Rabu, 19 Agustus 2026

Minnesota Sues Abbott, World Cup Trafficking Sting, and State Fair Food Champs

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1895, Constable John Selman shot gunfighter John Wesley Hardin in the back of the head at El Paso's Acme Saloon. Selman's murder trial ended in a hung jury. Both men are buried in Concordia Cemetery.

Yesterday, we asked which eatery (or drinkery!) you visit more than any other. Several emailers mentioned Whataburger, Starbucks, McD's, and Sonic, but most of you mentioned beloved local restaurants, bars, burger joints, or hometown staples that have been your forever hangouts. We've added several to our list of places to stop by when we get a chance.

Where did margarine go? Why did an entire country stop eating liver almost overnight? The food industry doesn't advertise these changes, but the answers are out there, buried in USDA consumption data, FDA rulings, and a peer-reviewed study that flipped decades of nutrition advice on its head. Today on The Flyover Podcast, Ayla counts down five foods that quietly vanished from the American table, and reveals the one swap science actually got backward. Tune in here!

Later today, watch for a message from our partner Vision Secrets about four subtle warning signs that your vision may be changing, including some that are easy to dismiss as normal aging.

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Minnesota Sues Abbott over ICE Agent

Keith Ellison, Minnesota's attorney general, sued Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday to force the extradition of an ICE agent sitting in a Cameron County jail.

Christian Castro, 52, faces four counts of second-degree assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis. Officers arrested him in Harlingen on May 29.

Castro said two men came at him with a broom handle and a snow shovel, and DHS called the shooting self-defense. Prosecutors say video and witness accounts contradict him.

Ellison says Texas caps detention of fugitives awaiting extradition at 90 days, so Castro could walk free Aug. 26. He asked a judge to block the release and order Abbott to sign the warrant.

Paxton Bars Cities from Raising Property Taxes

Attorney General Ken Paxton barred 116 more Texas cities from raising property tax rates this year, pushing the total to 251.

Each city missed a deadline under Senate Bill 1851, the 2025 law that requires a city to remain at its no-new-revenue rate unless it completes an audit and files financial statements within 180 days of the fiscal year's end. That rate keeps revenue from existing property from increasing.

"I am continuing to fight to stop cities from unlawfully raising taxes on hardworking Texans," Paxton said. His office has been reviewing more than 1,000 cities since December.

Ivanhoe Mayor Skip Blackstone said the firm that handles the city's audit filed two months late. Ivanhoe had planned to cut its rate to 72 cents per $100 of value, but will instead drop it to its “no-new-revenue” rate of 71.71 cents, resulting in roughly $20,000 less revenue for the city.

Padres Staffer Detained in El Paso

Border Patrol agents arrested a San Diego Padres minor-league catching coordinator at El Paso International Airport on Sunday as he waited to fly home to Arizona. Oswaldo Pirela, 34, had been working with the Padres' Triple-A club in El Paso. ICE records show he's been held in the city.

DHS said Pirela entered the country legally in 2014 and had permission to stay until Feb. 10, 2018. "In violation of our nation's laws, he overstayed his welcome," the agency said, calling him an "illegal alien from Venezuela."

Pirela's family says he applied for asylum after arriving and has kept his work permit current. His brother, Jorge Pirela, said he wasn't carrying the card when agents stopped him.

The Padres said they're gathering more information and had no further comment. Pirela lives outside Phoenix with his wife and two daughters, both born in the U.S.

