Jumat, 07 Agustus 2026

State Fair Food Finalists, Lubbock Grows, and Swedish Candy Culture

A pizza buried under Flamin' Hot Cheetos and a taco shell built out of cheddar tater tots are among the 15 finalists for this year's Big Tex Choice Awards.
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The Roundup

Article Icon 1SpaceX Plans $16.8B Grimes County Plant

SpaceX will build a $16.8 billion semiconductor plant in Grimes County that's expected to employ 3,000 people, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday. Grimes County Judge Joe Fauth III called it a "generational change" for the rural area.

The Terafab will span 100 million square feet, about 40 miles northwest of Houston and just east of College Station. It will handle logic, memory, and chip packaging under one roof, producing AI chips for use on Earth and in space.

Tesla is in on the buildout, too. The two companies expect their combined computing needs to top 1 terawatt, well beyond what the world produces now.

Texas is putting up a $30 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, and the plant qualifies for tax breaks under a 2023 state law aimed at landing big industrial projects. The Anderson-Shiro and Iola school districts have approved their own tax agreements.

Article Icon 1Comptroller Urges Tax-Free Weekend Shopping

Comptroller Don Huffines is urging Texans to shop Friday through Sunday, when the state's 6.25% sales tax is waived on most back-to-school goods.

Families are expected to save $142.5 million this year. Huffines said Texans have saved more than $2 billion during the tax holidays since 1999 on "everything from coats to crayons and scissors to sneakers."

This holiday runs through midnight Sunday, Aug. 9. Clothing, shoes, school and office supplies, backpacks, and diapers qualify if each item costs less than $100, with no cap on how many you buy.

Online, phone, mail, and catalog orders count, too, as long as the seller does business in Texas. Plenty of items do not make the cut: jewelry, purses, wallets, watches, luggage, computers, textbooks, gym bags, and framed backpacks. 

Article Icon 1State Fair Names 15 Food Finalists

A pizza buried under Flamin' Hot Cheetos and a taco shell built out of cheddar tater tots are among the 15 finalists for this year's Big Tex Choice Awards.

Judges cut 30 semifinalists down to five savory dishes, five sweet ones, and five drinks, or "sippers." Each is chasing a Best Taste title in its category. Concessionaires have competed for the honor since 2005. Fairgoers get their turn to judge when the fair opens in Dallas on Sept. 25.

This year's savory list leans on smoke and heat. Dickel's Texas Two Step Tacos pairs a fire-roasted jalapeño stuffed with pineapple-pork sausage with a second taco of brisket wrapped around another roasted jalapeño.

Also in the running: Nacho Wings and the Golden Crunch Melt, which packs chicken pastor, crispy potato strings, and chipotle crema into a grilled tortilla. 

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The Flyover

A $200B Industry Missed the Bigger Picture

TV video streaming exploded into a $200B market in 2025, driven by the hours we spend lost in entertainment.

But there’s a much bigger habit consuming our time, with value that’s waiting to be unlocked.

Smartphone screen time.

We spend over 30 hours a week glued to our phones. Mode Mobile is pioneering ways to turn those hours into real income.

Their EarnPhone unlocks 19 revenue streams from everyday phone use, helping users earn over $325M so far. Deloitte crowned them North America’s fastest-growing software company in 2023 after their revenue soared 32,481%.

But this industry is still in its infancy, and you can invest in the company that’s at the forefront of unlocking its value.

Details here on how to secure shares before their price change.

