The FBI’s Dallas Field Office has released the results of Operation Summer Heat 2.0, a violent crime initiative that ran from June 1 to September 20 and resulted in 186 arrests across North Texas. Agents also identified or located 49 child victims during the four-month operation, a figure that speaks to the protective side of this kind of enforcement work.

Beyond the arrests, authorities seized 121 illegal firearms, 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl, and 33 kilograms of cocaine. The operation produced 169 indictments and 71 convictions, reflecting coordinated work between federal agents and local law enforcement partners across the region. For communities in Ellis County and the surrounding area, the takeaway is that these cases are often worked jointly, with local police and county deputies supporting federal efforts.

For Waxahachie and the broader exurb corridor, where rapid growth has brought new public safety challenges, operations like this one highlight how federal resources filter down to the local level. The fentanyl seizures alone represent meaningful risk removed from North Texas communities. The child victim recoveries represent something even harder to quantify.

What do you think is the most important outcome from this operation: the arrests, the drug seizures, or the child victim recoveries? Let us know in the comments.

Toys R Us has an official opening date for its Broadway Square Mall location in Tyler: Friday, November 6. A reporter stopped by the mall and confirmed the date with the district manager while construction crews were still arranging displays and merchandise inside the storefront. That means East Texas families get a new toy shopping option just as the holiday season kicks into gear.

One detail worth knowing before opening weekend: this location is smaller than the Toys R Us stores many shoppers remember from childhood. The chain’s comeback format scales down the classic big-box experience, but for local families it also means a shorter drive than heading into the metroplex for holiday toy runs.

The return lands at a good moment for Broadway Square Mall and for parents working through Christmas lists early this year. Expect opening weekend to draw a crowd from across the region, especially with the nostalgia factor running high. Will you be there on day one, or are you waiting for the rush to settle down?

Diesel prices across Texas are running about $2.10 higher per gallon than this time last year, and school districts are feeling it where it hurts: the transportation budget. Down in San Antonio, North East ISD is spending $30,000 to $50,000 a week fueling its 205 buses, and it has already used more than half its transportation budget with over half the school year still ahead. Northside ISD locked in diesel at $4.46 a gallon through a statewide co-op and still expects to exceed its fuel budget by $1 million.

Districts are responding with practical changes. Austin ISD eliminated neighborhood bus routes for high schoolers and set up student walk-to bus hubs. San Antonio-area districts are cutting bus idling, including band programs waiting with the AC running. Fuel hedging and co-op rates help, but as Northside’s numbers show, they don’t make a district immune to a price spike this steep.

The ripple effects matter here in Ellis County, where growth debates and school budgets already compete for attention. When fuel eats a bigger share of transportation money, districts face hard choices between routes, programs, and classrooms, and taxpayers ultimately foot the bill. Have your local district’s bus routes or schedules changed this year? Tell us what you’re seeing.

Tuesday’s midterms delivered the biggest shakeup in state government power since 2010, and Texas sat right at the center of it. Democrats won control of the Texas state House for the first time since 2002 and will hold at least 28 governorships in 2027, with pickups in Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Texas. They also flipped both chambers in Wisconsin, ending a 16-year Republican majority, and broke or prevented supermajorities in nine chambers across eight states.

Analysts say the wave was fueled by anger over the cost of living, inflation and housing affordability. Rice University political science professor Mark Jones credited President Trump’s policies as the driving force, while Democratic leaders leaned on a simple message: now it’s time to deliver. State lawmakers set policy on the things closest to home, from property taxes and school funding to housing and utility costs, which is why a change in Austin matters on every Main Street in Ellis County.

So what happens next? Redistricting math changes, committee chairs change, and the growth debate here in one of the fastest-growing corners of North Texas gets a new set of players. We’ll keep following how it all shakes out at the Capitol. What’s the first issue you want the new Texas House to take up? Let us know.

