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Daily Ledger
Daily digest straight from the source
Sunday, September 20, 2026
The lead · Sep 20
Severe storms crossed the South Plains on Saturday, and more are possible Sunday
Strong to severe thunderstorms moved across the South Plains on Saturday, September 19, bringing high wind and hail, and heavy rain that put part of Cochran County under a National Weather Service flood warning late that afternoon. KCBD meteorologist John Robison said the unsettled pattern holds through Sunday: highs in the low to mid 90s, scattered showers and storms, and a chance of winds above 60 mph and hail near an inch. Rain chances continue most of the week. The real break arrives midweek, when afternoon highs could drop into the 70s — seasonable air after a long stretch in the 90s.
More Local
Ken Paxton brought his Senate campaign to Lubbock on Saturday
Attorney General Ken Paxton campaigned in Lubbock on Saturday, September 19, a month before early voting opens in the November 3 general election. Paxton told the crowd the best of Texas is not the scenery: “The best part of our state is not just its scenery or even its great Texas BBQ — those are amazing, but it’s the people of Texas. It’s you.” Paxton won the Republican Senate primary runoff over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn with nearly 64 percent of the vote, after an endorsement from President Donald Trump a week before that election. He faces Democratic state Rep. James Talarico of Austin in November.
The person freed from the collapsed cave at Lake Alan Henry was a juvenile, rescued Friday night
The person trapped by a cave collapse at Lake Alan Henry was a juvenile, and the rescue was completed Friday night, according to an account Lubbock Fire Rescue released Saturday, September 19. Crews were called just before 9 p.m. Friday to a spot in Garza County near public campsites reachable only from the water. Heavy Rescue and Dive teams took boats in, broke apart a boulder blocking the cave’s only exit, rigged a rope system and hoisted the juvenile out in a harness. Garza County EMS evaluated the juvenile at the scene. Texas Game Wardens assisted; an AeroCare helicopter stood by but was not needed.
Sources KCBD · FOX 34 · EverythingLubbock
One person seriously hurt in an early Saturday crash at Fourth Street and West Loop 289
A driver was arrested on charges of intoxication assault and resisting search after a crash at Fourth Street and West Loop 289 at about 12:15 a.m. Saturday, September 19, the Lubbock Police Department said. One person was seriously injured and taken to Covenant Medical Center. The other driver was treated for minor injuries. The Ledger is withholding the arrested driver’s name: he has been charged, not convicted.
Advanced GraphixTexas Tech volleyball falls to Iowa in four sets, closing nonconference play at 8-4
Texas Tech lost to Iowa in four sets — 22-25, 25-22, 20-25, 19-25 — on Saturday, September 19, in Iowa City at the Kwik Star Klassic, finishing nonconference play 8-4. Sara Bowcutt led the Red Raiders with 16 kills. Gretchen Sigman added 14 on a .591 hitting percentage with four blocks, Elia Dinsmore had nine and Tatum Johnson eight. Setter Katelyn Cochran posted 38 assists and 10 digs for a double-double and made the all-tournament team. Emily Contreras and Maddie Smotherman combined for 15 digs. Big 12 play opens at United Supermarkets Arena against Iowa State on Friday and Kansas a week from Sunday.
Sources Texas Tech Athletics
Ben Gregg wins his first college title as Texas Tech takes third at Olympia Fields
Texas Tech senior Ben Gregg shot 197 — 13 under par — to tie for the individual title at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois on Saturday, September 19. It is Gregg’s first collegiate win. The Red Raiders finished third at 803, 37 under, one stroke behind Illinois and three behind champion Arizona State. Adam Bresnu tied for sixth at 200, Simon Hovdal tied for 31st, Connor Graham tied for 36th and Tim Wiedemeyer tied for 44th. The tournament finished early because of weather.
Sources Texas Tech Athletics
Saturday high school football: West Texas Tornadoes 46, Plainview Classical 0
The West Texas Tornadoes shut out Plainview Classical 46-0 on Saturday, September 19 — the only area high school football game played on the Saturday of Week 4. The rest of the week’s schedule ran Thursday and Friday nights.
The West Texas Watercolor Society’s signature show closes Sunday at the Buddy Holly Center
The West Texas Watercolor Society’s 4th Annual Signature Show closes with a public reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, September 20, in the Fine Arts Gallery at the Buddy Holly Center. Janet Rogers, a nationally recognized watercolor artist, served as this year’s honorary juror. The City of Lubbock posted notice of the closing reception through its news feed.
