The Ledger is Lubbock Lights’ daily digest of the news that matters to Lubbock and the South Plains — our reporting first, then short summaries of stories reported by other newsrooms, each linked to its source. How we build it →
Daily Ledger
Daily digest straight from the source
Friday, October 9, 2026
Today’s lead
Talarico voted against Texas' 2023 ban on gender-transition treatments for minors, House records show
Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico voted against Senate Bill 14, the 2023 Texas law barring gender-transition surgeries, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors, Lubbock Lights reported Thursday, Oct. 8, citing official Texas House records. He was one of 56 members voting no when the bill passed 87-56 on May 15, 2023.
Talarico said at the time those decisions belong to parents and doctors. He now says he opposes surgery for minors and would support a national ban, but that SB 14 reached further. His opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, has defended and enforced the law. The report also reviews Talarico's votes on border security, school choice and abortion medication.
Sources Lubbock Lights
More Local
Former UMC OB-GYN Dr. Amber Coon says she felt pushed out by Texas Tech health sciences leadership
Dr. Amber Coon, who recently resigned as an OB-GYN with UMC Physicians, told EverythingLubbock in an interview aired Thursday night that she left because she felt pushed out by leadership at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, which works alongside UMC. She said her departure could hurt access to care for women and mothers in Lubbock.
Her comments come as UMC and TTUHSC publicly dispute who is responsible for filling OB-GYN vacancies. UMC CEO Mark Funderburk says Texas Tech's School of Medicine will no longer grant the faculty appointments UMC needs to replace Coon and a second departing doctor; TTUHSC says UMC prefers to keep control of a separate obstetrics practice.
Sources EverythingLubbock
Lubbock birth centers say more women are calling because they cannot find an OB-GYN
Midwives at two Lubbock birth centers told KCBD on Thursday that they are hearing from more women who have struggled to find an obstetrician or get an appointment before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Carmen Geyman, clinical director of Heartbeat Midwifery in northwest Lubbock, said the center turned away 15 callers in a single week.
Caroline Jones, clinical director of Held Midwifery in the medical district, said her center has also seen more calls from women who cannot get into an OB office. Both centers serve low-risk pregnancies only. The calls come amid the public dispute between UMC and the Texas Tech health sciences center over OB-GYN staffing.
Sources KCBD
Texas Tech will waive application fees for undergraduate and many graduate programs during Free Application Week, Oct. 12-18
Texas Tech University will waive application fees for Texas residents applying to undergraduate programs through ApplyTexas from Monday, Oct. 12, through Oct. 18, joining the statewide Free College Application Week started by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, KFYO reported Thursday.
Tech is going further than the state program: Texas residents eligible for graduate programs can also apply free that week, and current Tech undergraduates can apply to the Graduate School free regardless of residency. The university offers more than 150 undergraduate and over 200 graduate and professional programs; some programs are excluded, according to the admissions office.
Sources KFYO
Action PrintingPost parents described concerns about the jailed band director at a special Post ISD board meeting
Parents spoke during public comment at a special Post ISD board meeting Thursday called to discuss the district's band director, who was arrested last week and is charged with possessing between 10 and 50 images of child pornography, KCBD reported. Band parent Marisa Silva said her son and two classmates made a point of never leaving girls alone with him.
Other parents said he had followed students to the restroom. Trustees met in closed session with the district's attorney on the employment and discipline of the band director. The Garza County Sheriff's Office is investigating with help from the FBI and the Texas Rangers; the district placed him on leave and notified authorities.
Sources KCBD
A Lubbock jury convicted Jesus Aguilar of continuous sexual assault of two children
A Lubbock County jury convicted Jesus Aguilar on Thursday of continuous sexual assault of a minor, KCBD reported. Court records say he repeatedly molested two children in Lubbock County between 2018 and 2023.
The offense is a first-degree felony carrying up to life in prison, and the punishment phase of the trial began at the Lubbock County Courthouse after the verdict Thursday. EverythingLubbock also reported on the verdict and sentencing.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Devante Greathouse pleaded guilty to evidence tampering as prosecutors dropped a 2018 murder charge
Devante Greathouse, who was accused of killing Kmydron Jordan in 2018, pleaded guilty Thursday to tampering with evidence and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison, KCBD reported. The Lubbock County District Attorney's Office agreed to drop the murder charge as part of the deal.
