- The director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Steve McCraw, announced his plans to retire Friday. TPR's Brian Kirkpatrick has the story.
McCraw became a controversial figure for the much-delayed response to stop the Uvalde elementary school shooting in May 2022. The event left 19 children and two teachers dead. Operation Lone Star---Governor Greg Abbott's border security initiative led by McCraw —was also criticized for its tactics against migrants. Buoys and barbed wire were placed at the Rio Grande. Migrants have also been flown and bused to other states. McCraw broke the news of his retirement to graduating troopers in Austin. "The governor has been very gracious and has authorized, approved, my retirement at the end of the year, applause." McCraw says it's been the honor of his life to lead the DPS for the past 15 years. I'm Brian Kirkpatrick in San Antonio.
- Texas A&M University-Commerce begins its Fall 2024 semester today. Over the summer, the university made headlines regionally after a proposal to change the name of the school to Texas A&M University-Dallas was made public. Reaction to the proposal was mostly negative, and the idea was dropped after the summer meeting of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents in College Station. Last fall, the university recorded a dramatic 12.5 percent increase in enrollment. A little more than 12,000 students were enrolled to begin the just-concluded academic year. Data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board showed A&M-Commerce to be the fastest-growing public university in Texas.