Texas has a new agriculture commissioner, and the result marks something the state hasn’t seen since 1994: a Democrat winning a statewide office. Clayton Tucker, a rancher from Lampasas, defeated Republican Nate Sheets, the honey company founder who had upset incumbent Sid Miller in the primary earlier this year.

The race took some unusual turns. After losing the primary, Miller wrote an essay discouraging voters from supporting Sheets while not going so far as to endorse Tucker. Through it all, Tucker kept his campaign focused on data centers, arguing that water, farmland, property rights, and rural communities need protection from unchecked corporate expansion. That argument carried particular weight across fast-growing counties like ours.

For Waxahachie and the surrounding rural stretches of Ellis County, the result matters beyond party lines. The next agriculture commissioner will oversee the state office that touches farming, ranching, and rural interests, and the debate over data centers isn’t fading. What’s your take on growth and water here in Ellis County? Let us know in the comments.

East Texas is drying out from this week’s rain and heading into a weekend full of events across the region. The Junior League of Tyler’s Mistletoe & Magic market runs Wednesday through Saturday at 2000 W Front St, giving holiday shoppers a four-day head start. Meanwhile, the 4th annual Pilar McLemore Butterfly Run 5K takes off at 8 a.m. Saturday at 100 Grand Blvd in Longview to benefit the Texas Oncology Foundation. Wings are optional, organizers note, but welcome.

Outdoor types can join the Sabine River Challenge at 9 a.m. Saturday from the Highway 14 bridge in Hawkins, a 30-mile course finishing in Gladewater. Gators along the route may or may not be pulling double duty as race officials. Closer to town, the 17th annual Winnsboro Art & Wine Festival runs Friday and Saturday with free admission downtown, and The Long Con role-playing convention fills Longview Thursday through Sunday.

Marshall’s rain-postponed Halloween Fun & Pet Costume Contest finally happens Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Harrison County Courthouse. Kilgore’s Festival of Trees, area farmers markets, and Friday night district football round out the weekend. With milder post-front temperatures settling in, there’s no shortage of reasons to leave the house. Which event is on your calendar?

Taylor Rehmet will keep her Texas Senate District 9 seat. The Democratic incumbent defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss in their rematch, a repeat of January’s special election runoff that first sent Rehmet to Austin. The Associated Press called the race, and the result keeps a seat Democrats flipped earlier this year after Republican Sen. Kelly Hannock vacated it.

The numbers behind this one are striking. District 9 covers most of Tarrant County, a historically conservative area that Trump carried by 17 points in 2024. Winning it once raised eyebrows. Winning it twice in a single year suggests something more durable is happening in one of the country’s largest swing counties, and both parties will be studying the returns closely as they plan ahead.

For listeners across Ellis County and the DFW exurbs, the outcome is a reminder that North Texas politics is in motion, even in places long considered safe for one party. Tarrant County voters have now backed Rehmet twice since January, and Republicans are left asking what their local strategy needs to look like going forward.

What do you think this result says about the future of North Texas politics? Sound off in the comments.

Texas voters delivered a political earthquake Tuesday, handing Democrats every statewide office for the first time in more than three decades. James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton for a U.S. Senate seat, and Gina Hinojosa unseated Gov. Greg Abbott to become the first Latina governor in Texas history. Democrats also won lieutenant governor and attorney general, ending a drought that stretched back to 1994.

The coalition behind the sweep stretched beyond the big cities. Border counties that swung to Trump in 2024 returned to the Democratic column, and several gerrymandered congressional districts flipped. AP voter polling found about three-quarters of voters under 30 and roughly six in ten Hispanic voters backed Talarico, a signal that Texas’ changing electorate is reshaping its politics.

Even national Republicans acknowledged the scale of the loss. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called Texas the anchor of the modern GOP and said the sweep takes that away. For communities like Waxahachie, the question now is practical: what does new leadership in Austin mean for property taxes, schools, and growth along the I-35 corridor? What do you want to see from the new administration first?

