Daily Dispatch 2/27/26: El Paso Death Ray Deja Vu , And More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

You're not experiencing deja vu - the U.S. military has again recklessly deployed their new laser technology without coordinating properly with the FAA, who have again imposed an airspace shutdown near El Paso: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/26/texas-el-paso-border-drone-laser-airspace-closure/

...We hope some courageous reporter asks Donald Trump about that, and the Epstein files, and our tariff refunds, during his visit to Corpus Christi today: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/trump-visit-corpus-christi-texas-21943671.php

Today is the last day to vote early in a Texas primary that has already seen historic turnout, especially among Democrats: https://votehub.com/early-vote-tracker-tx-primary-26

As the primary wraps up on Tuesday, we're hoping the bickering between the camps of Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico wraps up as well - but we don't expect Cardi B and Nicki Minaj to mend fences: https://www.fox7austin.com/news/texas-primary-race-between-jasmine-crockett-james-talarico-heat-up

Avoiding enriching Elon Musk is apparently harder than just avoiding Tesla and Twitter - he's built a clandestine network of dozens of companies doing his bidding across Texas: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/technology/elon-musk-companies-texas.html

Turns out that many of the live music venues listed as "members" of the Music Venue Alliance of Texas, which recently endorsed Governor Greg Abbott, not only had no knowledge of a potential endorsement - many didn't know they were members at all: https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/music-venue-alliance-endorses-greg-abbott-for-governor-without-consulting-music-venues/

Early voting in the March primary is underway! Research your ballot here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-march-2026-primary-ballot/?_bhlid=7d8eca3d2a16adc7c9b44185414443fa32be6d84⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

All about voting in Texas can be found at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GoVoteTexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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