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
Saturday, November 7, 2026
Today’s lead
Senfronia Thompson says she has the votes to take the Texas House speaker's gavel from Lubbock's Dustin Burrows
State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, said Friday, Nov. 6, that she has enough votes to be elected Texas House speaker when the Legislature convenes in January, ending Lubbock Republican Dustin Burrows' hold on the gavel after Democrats won the House majority Tuesday. Her only rival, Rep. Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass, dropped out Friday morning and endorsed her.
Thompson, 87, the longest-serving woman in the House, would be the first woman and first Black speaker. She said she would name members of both parties as committee chairs, a tradition the Burrows-led House scrapped, and Republican Reps. Drew Darby, Todd Hunter and Charlie Geren stood with her. She would be the first Democratic speaker since Pete Laney of Hale Center.
Sources The Texan · Texas Tribune · Texas Tribune · EverythingLubbock
More Local
Developer plans 90 affordable homes for families earning $20,000 to $50,000 in west Lubbock
Overland Property Group plans 90 affordable homes at The Reserves at Santa Fe Place, near 43rd Street and Justice Avenue in west Lubbock, KCBD reported Friday, Nov. 6. It will be the company's fifth Lubbock community, and the project's website says it will serve families earning between $20,000 and $50,000 a year.
Plans include a clubhouse, a playground and a dog park. Managing partner Matthew Gillam said families moving into Overland's properties often gain basics they never had, such as their own bedrooms or a washer and dryer. Eddie Broussard of UMB Bank, an investor in the project and a Texas Tech alumnus, said he wants every family in Lubbock to have an equal chance to raise children.
Sources KCBD
Lubbock County judge clears Texas Tech forward Jamichael Stillwell to play while he sues the NCAA
A Lubbock County district judge granted Texas Tech forward Jamichael Stillwell a temporary restraining order against the NCAA on Friday, Nov. 6, making him eligible to play while his lawsuit seeking a fifth season of eligibility moves forward. Stillwell filed the suit the same day, asking for an injunction covering the rest of the 2026-27 season.
The order found Stillwell pleaded valid claims, including breach of contract, and faced irreparable harm, including a lost NIL opportunity tied to his eligibility. An injunction he won in Georgia earlier this year was stayed, sending him to another state's courts. The No. 19 Red Raiders, 2-0, host No. 3 Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 10, though Stillwell has been in a walking boot.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Broadway business owners say downtown revitalization construction is cutting into customer traffic
Business owners along Broadway say the City of Lubbock's downtown revitalization construction, underway for about a month, is cutting into their customer traffic, EverythingLubbock reported Friday, Nov. 6. Marsha Johnson, owner of Sweet Creations, said some days bring about 20 customers into her shop and other days bring two.
Johnson said the work affects a whole row of small businesses on Broadway, not just hers. She said she understands the long-term goal of improving downtown but believes the city should offer a program to help affected businesses stay afloat while the project continues. She is using social media to keep customers coming and said she intends to keep her shop open.
Sources EverythingLubbock
D. Williams & Co., Inc.South Plains Food Bank opens its first Northeast Lubbock distribution site
The South Plains Food Bank opened its first distribution site in Northeast Lubbock on Monday, Nov. 2, at Difference Maker's Fellowship Church, its 12th site in Lubbock, the food bank announced Friday, Nov. 6. Food will be delivered every Monday afternoon for church volunteers to hand out to neighbors in need.
The site is a partnership among Difference Maker's Fellowship, Rising Star Baptist Church and Resurrected Zoe Life Ministries. Senior Pastor W.A. Bill Stubblefield, who also sits on the food bank's board, said many neighbors are quietly going without enough food and that the three churches chose to stand together with the food bank to fight hunger in Northeast Lubbock.
Sources EverythingLubbock
Lubbock County jury gives Donald Clark life without parole for continuous sexual abuse of a child
A Lubbock County jury on Friday, Nov. 6, convicted Donald Clark, 52, of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and a second, lesser count, then sentenced him to life in prison without parole, the maximum punishment, plus 20 years on the second count, KCBD and EverythingLubbock reported.
