NEWS AROUND TEXAS
Early-vote record • Mars simulation ends • SAISD shifts
November 1st, 2026AD
TEXAS’ DAILY FRONT PAGE — THE STORIES MOVING THE LONE STAR STATE
TODAY’S TOP 5
1. Early vote clears 7.7 million
2. Governor rivals press Bexar
3. Mars simulation crew emerges
4. SAISD eases lesson-plan rules
5. Tea Garden gate gets cover
UPDATE: EARLY VOTE TOPS MIDTERM RECORD
More than 7.7 million Texans voted early, The Texas Tribune reports, citing preliminary Secretary of State figures available Sunday morning.
The 40.5% turnout rate exceeds the modern midterm high set in 2018.
Texas has more than 19 million registered voters, up 2.2% from the November 2024 presidential election. In-person early voting ended Friday, but the count is not final: mail ballots are still arriving.
Election Day is Tuesday. These are participation figures, not election results.
ABBOTT, HINOJOSA PRESS BEXAR VOTERS
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa are campaigning in Bexar County as the governor's race enters its final stretch, Texas Public Radio reports.
Abbott is seeking a fourth term. Hinojosa represents Austin in the Texas House.
At a Wednesday rally in Adkins, Abbott warned about taxes and border policy. Hinojosa's mother said her daughter was fed up with corruption she'd observed in the Legislature.
TPR describes polls showing Abbott slightly ahead or within the margin of error. Those polls do not establish who will win Tuesday's election.
NASA CREW ENDS 378-DAY MARS SIMULATION
Four members of NASA's CHAPEA crew emerged Saturday after 378 days in a simulated Mars habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Houston Public Media reports.
They lived and worked inside a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed facility housed in a hangar. This was a Mars simulation on Earth, not a trip to the planet.
Communications were delayed by 26 to 44 minutes as part of the simulation.
The crew's next step is two weeks of post-mission evaluations with NASA scientists.
SAISD EASES LESSON-PLAN REQUIREMENTS
San Antonio ISD has made district-created lesson plans and slides optional at its schools rated A or B after pushback from teachers and the San Antonio Alliance union, Texas Public Radio reports.
Those schools may still choose to use the materials. The change does not mean every district teaching requirement has been dropped.
SAISD's High 5 teaching model has also drawn debate. Officials describe the curriculum materials as a separate initiative.
The district has 34 schools rated failing and 33 rated A or B.
TEA GARDEN GATE COVERS WARTIME NAME
A new concrete cover at San Antonio's Japanese Tea Garden conceals the torii gate's 1942 “Chinese Tea Garden” lettering while leaving the original lettering intact, Texas Public Radio reports.
Artist René Romero made the cover to look like wooden planks, using the faux bois technique.
That earlier name followed the city's World War II eviction of the Japanese American Jingu family.
In 1984, the park's Japanese Tea Garden name was restored. Romero's new cover addresses the gate's wording without removing the historic inscription beneath it.
HOOD COUNTY WEATHER WATCH
CURRENT: Observed 2:15 p.m., Granbury airport (KGDJ): overcast, 79°F
3-DAY OUTLOOK
Monday: mostly sunny, 84°/60°
Tuesday: sunny, 74°/49°
Wednesday: sunny, 74°/50°
COMMUNITY PULSE
Which of today's Texas stories would you like us to follow next?
Hood County. Our Home. Our News.
Hood County Express — Est’d 1/26
© 2026 Hood County Express. All Rights Reserved
