Government and Politics

Cody Campbell, a major Texas Tech booster and GOP megadonor, has vocally defended Brendan Sorsby’s right to play amid a legal battle stemming from his betting scandal.

As members of the data center and energy industries gathered in Austin this week to discuss the growing infrastructure needs of large-scale data centers in Texas, Democratic candidates who have spoken against data centers will be kicking off a West Texas tour from Lubbock this weekend. Gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa, Lieutenant Governor candidate Vikki Goodwin, and others will be at The Garden at 1801 Buddy Holly Avenue in Lubbock on Saturday from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Our Riley Wilson reports that Lubbock Lake Landmark is kicking off its annual Archaeology Days today, with activities planned through Saturday. Tours of the excavation site and laboratory will be at 9:30 and 11 a.m. each day. The Landmark is located at 2401 Landmark Dr.

As attorney general, Paxton threw unprecedented resources into stopping Biden’s agenda. That record is his sword and shield as he runs for U.S. Senate.

New federal rules for dicamba aim to help cotton and soybean farmers control weeds. But the herbicide, which can kill other crops and trees, remains controversial.

Darline Graham was sworn in on Tuesday during a brief ceremony on the floor of the Senate. She was appointed to fill the seat of her late brother by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.

A judge says Texas has to speed up putting jail inmates who are incompetent to stand trial in mental health facilities. KERA's Toluwani Osibamowo reports the order is part of a ten-year-long lawsuit against the state. Last week, Governor Greg Abbott launched a new teacher-led state commission to shape public education. The Texas Classroom Commission is tasked with developing recommendations ahead of the next legislative session on how to support teachers and improve educational outcomes.

A preliminary court order reinstated federal grants largely helping Black, Indigenous, veteran and immigrant farmers access land, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut earlier this year. Now, organizations are cautiously moving forward with their projects.

Tomorrow is Election Day in the special election to determine the city council representative for Lubbock's District 4. So far, the Lubbock County Elections Office reports 1,880 voters have turned out in early voting. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Most survey results show the Texas Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico as extremely close. Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider reports that potentially creates an opening for a third-party candidate, Libertarian Ted Brown, to shape the outcome.

Data centers use water to cool their massive arrays of computer servers. A state agency sent out a survey to figure out how much, but less than a third of the companies responded.

Just ahead of closely contested midterms, Texas is about to get a new top voting official. Many locals there fear the frontrunner is a state lawmaker and pastor with no election experience.