)

➤ Bastrop: The City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to cancel its contract for 12 Flock license-plate-reading cameras and to require council approval before any similar system goes up. Six of the cameras had already been vandalized. (See Details)

➤ San Saba County: The Kurk Fire has charred roughly 1,500 acres west of Chappel and was 30% contained. The sheriff's office asked residents to hold off on outdoor burning and secure trailer chains that can throw sparks. (More)

➤ El Paso: About 130 detainees at the Camp East Montana ICE facility threw items, flipped furniture, and disabled security cameras Monday afternoon, ICE said. The agency reported significant damage, no injuries, and all detainees accounted for. (See Details)

➤ Midland: The Permian Basin anti-gang center tallied 875 arrests in its first year, seizing more than 490 pounds of drugs, 282 firearms, and $284,086 in cash. Eighty-two of those arrested were identified as gang members. (See Report)

➤ South Padre Island: Searchers recovered the body of William Raney, 59, of Midland, on Tuesday, three days after the kayaker was last seen offshore over Labor Day weekend. The Coast Guard searched 168 nautical miles by air and boat. (More)

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➤ The Spurs will hold a free open scrimmage at Frost Bank Center on Oct. 4, with four 10-minute quarters, ahead of their Oct. 20 opener against Oklahoma City. Fans must enter a drawing by Sept. 20 for free tickets. (See Details)

➤ Former Stephen F. Austin basketball star Thomas Walkup signed a three-year, $9.6 million deal with Dubai Basketball, which paid Olympiacos $2.6 million to buy out his contract. He led the No. 14 seed Lumberjacks past West Virginia in the 2016 NCAA tournament with 33 points. (More)

➤ A Texas A&M soccer player cheered alone in her room Saturday as her brother, Michigan receiver JJ Buchanan, caught a Hail Mary to beat Western Michigan 13-12. "I was jumping up and down," Trinity Buchanan said. (Read Story)

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➤ The Truth About Tylenol Is All Over the News. You've seen the headlines—Tylenol's warning labels keep growing and the risks aren't small. It doesn't fix the problem, just masks pain temporarily. Now researchers point to a natural, gentler option that supports comfort without the harsh side effects. Learn More

➤ A California firm bought Sherry Lane Place, a 20-story office tower in Dallas' Preston Center, its fourth Texas purchase in under two years. San Francisco-based Shorenstein now controls about 20% of the district's top-tier office space. (More)

➤ Keystone Tower Systems will close its Pampa plant and lay off all 79 workers, with the first cuts on Nov. 2 and the doors shut for good on Jan. 4. The NOV-owned plant opened in 2021. (See Details)

➤ Faust Distributing apparently emptied its La Marque warehouse and offices on the Gulf Freeway this summer, moving some workers to its Houston headquarters. The 92,000-square-foot campus, valued at $8.5 million, is up for sale. (See Details)

➤ Longtime Boerne businesses keep closing even as more than $100 million in construction reshapes the San Antonio suburb. LaFour's Restaurant closed after 43 years, and wine bar El Botero followed in August, with owners citing rents, taxes, and staffing. (Read Story)

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One Cup of This Morning Drink Floods Your Body with Stem Cells. Harvard Researchers found that people who drank this hot morning drink had a 47% improvement in blood vessel function, a sharp drop in blood pressure, and a 220% increase in stem cells. See which drink here.

➤ Eight gharial hatchlings emerged at the Fort Worth Zoo in June, the fourth straight year it has bred the critically endangered crocodile. No other North American zoo has done it twice. The foot-long babies are behind the scenes for now. (See Photo)

➤ A Halloween ballet heads underground Oct. 3, when Ballet Texas is scheduled to perform Dracula in the Hidden Wonders Ballroom at Natural Bridge Caverns near New Braunfels. (See Details)

➤ Coppell High School produced 49 National Merit semifinalists, more than any other Texas school, out of more than 16,000 students named nationwide. Austin's Liberal Arts and Science Academy had 46, and Houston's St. John's School had 43. (See List)

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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.

➤ Jurors from the Lindsay Clancy trial are breaking their silence about what really derailed a verdict. (Hear Breakdown)

➤ Today marks one year since Charlie Kirk's assassination, as his wife Erika reflects on a year of grief. (Hear Details)

➤ Newly released disclosures show that President Trump gave tens of thousands of dollars in holiday cash gifts to four White House aides. (Listen Now)