Investigators said Greathouse concealed drugs connected to the investigation into Jordan's death. The case had been pending for about eight years before Thursday's plea.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Lubbock police ask for help identifying two men in a Broadway assault and robbery, with a possible reward
The Lubbock Police Department's Major Crimes Unit asked Thursday for the public's help with a Sept. 18 assault and robbery in the 2400 block of Broadway in central Lubbock, and said tips leading to an arrest could be eligible for a reward.
Police said that around 1 a.m. that day one of two unknown suspects knocked the victim unconscious and the other took the victim's wallet before both fled. Anyone with information can call Detective Doak Funk at 806-775-2405 or submit a tip through P3 Tips.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Burglars smashed the windows of the Coach store at the West End Shopping Center and took purses
Lubbock police said Thursday they are investigating an overnight burglary at the Coach store in the West End Shopping Center in west Lubbock, KCBD reported. Investigators said that just before 1 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, someone smashed the store's front windows and took several purses.
Police had not reported any arrests or named a suspect as of Thursday evening, and KCBD said the investigation was continuing.
Sources KCBD
West Texas A&M won a $9.75 million USDA grant, the largest federal grant in its history, for a beef cattle research feedlot
West Texas A&M University in Canyon has received a $9.75 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the largest federal grant in the university's history, the Amarillo Tribune reported Thursday, Oct. 8. The Texas A&M University System, the Texas Cattle Feeders Association and donors are matching it for $19.5 million total.
The money will build WT's Research Feedlot Complex near Nance Ranch, with a cattle handling facility, a veterinary hospital, 90 research pens and 45 commercial-scale pens. Dean Kevin Pond said WT was one of 30 schools to apply and won partly because its plans were already drawn.
Sources Amarillo Tribune
Duffy Law Firm, PCSunny, dry weather is forecast for the South Plains through the weekend, with rain chances returning late Monday
An upper-level ridge over the Southwest will keep the South Plains sunny and mostly dry through the weekend, with highs in the 80s on the Caprock and the upper 80s to low 90s off the Caprock, KCBD's forecast said Thursday. Overnight lows range from the mid-50s to the low 60s.
The next meaningful chance of rain holds off until late Monday, Oct. 12, when a change in the upper-level pattern could bring rain chances and cooler temperatures that continue at times into next week.
Sources KCBD
State
The Pentagon says the Fort Hood shooter's Dec. 3 firing-squad execution will be livestreamed
The firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, set for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, will be livestreamed, the Pentagon said Thursday, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described it as public. It would be the first U.S. military execution in more than 65 years, the Texas Tribune reported.
Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 in the 2009 shooting at the Texas base. Legal experts told the Tribune he could still file a habeas petition in civilian court, which could delay the execution significantly. The plan comes as the botched Tennessee lethal injection of Christa Pike has renewed debate over how executions are carried out.
Sources Texas Tribune · PBS NewsHour
About 50 Texans told the State Commission on Judicial Conduct it must do more to police judges
About 50 people testified Wednesday at the State Commission on Judicial Conduct's public meeting in Austin, held every other year, urging the 13-member panel to do more to police judges, curb conflicts of interest and open up its own proceedings, The Texan reported.
Many described custody cases they said were handled unfairly, judges taking campaign money from lawyers in their courts, transcript charges topping $20,000 and months-long waits for rulings. Robert Garza proposed requiring judges to rule within 10 business days of a hearing unless they give a reason for more time, and automatic referrals to the commission when an appellate court reverses a judge.
Sources The Texan
Houston Democrats proposed limits on state takeovers of school districts, including a higher trigger and a local vote on ending them
A Houston commission co-chaired by state Sen. Molly Cook and Rep. Lauren Ashley Simmons released recommendations Thursday to limit state takeovers of struggling school districts, the Texas Tribune reported. Houston ISD is under the largest takeover in Texas history.
Cook plans to file a bill next session to require that 10% of a district's campuses be failing before a takeover, instead of one campus with five straight F ratings, and to end a takeover once campuses earn acceptable grades two years running. The report also calls for guardrails on state appointees and a voter say in when an intervention ends. Rep. Christina Morales said residents cannot hold the appointed board accountable.
