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Daily Ledger
Daily digest straight from the source
Monday, October 19, 2026
The lead · Oct 19
Early voting opens today, and Lubbock Lights' free Elections 2026 guide shows Lubbock County voters their exact ballot to mark and print
Early voting in the Nov. 3 election opens Monday, Oct. 19, and runs through Friday, Oct. 30. Lubbock Lights' free Elections 2026 guide, launched Sunday at LubbockLights.com/elections-2026, shows each Lubbock County voter the official sample ballot for their precinct, lets them mark their choices and prints a copy to carry into the booth.
Voters look up their ballot by home address or precinct number; the address goes to the U.S. Census Bureau's public address finder, and Lubbock Lights says it never sees it. The guide also lists every early voting site and Election Day vote center, with step-by-step phone instructions. Lubbock Lights, a nonprofit newsroom, endorses no candidate or proposition.
Sources Lubbock Lights · Lubbock Lights
More Local
Lubbock County early voting runs through Oct. 30 at any United, Market Street or Amigos — bring ID, and leave phones and campaign gear out
Early voting for the Nov. 3 general and special elections opened Monday, Oct. 19, and runs through Friday, Oct. 30. Lubbock County voters can cast a ballot at any United Supermarkets, Market Street or Amigos location from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, KCBD reported.
KFYO laid out the polling-place rules: bring an approved photo ID such as a Texas driver's license, license to carry or U.S. passport; keep cell phones, cameras and recording devices out of the voting room; wear nothing promoting a party or candidate; and carry no firearm, with an exception only for peace officers. Sample ballots and registration lookup are on the Lubbock County Elections Office site.
President Trump will rally in Lubbock for Ken Paxton on Oct. 27, and James Talarico campaigns at Texas Tech the same evening
President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Lubbock on Tuesday, Oct. 27, for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton, Republican National Committee officials confirmed Monday, KCBD reported. Doors open at 11 a.m., the event begins at 1 p.m. and Trump speaks at 2:30 p.m.; the location had not been announced, and an RSVP is required.
Paxton's Democratic opponent, state Rep. James Talarico, will be in Lubbock the same day. His "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts Tour" stops at the Frazier Alumni Pavilion on the Texas Tech campus, with doors at 6 p.m. and the program at 7 p.m. Parking on Commuter North is free after 5:30 p.m.
Sources KCBD · KCBD · EverythingLubbock
A Tahoka woman was killed in Sunday's FM 1585 crash, and the other driver is charged with intoxication manslaughter
Elizabeth Metcalf, 47, of Tahoka died at the scene of a two-vehicle crash at East FM 1585 and County Road 3100 in southeast Lubbock County just after 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, KCBD reported Monday. The other driver, a 34-year-old Lubbock man, was arrested on an intoxication manslaughter charge.
Texas Department of Public Safety crash investigators say Metcalf was westbound on FM 1585 when the man, northbound on CR 3100 and approaching a stop sign, failed to yield and entered the intersection; Metcalf hit the passenger side of his vehicle. He was treated at UMC for minor injuries and booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Duffy Law Firm, PCWayland Baptist University will dedicate a new campus prayer garden in Plainview on Wednesday, Oct. 21
Wayland Baptist University in Plainview will hold a ribbon-cutting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, for a new prayer garden just east of the Brown Family Conference Center, KCBD reported Monday. President Donna Hedgepath will speak.
The project was started by Betty Boone, a granddaughter of founders James and Sarah Wayland, and her late husband, Ralph Boone, who gave the first donation; the Sally Society, a women's giving group, also contributed. The design includes a nature chapel, limestone seating and a walkway, and a $20,000 grant from the High Plains Water Conservation District paid for water-saving features, including a rainwater cistern and native plants.
Sources KCBD
Texas Tech's women routed Angelo State 81-40 in their exhibition opener as Jalynn Bristow scored 26
Texas Tech's women's basketball team beat Angelo State 81-40 in an exhibition at United Supermarkets Arena on Sunday, Oct. 18, its first home game of the season. Jalynn Bristow led the Lady Raiders with 26 points and nine rebounds, going 3-for-3 from three-point range and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line.
Stephanie Okechukwu added 18 points, newcomer Martina Anyango scored 14 in her debut and made all seven of her free throws, and Ambrosia Cole had 12 points and a team-high six assists. Tech led 49-24 at halftime, outrebounded the Rams 44-24 and scored 34 points off 26 turnovers. The Lady Raiders open the regular season against Charlotte on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Sources Texas Tech Athletics
Unbeaten Idalou, ranked first in Class 3A Division II, was named KCBD's End Zone Team of the Week
The Idalou Wildcats were named KCBD's End Zone Team of the Week on Sunday, Oct. 18, after improving to 8-0 with a 38-20 win over Littlefield last Friday night. Idalou is ranked as the top overall team in Class 3A Division II and is off to its best start since the 2020 season.
