Independent News Drop

KELI From Inkwell, this is the Amarillo News Drop. I'm Keli, with Hast.

HAST Road work and fuel. Texas first.

KELI TxDOT Amarillo released its weekly closure report this afternoon — State Loop 335 and I-40 both seeing lane closures and detours throughout the week of October fifth. The department's posting the full list on its website. Check before you head out, especially if you're moving freight or on a tight schedule. The Panhandle moves on diesel and asphalt — when one of those tightens, everyone feels it.

HAST Governor Abbott announced Friday he's moving to ease diesel prices across the state. The order directs the Texas Railroad Commission to review regulatory barriers that may be keeping costs high at the pump. It's a direct play to truckers and ag operations — both backbone industries out here. The RRC doesn't have unlimited leeway under state statute, so watch whether the commission actually has room to move, or whether this is positioning before the midterms.

KELI Different scale, but harder one brewing at the Capitol. The Texas Tribune is reporting top Republicans knew Bo French, the Railroad Commission candidate, had a history of making racist comments before they backed him anyway. French posted about college students celebrating a football victory, saying the photo showed "how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners." That's not a coded statement — it's direct. Fellow Republicans have now distanced themselves, but the Tribune shows the party apparatus supported him with knowledge of his record. That matters because the Railroad Commission sets energy policy and lease terms across the Panhandle. French's positions on oil and gas are one question; his public statements about who belongs in the state are another. Both go on the ballot.

HAST One date marker. On this day in nineteen fifty-two, the United Kingdom tested its first nuclear weapon in the Montebello Islands, making Britain the world's third nuclear power.

KELI That's the Amarillo News Drop. Full script and sources at inkwell.wiki/news/amarillo.

KELI Before we close, something lighter from Inkwell. There's a piece asking what the Beatles songbook keeps reaching for — a world set right, meaning that holds — without pretending the band were secret prophets.

HAST An honest look, and an open door. At inkwell dot wiki, slash beatles.