Around Texas

➤ Lubbock ranked sixth nationally among 94 large cities in a SmartAsset study of income growth. Median household income reached $62,360, an 11.3% jump over two years after inflation. (See Report)

Galveston: A massive two-alarm fire destroyed the Texas Gulf Seafood distribution warehouse near the Yacht Basin on Wednesday night. Crews pulled three people and a dog from the building, and no one was hurt. (See Details)

➤ Lyford: Body camera video shows officers charging into a swarm of bees to drag a disabled man into a patrol car after he fell while doing yard work. He was stung at least 30 times. (See Video)

➤ Killeen: Firefighters are now carrying whole blood on emergency units, the first agency between Dallas and San Antonio to do so. Crews can start a transfusion at the scene of a wreck or shooting under a $10 million state pilot program. (See Details)

➤ Austin: Austin Community College police arrested 48-year-old Victor Ramirez after a false emergency "swatting" call sent officers to the Eastview Campus on Tuesday. He's charged with making a false report and drug paraphernalia possession, and isn't affiliated with the school. (More)

➤ Houston: Joseph Roy Ozment, 35, faces a felony charge of threatening a public servant after the Department of Public Safety says he left a voicemail at Gov. Greg Abbott's office threatening to stab staff over a law he blamed for blocking his anime. (See Details)

➤ Statewide: Three Texans are among roughly 345 people sickened in a 27-state salmonella outbreak the CDC traced to jalapeños from Sinaloa, Mexico. Nearly all of those interviewed had eaten at a Mexican-style restaurant beforehand. (See Details)


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Texas Sports

Tyler Guyton won the Dallas Cowboys' starting left tackle job this week, with head coach Brian Schottenheimer shutting down the position battle just two days into padded practices. (More)

Sporting News named its college football All-America team of the 2000s this week, and four Texas players made the cut: TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson, Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree, Texas' Derrick Johnson, and Baylor's Daniel Sepulveda. (More)

➤ Texas Tech basketball player Jamichael Stillwell won a court injunction against the NCAA this week, officially clearing the former UCF transfer to play for the Red Raiders this season. (More)

➤ Netflix released the trailer for Untold: The Testimony of Vince Young, a documentary chronicling the career and legal troubles of the former Texas quarterback. It premieres on Aug. 25. (More)

➤ Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray, a Dallas native, is donating $29,000 to the Dallas Independent School District to celebrate his 29th birthday today. The gift supports the district's parent engagement specialists. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Golf | Tennis | Soccer | WNBA | Little League Softball World Series

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The Business Of Texas

➤ The Dallas Fed's Texas Business Outlook Survey found 59.1% of Texas businesses used artificial intelligence in May 2025, up from 38.3% a year earlier. About 8% said the technology had cut their need for workers. (See Report)

➤ Buc-ee's, based in Lake Jackson, sued a Georgia convenience chain, Teddy's Market, claiming its hat-wearing mascot and name too closely resemble the Texas company's own. Teddy's Market owner Karan Ahuja answered in a court filing Friday, calling Buc-ee's a "trademark bully." (See Details)

➤ New World screwworm cases in Texas have climbed to 44 of the 45 reported nationwide, after a sheep in Terrell County tested positive Wednesday. Veterinarians are urging pet and livestock owners to stay alert. (More)

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SpaceX Wireless Push Could Send EarnPhone Soaring

SpaceX just put Big Telecom on notice, telling investors its plans to launch a U.S. mobile service for consumers. For most investors, that sounds like a shakeup for the $1.6T telecom industry. 

For Mode Mobile, it could mean more revenue. 

More connected phones mean more places for EarnOS, the platform that turns everyday smartphone activity into earning potential.

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Et Cetera

➤ Swedish Candy Culture has had a line out the door since opening a few days ago on West Vickery Boulevard in Fort Worth. Lukas and Crimson Nathanson started it after hauling home two suitcases of candy from Sweden last summer. (More)

Seven beluga whales arrived at SeaWorld San Antonio on Tuesday, riding nearly 2,000 miles from a shuttered Canadian park in water-filled tanks aboard flatbed trucks and a cargo plane. It's the largest beluga transfer ever completed in the U.S. (See Details)

➤ Wynne Naylor's parents gave $29,600 to put fishing rods, compasses, and an outdoors curriculum in all 44 Richardson ISD elementary and middle schools. The 8-year-old was one of 25 girls killed at Camp Mystic last July. (Read Story)

