Convenience Big Store: Gavin Newsom takes a victory lap in Houston today

November 8, 2025

Discovery Sale: 6 Months for 99¢

Go beyond the headlines with unlimited access.

Act Now

Sale Ends Nov. 16

⛅ Temperature check: High of 85; low of 62. Forecast: Our weather is going to do a 180 this weekend. Plan accordingly.

📬 Sign up for our Weather Radar newsletter for more weather news.

1

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif.

Photo by: Godofredo A. Vásquez, AP

What to know about California Gov. Gavin Newsom's Houston rally.

While many of us are content to use layovers to rest or rush to the next gate for departure, some try to make the most of their brief stopover.

Take California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for example. Today, he leaves the Golden State for a climate change conference in Brazil. On the way there he'll have a layover here in Houston, where he'll hold a political rally.

It's a chance for him to spike the ball and tout his "landslide win" with Proposition 50 earlier this week. That ballot measure allows his state to redraw all of its congressional districts to negate any GOP gains Gov. Greg Abbott thought he was delivering in Texas for President Donald Trump.

We'll have more on the rally throughout the day. Check back with us for updates.

2

Vote to provide $3 billion for dementia institute a 'game-changer' for Texas researchers, families.

Texas voters' approval of Proposition 14 Tuesday is a boon for research into dementia, Alzheimer's and related disorders, researchers said.

3

Dan Patrick wants Turning Point chapters at every Texas college and high school.

He has committed $1 million in campaign money to help fund the effort.

4

Lawsuit seeks $15M from Woodlands school for alleged assault of student.

A Woodlands couple is seeking more than $15 million from the private John Cooper School, claiming that it failed to protect their daughter or alert them that she had been groped multiple times by a classmate.

5

Spring ISD considers closing two schools due to a budget crunch.

The district in north Harris County plans to host more community meetings in November before the board of trustees finalizes plans in December.

6

A Texas agency spent at least $55K to withhold info about a power plant loan program and crypto mines.

Kamil Cook, an organizer with Public Citizen, said the consumer advocacy group believes that denial of public records requests should only be done with "extraordinary justification."

7

How did Emmanuel, a missing, special-needs teen end up referred to ICE?

For five days, Maria had no way to know whether her child was dead or alive – even as the Houston Police Department, whom she'd turned to for help, knew exactly where he was. He was in federal custody.

🏈 Sports

Houston wide receiver Amare Thomas (0) has a pass broken up by Central Florida defensive back DJ Bell (5) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Photo by: Phelan M. Ebenhack, Associated Press

Cougars: Houston rallied twice from 10-point deficits to win on a 22-yard field goal by Ethan Sanchez and an interception by Kentrell Webb. Also, just what did UH linebacker Latreveon McCutchin do after getting a pick-6?
Rockets: Houston gave up a season-high 33 points off turnovers, and the San Antonio Spurs took advantage to end the team's winning streak at 5 games.
Texans: Quarterback Davis Mills insists he's a different player than the one who started in 2022. On Sunday, Mills will get his chance to prove it. Meanwhile, the team will be without five starters against the Jaguars in the AFC South showdown.

🗣️ Opinion

What does Houston have to do with Mamdani? You'll be surprised. Plus, ICE calls the Chronicle "dimwits," Texas' teeny park system gets a Texas-sized boost and Elon Musk's trillion-dollar pay package also appear in this week's Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down look at the news.

📅 Events at the Chronicle

EVENT: Texas oil wells are leaking toxic waste. Who pays to clean them up?

Leaking oil wells threaten Texas water and taxpayer wallets.

Join us November 20 at 12 p.m. for a live virtual event on who's paying the price — and what's being done to stop the damage.

In the latest legal back-and-forth over the delivery of SNAP food aid payments amid the government shutdown, the Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration's emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments

After a Boston appeals court declined to immediately intervene, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued an order pausing the requirement to distribute full SNAP payments until the appeals court rules on whether to issue a more lasting pause, the Associated Press reported.