Texas
In Houston, what’s on voters’ minds ahead of the election?
With Election Day approaching, candidates up and down the ballot are making their final push to reach voters. CBS News Texas has been following the polls and covering political events all year long in a quest to find the Texas State of Mind.
But ultimately, it’s the people who matter and who will decide what happens. In an effort to get a better understanding of what voters across the Lone Star State will be thinking about as they cast their ballots, reporter Jason Allen and a CBS News Texas crew are spending the weeks leading up to the election traveling across the state, speaking to people from the Chihuahuan Desert to the Pineywoods.
Jason’s final stop on this road trip: Houston.
HOUSTON – For our final stop on our road trip, we decided to hit up the biggest city and second-largest metropolitan region in the state.
Jason and the crew visited two different events in sprawling Houston: a farmers market and the annual Korean Festival Houston. We found out pretty fast that no matter where Houstonians are originally from, they love that they’re here.
“We have the best diversity, we have some of the best southern hospitality here and we have some of the best food from around the world,” said one woman at the farmers market.
Another man at the farmers market, a business owner selling Bundt cakes, touted the city’s reputation as a melting pot.
“There’s so many different people,” he said. “That’s what I like about Houston.”
We heard similar responses from nearly everyone we spoke with during our 24 hours in the city. In fact, most of the people we spoke with struggled to name things they don’t like about Houston.
“I think Houstonians are enormously proud of being Houstonians,” said Bernice Kearney, a former television news director. “Houston people love being from Houston. They brag about it.”
Kearney, who has worked in both Houston and San Antonio, said there’s a resilience to all Texans that seems heightened in Houstonians.
“I think they’re battle-weary here. They’ve gone through so many storms, so many natural disaster-type things,” she said. “I’ve heard this a number of times, ‘Well we’re used to it. Well you just go and fix it up again and you just go and get back on that horse.’”
Even those who said life is pretty good for them had some issues on their mind ahead of the election.
“I would say, woman’s rights,” said one man at the Korean Festival. “Government doesn’t have the right to interfere with a woman’s choice or a doctor’s choice to get an abortion.”
“Parents want the best for their kids,” said another man at the farmers market. “And we invest more in new schools outside of the city proper. I’d love to see more investment in the center of cities in general for that level of education.”
Another woman said she’d like to see Houston become a more walkable city.
One woman who immigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo said, that despite feeling the pinch of rising prices, overall she feels grateful to be here.
“The way I think about it is there’s many people who don’t have what we have here in Texas,” she said.
This story is one of several CBS News Texas is releasing in the weeks leading up to the election, trying to find the Texas State of Mind. We asked every person we met on the road for their essential road trip song. Below is the playlist we put together of those recommendations.
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday he has secured a settlement of bankruptcy claims against genetic testing company 23andMe stemming from a 2023 data breach that exposed personal information, including some genetic ancestry data, of 6.9 million customers worldwide.
Paxton’s office said the settlement includes $150 million for a multistate coalition of 42 states. But because of limited funds in 23andMe’s bankruptcy estate and competing claims, the states’ recovery will be $18 million paid immediately, with Texas receiving $1,266,860.
23andMe disclosed in October 2023 that attackers had accessed accounts affecting 6.9 million consumers. Some of the information was later posted for sale on the dark web, according to Paxton’s office, which said the company learned of the breach months after the data became publicly available. The office said 23andMe initially denied a breach and later blamed consumers’ account settings and password practices.
Paxton joined a multistate investigation that concluded 23andMe used unreasonable security practices and failed to implement adequate safeguards against hacking, the office said.
23andMe filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2025. Paxton’s office said the settlement incorporates privacy and cybersecurity requirements, including enhanced security standards, comprehensive risk assessments and creation of an independent advisory board, along with enforcement of state privacy laws and continued consumer data deletion rights.
“Companies that collect and profit from Texans’ most personal information have a legal duty to protect it,” Paxton said in a statement.
The company also agreed to a $46.75 million class-action settlement in the bankruptcy case for affected U.S. consumers who submitted claims by Feb. 17, 2026, Paxton’s office said.
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
The Texas Longhorns entered the 2025 season with more expectations than any team has had to deal with in recent memory.
Many among the media were ready to crown the team and quarterback Arch Manning before they even played one game. Of course, those unrealistic expectations were never met, even though the team finished with a 10-3 record and a Citrus Bowl win over the Michigan Wolverines.
2026 is heading in the same direction for the Longhorns. Many believe head coach Steve Sarkisian has the most talented team in the country. But in order to fix the issues from this past season, the Longhorns needed to fix one issue that has cost them in the past.
Changing The Narrative
One of the biggest issues the Longhorns had last season was the play of the offensive line. It was apparent in the first game of the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes that Manning didn’t have the pocket time needed to make big plays.
This offseason, Coach Sarkisian went out and found two massive transfer portal additions that should completely change the narrative on this offensive line.
It starts with potential starting right tackle Melvin Siani. Siani has spent time with the Temple Owls and last season with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Longhorns are set at left tackle with Trevor Goosby, who could play himself into being a top 10 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. If the team can get competent play from Siani, the offense will be able to open up the playbook, and the world may finally see Manning at his college peak.
The Longhorns also went out and found a potential fix at left guard for the 2026 season. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers transfer Laurence Seymore could be another strong patch for the holes in the offensive line.
After spending the first two seasons of his college career with the Miami Hurricanes, Seymore made stops with the Akron Zips and the Hilltoppers.
Of course, the one concern with Seymore is wondering if he can compete at the SEC level coming from the C-USA.
This season for the Longhorns starts and stops with the play of Manning. Coach Sarkisian and the rest of this coaching staff understood that protecting their quarterback was the most important goal when building the 2026 roster.
The Longhorns are going to be leaning on veteran talent to protect their quarterback, and it may very well be the best decision they made this offseason.
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