Texas has a new attorney general, and for the first time in more than three decades, it’s a Democrat. State Senator Nathan Johnson defeated Republican State Senator Mayes Middleton, ending a Republican hold on the office that dates to 1994. The result is still being finalized as vote data is verified, but the flip is official.

The race came together in an unusual way. Ken Paxton chose to run for U.S. Senate rather than defend his attorney general seat, leaving it open. That set off runoff battles on both sides: Middleton beat Congressman Chip Roy for the Republican nod, and Johnson beat former Galveston mayor Joe Jaworski on the Democratic side. Two state senators, two runoffs, one history-making outcome.

Here in Waxahachie, this lands differently than it might in Austin or Dallas. We’re a courthouse town at heart, and the attorney general is the state’s top lawyer. What this means for the legal fights ahead, and for future elections in Ellis County, is the real question. Results are still being verified, so keep an eye out for updates. What’s your take on the flip? Let us know in the comments.

Democrat Jon Rosenthal, a Houston state representative, has won a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, defeating Republican Bo French. It’s the first Democratic victory for that office since 1990 and the first statewide Democratic win in Texas since 1994, ending more than three decades of Republican dominance in statewide races.

The commission’s name is misleading: it regulates oil and gas, not railroads. That makes the seat far more consequential than it sounds, especially for a fast-growing county like Ellis, where energy and development questions are part of everyday life. French, a former Tarrant County GOP chair, had beaten incumbent Jim Wright in a May runoff but drew bipartisan criticism over a social media post about UT students. Rosenthal ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Whether this is a one-cycle protest vote or the beginning of a larger realignment is the question everyone’s asking. Statewide races rarely turn on a single moment, but thirty-two years is a long streak to break in one night. What do you think this result says about where Texas politics is headed? Let us know in the comments.

Texas politics just shifted in a way it hasn’t in over three decades. Democrat Vikki Goodwin defeated incumbent Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, becoming the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas since 1994. She’ll be sworn in when the legislative session begins in January, and results are still developing according to the AP Decision Team.

Why should a Waxahachie listener care? The lieutenant governor isn’t a ceremonial title. That office presides over the Texas Senate and sets the legislative agenda, meaning it decides which bills move and which stall. Property tax reform, school funding formulas, and the growth rules shaping DFW exurbs all pass through that gavel first. The last Democrat to hold the office was Bob Bullock, who served until 1999.

For a historic courthouse town that’s now part of the fastest-growing metro in the country, the stakes are local as much as they are statewide. Whether you’re celebrating or frustrated by the result, the person in that chair for the next session will shape the debates that hit your driveway and your tax bill. What issue do you most want the new lieutenant governor to address first?

Democrat Johnny Garcia has defeated Republican Carlos De La Cruz in Texas’ 35th Congressional District, flipping a seat that looked safely red on paper. Lawmakers redrew TX-35 last year in the Legislature’s mid-decade redistricting push, removing Austin and adding more rural and Republican-leaning communities around San Antonio. Trump carried the new district by more than 10 points.

Garcia’s victory is being read as a sign that Hispanic voters, who make up the majority of the district, may be swinging back toward Democrats after recent cycles. The race also carried a family subplot: Carlos De La Cruz is the brother of South Texas Republican Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz, giving the family name a mixed night. Meanwhile, current TX-35 representative Greg Casar of Austin is now running in TX-37.

The results are still developing, and the long-term implications for next year’s midterms are an open question. Closer to home, Ellis County’s rapid growth means political shifts around the state are worth watching here too. What do you think this result signals? Let us know in the comments.

Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar won reelection in Texas’ 28th Congressional District, defeating Republican Tano Tijerina, according to the Associated Press. The district, which stretches from south of San Antonio through the Rio Grande Valley and includes Laredo, was redrawn last year during the Legislature’s mid-decade redistricting push to favor Republicans, and President Trump carried the new boundaries by more than ten points.