➤ Midland police will hold free fraud seminars for seniors in English and Spanish on Aug. 14, Aug. 20, and Aug. 31 at three senior centers. Officers are also checking gas pumps at night after finding more card skimmers. (See Details)

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The Flyover Podcast

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:

New research suggests avoiding three midlife health risks could mean nearly 13 more years of life without dementia. (Hear Details)

You already know your phone drains focus and sleep, but doctors warn the hidden toll runs deeper. (Hear Episode)

The FAA quietly rerouted noisy flights during Bohemian Grove's elite retreat, fueling accusations of preferential treatment from frustrated locals. (Listen Now)

  

The Polling Station

Have you ever been to Lubbock?

  1. Yes
  2. Yes, I went to Tech
  3. No
  4. I live/am from there!
 

Yesterday's Results:

Have you ever been to the Top Notch drive-in in Austin?

  1. No: 77%
  2. Not yet!: 12%
  3. Yes: 11%
Texas Trivia

How many electoral votes did Texas cast in its first U.S. presidential election?

Show me the answer

The Texas Flyover

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Dementia Risks Revealed, Phone Health Toll, Bohemian Grove Flight Controversy

Three midlife health risks could shape dementia-free years, doctors reveal your phone’s hidden toll, and Bohemian Grove flight changes spark controversy.

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Fauci Held in Contempt, Gene-Edited Dogs, and Firenado

A Senate committee voted along party lines Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, after the former COVID-19 czar took the Fifth 111 times rather than answer questions about lockdowns, pandemic origins, and gain-of-function research funding.
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The Flyover

Does the longevity breakfast dessert enjoyed by Blue Zone Costa Ricans help 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 pounds in a couple of weeks as a side effect. Not a bad bonus, right?

The Flyover Podcast

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:

New research suggests avoiding three midlife health risks could mean nearly 13 more years of life without dementia. (Hear Details)

You already know your phone drains focus and sleep, but doctors warn the hidden toll runs deeper. (Hear Episode)

The FAA quietly rerouted noisy flights during Bohemian Grove's elite retreat, fueling accusations of preferential treatment from frustrated locals. (Listen Now)

Politics

➤ President Trump denied reports that the U.S. is running low on munitions during its war with Iran, insisting on Truth Social that "massive amounts" of resupplies are being manufactured and shipped. (More)

The administration refunded roughly $100 billion in "Liberation Day" tariffs after the Supreme Court struck them down, even as officials move to recreate the levies under other legal authorities. (More)

North Korea fired at least one short-range ballistic missile toward the sea Thursday, prompting an emergency meeting in Seoul weeks before joint U.S. military drills. (More)

Air Force One is headed to President Trump's Miami library, where his son Eric says the skyscraper is being built around the jet: "Wings will have to come off." (More)

Sports

Rookie quarterbacks Haynes King and Carson Beck made strong first impressions in their professional debuts as the Carolina Panthers opened the NFL preseason with a 33-30 walk-off win over the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. (Watch Touchdown)

➤ A Florida bettor turned a $15 wager into a $149,477 payout this week by hitting a perfect 15-leg MLB parlay. The boldest call was the Cubs as home underdogs against the Dodgers and Tarik Skubal. (More)

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs agreed to a three-year, $67.5 million extension yesterday, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history. (More)

USA Basketball announced its 12-player roster for the FIBA Women's World Cup in Berlin next month, headlined by A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Caitlin Clark, and Paige Bueckers. (More)

Lucas Jumalon, 22, won the World Series of Poker Main Event this week, taking home $10 million. The Spokane, Washington, native is the second-youngest champion in the tournament's history. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Golf | Tennis | Soccer | WNBA | Little League Softball World Series

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Finance

Trend Line Daily Market Report  08/06/2026

NASDAQ
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations
26,348.35
-0.06%
SPX
S&P 500
7,709.96
-0.18%
DJI
Dow Jones Industrial Average
53,885.10
-0.85%
BTC
Bitcoin
$64,427.83
-0.26%
GOLD
Per Ounce
$4,305.60
1.41%
SILVER
Per Ounce
$61.92
-0.29%
OIL
West Texas Intermediate Crude
$77.76
3.38%
BRVE
Braveheart Bio, Inc.
$29.80
+65.56%
Bitcoin, gold, silver, and oil are traded 24 hours a day.

