🤠 Howdy, Thursday!

🌧️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny with a slight chance of showers, with a high around 90.

Today’s newsletter is 1,015 words — a 4-minute read.

School districts in Texas imposed almost 8,200 book bans in the 2025-26 school year, per a PEN America report.

Why it matters: Book bans highlight the expanding influence of state politics on schools and how subjective the guardrails can be.

The big picture: Nearly 12,000 books were banned across the U.S. last year — the highest number of recorded bans in a single year since PEN America began tracking bans in 2021. Last year's report cited 6,870 banned books.

• Texas surpassed Florida for the first time in three years, with 8,193 bans compared with Florida's 3,212.

Catch up quick: The report cites Texas' Senate Bill 13, a 2025 law regulating how public schools catalog books and redefining how the public can challenge library materials in schools.

• The bill's supporters said books made available to students should be "appropriate" and in line with community values, keeping sexually explicit content out of schools.
• The legislation's critics say the law is too broad and accuse it of driving censorship in schools.
• "Texas students deserve access to books that reflect their own lives, teach them about others' lives, and inspire them to lead," the Texas State Teachers Association said.

State of books: The majority of books pulled from school libraries nationally last year fell into the young adult fiction and manga (comic books and graphic novels) categories, per the report. Around 90% of the titles were fiction.

• The banned titles include "Looking for Alaska," "Jane Eyre" and "Lessons in Chemistry."

The intrigue: Public records shared with PEN America show districts are increasingly using generative AI to decide which books should be banned.

• "These records show that generative AI/generative AI chatbots repeatedly recommend removing books, not because those books are obscene under the prevailing legal standard, but instead because other districts have banned them," the report says.

Zoom out: A 2025 report found that Texas' fourth and eighth graders rank lower on reading scores than the U.S. average.

• The Texas Education Agency earlier this year said middle schoolers' reading scores generally improved from last year, attributing the gains to the ban on cellphone use in schools.

Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico made his case to voters for 90 minutes last night in a CNN and Jubilee town hall in Fort Worth.

Why it matters: The event — often a dialogue with voters — amounted to free national airtime for Talarico amid an advertising blitz by Republican opponent Ken Paxton, who was invited but did not participate.

The big picture: The unconventional format brought together Republican, Democratic and independent voters to question Talarico on affordability, democracy, education, health care and immigration.

• The questions gave Talarico opportunities to clarify past comments featured in Republican attack ads, explain his positions on contentious issues and find common ground with the voters.

What they're saying: "This election is not about left versus right. It's about whether we will have a senator who puts money in your pocket or a senator who puts money in their own," he said in his only direct mention of his opponent.

Zoom in: He staked moderate positions on some issues, underscoring his strategy to appeal to independents and some Republicans, while drawing on his Christian faith to explain his views.

• He backed oil and gas alongside renewable energy and clarified past criticism of capitalism, saying he opposed "crony capitalism."
• He said he does not support abolishing ICE but criticized the agency's enforcement tactics, invoking the fatal shooting of Houston resident Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

The intrigue: Talarico's election campaign hosted "This Could've Been a Debate" watch parties in major Texas cities.

Read the rest

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare says an ICE agent driving an SUV may have intentionally struck a fleeing man with an SUV during an immigration operation in west Houston on Saturday, breaking his legs. Teare's office is investigating the incident as a possible aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. (Houston Chronicle)

⚾️ The Astros announced they will not renew manager Joe Espada's contract for the 2027 season. (ESPN)

MacGregor Park renovations began earlier this month, kicking off a $75 million project for the historic southeast Houston park.

Why it matters: The project aims to modernize the 65-acre park in the Third Ward while preserving its century-old legacy as a community gathering place.

Zoom in: The renovations, led by the Houston Parks Board, include:

• A new tennis center with 16 tennis courts, eight pickleball courts and a clubhouse
• A renovated pool, fitness center and basketball pavilion
• An inclusive, shaded playground and 3 miles of walking trails and sidewalks
• Improved connections to Brays Bayou Greenway

Follow the money: The public-private project includes $27 million from the Kinder Foundation, $10 million in federal funding and $10.5 million from the city and a local reinvestment zone.

What's next: Construction will take place in two phases, keeping portions of the park open until the project is completed in late 2028.

What they're saying

It's time for a weather update worth celebrating. A cold front this weekend is expected to bring some much-needed relief.

Why it matters: It's been a long, hot stretch, with afternoon highs that have stubbornly hovered near 90 degrees. But cool weather — at least for a few days — is on the way.

State of the weather: The cold front is expected to arrive tomorrow, bringing lower humidity and a much cooler weekend.

• Saturday's highs could stay in the low 70s, with temperatures dropping into the 50s by Saturday morning.

Reality check: Don't pack away your summer attire just yet. This taste of fall will be brief, with warmer temperatures and humidity expected to return early next week.

The bottom line: Make outdoor plans this weekend. Take it in.

Thanks to Bob Gee for editing this newsletter.

🎥 Shafaq is still thinking about "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother" and has talked about the film with so many Houstonians since it came out.