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➤ Tarrant County: A multiagency sting during the FIFA World Cup netted 56 arrests, 10 of them men accused of trying to meet minors for sex. Investigators also identified or recovered more than 40 possible trafficking victims. (See Details)

➤ Statewide: More than two dozen families petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Texas law requiring Ten Commandments posters in public school classrooms. The Fifth Circuit upheld it 9-8, ruling the law "punishes no one who rejects" them. (More)

➤ Porter: Deputies pulled a 53-year-old theft suspect from a burning car Sunday after he fled a Walmart, crossed a median on FM 1485, and hit a Chase Bank sign. One deputy climbed into the passenger side to unlock the driver's door. (See Video)

➤ Waco: Gov. Greg Abbott named a commission of more than 20 current and former teachers to recommend ways to lift reading and math scores. He also plans to push legislation creating Student Success Academies. (See Details)

➤ Galveston County: Game wardens hiked more than a mile on a tip and caught three people setting illegal gill nets at the Texas City Dike, seizing 700 feet of net, 137 saltwater fish, and four crabs. (More)

➤ Houston ISD has lost nearly 26,000 students over five years, a 13.25% drop, as growth shifts to the outer suburbs. Pasadena ISD fell 10.5% over the same stretch. (See Report)

➤ Richmond: Frank Beard, ZZ Top's drummer for 56 years, died Tuesday at his ranch at 77. Billy Gibbons called him "a great and true son of Texas," and said the Houston band will keep touring. (Read Story)

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➤ The Dallas Mavericks and Stars settled their legal fight over control of the American Airlines Center, agreeing to stay through 2031 before both teams leave for new arenas in Far North Dallas and Plano. (More)

➤ Houston and Dallas ranked 18th and 19th out of 30 NFL markets in a new Nielsen fan passion index that tracked TV viewership, radio, merchandise, and five other metrics. (More)

➤ O.J. Brigance, a Houston native and former Rice football star who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, died this week at 56 after a long battle with ALS. (More)

➤ Texas Tech men's basketball guard Donovan Atwell is returning for a fifth season after a court ruling granted extra eligibility to players from the 2022 recruiting class. He set a program record with 130 three-pointers last season. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | Tennis

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➤ Texas restaurant closures hit 1,039 in the first half of 2026, the most of any state, with food costs up 35% and wages up 30%. Texas also leads the country in openings, with 391 new spots in July alone. (See Report)

➤ Buyers under 35 filed 259,737 mortgage applications in Texas in 2025, more than in any other state. That's nearly 23% of all applications, ranking Texas No. 18 nationally. The typical Texas home is worth $302,187. (See Report)

➤ Knightvest Capital bought 1,027 Round Rock apartments across three complexes, saying a housing oversupply and high interest rates pushed owners to sell at a discount. The Dallas firm will renovate and rename them Brixton, Calder, and Sutton. (See Details)

➤ American Airlines will put 4K seatback screens in every seat on its smaller planes, starting with new deliveries in 2028 and retrofits after. The Fort Worth carrier is also raising premium seating from about 25% to nearly 40%. (See Details)

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➤ An electric airplane started test flights Tuesday out of Galveston's Scholes Field, a first for Texas. Beta Technologies' aircraft will fly routes to Sugar Land and Brenham over the next few weeks. A single charge covers 300 miles. (Read Story)

➤ The State Fair of Texas crowned four tasty Big Tex Choice Awards winners Tuesday from a record 77 entries: Burger Chop Tater Tacos, Fletcher's Chocolate Corny Dog, Tropical Coco Fresca, and Berry Me in Matcha. (See Details)

➤ The Hill Country town of Boerne is a finalist in the Hallmark Channel's Merriest Christmas Town contest. Boerne's holiday offerings include a lit-up Hill Country Mile and the Victorian-style A Dickens Celebration. (More)

➤ A bronze statue of a World War II airman goes up Wednesday in San Angelo, with panels listing 20,542 veterans from the Concho Valley. (See Details)

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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. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ Your childhood kitchen held these five staples that America has abandoned, and experts now say one is healthier than butter. (See Foods)

➤ Fraternity pledges were allegedly forced to cut and bag cocaine for a sprawling drug ring at Penn State. (Hear Details)

➤ Reports of worsening conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are raising serious questions about life on the warship. (Listen Now)

If you had to eat one, which of the Big Tex Choice Award winners from the state fair would you choose? (See photos here.)

Yesterday's Results:

How often do you go to the same restaurant, coffee shop, or drive-thru?

