Daily Ledger
Daily digest straight from the source
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
The lead · Sep 22
Lubbock Lights: the Rangers referral came from the DA, and a second fight has opened over Meurer's legal bills
Lubbock County commissioners approved a resolution Monday, September 21, supporting the Criminal District Attorney's request that the Texas Rangers independently investigate apparent payroll irregularities — the nearly $70,000 the county paid Mark Meurer while Jason Corley held the Precinct 2 seat, Lubbock Lights reported. The county's posted agenda shows the referral originated with the DA.
A second money trail has now opened. An email obtained by Lubbock Lights shows attorney Kristen LaFreniere, who represented Meurer in the fight over the seat, demanding more than $10,000 in past-due invoices: “I specifically did not request a retainer from Lubbock County because I was assured that my invoices would be paid as they came up.” Who gave that assurance is not established.
Sources Lubbock Lights · Lubbock County Commissioners Court agenda
More Local
The state moved rescue boats and helicopters into position for a flood threat that builds midweek
Gov. Greg Abbott activated state emergency response resources for the South Plains, the Panhandle and Far West Texas on Monday, September 21, ahead of thunderstorms capable of heavy rain and flash flooding. The state said the threat begins now and intensifies midweek.
Deployed: Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service swiftwater rescue boat squads; Texas Division of Emergency Management regional staff; Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens, boats and hoist-capable helicopters; Department of Public Safety troopers, helicopters and its Tactical Marine Unit; state health department medics and ambulances; TxDOT road crews; and AgriLife damage assessors. The Public Utility Commission is watching outages, the Railroad Commission natural gas supply. Officials urged residents not to drive or walk through flooded roadways.
Sources KCBD
South Plains cotton growers press their farm bill priorities with nine days left on the extension
Kody Bessent, chief executive of Lubbock-based Plains Cotton Growers, met with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn about the five-year farm bill as the current extension runs out September 30, KCBD reported Monday, September 21. Bessent's two priorities: keeping marketing assistance loans working during a government shutdown, which he called "very important to the cotton industry," and funding conservation programs well enough to handle re-enrollment.
He also backs the Buying American Cotton Act, which would give retailers and brands a tax credit for using U.S. cotton rather than Brazilian. The bill needs 60 Senate votes and could reach the floor any time through December; the House does not return until after the midterms.
Sources KCBD
A former teacher pleaded guilty again to child indecency in Randall County and will be sentenced this week
Patrick Farmer, 59, pleaded guilty Monday morning, September 21, to two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact in Randall County's 251st District Court, the Amarillo Tribune reported from the courtroom. Farmer, a former teacher and former Paramount Baptist Church employee, has been a registered sex offender since a 2006 plea covering four counts and three victims, all under 10; he completed six years of deferred adjudication in 2012.
Additional victims came forward in 2024. Farmer was remanded into custody; his attorney, T.D. Hammons, said he is his wife's primary caregiver. Judge Ana Estevez may sentence him as early as Tuesday. The range is two to 20 years.
Sources Amarillo Tribune
D. Williams & Co., Inc.A Texas Tech composer spent 12 years building an instrument you play by moving
Hideki Isoda, assistant professor of composition in the Texas Tech School of Music, has developed a motion-sensing musical instrument for people who cannot play conventional ones, KCBD reported Monday, September 21. It has no keys or strings: an accelerometer and gyroscope read body movement and custom algorithms turn it into sound.
The device runs on supervised machine learning inside its own microcontroller, with no internet connection required. Isoda started the project 12 years ago, before large language models existed, after his wife, a music therapist, described clients who wanted to make music and could not. Clinical trials and further safety testing are planned.
Sources KCBD
No. 11 Texas Tech closes nonconference play Saturday against Sam Houston
Texas Tech, 3-0 and 1-0 in the Big 12, hosts Sam Houston at 11 a.m. Saturday at Galaxy Stadium, KCBD reported Monday, September 21. The Red Raiders are favored by 35.5 points after beating No. 22 Houston 28-26, a game in which quarterback Will Hammond went 17 of 27 for 257 yards and a touchdown.
Coach Joey McGuire is not treating the Bearkats, 1-2 out of Conference USA under coach Phil Longo, as a breather: "They're really going to test us." Offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich pointed to Sam Houston's blitz rate; defensive coordinator Shiel Wood praised its receivers. The Bearkats' quarterback ranks seventh nationally in passing yards.
Sources KCBD
A mobile museum about neighbors helping neighbors is parked in Lubbock through Tuesday
The "People of Hope" traveling museum is at the Catholic Diocese of Lubbock, Fourth Street and Toledo Avenue, and is open Tuesday, September 22, from noon to 6 p.m., KCBD reported Monday. Admission is free.
The exhibit is built inside a high-tech semi-trailer and includes video stories, an interactive poverty simulation, and a recording booth where visitors can add their own accounts. Organizers said they want people to leave feeling more connected to their community and more inclined to help others. It was open Monday until 7 p.m.