Cuellar has represented the district since 2005, and that longevity appears to have outweighed the new map. Tijerina, the Webb County judge, left the Democratic Party after the 2024 election and ran as a Republican. Adding to the intrigue, the Congressional Leadership Fund canceled $3 million in planned ads against Cuellar just weeks before Election Day, a signal that outside groups saw the race slipping away.

The result matters well beyond South Texas. Democrats need net gains to retake the House majority, and holding a district drawn against them is a meaningful data point. It also raises an old question that never quite goes away: how much does redistricting decide, and how much do candidates? What do you think this race tells us about 2026?

A name familiar to anyone who’s attended a South Texas wedding or quinceañera is now headed to Congress. Bobby Pulido, the Grammy-winning Tejano musician, has defeated incumbent Republican Monica De La Cruz in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press. It was Pulido’s first run for public office.

De La Cruz made history in 2022 when she became the first Republican elected to the district since its creation in 1903, and she followed that up with a 14-point reelection win in 2024. The district spans from New Braunfels to McAllen, taking in parts of Edinburg and the eastern San Antonio suburbs, a region with deep cultural ties to Tejano music.

The flip carries national weight as Democrats work to reclaim the U.S. House majority, and it raises an interesting question about how much name recognition and cultural connection matter at the ballot box. What do you think: should more entertainers and musicians run for office, or is governing best left to career politicians? Let us know on our social pages.

Tyler diners get a new breakfast option on Monday, November 9, when Denny’s opens at 1226 South Beckham Avenue. The restaurant is a makeover of a former Grandy’s building, and crews are still finishing construction and staff training this week. Videos shared online show a clean, updated interior ready for the first wave of customers.

The opening comes with a change for regulars: according to employee training at the new site, the existing Denny’s on West Gentry Parkway will close once the South Beckham location opens. If West Gentry has been your usual stop, it’s worth planning a new route before your next early-morning run.

There’s a perk too. Denny’s Rewards members can claim a free cheesecake or a free simple breakfast plate for their birthday through an online account, so signing up before your big day pays off. Between the new jobs and the new dining room, it’s a notable week for Tyler’s restaurant scene. Are you planning to check out the South Beckham location on opening day, or will you miss the West Gentry spot?

Downtown Tyler has a new restaurant in a space plenty of locals already know. Brickstreet Bistro is now open at 118 West Erwin Street, the former home of Culture ETX, and executive chef Dylan Sexton is running the kitchen after years of working alongside Chef Lance McWhorter.

The menu goes well beyond one lane: New York-style pizza, pasta, and flatbreads share the page with seafood, steaks, and chops. That range means a quick Tuesday lunch and a Saturday dinner out can both happen under the same roof. Brickstreet Bistro is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.

McWhorter announced on social media that he’s stepping away to focus on other projects, while The Plaid Rabbit Social Club & Speakeasy at Heritage East remains open with no changes. It all adds up to a downtown dining scene that keeps giving people reasons to park once and walk the square. Have you tried the new spot yet, or is there another downtown address you’d love to see get a fresh start?

Texas woke up to a political landscape nobody around here has seen in a generation. Democrat James Talarico, a 37-year-old state legislator and former middle school teacher, defeated Republican Ken Paxton for a U.S. Senate seat, making him the first Democratic senator from Texas since 1993 and the youngest member of the Senate. Paxton’s legal and ethical troubles, including impeachment and a federal corruption probe, shaped a campaign with more than half a billion dollars in combined ads.

The Senate race wasn’t the only headline. Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, a result that stunned observers and raised questions about red-state politics midway through Trump’s second term. Talarico ran an economic populist campaign focused on corruption and the rising cost of living, telling voters the biggest divide in the country isn’t left versus right, it’s top versus bottom. Meanwhile, Elon Musk poured $158 million into a fund that backed Paxton, and it wasn’t enough.