Weekly-ish: 38%
Monthly: 29%
Several times a year: 27%
Most days: 6%

A 371-foot cargo ship was sunk 67 miles off the coast of Galveston in January 2017 to create an artificial reef. What was the name of the ship?

Show me the answer

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

Trump Claims Hormuz, Rare Book Chop Shop, and Billionaire Vaults

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway held its first car race, paving the way for the famous Indianapolis 500.

Deep beneath the Swiss Alps, crews are blasting out vaults where the world's richest will stash their Ferraris, gold, and wine. If you had one, what's the first thing you'd lock away? Reply to let us know. We have the full story below.

Today’s sponsor is Forbes Health, making it easier to compare today’s leading GLP-1 weight-loss providers in one place. With so many programs available, knowing where to start can be overwhelming. Forbes Health has done the research, helping you compare highly rated providers and exclusive offers so you can choose the option that best fits your goals.

Trump Maps Hormuz as US Territory

President Trump escalated his claim to the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, posting a map that labels the waterway "new US territory" and announcing that no talks with Iran are taking place or scheduled. See the post here.

Trump says the strait has been cleared of Iranian mines and is open, and that America already controls the waterway through its naval blockade. "I like the idea of declaring it a territory," he told reporters.

The same day, a ship sailing out of the strait was struck by an unknown projectile that hit its engine room and resulted in one crew casualty, maritime monitors said. Only six ships crossed Monday.

ABC Sues FCC in Fight over TV Licenses

Disney's ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, asking a federal judge to block an early review of its eight largest broadcast licenses that the network calls retaliation for coverage the government objects to.

The suit compiles a timeline of President Trump's demands that ABC be punished, from late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's jokes to the network's refusal to air Trump's July address to the nation.

ABC says the pressure is already changing what it airs. It livestreamed that July speech when it ordinarily would not have done so, and has stopped booking political candidates on The View.

The FCC says the fight is about its yearlong probe into whether Disney's DEI practices broke discrimination rules, not speech. The agency last revoked a license over programming in 1969.

Billionaires Buy Vaults in Swiss Alps

A Swiss family firm called Brünig Mega Safe started blasting into an alpine mountainside early this year, and by next year it plans to open about 20 private vaults more than 330 feet down, where the wealthy can stash gold, art, classic cars, and wine.

Chairman Thomas Gasser is selling each cavern on a 99-year lease starting at 1 million Swiss francs, about $1.23 million, and buyers get a parcel number in the land register so they can even mortgage it.

Gasser says security will rival the Swiss National Bank's, and he would not even show reporters where the entrance will be, only that drivers must stop at a checkpoint and leave their vehicles. Here's a video report from German TV that shows the extent of the deep tunnel excavation.

Residents in Lungern are split, with one grumbling that the village is building something for people who already have enough money, and others joking that Ferraris will soon be racing on its alpine roads.

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See the Top GLP-1 Providers as Rated by Forbes Health

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➤ Your childhood kitchen held these five staples that America has abandoned, and experts now say one is healthier than butter. (See Foods)

➤ Fraternity pledges were allegedly forced to cut and bag cocaine for a sprawling drug ring at Penn State. (Hear Details)

➤ Reports of worsening conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are raising serious questions about life on the warship. (Listen Now)

➤ The Justice Department plans to deploy 1,000 poll monitors for November's midterm elections, the largest such effort under a Republican president, after sending 75-plus monitors during this summer's primaries. (More)

➤ Florida voters went to the polls Tuesday for governor and Senate primaries, with President Trump-backed Rep. Byron Donalds heavily favored for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Alaska and Wyoming also held primaries. (See Results)

➤ A former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to hide federal records from Freedom of Information Act requests related to COVID-19 origins research and faces up to five years in prison. (See Details)

➤ The House Ethics Committee announced it is investigating Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) over allegations of sexual misconduct, including inappropriate contact with a House staffer. Gomez admits "personal mistakes" but says his actions were consensual. (More)