Sources KCBD
Amarillo's Tri-State Fair and Rodeo is running through Sunday in its 103rd year
The Tri-State Fair & Rodeo opened September 18 in Amarillo and runs daily from 11 a.m. to midnight through September 26, then 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on September 27, the Amarillo Tribune reported Monday, September 21. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeo runs September 24 through 26.
The fair began in 1923 as a small livestock show and now awards more than $1.5 million in scholarships through programs including the calf scramble and the Miss Tri-State Rodeo Queen contest. Opening night featured the debut of the Sheriff's Stockyard Ranch Rodeo, sponsored by the Randall County Sheriff's Association and the Potter County Law Enforcement Association, with working ranch crews from the Panhandle and New Mexico.
Sources Amarillo Tribune
State
A federal judge froze the Texas GOP's bid to close its primaries and handed the question to the Legislature
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, of the Northern District of Texas in Amarillo, stayed the Republican Party of Texas's lawsuit to close its primaries on Friday, September 18, The Texan reported Monday. The stay runs through the end of the 90th legislative session, with a status report due June 4, 2027, and Kacsmaryk left the door open for the case to resume afterward.
The party argues that Texas's open primaries — independents and Democrats may vote in the Republican primary — violate its First Amendment right of association. Former Secretary of State Jane Nelson and current Secretary Robert Howden have both said the Legislature must act first. Lawmakers convene in January.
Sources The Texan
Protests and calls for a Texas Rangers investigation followed the Austin ICE shooting
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson asked for the Texas Rangers to investigate Sunday's shooting of a man by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, saying Austinites have a right to know what happened, The Texan reported Monday, September 21. Protests followed the shooting, and state Rep. James Talarico also called for an independent inquiry.
The Department of Homeland Security said the man is a Venezuelan national who entered illegally and has a final removal order, that his condition is stable and that he is in federal custody. Immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch says he is 28, a delivery driver who entered under a lawful program with work authorization, and is now at the Pearsall detention center.
Sources The Texan
Action PrintingU.S. & World
The White House launched a 24-hour Trump channel the same day three barred outlets sued
The White House launched "Trump TV: The Essentials Station," a 24-hour YouTube channel of administration video, on Monday, September 21. It promises the administration's biggest moments, major remarks and highlights, updated in real time.
It went live the same day CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued over being barred from the White House grounds, which the three outlets call a First Amendment violation; the administration cited concerns about reporting accuracy when it announced the restrictions. Several major networks, Fox among them, have since suspended pooled coverage in response.
House Republicans say internal ActBlue memos show staff waving through foreign-looking donations
House Oversight Chairman James Comer of Kentucky said Monday, September 21, that the ActBlue investigation is far from over and that more documents and testimony are expected. Internal memos obtained by the committee show supervisors approving donations flagged as coming from Hong Kong IP addresses, and an employee verifying a donor who "had all signs point to this person being from Canada" through social media rather than documents. The platform's passport check allegedly counted characters rather than validating against government databases.
Committee chairmen Bryan Steil of Wisconsin and Jim Jordan of Ohio are also involved. ActBlue denies wrongdoing and calls the probe a political stunt. Ten of its employees and board members invoked the Fifth Amendment.
Sources Fox News
After banning stock trading, House Republicans go after earmarks that enrich lawmakers' families
Rep. Young Kim, a California Republican, introduced the Stop Congressional Self-Enrichment Resolution on Monday, September 21, targeting earmarks that indirectly benefit members of Congress — money steered to nonprofits where a spouse sits on the board, or road work that lifts the value of a relative's property. It would extend disclosure rules to cover any material financial interest of a member, spouse or immediate family.
Kim said of members who treat community project funding as a payday: "those days are numbered." Cited examples: $3 million in earmarks from Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts to groups tied to his wife's work, and $3.5 million from Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia to George Mason University. The House passed stock-trading limits in July.
Sources Fox News
Satellite images show China's Djibouti base built to listen in on the Red Sea, a former Pentagon aide says
A Center for Strategic and International Studies report published Monday, September 21, documents new antennas at China's military base in Djibouti, about six miles from Camp Lemonnier, the U.S. installation that costs roughly $66 million a year to run. Commercial satellite imagery taken since 2024 shows three 30-meter dipole antennas, smaller VHF and UHF arrays, three mobile satellite dishes, four probable 5G towers and a radome hiding an unidentified dish.
Morgan Murphy, a former Trump White House official and press secretary to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, said Beijing has clearly wiretapped the Red Sea. The base overlooks the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which carries about 16% of world maritime trade. CSIS notes imagery cannot confirm active interception.
Sources Fox News
A Fox News poll finds 55% view the Democratic Socialists unfavorably, and Republicans are running on it
A Fox News poll released Monday, September 21, found 55% of registered voters view the Democratic Socialists of America unfavorably against 30% favorably, and Republicans are building midterm messaging around it after socialist-backed candidates beat centrists in Democratic primaries in Michigan and New York.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called it "a contrast election between common sense candidates and crazy." Ty Strong of Moderate PAC said the primary results are a real problem for Democrats but expects a smaller wave than they might have had. Progressive adviser Shannon Jackson said Republicans are trying to make the issue into something it is not. The Democratic National Committee says the midterms will turn on inflation.
Sources Fox News