Big Stock Move: Braveheart Bio soared over 65% in its trading debut Thursday, after the company priced its $18 IPO and drew heavy investor interest in its experimental drug for an inherited heart condition. (More)

Jobless claims ticked up to 199,000 last week, but layoffs stayed historically low, another sign the labor market is holding steady. (More)

The FCC voted 2-1 to scrap a 22-year-old cap that barred TV companies from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households, clearing the way for bigger media mergers like Nexstar's. (More)

Rising costs top the list of what Americans say holds them back, with 60% calling the cost of living a top-three barrier in a survey of more than 30,000 adults. (More)

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Do you know the No. 1 heart attack sign? The first sign of a heart attack is almost never chest pain, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure. If the levels of this one nutrient in your heart are LOW, your chances of heart issues skyrocket. 

This common deficiency leaves no trace on standard blood work panels. Which means even with perfect cholesterol and normal blood pressure, you could STILL be at serious risk.

“Almost everyone forgets their heart is a muscle. And like any muscle, it needs protein-like nutrients to stay strong,” says Dr. Rick Cohen.

Dr. Cohen’s natural solution has helped thousands of people enjoy a healthy heart.

Science & Technology

Two gene-edited beagles, Bailey and Alfie, were born without the gene that produces the main allergy-causing protein in dogs, a first that scientists say needs long-term health monitoring before it reaches pet owners. (See Dogs)

About 1 in 7,000 people carry a rare FNIP1 mutation that burns calories faster, keeping them lean and cutting their risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. (See Details)

New vaccines in trials aim to teach the immune system to head off colon cancer in people with Lynch syndrome, who face up to an 80% lifetime risk. (More)

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High blood pressure is often linked to tight blood vessels and excess fluid in the bloodstream, forcing your heart to work harder. Surprisingly, one common food can make both problems worse and cause blood pressure to rise. Learn which everyday foods to avoid and discover a simple step that may help support healthier blood pressure.

The Rotator

Entertainment

Friday Entertainment is brought to you by:

The Flyover

➤ Miss North Carolina USA Brittany Boltinhouse lost her crown six weeks after winning it, when posts surfaced showing her using a racial slur under an alias between 2017 and 2019. Runner-up Myla Hadley steps in. (More)

A 60-foot robot from Robbie Williams' Take That tour was left behind at the singer's abandoned English estate, where it looms in the woods and creeps out the neighbors. (See Robot)

Influencer Sydney Towle, who shared her three-year cancer battle with over a million followers, died Wednesday at 26, months after a final essay about love and accepting help. (More)

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Et Cetera

➤ Three Virginia teens at golf tryouts heard screaming, jumped into a lake to pull two adults and a young boy from their capsized kayaks, then went back and made the squad. (More)

➤ A rare "firenado" was caught on video whirling over southeast Oregon, one of nearly 50 fires that have scorched 1.8 million acres across the Pacific Northwest. (See Firenado)

➤ New York's MTA is auctioning decommissioned MetroCard machines, some weighing over 1,000 pounds, to nostalgic New Yorkers, with bids starting at $1,500 and winners hauling the hulks away themselves. (More)

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Poll Position

Would you buy an electric pickup truck?

  1. Yes!
  2. For $28K, sure
  3. No way
 

Yesterday's Results:

Do you have a hobby?

  1. Yes: 52%
  2. No: 25%
  3. I used to: 23%

Quote BoxDaily Quote

Quote

“The public deserves answers to about a million questions related to the pandemic, its origins, and the government’s actions in response.”

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, one of three state AGs investigating Dr. Anthony Fauci

TriviaToday's Trivia

Buc-ee's operates the world's largest convenience store. In which state is it located?

Show me the answer

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