TYLER – 
Our news partners at KETK report that Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx) and his challenger Rep. Colin Allred (D-Tx) are making what could be their last East Texas campaign stops of the year on Friday. Allred will be stopping in Crockett at around noon on Friday near an oil well in town. Later that night, he’ll be campaigning with Presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Beyonce down in Houston. Cruz will be stopping at CC’s Smokehouse in Nacogdoches at 3:30 p.m. and then he’ll be in Tyler’s 1836 Restaurant at 6:30 p.m. To learn more, visit Ted Cruz or Collin Allred’s websites online.
Texas Monthly list of best Texas tacos
AUSTIN – Since joining Texas Monthly in 2019 as the country’s first taco editor, José R. Ralat has visited thousands of taquerias, restaurants, and taco trucks across Texas. He’s highlighted the delicious food he’s come across, shared the stories of the people behind the dishes, and taken readers on a journey through the state’s wide variety of Mexican food, capturing the cultural complexity and fascinating history behind one of the most influential culinary traditions in the world. Now Ralat, the state’s preeminent taco expert, has released his first definitive list of the best tacos and taquerias in the Lone Star State.
To compile the rankings, Ralat traveled roughly 14,000 miles, visiting more than 400 taquerias in about six months. He looked for tacos that met a certain level of craft, quality, creativity, and flavor. As he took notes, he observed a new movement among taquerias—one that has created a new type of cuisine. Ralat calls this movement New Tejano, which describes dishes that marry nostalgic Mexican or Mexican American food with native Texan ingredients. Ralat’s comprehensive list features multiple examples of New Tejano cuisine.
The list’s No. 1 spot is Ana Liz Taqueria, in Mission, and the chile relleno as its standout taco. The restaurant, run by James Beard Award-winning chef Ana Liz Pulido, specializes in nixtamalization, the ancient Mexican process through which corn kernels are cooked and steeped in an alkaline solution to loosen the outer shell and release vital nutrients, and then made into corn tortillas.
Elemi, just outside El Paso, came in second for its New Tejano dishes that use local ingredients and are a nod to the Mexican roots of owners Emiliano and Kristal Marentes. Elemi’s conejito pibil is its tortilla-wrapped standout.
The third spot went to Azteca Taco House, in Houston. Ralat identifies the taqueria’s costillas en salsa verde as the taco of choice. Azteca, run by co-owner Carlos Gallegos and his family, ranked high not only for its delicious food but also because it makes customers feel at home.
Rounding out the Top 10 are:
No. 4 Revolver Taco Lounge, in Dallas
No. 5 Taqueria El Tiger, in El Paso
No. 6 Taconeta, in El Paso
No. 7 Papalo Taqueria, in Houston
No. 8 Stixs & Stone, in San Antonio
No. 9 Maskaras Mexican Grill, in Dallas
No. 10 Nixta Taqueria, in Austin
“There has never been a more exciting time for tacos and those who love them,” says Ralat. “Variety, tradition, and boundary pushing exist simultaneously. There are tacos for everyone everywhere. We are on the verge of a new age of tacos.”
Car Hauler Wreck Causes Traffic Delays
LUFKIN– Our KETK news partners report that drivers are asked to avoid a portion of College Drive in Lufkin due to a wreck involving two 18-wheelers.
No injuries were reported in the wreck, but traffic delays are expected. College Drive from Daniel McCall Drive to South First Street will be closed for several hours Friday as officials clean up the scene.
According to the city of Lufkin, a car hauler and a commercial truck holding sand were in a wreck around 5:10 a.m. on the southbound side of U.S. 59 and South First Street. Due to the car hauler blocking the road, inbound traffic on College Drive is blocked. While traffic at the intersection of College Drive and South First is moving, the city said southbound traffic is reduced to one lane.
As the day goes on and cleanup continues, some lanes may need to be closed at various times, especially southbound lanes. Drivers are asked to avoid the area if possible.
Biden administration launching investigation of competition in air travel
Trump and Harris concentrate on Texas with less than 2 weeks to go before Election Day
HOUSTON (AP) – Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will center their attention on Texas on Friday with both presidential candidates holding events in the staunchly Republican state. The vice president will team up with Beyoncé for a rally aimed at highlighting the perilous medical fallout from the state’s strict abortion ban and putting the blame squarely on Trump.
