The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 26, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks. Today is Friday, September 26th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans assistant editor Rob Laus, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, Operation Lone Star 2.0 is underway in Texas, indicating a shift in border security strategy for the state, from addressing the heavy flow of illegal immigrants across the border to tracking down criminals attempting entry into Texas. Through the original Operation Lone Star, which was launched in March 2021 in response to President Joe Biden's border and immigration policies, the Texas Department of Public Safety utilized numerous tactics in response to the rise in illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border. In a conversation with the Texan, Department of Public Safety

Starting point is 00:00:57 press secretary Sheridan Nolan confirmed that DPS has apprehended or referred more than 535,000 illegal immigrants since OLS launched, and has made more than 57,000 criminal arrests, with more than 47,000 felony charges overall. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently announced yet another month of, quote, historically low, illegal crossing apprehensions after reviewing data from August, which showed around 6,000 apprehensions at the southern border that month, spurring the shift in Texas law enforcement's role through OLS 2.0. Next, three suspects were charged with deadly conduct in connection with a non-fatal shooting incident at a youth baseball game in Katie, two of whom were allowed into the country under the Biden administration. During a time of prayer before the

Starting point is 00:01:49 start of a children's baseball game on Sunday, a baseball coach was shot in the shoulder at an Ameripart Field in Katie, also known as the Rack Katie. He was lifelighted to Memorial Herman Hospital in downtown Houston and later released. After the Waller County Sheriff's Office announced that three suspects were in custody, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security highlighted that two of the three were, quote, let in under President Joe Biden's administration, alleging its quote, failure to vet aliens led into the U.S. from high-threat countries. The investigation by the sheriff's office found that the three individuals, quote, discharged firearms from a nearby pasture in the direction of the field while a youth baseball event was taking place, which resulted in one

Starting point is 00:02:36 adult male, the coach, being shot in the, quote, upper arm. In other news, a Houston pharmacy owner and three pharmacists were sentenced to prison for a pill mill scheme on lawful distributing over half a million opioids and other commonly abused drugs to fraudulent patients, marking the culmination of a year's long operation. Arthur Billings, the owner of Health Fit, a self-described independent pharmacy with a personal touch based in Houston, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and a $2.6 million forfeiture order. The U.S. Department of Justice wrote in a press release on Thursday, quote, in exchange for hundreds of dollars per prescription,

Starting point is 00:03:19 Health Fit dispensed controlled substances to individuals sent by drug traffickers to pose as patients. It noted that, quote, the drug traffickers provided the funding for the pills, then sold the drugs on the black market. Three years ago, Billings pleaded guilty to a four-year conspiracy involving the distribution of drugs as well as falsifying a disability benefits application. Last but not least, The Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, or NPO, is nearing the completion of its study

Starting point is 00:03:50 about the feasibility and desirability of a light rail system in Tyler. On September 23rd, it held a virtual town hall with associates from Kimley-Horn, the firm that was commissioned in January to conduct the study. Michael Howell, the director of the Tyler Area MPO, told the Texan that he expects the study to be finalized in November. The virtual town hall and an online survey were designed as opportunities for the public to provide feedback about its interest in a light rail system. The survey may be completed through October 7th. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the texan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

Starting point is 00:04:42 Thank you.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 26, 2025

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