Opinion

Attorney General Ken Paxton and his allies began working to repair fissures among GOP voters after he routed incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the March 26 runoff, The Dallas Morning News reported. Both Paxton and his general election opponent, Democratic nominee James Talarico, swiftly went on the attack in what promises to be the most expensive Senate general election race in history.

“You get a line and I’ll get a drone, honey / You get a line and I’ll get an app, babe…” Or something like that. I haven’t been fishing since 1972 (although my lunch has to share shelf space with bait worms in the company break room refrigerator), so I didn’t realize just how controversial the once-tranquil sport has become.

My late mother would have been tickled by a front-page Wall Street Journal story that appeared on her 99th birthday. Mom loved meeting strangers and pumping them for information (“Why does someone your size carry such a tiny can of pepper spray — and where is the nearest eyewash station?”), so she was always tormented by the New Normal of people walking around with their nose buried in their “little machine” (smartphone).

Dozens of Texas wind projects have been halted because the Department of Defense has not approved the federal permits required for them to move forward, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Data from the American Clean Power Association indicate that the state has 54 wind projects stalled as part of a nationwide delay affecting 165 onshore wind projects.

Early voting in both the Democratic and Republican runoff races ends Friday, May 22, with the election on Tuesday, May 26. On the GOP side, the statewide runoffs are: U.S.

The Social Security Administration just released the most popular baby names for 2025, and they reveal an unfortunate trend. Girls’ names lean toward elegance and tradition — names our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had.

I wish every child could be blessed to have a mother like mine. When my five sisters and I were babies in her womb, she never took so much as an aspirin for a headache — never ingested anything but the nutrients we needed to grow healthy and strong.

CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS Top Texas legislators are pushing to waive a new state law that requires camps to install broadband fiber optics in order to legally operate this summer, The Dallas Morning News reported. Scores of camps are struggling to meet the deadline.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in Texas has risen from $2.55 in early February to $3.91 as of Sunday, according to AAA. Diesel prices hover around $5 a gallon. The average Texan now spends $233 a month on gasoline, according to a study reported in The Texas Tribune.

“8 Mother’s Day Gifts You Should Never Buy, According to Moms,” blared the headline of a recent “Good Housekeeping” article. (And by blared, I mean “got drowned out by all the seasonal ‘Oprah promises this $20 air fryer will make the stretch marks and sleepless nights worth it’ headlines.”) So, whether you’re feeling good about yourself for making the high school varsity team, landing your first full-time job or raising well-adjusted children of your own… suddenly, there’s a magazine informing you that you’ve been ruining mom’s special day all these years! (It’s a wonder “Good Housekeeping” didn’t partner with “Car and Driver” for this guilt trip.) In a perfect world, “Good Housekeeping” wouldn’t have to lecture us; but even the most controlling mothers are notoriously tight-lipped about gift-giving suggestions.