Meanwhile, the former president will hold a news conference in Austin before sitting down with podcaster Joe Rogan later on.
President Joe Biden will visit a reservation in Arizona, a long-promised trip to Indian Country that Democrats hope could boost Harris’ turnout effort in a key battleground state.
Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
Here’s the latest:
Biden heads to Indian Country as Harris steps up appeal to Native American voters
President Joe Biden is at last making his way to Indian Country, paying a long-promised visit to a reservation in Arizona that Democrats hope could provide a boost to Vice President Kamala Harris’ turnout effort in a key battleground state.
Biden’s visit to the Gila River Indian Community’s land on the outskirts of metro Phoenix will be his first to Indian Country as president — something he promised tribal leaders he would do nearly two years ago.
During the visit, Biden intends to formally apologize to Native Americans for the U.S. government’s role in the abuse and neglect of Native children sent to federal boarding schools to assimilate them into white society, according to the White House.
Read more here.
Allies hope a Trump win changes the system for mortgages. Some warn it will make them pricier
If Donald Trump wins the presidential election, Republicans hope he will fulfill a longstanding GOP goal of privatizing the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been under government control since the Great Recession.
But Democrats and some economists warn that, especially in this time of high mortgage rates, doing so will make buying a home even more expensive.
Read more here.
Like Biden, Harris puts focus on Trump as Election Day draws near
With the end of her abbreviated presidential campaign in sight, Kamala Harris is trying to put the focus squarely on Donald Trump and his threat to democratic institutions, echoing the strategy used by Joe Biden before he ended his reelection bid.
It’s a bet that fear of the former Republican president can rally Harris supporters and nudge undecided voters to her side in the final days. Harris’ challenge will be connecting philosophical questions about American democracy with the everyday concerns of individual Americans.
The effort will be on full display Tuesday, when Harris delivers what her team describes as her closing argument from the Ellipse, the grassy space adjacent to the National Mall in Washington. It’s the same place where Trump stood when he urged his supporters to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in what became a bloody attempt to prevent the certification of Biden’s election victory.
Democrats invest $5 million to try to defeat Republican Ted Cruz in Texas Senate race
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats backing Rep. Colin Allred’s bid to defeat Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are investing $5 million in an ad campaign focused on abortion, making a late-campaign play for what’s seen as a safely Republican seat.
The announcement by Senate Majority PAC comes as Democrats face a challenging set of races nationwide to maintain control of Congress’ upper chamber. Several Democrats are running in states favored to go for Republican nominee Donald Trump next month.
Texas has not elected a Democrat statewide since 1994. That streak has held even as several races over the years have drawn national attention — perhaps notably Cruz’s last reelection fight against Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who became a sensation among liberals and raised huge amounts of money. Cruz beat O’Rourke by just over 2 percentage points.
Senate Majority PAC said its ad would focus on reproductive rights and highlight the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to strike down a nationally guaranteed right to abortion. Texas has since banned all abortions.
The ad will start running in major state media markets Friday — the same day that both parties’ presidential nominees will visit the state.
Trump will sit for a taping with podcaster Joe Rogan and hold a press conference in Austin focused on immigration issues. Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, goes to Houston for a large rally featuring Beyoncé, the star singer who grew up in the nation’s fourth-largest city.
Trial underway for man accused of killing Panola County deputy
LONGVIEW – Trial started on Monday for Gregory Newson who is accused of killing a Panola County Sheriff’s deputy William Chris Dickerson, and fleeing the scene, leading to a high-speed chase that ended in a crash in Louisiana back in 2019. . According to our news partner KETK, it was moved out of Panola County, where the accused crime took place, after a judge determined that an impartial and fair trial could not happen there. The state is seeking the death penalty and Newson has pleaded not guilty.
In Gregg County court on Wednesday morning, several witnesses were called to the stand, including former Panola County Sheriff Kevin Lake and deputy Dickerson’s partner at the time. Lake described his experience the night after one of his deputies was shot, becoming emotional. Testimonies from several first responders who arrived to the scene were heard as well.
Body camera footage and dash camera footage of the night, showed the deputy being shot and the accused driving away was shown in court as evidence.