Sources KFYO · City of Lubbock
State
Border wall construction is under way across 47 miles of Hudspeth County
Customs and Border Protection has begun building barrier across a 47-mile stretch of Hudspeth County, southeast of El Paso — the first construction inside the Big Bend project area. Work was reported under way Saturday, September 19. CBP says it is averaging roughly 12 miles of barrier a week nationwide and has completed 200 miles since the administration took office, part of a $46 billion plan for walls, roads and technology along the 2,000-mile border. Clara Benson, founder of the No Big Bend Wall Coalition, said landowners will keep fighting: “We will continue to fight for this land no matter what the outcome is.”
Sources The Hill · PBS NewsHour
Eight of the 16 people the Justice Department charged in a voting sweep are in Texas
The Justice Department announced charges Saturday, September 19, against 16 people in seven states over alleged noncitizen voting and related fraud. Eight of them are in Texas, more than in any other state. The counts include voting in a federal election as a noncitizen, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register, false statements in naturalization filings, passport and identification fraud, wire fraud and firearms offenses. Some defendants were arrested in Del Rio. Colin M. McDonald, an assistant attorney general in the department’s fraud division, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced the cases. The department did not say which federal district is handling the Texas prosecutions.
Sources Fox News
Mullin Hoard & Brown, LLPU.S. & World
Trump says a deal with Denmark gives the U.S. permanent security rights in Greenland
President Donald Trump announced Friday, September 18, that the United States, Denmark and Greenland have agreed to a security pact giving Washington permanent military access, basing and overflight rights in Greenland while the island stays under Danish sovereignty. The deal bars non-NATO bases, is meant to keep China and Russia out, and restricts adversarial investment in critical infrastructure. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a historic deal. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Saturday it respects their sovereignty and self-determination. The three governments plan to sign during the U.N. General Assembly this week, subject to parliamentary approval.
Sources Fox News · NPR · PBS NewsHour
A U.S. military strike on a boat in the Caribbean killed four
U.S. Southern Command said a military strike on Saturday, September 19, destroyed a vessel in the Caribbean and killed four people it described as narco-terrorists, saying confirmed intelligence showed the boat was moving along an established trafficking route. The operation ran under Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere. It is at least the 69th strike in the campaign over roughly a year, with about 231 people killed.
Sources Fox News
Russia's Duma elections ended Sunday as Ukraine mounted its largest drone assault of the war
Russia's three-day State Duma elections concluded Sunday, September 20, including in the four Ukrainian regions Moscow occupies, where soldiers escorted ballot workers door to door and no OSCE observers were allowed. Opposition leader Lev Shlosberg is serving more than 11 years in prison. Ukraine responded on the final day with its largest drone assault of the war: more than 1,100 drones fired overnight, killing at least 2 people and wounding 20. Russian authorities said 450 were destroyed before reaching Moscow. The attack struck oil infrastructure and sparked fires at a major refinery. Moscow officials called it a deliberate attempt to disrupt the vote.
A class action accuses Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI and Google of illegally agreeing to slow AI
Four paid subscribers to ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Gemini sued Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI and Google’s DeepMind on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing them of an illegal agreement to slow AI development. The complaint points to September 12, when industry leaders publicly called for a slower race in favor of safety, and argues the coordination violates antitrust law and shortchanges paying customers. Lead attorney Nick Rowley said AI “will quickly spin out of human control” if safety protocols are set by private agreements. All four companies declined to comment Saturday. The suit seeks nationwide class status for paid subscribers.
Sources The Hill · PBS NewsHour
Trump says he will convert the planned arch near Arlington into a military complex with drones, snipers and ammunition
President Donald Trump said Sunday he has agreed, at the request of the U.S. military and for national security purposes, to convert the planned 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington Memorial Bridge into a “top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch.” The structure would carry rapid-deployment drones, snipers positioned on the roof and plaza, and large stores of ammunition. Three Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian had asked a federal court Saturday for a restraining order, arguing the monument’s site between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House disrupts historic sightlines. Questions remain about whether the project requires congressional approval. Excavation was due to begin within two weeks.
Sherrod Brown’s data-center attacks in Ohio run into a Google money trail
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown has made data centers a theme of his Ohio campaign against Sen. Jon Husted. Fox News reported Saturday, September 19, that Brown has taken $20,000 from Google’s political action committee and thousands more from Google lobbyists working on permitting and grid reliability — among them Lisa Kountoupes, who gave $3,500 in March, and Michael D. Smith, who has given $10,200 since 2017. Ohio Republican strategist Mehek Cooke called the posture Jekyll-and-Hyde. Brown campaign spokeswoman Lauren Chou and Husted spokeswoman Amy Natoce both responded. Data-center growth and grid strain are live questions in Lubbock, where the council has waited on state rules.
Sources Fox News
D. Williams & Co., Inc.