Prosecutors said Clark repeatedly abused a girl he knew over a period ending in 2019 and urged jurors to keep him from ever being released. The jury decided the sentence after about 20 minutes. Clark's defense noted it had been seven years since he was first charged and argued the state had not proved its case. The two sentences run concurrently.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Lubbock airman and his wife found guilty in federal child pornography case
Marcus Xavier Anguiano, 31, a Lubbock airman, and his wife, Maddie Rhea Anguiano, 28, were found guilty in federal court on Wednesday, Nov. 4, on two counts of production and attempted production of child pornography and one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography, EverythingLubbock reported Friday.
The couple were arrested during Operation Relentless Justice, a nationwide crackdown that located more than 205 child victims and led to the arrests of more than 293 offenders, including three co-defendants in this case. The U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Texas described Marcus Anguiano as an airman from Lubbock. Sentencing is set for February 2027.
Sources EverythingLubbock
One person dead after overnight standoff with officers in Snyder
One person died after a standoff with Snyder police and Scurry County sheriff's deputies that began about 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at a home in the 2200 block of 43rd Street in Snyder, police said. Officers had gone to serve a felony arrest warrant, and the person inside refused to come out.
The Texas Rangers and Abilene police helped during a standoff that lasted until Friday morning, and the person named in the warrant was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers or anyone else were hurt. Police have not released a name or the cause of death, and the Texas Rangers are investigating, KCBD and EverythingLubbock reported.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Texas Tech's iLaunch pitch contest offers West Texas entrepreneurs a $10,000 prize Thursday
Texas Tech's 2026 iLaunch Competition will pit West Texas entrepreneurs against each other in a Shark Tank-style pitch contest for a $10,000 grand prize from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Innovation Hub at Research Park, EverythingLubbock reported. Contestants also get feedback from investors on turning ideas into businesses.
Winners of iLaunch, the Red Raider Idea Competition and the Pantex Innovation Showdown will be announced at the iHub Fall Finale awards party from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. the same evening. The event is free and open to the public, with a live DJ and complimentary food and drinks.
Sources EverythingLubbock
College students pitch fixes for real Pantex Plant problems in fourth Innovation Challenge
Five student teams from AmTech Career Academy, Amarillo College, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and West Texas A&M pitched solutions to real problems at the Pantex Plant on Friday, Nov. 6, in the finals of the fourth annual Pantex Innovation Challenge, the Amarillo Tribune reported. Plant managers list their needs, and the teams choose which ones to solve.
Amarillo College's team proposed a mobile unit to dispose of explosive waste without direct human handling, and Texas Tech's Clean Break team targeted the slow chisel-and-hammer removal of supports from metal 3D-printed parts. Judges, including Pantex Field Office deputy manager Marcus Lea, questioned each team on cost, safety and environmental impact.
Sources Amarillo Tribune
Action PrintingLubbock luncheon honors four veterans, three of them posthumously, ahead of Veterans Day
Lubbock veterans, families and city leaders gathered Friday, Nov. 6, at Texas Tech Federal Credit Union near 79th Street and Milwaukee Avenue for a luncheon honoring four local veterans ahead of Veterans Day, KCBD reported. Three of the four honorees have died.
Honored were Cpl. J.D. Davis, recognized for his World War II service with the Red Ball Express; Otis Davis, also a World War II veteran; Cpl. Florine Hill of the Six Triple Eight unit that sorted unclaimed mail; and Eddie Randle, a Vietnam helicopter pilot who received the Bronze Star. The Texas South Plains Honor Flight telethon airs on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11.
Sources KCBD
Wheelock Elementary marks 75 years with student-led tours for alumni
Wheelock Elementary celebrated 75 years on Friday, Nov. 6, with current students leading alumni on guided tours of the campus, which opened in 1952, KCBD reported. The seven-stop tour covered the school's namesake, Frank E. Wheelock, its school spirit, then-and-now displays and a legacy project alumni were invited to paint.
Principal Cayce Noble, at Wheelock since 2021, said the student guides were nervous at first but quickly found their footing. Visitor John Greer, a former Wheelock Whippet and son of the school's first principal, Milton Greer, said today's teachers give their heart and soul to the classroom just as earlier generations did.