➤ Bill Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN, died yesterday at 93 from Parkinson's disease. He launched ESPN, the world's first 24-hour sports network, in 1979 after maxing out his credit card and scraping together a $9,000 advance. (More)

➤ Buffalo Bills fans top a new Nielsen ranking of the NFL's most passionate fan bases, followed by Kansas City and Green Bay. The index tracked TV viewership, radio, merchandise, and five other metrics across all 30 NFL markets. (See Ranking)

➤ Baseball owners unanimously approved the record $3.9 billion sale of the San Diego Padres to an investor group led by private equity billionaire José E. Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones. (More)

➤ NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he has "no doubt" the league will eventually have a team based outside the United States. The NFL is playing a record nine international games this season across seven countries. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | Tennis

Daily Market Report 08/18/2026

▼	NASDAQ National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations	26,289.71	-1.33%
▼	SPX S&P 500	7,691.76	-0.69%
▼	DJI Dow Jones Industrial Average	53,343.40	-0.22%
▲	BTC Bitcoin	$64,598.05	0.14%
▼	GOLD Per Ounce	$4,398.40	-0.44%
▼	SILVER Per Ounce	$63.63	-3.77%
▼	OIL West Texas Intermediate Crude	$84.09	-0.49%
▲	AMLX Amylyx Pharmaceuticals	$35.11	+63.84%

Bitcoin, gold, silver, and oil are traded 24 hours a day.

➤ Big Stock Move: Amylyx stock shot up nearly 64% on Tuesday after reporting success in its Phase 3 clinical trials for avexitide, a drug to treat post-bariatric hypoglycemia. (More)

➤ The 30-year Treasury yield hit a 19-year high on Tuesday, topping 5.33%, as fiscal deficit concerns and stalled U.S.-Iran diplomacy fueled a global bond selloff. (More)

➤ State Farm is sending $5 billion in cash-back dividends to auto insurance policyholders, its largest-ever payout. Customers with an active 2025 policy and a payout of at least $10 are eligible. (More)

➤ American Airlines announced it would install 4K seatback screens across its narrow-body fleet starting in 2028, reversing a 2017 decision to go screenless as it races to match Delta and United in passenger amenities. (More)

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➤ NASA's Anil Menon and the European Space Agency's Sophie Adenot spent over six hours outside the space station on Tuesday, removing a failed antenna. It was Adenot's first spacewalk, and the first ever by a Frenchwoman. (Watch Spacewalk)

➤ Reporters hid an AirTag in a shipment of rare books and tracked it to an Amazon warehouse where workers slice off spines and scan pages for AI training. Old books are prized because they predate ChatGPT, guaranteeing the text was written by humans. (More)

➤ NASA released a first look at its SkyFall mission, three helicopters that will hunt for ice beneath the Martian surface. Launch is set for late 2028. (See Rendering)

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➤ Traders who talk about being "in the zone" aren't imagining it. Researchers strapped brainwave headsets on 16 professionals and found that a sharp burst of focus in the final 30 seconds before a trade predicted profits, while staying keyed up all day was more likely to bring losses. (See Study)

➤ Forget the lottery. Psychologists tracking thousands of people for years found that letting go of one personality trait boosts life satisfaction as much as a $314,000 annual raise. It's trainable at any age. (See Trait)

➤ People look more attractive in group photos than alone, a finding so consistent scientists call it the cheerleader effect. The term started as a sitcom joke, then real studies kept proving it true. (More)

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➤ Gen Z's newest insult is calling something "polyester," shorthand for cheap, generic, or fake. The slam grew out of TikTok's video-editing scene. (See Meaning)

➤ People in relationships with AI chatbots may soon have a therapist who specializes in exactly that. The company behind a popular AI companion app is hiring a human counselor after 72% of its users said they wished one existed. (More)

➤ A Kentucky woman slept through a bear strolling in her open front door, smashing a glass table, and eating her leftover KFC. Her review of the ordeal: "I'm a little sad over my KFC." (Watch Bear)

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