Brownsboro ISD tax rate adjustment on ballot for current election
BROWNSBORO – Brownsboro ISD has a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) on the ballot for the current election cycle, which could increase school funding if passed. According to our news partner KETK, the VATRE is distinctly not a bond and will adjust the school’s tax rate to make way for day-to-day operational costs without increasing taxpayer costs.
Brownsboro ISD is hoping that voters approve the VATRE, that will increase the district’s Maintenance and Operations tax rate by 3.17 cents and in return decrease the Interest Sinking tax rate by 3.17 cents. Continue reading Brownsboro ISD tax rate adjustment on ballot for current election
Allred, Cruz making stops in East Texas ahead of Election Day
TYLER – Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx) and his challenger Rep. Colin Allred (D-Tx) are making what could be their last East Texas campaign stops of the year on Friday. Our news partner KETK is reporting that Allred will be stopping in Crockett at around noon on Friday near an oil well in town. Later that night, he’ll be campaigning with Presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Beyonce down in Houston.
Cruz will be stopping at CC’s Smokehouse in Nacogdoches at 3:30 p.m. and then he’ll be in Tyler’s 1836 Restaurant at 6:30 p.m.
To learn more, visit the Ted Cruz or Collin Allred websites online.
Prosecutors recommend resentencing Erik and Lyle Menendez in 1989 killings of their parents
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors will recommend Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars.
An official with knowledge of the decision who was not authorized to speak on the record ahead of a planned press conference confirmed that Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón would recommend resentencing for the brothers.
They were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors must now seek court approval.
Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted they fatally shot their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez.
The brothers said they feared their parents were about to kill them to stop people from finding out that Jose Menendez had sexually abused Erik Menendez for years.
The brothers’ extended family has pleaded for their release, saying they deserve to be free after decades behind bars. Several family members have said that in today’s world — which is more aware of the impact of sexual abuse — the brothers would not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.
Multiple members of their extended family, including their aunt Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sat in the first few rows of Thursday’s news conference. Joan Andersen VanderMolen was Kitty Menendez’s sister and has publicly supported their release. Mark Geragos, an attorney for the brothers, was also there.
The Menendez brothers were tried twice for their parents’ murders, with the first trial ending in a hung jury.
Prosecutors at the time contended that there was no evidence of molestation, and many details in their story of sexual abuse were not permitted in the second trial. The district attorney’s office also said back then that the brothers were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.
Not all Menendez family members support resentencing. Attorneys for Milton Anderson, the 90-year-old brother of Kitty Menendez, filed a legal brief asking the court to keep the brothers’ original punishment. “They shot their mother, Kitty, reloading to ensure her death,†Anderson’s attorneys said in a statement Thursday. “The evidence remains overwhelmingly clear: the jury’s verdict was just, and the punishment fits the heinous crime.â€
The LA district attorney is in the middle of a tough reelection fight against former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman who has blamed Gascón’s progressive reform policies for recent high-profile murders and increased retail crime.
Tarrant machines ‘cannot’ change votes
FORT WORTH – The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports Tarrant County’s voting machines are incapable of changing voters’ ballots, according to the manufacturer. “Tarrant County’s voting devices are among the most secure in the nation and do not ‘flip votes,’†said a spokesperson for Hart InterCivic in an emailed statement. “The devices are tested and certified at the state and federal level and were successfully tested locally in Tarrant County prior to the start of Early Voting.†The company is aware of reports of a Tarrant County man who said a voting machine changed his choice for president at the White Settlement Library on Monday, Oct. 21, and it is taking the allegation seriously, the spokesperson said. “Hart voting machines cannot and do not ‘flip’ votes,†the statement read.
After video of Tony Carpenter talking about his experience went viral, Tarrant County Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig said in a statement posted to X that the machine was working correctly. “What we believe to have occurred is the individual did make a selection on the machine and that selection was printed on their ballot,†Ludwig said on Tuesday, Oct. 22. “When they went to cast their ballot, they checked it and realized that was not the vote that they wanted.†But Carpenter isn’t buying it. “He’s full of [expletive],†he said in an interview on Wednesday, Oct. 23. “I’ll tell him that to his face. He needs to call me. No, he needs to come see me.†Ludwig did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Carpenter checked his full ballot twice and his choice for president three times, he said. His vote might have gone to Vice President Kamala Harris had he been as carefree as others he said he saw voting.