Sources Texas Tribune
Trump called Rep. Henry Cuellar "disloyal" for staying a Democrat after his pardon and backed his Republican opponent
President Donald Trump attacked U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo on Truth Social on Wednesday night as disloyal for running for reelection as a Democrat after Trump pardoned him and his wife, Imelda, last year in their bribery case, the Texas Tribune reported Thursday.
Trump promoted Cuellar's Republican opponent, Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, in the redrawn 28th Congressional District, which Trump carried by more than 10 points in 2024. Cuellar said he remains focused on his district, including reining in ICE, lowering costs and protecting Medicare and Social Security, and that he and his family are grateful the case is behind them.
Sources Texas Tribune
U.S. & World
Hurricane Isaias grew to a Category 2 storm with 110 mph winds and could reach Category 3 before landfall late Friday
Hurricane Isaias strengthened to a Category 2 storm with 110 mph winds early Friday, about 200 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and the National Hurricane Center expects it to become a Category 3 major hurricane soon, Fox Weather reported. Landfall is forecast between Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida, late Friday or early Saturday.
Florida, Alabama and Georgia have declared emergencies. Evacuation orders cover Dauphin Island, Alabama, and Okaloosa and Escambia counties in Florida, and more than a dozen counties closed schools. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told Panhandle residents to expect to lose power.
Sources Fox Weather · KCBD
Advanced GraphixFormer U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, Oct. 9, to South African jurist Navanethem "Navi" Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
Pillay, born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, defended Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists before serving as a judge on South Africa's High Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She was U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and now sits on the International Court of Justice in the genocide case against Myanmar. The committee credited her with ensuring war crimes and genocide are prosecuted.
Sources NobelPrize.org
Canadian poet and classicist Anne Carson won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature
The Swedish Academy awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday, Oct. 8, to Canadian author Anne Carson, a poet, essayist and translator of ancient Greek literature.
The academy cited her bold and inventive body of work, which it said draws on a playful dialogue with the classical tradition to create new forms for contemporary literature. The literature prize is one of six Nobel awards announced this week; the economics prize follows Monday, Oct. 12.
Sources NobelPrize.org
An ICE officer shot and wounded a man during an arrest in New York City, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani demanded ICE leave the city
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man from the Dominican Republic around 4 p.m. Thursday while trying to arrest him in the Marble Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, according to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS gave no details on what led to the shooting; the man survived and was later moved out of the hospital by ICE.
Protests followed. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he spoke with President Donald Trump for about two hours, urged the man's release without success and demanded an end to ICE enforcement in the city. Gov. Kathy Hochul asked that body-camera footage be released. The FBI is assisting the investigation.
Sources Fox News · PBS NewsHour
A Russian guided bomb killed 30 people beside two packed city buses in Kramatorsk, Ukraine
At least 30 people were killed and at least 18 wounded Thursday morning when a Russian guided bomb struck a street beside two crowded city buses in Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, officials said. City military administration head Oleksandr Honcharenko said follow-up drone attacks hampered rescuers.
The attack came a day after a Russian missile hit an apartment building in Pryluky, killing at least 22 people, including five children. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday he sees no clear path to peace, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that attacks will escalate as winter approaches.
Sources CBS News · PBS NewsHour
The Army released its report on the 2025 midair collision near Reagan National, citing systemic safety failures
The U.S. Army on Thursday publicly released its report on the January 2025 collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which killed 67 people. The report, completed in May, found failures in air traffic control, helicopter routes, training and safety practices, and recommended changes.
It largely tracks the National Transportation Safety Board's findings. Tim Lilley, whose son Sam Lilley was the jet's first officer, said the partly redacted report assigns blame too broadly and leaves questions unanswered. The Army said it remains committed to transparency with families.
Sources The Hill · PBS NewsHour
The Cowboys fell 24-16 at home Thursday night to a Buccaneers team that came in winless
The Dallas Cowboys lost 24-16 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium on Thursday night, falling to 2-3, as Tampa Bay rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels won his first career road start and the Bucs improved to 1-4. Running back Bucky Irving's 72-yard run opened the second half and keyed the comeback from a 10-7 halftime deficit.
Dallas turned the ball over on three straight possessions in the third quarter. George Pickens caught a 17-yard touchdown late, but a Dak Prescott pass bounced off tight end Jake Ferguson for an Alex Anzalone interception that sealed it. OutKick wrote that coach Brian Schottenheimer now sits on the NFL's hottest seat.
Sources Fox News
Mullin Hoard & Brown, LLP