KCBD credited the Wildcats' offensive and defensive lines for the run, along with AJ Huddleston, who is following an all-state season with another strong year. With a couple of games left in the regular season, Idalou goes for its ninth straight win on the road at Muleshoe on Friday, Oct. 23, as it works toward a postseason run.
Sources KCBD
No. 8 Texas Tech will host No. 25 Arizona at 11 a.m. on Halloween, on ABC or ESPN
Texas Tech Athletics announced Monday, Oct. 19, that the Red Raiders' home game against No. 25 Arizona on Saturday, Oct. 31, will kick off at 11 a.m. and air on ABC or ESPN, KCBD reported.
Tech climbed to No. 8 in Sunday's AP poll and No. 5 in the coaches poll after staying unbeaten. The Red Raiders' next game, at Cincinnati, also kicks off at 11 a.m. Central and will be broadcast on FS1.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Lubbock's Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 14 moves to a new route because of Broadway construction
Los Hermanos Familia and the Purple Hearts 0900 will hold Lubbock's annual Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, Nov. 14, with World War II veterans as grand marshals and the theme "250 Years of Freedom," according to a news release carried by KCBD on Monday, Oct. 19.
Because of construction on the usual Broadway route, the parade will start on Avenue A, travel east on Broadway, turn south on Canyon Lake Drive and end at the grassy area across from the Windmill Center at 1701 Canyon Lake Dr. Setup runs 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. and the parade begins at 10 a.m.; veterans, first responders, bands and businesses are invited to take part.
Sources KCBD
Silent Wings Museum and Texas Tech's School of Music will stage a 1940s songbook concert on Nov. 7
The Silent Wings Museum and the Texas Tech School of Music will present "Songs of Yesteryear," a concert of Great American Songbook music from the 1940s, at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, in the museum's Hangar Gallery, KCBD reported Monday, Oct. 19.
School of Music students will perform songs that lifted spirits during World War II and preview selections from Staggerwing, a chamber opera the school will stage in mid-November. The performance is included with regular museum admission; details are available from the museum at 806-775-3059.
Sources KCBD
Advanced GraphixState
As early voting opens Monday, two new polls show Talarico and Paxton in a dead heat for U.S. Senate
Two polls released Sunday, Oct. 18, on the eve of early voting show the U.S. Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton essentially tied. A University of Houston Hobby School survey had Talarico at 48% and Paxton at 46% among likely voters, with Libertarian Ted Brown at 3%, Houston Public Media reported; a CBS News/YouGov poll of 1,492 registered voters, taken Oct. 8-16, called the race a toss-up that will turn on turnout.
CBS found cost of living the top issue and Gov. Greg Abbott ahead of Democrat Gina Hinojosa. Rice University's Mark Jones said Talarico's showing is the strongest late-campaign performance by a Texas Democrat in decades. Early voting runs through Oct. 30.
Sources Houston Public Media · CBS News
A 56-year-old Mexican man died in ICE custody in Laredo, the seventh detainee death in Texas this year
Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias, 56, a Mexican man who lived in Dallas for decades, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo during a security check at about 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar told The Texas Tribune in a report published Sunday. Staff performed CPR and called emergency services.
He is the seventh person to die in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Texas this year. His daughter, Estefani Andrade, said he had a heart condition, diabetes and high blood pressure, that staff withheld his medications and ignored his complaints of chest tightness. GEO Group, which runs the center, and Homeland Security did not immediately comment.
Sources The Texas Tribune
U.S. & World
About 6,000 sailors remain trapped near the Strait of Hormuz as attacks on ships mount, the UN maritime chief warned
Some 6,000 seafarers remain trapped near the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the Iran war, and ships should not transit the strait until their safety is guaranteed, International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told Fox News Digital on Sunday, Oct. 18. He called the situation severe and critical, with a double blockade in place and seafarers continuing to die in attacks.
The Financial Times has reported 24 ships attacked on the waterway in about two weeks. Iran, in an Oct. 9 letter to the IMO, accused U.S. forces of using the international distress radio channel to threaten Iranian crews.
Sources Fox News
Egypt agreed to help defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks as drones and missiles kept Riyadh on edge
Egypt's top security body said Sunday, Oct. 18, that it will support Saudi Arabia against escalating drone and missile attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, the latest front in the Iran war, the Associated Press reported. The Houthi strikes on Saudi airports and oil sites have killed at least 19 people, disrupted thousands of flights and rattled markets.
The same day, management of Riyadh's 99-story Kingdom Centre, whose tenants include McKinsey and the International Monetary Fund, ordered office workers to stay home until further notice, Fox News reported, after the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted drones over Riyadh and the Eastern Province and two ballistic missiles in the south overnight.
Sources Fox News · PBS NewsHour (AP)
Trump endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection eight days before Israel's Oct. 27 vote
President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party on Sunday, Oct. 18, ahead of Israel's Oct. 27 Knesset elections, calling him a great warrior prime minister and a partner in combating Iran. Trump wrote that if Israel picked anyone else, America would have to finish the work against Iran itself, and that he was not inclined to do so.