Sources KCBD
Lubbock 16-year-old's Basic Blessings Project now serves about 140 families with diapers, clothing and hygiene items
Analiegh Galindo, 16, founded the nonprofit Basic Blessings Project at 15 and launched it in January to give Lubbock families diapers, clothing and hygiene products, EverythingLubbock reported Friday, Nov. 6. The organization now serves about 140 families.
It has distributed 800 diapers, 680 pieces of clothing, 596 feminine hygiene products and dozens of care kits. Galindo said she grew up in a household that earned too much for assistance but struggled to afford basics, and that many recipients are women leaving domestic violence. She hopes to expand and is asking for help ahead of Thanksgiving.
Sources EverythingLubbock
Lubbock High wins the Silver Spurs for the first time since 2007; Liberty and Idalou finish 10-0
Lubbock High beat Monterey 45-26 Friday night, Nov. 6, at PlainsCapital Park to win the Silver Spurs for the first time since 2007, closing both teams' seasons, KCBD reported. No. 3 Lubbock-Cooper Liberty finished its first perfect regular season, 10-0, with a 73-12 win over Perryton in the program's third varsity year.
No. 1 Idalou also finished 10-0, beating Slaton 42-21 for the district title, and Frenship won 35-21 at Abilene to take its district's No. 2 seed and will host El Paso El Dorado next Friday. No. 7 Post beat New Deal 46-22, and Hart beat previously unbeaten No. 20 Anton 76-40 for its first district title since 1992.
State
Houston limits police cooperation with ICE after Democrats' statewide sweep; Austin moves the same way
Houston Mayor John Whitmire signed an order Friday, Nov. 6, directing police to contact federal immigration officers only when someone is arrested on a jailable offense, reversing course after Democrats swept Texas' statewide offices Tuesday. Gov. Greg Abbott, ousted by Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa, had threatened to withhold state funding over such limits.
Whitmire said the order is meant to reduce fear across the city and noted that elections matter, and Police Chief J. Noe Diaz backed it. In Austin, Mayor Kirk Watson said he has asked the police chief to update general orders to take effect when the new governor is sworn in, and council members Mike Siegel and Vanessa Fuentes urged limits on police contact with ICE.
Sources Fox News · Texas Tribune · EverythingLubbock (AP) · EverythingLubbock
Democrats lead all three Court of Criminal Appeals races, ousting the only incumbent on the ballot
Democrats led all three Texas Court of Criminal Appeals races on the ballot by 2 to 4 points in unofficial Secretary of State tallies, The Texan reported Friday, Nov. 6. Dallas defense attorney Okey Anyiam beat Republican Thomas Smith for Place 3, and Dallas County criminal district judge Audra Riley ousted Judge Kevin Patrick Yeary for Place 4.
Former Travis County prosecutor Holly Taylor defeated Republican John Messinger for Place 9. Yeary, the only incumbent on the ballot, drew more votes than any other statewide Republican. The six judges not up this year are all Republicans, so the GOP keeps a majority on the state's highest criminal court, which hears death row appeals including Robert Roberson's.
Sources The Texan
Duffy Law Firm, PCOusted 15th Court of Appeals cancels arguments in the hemp challenge, leaving it to three incoming Democrats
Days after voters ousted all three Republican justices on the 15th Court of Appeals, the court canceled Dec. 8 oral arguments in four cases, including the hemp industry's challenge to state rules on THC products, the Texas Tribune reported Friday, Nov. 6. The cases will go to the three Democrats who take office in early January.
The Department of State Health Services rules set a purchase age of 21 and raised manufacturer license fees from $258 to $10,000 and retail registrations from $155 to $5,000; a Travis County judge blocked them April 10. Justice Scott Field told Bloomberg Law the court did not want to waste lawyers' time if the new court wants its own hearing.
Sources Texas Tribune
State-appointed managers in Houston ISD and other takeover districts prepare to be replaced under Hinojosa
State-appointed board managers in Texas school districts under state takeover said Friday, Nov. 6, they are preparing to be replaced as soon as January, the Texas Tribune reported. Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa, who takes office Jan. 19, campaigned to end takeovers and replace Education Commissioner Mike Morath, and a new commissioner could change governance in all eight taken-over districts.