For Waxahachie and the rest of Ellis County, the practical question is what changes and what doesn’t. County fairs and Friday night football won’t feel different, but funding debates, growth policy, and the state’s relationship with Washington are now in new hands. Whether this was a one-night upset or the start of a longer shift is something we’ll be watching closely. What’s your take: is this a one-off, or did Texas politics really change? Let us know on our social pages.

Texas has a new governor, and it’s a historic one. Democrat Gina Hinojosa has defeated incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, according to AP Decision Team data, ending a long stretch of Republican control over the state’s highest office. The last Democrat and the last woman to serve as governor was Ann Richards, who left office in 1995.

The race centered on three issues that matter deeply to North Texas communities: data centers and their impact on land and power, school funding for districts like Waxahachie ISD, and border security. Those debates played out in living rooms and diners across Ellis County, not just on the debate stage.

This remains a developing story as final results are confirmed, but the political shift is already clear. A new administration means a new set of priorities for school funding formulas, energy policy and more, and local leaders will be watching closely. What’s the top issue you want the new governor to address first? Let us know in the comments.

Texas politics just crossed a line nobody has crossed in over three decades. James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race, becoming the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas since 1994. The race drew national attention because Senate majority control was in play, and money poured in from both directions, including tens of millions from President Trump’s super PAC along with rallies across the state before Election Day on Nov. 3.

For context, Beto O’Rourke came within 2.6 percentage points of beating Ted Cruz in 2018, the closest recent miss. This time the margin went the other way, and the result is being read as a potential realignment in a state long treated as safely Republican.

Here in Ellis County, the practical questions matter most. Senate control affects agriculture policy, transportation funding, and plenty of federal programs that touch Waxahachie and the surrounding towns. Results and reactions are still developing, and we’ll keep covering the local angle. What’s the biggest issue you want the new senator to tackle first? Let us know on our social pages.

Texas’ 23rd Congressional District has a new representative, and the seat is changing parties. Democrat Katy Padilla Stout defeated Republican Brandon Herrera, according to the Associated Press, flipping a district that national Democrats had targeted for months.

The race was shaped by the dramatic exit of Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who resigned earlier this year and withdrew from the runoff after admitting to an affair with an aide who later died by suicide. Democrats seized the opening in a district that spans parts of San Antonio, West Texas, and border communities, while Republicans fought to hold the line.

For voters here in Ellis County, the 23rd is far from home, but the flip carries weight in Washington, where control of the House remains a tight battle. The story is still developing, and we’ll follow it as more results and reaction come in.

What do you think this flip says about the direction of Texas politics? Let us know in the comments.

Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez has won reelection in Texas’ 34th Congressional District, defeating Republican Eric Flores, according to the Associated Press. The result keeps the seat in Democratic hands despite a map that was redrawn last year specifically to favor Republicans. Under the new boundaries, President Trump carried the district by roughly 10 percentage points.

The outcome echoes 2024, when Gonzalez narrowly won even as a majority of his district backed Trump, a sign that ticket-splitting remains a real force in South Texas politics. Flores, a former assistant U.S. attorney and Texas Army National Guard infantry captain, ran with the president’s backing but came up short.

With control of the U.S. House on the line, every competitive district carries extra weight, and this one had been on plenty of watch lists. The race is still developing, and we’ll bring you updates as more numbers come in. What do you make of the result? Do you split your own ticket when you vote?

If your phone has been lighting up with political texts at all hours, you’re in good company across Ellis County and the rest of Texas. Voters describe the volume this cycle as relentless, and there’s a clear reason behind it. AdImpact reports that spending on the Texas Senate race has passed $573 million, making it the most expensive non-presidential race in U.S. history. Campaigns are steering a large share of that money into text messaging because it’s one of the cheapest ways to reach voters.