Netanyahu thanked Trump on X and said they would complete the mission together. The Associated Press noted Trump had withheld the endorsement for months as the leaders' strategies diverged, and that many Israelis are disappointed by the inconclusive outcome of the Iran war. It is Israel's first national election since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
Sources Fox News · PBS NewsHour (AP)
Four Canadian soldiers were killed and 39 people hurt when wind drove a fire into a live-fire drill at CFB Wainwright
Four Canadian service members were killed and 39 people were hospitalized, 19 in critical condition, when a fast-moving fire swept over soldiers in a live-fire training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, officials said Sunday, Oct. 18. The military identified the dead as Sgt. Morgan Wong and Pvts. Shaun Farrell, Aidan Goulding and Hayden Lykkemark.
Maj. Gen. Wade Rutland said commanders had known about the fire for hours and believed it was contained before the wind shifted and pushed flames a kilometer in about 36 seconds. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Prime Minister Mark Carney called it one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada's forces on home soil.
Sources Fox News · PBS NewsHour (AP)
Mullin Hoard & Brown, LLPWichita police released the driver without charges after the soccer-field crash and identified the boy and man killed
Wichita police on Sunday, Oct. 18, released the 34-year-old woman who drove a pickup onto a youth soccer field at Stryker Sports Complex without charges, pending toxicology results and a mechanical inspection of the truck. They identified those killed Saturday as Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, both of McPherson, Kansas, who were not related.
Ten people were hurt, five of them children. Police interviewed more than 30 witnesses, including two of the driver's children who were in the truck, and consulted the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office. Investigators have not determined whether it was intentional or caused by a medical emergency, impairment or another factor, and plan to present the case to District Attorney Marc Bennett this week.
Sources Fox News · KCBD (Gray News)
A National Guard member and a gunman were wounded when Guard troops tried to break up a fight in Washington
A National Guard member was shot late Sunday, Oct. 18, after a group of Guard members tried to break up a street fight on 8th Street SE in Washington, D.C., Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said. The suspect was also shot. FOX 5 DC reported the shooting happened at about 11:10 p.m. in front of a D.C. Fire and EMS station.
According to police, seven or eight Guard members in a van stopped to intervene, a man opened fire on them after being told to drop his gun, and three Guard members returned fire. Both wounded men are expected to survive, and police said there is no ongoing threat. Internal affairs and criminal investigators are reviewing the shooting.
Pope Leo XIV told crowds in St. Peter's Square he will gradually resume his duties after lung cancer surgery
Pope Leo XIV appeared at his window over St. Peter's Square on Sunday, Oct. 18, four days after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung to take out a malignant tumor, and told thousands of cheering faithful he will gradually return to his usual duties. His voice sounded strong, the Associated Press reported.
Leo thanked the crowd for its prayers and the doctors, nurses and staff at Rome's Gemelli hospital, and said the past week had made him feel especially close to people facing illness. A week earlier, at the same Sunday Angelus blessing, he had revealed that a nodule had been found on his lung.
Sources PBS NewsHour (AP)
Trump said he will close the East Potomac public golf course in D.C. for 15 months to rebuild it, despite a court order
President Donald Trump said Sunday, Oct. 18, that he will close the historic East Potomac public golf course near the National Mall on Nov. 15 for about 15 months so architect Tom Fazio can redesign it to host events like the U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup. Trump said it would remain open to the public when finished.
A judge last week halted the redevelopment until at least Oct. 26. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes took notice of Trump's post and ordered the government to say by 8 p.m. Sunday whether it still stood by its filing that no final decision had been made. Democracy Forward, representing the plaintiffs, said it will keep fighting.
Sources Fox News · PBS NewsHour (AP)
The Cowboys fell to 2-4 with a 23-13 loss at Green Bay as two Dak Prescott interceptions proved costly
The Dallas Cowboys lost 23-13 to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, Oct. 18, at Lambeau Field, falling to 2-4. Jordan Love threw for 276 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score, and Green Bay intercepted Dak Prescott twice to stop Dallas scoring chances.
The Cowboys trailed 17-0 at halftime, the first time they had been held scoreless in a first half since November 2021. Prescott finished 34 of 54 for 258 yards and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Flournoy with 44 seconds left, but the two-point try to CeeDee Lamb failed. The teams combined for 22 penalties, and Dallas had 108 penalty yards.
Sources KCBD (AP)
The Chiefs stayed unbeaten at 5-0 with a 22-6 win over the Chargers behind Kenneth Walker's two touchdowns
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 22-6 in Kansas City on Sunday, Oct. 18, to improve to 5-0 and remain one of three unbeaten NFL teams, along with San Francisco and Minnesota. Kenneth Walker, the league's leading rusher, ran for 128 yards and touchdowns of 33 and 2 yards.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 272 yards, Xavier Worthy caught seven passes for 73 yards and Travis Kelce had five catches for 53 as Kansas City played without injured receivers Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton. Harrison Butker missed an extra point and a field goal. The Chargers fell to 0-6, and Justin Herbert threw his league-leading eighth interception.
Sources KCBD (AP)
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