Ric Campo, president of Houston ISD's board of managers, said managers will meet elected trustees Monday to lay out a transition plan and that they have always been working themselves out of a job. Elected trustees in takeover districts stay in office but cannot vote on budgets or policy; the Houston takeover began in 2023.
Sources Texas Tribune
Chief Justice-elect Maggie Ellis, the first woman to lead the Texas Supreme Court, talks about her term
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice-elect Maggie Ellis, the first woman to lead the court and the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to statewide office in Texas, spoke with KXAN on Thursday, Nov. 5, about her plans for the six-year term, EverythingLubbock reported Friday. She will be sworn in in January 2027.
Ellis said many statewide officials before her could not be open about who they were and thanked those who paved the way. She compared election night to the day of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell ruling on same-sex marriage and said she hopes her win inspires children to public service, adding that who people are should never limit how they serve.
Sources EverythingLubbock
U.S. & World
U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October, nearly triple forecasts, as unemployment dipped to 4.1%
U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October, far above the 59,000 economists expected, and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, Nov. 6. The agency also revised August up to 186,000 jobs and September up to 60,000.
Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs and health care 42,000. Conference Board senior economist Erin McLaughlin said earlier in the week that the economy is running close to full employment, though wages for many workers may not be keeping up with inflation. Unemployment has stayed below 5% for more than five years.
Sources EverythingLubbock
U.S. strikes an Iranian air defense site and offers $20 million for information on Iran's nuclear program
President Donald Trump said U.S. forces carried out new limited strikes on Iran on Friday, Nov. 6, knocking out an air defense system, and Iranian state media reported two explosions on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump called the action minor. It followed what the military called defensive strikes Monday and was the first since Republicans' midterm losses.
The same day, the State Department's Rewards for Justice program offered up to $20 million for information on Iran's nuclear program, its scientists and associated organizations, Fox News reported. The department said the U.S. remains committed to countering any Iranian attempt to build nuclear weapons as Washington and Tehran continue negotiations.
Sources Fox News · EverythingLubbock (AP)
Russian missiles hit Kyiv and wound at least nine ahead of Tuesday's U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi
Russian missiles struck across Ukraine overnight into Saturday, Nov. 7, wounding at least nine people and damaging homes, businesses and energy facilities in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions, the Associated Press reported. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital's energy supply is extremely difficult, affecting heating and water.
The strikes came as negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. prepare to meet Tuesday, Nov. 10, in Abu Dhabi for a fourth round of Trump administration-brokered talks aimed at ending the war. Officials also closed Kyiv's Northern Bridge, a major commuter route across the Dnipro River.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
Advanced GraphixSecret Service arrests armed man near the White House who said voices told him to kill Trump
Secret Service officers arrested a man Thursday night, Nov. 5, in a stolen car parked on Constitution Avenue near the White House after he said voices told him to come to Washington and kill President Donald Trump, the Department of Homeland Security said. Officers found three guns, including an AR-15-style rifle, and dozens of rounds of ammunition.
DHS described the man as a Venezuelan in the country illegally who entered through Texas in March 2024. He has been charged and is in U.S. Marshals Service custody. The arrest is the latest in a series involving people accused of threatening Trump or his family since he returned to office, Fox News and the Associated Press reported.
Sources Fox News · EverythingLubbock (AP)
China confirms talks on a first-ever Xi-Trump-Putin meeting at this month's summit in Shenzhen
China confirmed for the first time this week that it is discussing a meeting of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Associated Press reported Friday, Nov. 6. Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing is in communication with the parties; it would come this month at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen.
Nothing is set, and experts said the three are unlikely to discuss anything substantive. Trump is expected to travel to Shenzhen to meet Xi for the third time this year to keep a fragile trade truce that expires in January. Sun Yun of the Stimson Center said she expects the meeting to happen, with the format the open question.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
Democrats win Arizona's Legislature, giving the party full control of the state for the first time since 1966
Democrats won control of both chambers of Arizona's Legislature, the Associated Press determined Friday, Nov. 6, and with Gov. Katie Hobbs keeping her office, the party holds full control of state government there for the first time since 1966. Republicans had held the Arizona House for 60 years and the Senate since the early 1990s.