Wood County organized crime suspects considered dangerous
WOOD COUNTY – Wood County Sheriff’s Office reports that early Thursday morning, chainsaws and firearms were part of the items stolen from unlocked vehicles. According to our news partner KETK, authorities ask residents to lock their vehicles and limit the amount valuables left inside their vehicles. They also remind everyone that the suspects in this case are armed and are considered dangerous.
WCSO said the burglaries Thursday morning occurred in the 2370 series of County Roads and 1600 series of County Roads near Alba-Golden ISD.
Continue reading Wood County organized crime suspects considered dangerous
Farmers get a say in who the president is, too.
FILE – Staff members hold the certification of Electoral College votes from Tennessee during a joint session of the House and Senate to confirm Electoral College votes at the Capitol, early Jan 7, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
A conference this week had me traveling in Missouri. I landed at Kansas City and drove three hours through some beautiful farmland to Lake of the Ozarks. When I returned, I found waiting for me a book bearing the title, “Every Vote Equal – A State-Based Plan for Electing the President by Popular Vote.†(If you’re in this business, authors and their agents are always sending you books.)
A drive through Missouri farmland and a book on abolishing the Electoral College actually tie together. Work with me and I’ll explain how.
I arrived early Sunday morning to begin a drive that passed through countless farm communities. It seemed like they each had two things in common. One was a white-steepled church straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. And the other was a Donald Trump yard sign seemingly everywhere you looked.
And it hit me that, a.) these people work from dawn to dusk making sure that my family and I get enough to eat; and, b.) they pretty much all go to church on Sunday; and, c.) well-manicured white liberals who live on the coasts and who work in government, politics, media and entertainment look down their noses upon them.
When I got back to the office, I found this 1,216-page tome advocating the elimination of the Electoral College.
Each time the subject of abolishing the Electoral College comes up – which is to say every presidential election year – it reveals anew that many nominally well-educated Americans don’t fully grasp that our nation is a union of sovereign states. Thus, they can’t appreciate the fact that the citizens don’t elect the president, the states do.
When drafting our Constitution, the founders feared two things. First, was an overly powerful federal government. Almost every argument at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 was about giving the federal government the power to be effective without giving it so much power as to nullify the sovereignty of the states.
The other thing they feared was factionalism. They feared anything that could have the effect of pitting the states against each other. They were prescient enough to understand that for the nation to flourish, the bankers of Pennsylvania were going to need the farmers of the Carolinas.
Thus, they decided that for a candidate to be elected president, he would need more than majority popular support. He would need majority popular support in a majority of the states. To be president, you can’t just win votes. You have to win the country.
To bring this about, each state is represented by a slate of electors in the Electoral College. Early in our history, those electors were appointed by state legislatures. Today in all 50 states, electors are chosen by popular vote.
The founders were exceptionally farsighted in establishing the Electoral College. But for the Electoral College, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 margin of victory in California alone would have decided the election.
Where would that have left those farmers whose communities I passed in Missouri? The answer is, functionally disenfranchised – and likely a lot less interested in feeding us.
Stolen firearms almost smuggled to Mexico
HOPKINS COUNTY – Our KETK news partner reports that more than 12 East Texas counties have been targets of vehicle burglaries in recent weeks where firearms were stolen. Now as burglaries return to the area, the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office said some firearms were recovered from being smuggled into Mexico.
According to the sheriff’s office, the group that stole items from unlocked vehicles in Hopkins and surrounding counties is sending more groups to burglarize again.
“They have hit our county once but we expect them to come back,†Hopkins County officials said.
Continue reading Stolen firearms almost smuggled to Mexico
UIL: Westwood Panthers won’t have to forfeit after video incident
PALESTINE — According to our news partner KETK, the UIL has voted to remove Westwood Panthers coach Richard Bishop from the regular season, post season games and will remain in probation for the 2025-2026 school year. However the UIL committee said Bishop can participate in football activities next year. This comes after allegations that Bishop allegedly carried out a plan to record their opponents signals, a plan that the DEC allegedly said was “intentional, serious and egregious.â€