An ongoing dispute over which books belong on library shelves in a rural county 75 miles outside Austin could soon get a U.S. Supreme Court hearing.

Why it matters: The clash in Llano County pits First Amendment rights against parental controls and plays against the backdrop of book bans nationally.

Catch up quick: In fall 2021, the county ordered 17 books removed from libraries after conservative activists alleged they were "pornographic filth." A group of residents sued county officials in April 2022 in federal court over what they said was a "literary witch hunt."

• A federal judge in Austin in 2023 ruled for the residents, ordering the county to return books they removed and allow them to be checked out again.
• This May, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the county's removal of certain books was government speech — and not subject to free speech challenges.

The latest: In September, the plaintiffs asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.

• "A citizen's right to be free from government censorship should not depend on the jurisdiction in which she resides," reads the petition.

The other side: County officials filed a response last month, saying that libraries "continually remove books from their collections to make room for new materials and ensure that their limited shelf space is reserved for materials of requisite quality and relevance to their communities."

Zoom in: Many of the books targeted were written by Latino or Black authors or have LGBTQ+ themes.

• They include "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent" by Isabel Wilkerson, the coming-of-age novel "Lawn Boy" and the graphic novel-style memoir "Gender Queer.
• One librarian was fired and another resigned in protest over the book ban.

What's next: The justices generally consider the petition and replies roughly a month after the brief in opposition is submitted — which could be around Thanksgiving for the Llano County case.

The bottom line: Should the justices agree to hear the case, Llano County could be a critical testing ground for how much power elected officials have in removing books from library shelves nationwide.

Infravision, an Austin startup using drones to string transmission lines, just raised $91 million to scale globally, cofounder and CEO Cameron Van Der Berg tells Axios.

Why it matters: Autonomous drones can string transmission lines faster and at less cost than manned helicopters.

• Infravision hopes to become a big player in the logistics of how to get power from Point A to Point B.

Driving the news: The company plans to use the financing for new hires to meet its orders and to continue project development.

• The company proved out the tech in Australia and now wants to scale across the U.S., Canada and India.

Zoom out: The electricity demand surge is bumping up against outdated grid infrastructure, utilities using manual tech and glacial permitting processes.

• Venture-backed entrepreneurs are turning to AI and robotics to automate various parts of the grid.

The bottom line: Enabling technologies like drones could dramatically change the way the grid is deployed.

Full story... If you need smart, quick intel on dealmaking in the climate industry, get Axios Pro Deals.

🔌 Austin Energy is providing assistance to customers impacted by the government shutdown, including a 30-day pause on immediate collections. (KVUE)

📚 Barnes & Noble is opening a new store in Southpark Meadows. (CultureMap Austin)

🏛️ The University of Texas will name a new engineering building for a Texas oil billionaire. (Austin American-Statesman 🔒)

💭 Quote du jour

"There's a reason why the Trump administration is targeting universities — because they know that in order to control discourse, control democracy (and) control the future, you have to control college campuses."

👋 Hey, Asher here.

I think I've figured out the next big thing in beauty.

What's happening: We go through a lot of corn tortillas in our house.

• To heat them, I dutifully follow the H-E-B instructions of wrapping five to seven tortillas in damp paper towels before microwaving them for at least 30 seconds.
• The tortillas come out hot and revived ... and at this point most people might very reasonably discard the paper towels and move on with their lives.

💡 The insight: On a whim, I decided instead to drape the paper towels, now steamy, damp and infused with essence-of-tortilla, over my face.

Why it works: It's like you have a fancy spa in your kitchen.

• Could there be anything more relaxing than lingering beneath a hot towel and feeling your pores open as you inhale pleasantly mild, earthy corn aromas?

Plus: After the paper towels cool off, you get to enjoy your taco, of course.

🕯️ Pro tip: Light a tortilla-scented H-E-B candle for the full spa effect.

The bottom line: Don't say you never learned anything from your Axios Austin newsletter.

• You can thank me later, just as some of you did for my libation innovation. (Many of you were... less sure.)

💄 Have an unorthodox beauty tip? Hit reply to this message, and we might share it in a future newsletter.