Hobbs vetoed more than 540 Republican-passed bills in her first term and has said she wants to address water, affordability and fraud in the state's school voucher program. Democrats took full control in at least six states where they had shared power, including Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP) · PBS NewsHour
Justice Department drops its suit to block California from counting 20,000 disputed ballots
The Justice Department on Friday, Nov. 6, asked to dismiss its own lawsuit seeking to stop California from counting about 20,000 ballots it alleged went to noncitizens until their status could be verified, the Associated Press reported. The move came days after Republicans' midterm losses and about a week before a special master was to review the accuracy of the federal list.
California officials have said the list is outdated and includes legitimate voters, and the federal judge in the case echoed that in an order denying the government's earlier request. The department said it will continue to prosecute and litigate suspected election-law violations.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP) · The Hill
Overlooked memory card with uncounted ballots flips the lead in a Georgia legislative race
A memory card from election night holding uncounted ballots was found in Seminole County, Georgia, after a post-election check showed about 388 more voters checked in than ballots reported, the Georgia secretary of state's office said Friday, Nov. 6, KCBD reported. With the new votes, Republican Rep. Gerald Greene took the lead in the uncalled state House District 154 race.
Greene now leads Democrat Harry James by 262 votes after James had led by 58. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office is investigating how the card was overlooked, whether required procedures were followed and how to prevent a repeat. The county must certify its results by Monday.
Sources KCBD
After a 1,000-year flood on the Tennessee-Georgia line, the storm system moves up the East Coast
A storm the National Weather Service called a catastrophic 1,000-year flood along the Tennessee-Georgia line moved up the East Coast on Friday, Nov. 6, prompting flood advisories from North Carolina to Massachusetts, the Associated Press reported. More than 10 inches of rain fell in six hours on the watershed above McCaysville, Georgia, and Copperhill, Tennessee, into Thursday morning.
Swift-water teams rescued dozens of people, and the receding Toccoa River left downtown streets covered in mud and a water treatment plant out of service. At least one death, that of Julie Barrs, 56, was linked to the flooding. The Tennessee Valley Authority managed high water at three of its dams on the Ocoee River.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
Mullin Hoard & Brown, LLPFederal appeals court sides with the NCAA on its five-year eligibility rule, but some 200 state cases remain
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Friday, Nov. 6, reversed a lower-court ruling that had given a fifth year of eligibility to college athletes who graduated high school in 2022, handing the NCAA a major win in Wisne vs. NCAA, the Associated Press reported.
The ruling does not resolve some 200 state-court cases involving as many as 850 athletes, the route many players have used to stay on rosters. NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby said the decision is consistent with every federal appeals court. The same day, Texas Tech forward Jamichael Stillwell won a temporary restraining order against the NCAA in a Lubbock County court.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
Sen. Chris Murphy leaves the hospital after a small stroke and will miss several weeks of votes
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Friday, Nov. 6, that he has been discharged from the hospital after a small hemorrhagic stroke and will miss several weeks of Senate votes while he recovers at a rehabilitation facility. Murphy, 53, said he called 911 on Oct. 31 after sensing something was wrong.
Dr. Jose Suarez, chief of neurosciences critical care at Johns Hopkins Hospital, said Murphy has made tremendous progress and is expected to fully recover. Murphy sits on the Appropriations Committee, is a leading voice on immigration and gun policy, and is considered a contender for senior Senate leadership.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP) · PBS NewsHour
New Zealand's election ends without a clear winner as Luxon's coalition hovers at a one-seat majority
New Zealand's election on Saturday, Nov. 7, ended without a clear winner, with Christopher Luxon's National party and coalition partners ACT and NZ First close to a one-seat majority after more than 80% of votes were counted, the Associated Press reported.
Labour, led by Chris Hipkins, appeared to fall short of a majority, but Hipkins did not concede and told supporters it may take longer to learn what voters said. Votes counted after election day have historically leaned left, so forming the next government could require lengthy negotiations.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
