Good morning, 

We asked readers about lab-grown meat and the state's effort to ban it. See what folks had to say down below.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, January 27, 2026.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Abbott Adds Chinese Firms to Prohibited Tech List

• Gov. Greg Abbott has directed Texas officials to expand the state’s prohibited technology list following a threat assessment carried out by the Texas Cyber Command. Brandon Waltens has the details.
      
• Under a new law passed last year, the Texas Cyber Command is responsible for cybersecurity in the state.
     
• Among the newly prohibited technologies are items from TP-Link, Hisense, and TCL—brands commonly found in consumer routers and electronics. These are alongside a slate of other foreign-linked companies spanning artificial intelligence, surveillance systems, drones, and battery manufacturing. Texas’ prohibited technology list functions as a “do not buy / do not deploy” list for state government, flagging companies and products considered high-risk for use in government networks, devices, and infrastructure.
      
• "Rogue actors across the globe who wish harm on Texans should not be allowed to infiltrate our state’s network and devices." – Gov. Greg Abbott

Austin City Council Honors Terror Organization

• Adam Cahn reports that Austin City Council members honored the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a group that has been designated a “foreign terrorist” organization under state law. They also passed a resolution designating January as “Muslim Heritage Month” in the city.
      
• Late last year, Gov. Greg Abbott declared CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.

There’s Always a Texas Connection: Nicolás Maduro Trial

• As the world tunes into the Nicolás Maduro trial, Travis Morgan reports that many are unaware that a criminal defense attorney from Texas is playing a key role in the litigation. 
     
• Mark Donnelly is a Houston-based criminal defense attorney hired to represent ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, in the couple’s narco-terrorism case. Texans will know Donnelly from his role in the effort to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton.
     
• Donnelly was hired to work in the Obama DOJ, then became a senior advisor to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas during the Biden administration. He returned to private practice in 2022, but a year later was hired by the Texas House to assist in the investigation and impeachment of Paxton. Mr. Paxton was acquitted by the Texas Senate.
      
• Maduro and Flores have both pleaded not guilty to charges related to drug trafficking. 

Texas Defends Border Security Law

• Texas is continuing to fight for a 2023 border security law. The state is asking the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the lawsuit.
     
• The law in question created a new state crime for entering Texas illegally and authorized state law enforcement to arrest and prosecute those who cross the border illegally anywhere in Texas. Two nonprofit organizations and El Paso County sued to block its enforcement, with the Biden administration later joining in.
     
• The law was briefly allowed to remain in effect, but an injunction was later applied. Shortly after the Trump administration took office, the DOJ ended its participation in the case.
      
• Last week, the Fifth Circuit's judges heard arguments about the legal standing of the original plaintiffs to even bring the lawsuit, with Texas arguing it should be dismissed. Regardless of the judges' decision, the case is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Groups Sue Harris County Over Early Voting Closures in Special Congressional Election

• Two civil rights organizations filed an emergency lawsuit on Sunday seeking to extend early voting in Harris County after winter weather forced the closure of polling locations ahead of the special runoff election for Texas’ 18th Congressional District. Michael Wilson has the story.
     
• The runoff election follows a special election held to fill the remainder of U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term following his death last March. 
     
• Early vote centers across Harris County were closed Sunday and yesterday due to freezing temperatures, ice, and hazardous road conditions. The closure had been announced in advance, with County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth citing safety concerns for voters and election workers.
      
• The two organizations, Houston Justice and Pure Justice, want a judge to order Harris County to open all main and temporary early voting locations on Wednesday and Thursday to replace the lost voting time. The two candidates in the runoff election, both are Democrats, have publicly supported the request to extend early voting.

San Antonio Teacher Arrested for Exposing Himself to 9-Year-Old Girl

• Erin Anderson reports that a San Antonio middle school teacher is accused of exposing himself to a 9-year-old girl in a neighborhood park. 
       
• Andrew Bryant Smierciak is a Leadership Officer Training Corps instructor at Edgar Allan Poe STEM Dual Language Middle School in the San Antonio Independent School District. LOTC teachers prepare middle school students for potential high school JROTC programs.
      
• The Bexar County sheriff said San Antonio ISD has cooperated in the ongoing investigation and warned there is a “distinct possibility” of more victims.

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Quote-Unquote

"If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us, it will not delay the program."

– Gus Grissom​

Y'All Answered

A federal court is allowing a lawsuit to continue against Texas' ban on cell-cultured "fake meat." The court did say, though, that the ban can remain in effect during the lawsuit.

Yesterday, we asked readers if the state should be allowed to ban the sale of lab-made “meat” in Texas. Nearly 72 percent agreed with the state's ban, while 28.1 percent did not.

Here is a sampling of the responses we received from folks after they took part in the survey.

• “Lab-grown meat is built on the assumption that God got it wrong and corporations can do better.” – Tina Bartley
     

• “Who wants to eat fake meat? Give me the real ‘thing’ and support our hard-working ranchers. We already have too much artificial food in our diets.” – Bruce Greiner
     

• “Bans seldom work. Further, they take away a citizen's right to make decisions for himself.” – Tess Ailshire
     

• “While I would never eat lab-grown meat, I think people should be able to make their own decision. The only caveat would be if lab-grown meat is found to be hazardous to your health.” – Evelyn Montalvo
     

• “Maybe Big Beef will take advantage of the respite and make real beef less expensive.  Otherwise, real beef will go the way of the buggy-whip.” – Jim Moyer
     

• “Fake meat could help reduce greenhouse gases if it reduces the number of cattle.” – Julie Peckham
     

• “Let free enterprise determine the future of artificial meat unless something is found in the meat that is physically harmful. If people decide it is ok, then they will buy it. Note that we already have artificial crab meat.” – George McClure
     

• “There’s no use for this disgusting product!” – Rachel Salajean
     

• “Fake meat. Fake genders. Fake protests… Is anything real in 2026?” – Stephen Crevier
     

• “We have had enough lab-made damage done recently, where men playing God just keep proving men are in fact not.” – Leanne Swick
     

• “I don’t trust big food industry or the government to have our health as a major concern.” – Frank Fuss
      

• “Uh oh, ‘Soylent Green’ is coming for us all. Think I’ll become a vegan.” – Barbara Nash
      

• “We do not know how lab-grown meat will affect our minds and bodies. It is not actually grown; it is ‘manufactured,’ which is completely different than eating something naturally produced. We now know that many of these fake, manufactured foods actually harm us. So until we have some evidence from real research studies, then it should be banned.” – Jude Wilson
      

• “I have mixed feelings about an outright ban, but I have no objection whatsoever to clearly labeling it ‘Fake Meat.’ If a cow didn’t give birth to it, then it’s fake meat.” – Randy Schroder

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