The frustrating part is that there’s no easy off switch. Campaign calls and texts are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry, so even if you’ve registered your number, political messages can still come through. Americans received roughly 15 million political texts during the 2022 midterms, and with spending at record levels this year, the volume has only grown. Voters like Camille Brown and Krystal King have described the stream as all day and all night, to the point of annoyance.

So what can you do? Blocking individual senders is the most practical option, and many phones now group unknown senders so you can silence them in bulk. SMU political science professor Cal Jillson points out that this is the most expensive Senate race in American history, which means the messaging likely won’t slow down until the ballots are counted. Have you been getting flooded with political texts this week? Tell us how you’re handling it.

Federal investigators have confirmed that a Learjet 60 flying from Austin to the Bahamas came apart before it hit the ground Sunday afternoon in Greenacres, Florida. Most of the plane’s left elevator was found in three pieces between 1.3 and 3.8 miles from the crash site. NTSB board member Tom Chapman said that without the elevator, the pilot could not have pulled out of the nosedive, though aviation experts note the part may have separated during the dive rather than causing it.

All nine people aboard died. They include Austin tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife and two children, their nanny Ana María Ramírez Cetina, captain Jeff Gregory, and copilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras. The copilot’s final transmissions reported ice and turbulence and ended with “We’re out of time,” and a man’s voice reciting the Lord’s Prayer was heard in the background. About 600 nearby residents remain displaced, and one person on the ground was injured.

A preliminary NTSB report is expected in about a month, with a probable cause finding likely more than a year away. For Ellis County families who routinely fly out of DFW or Austin, this story carries a particular weight. Have you been following the investigation, and what questions do you hope the NTSB answers first?

NTSB investigators say the Learjet 60 that crashed Sunday near West Palm Beach came apart in the air before hitting the ground. Part of the tail was recovered more than a mile from the impact crater, and the elevator, the control surface a pilot uses to pull out of a dive, was found in three pieces, confirming a catastrophic breakup rather than a ground impact failure.

The final cockpit transmissions add a deeply human layer. Copilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras had radioed controllers about ice accumulation and turbulence that tossed the jet more than 700 feet, and her last words included a scream of “We’re going to die.” In the background, a man’s voice recites the Lord’s Prayer, believed to be pilot Jeff Gregory, 55, of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, remembered as a devoted husband, father, and man of faith. The flight had departed Austin bound for the Bahamas; victims included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson and his family. About 600 residents near the crash site remain displaced, with only one ground injury reported.

The crash raises questions about ice, turbulence, and phone use in the cockpit, while the discovery of tail components miles from the crater gives investigators a rare window into how a midair breakup unfolds. If there’s one takeaway for North Texas travelers, it’s the value of a thorough preflight weather briefing, especially as we head into colder months.

Does the human story in this one change how you think about flying? Tell us in the comments.

The Houston Rockets have not lost since their opener, and Monday night they made the loudest statement yet. Behind 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds from Alperen Sengun, Houston went into Boston and coasted to a 109-93 win, never trailing at any point. The victory pushed the Rockets to 7-1 and into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference after Memphis dropped its first game of the season in overtime to New Orleans.

The way Houston won it says plenty. The Rockets outscored the Celtics 18-2 on the fast break and 50-34 in the paint, setting a tone that a Boston team on a five-game win streak could not match. Jayson Tatum finished with 19 points on 5-of-16 shooting, and Marcus Smart got to face his former team and keep the momentum rolling. This is Houston’s best start to a season since 2014-15.

For Waxahachie-area basketball fans, it’s a happy sight and an early-season run that’s easy to get behind. Friday nights under the lights at the high school stadium are as good as it gets around here, and the Rockets are giving folks a reason to keep the games on the rest of the week too. It’s a long season and plenty can change, but sitting in first in the West in November is nothing to shrug off.

The Rockets look to keep it rolling later this week. Think Houston holds onto first place through Thanksgiving? Drop a comment and let us know where you stand on this team.