The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
Buc-ee’s got a shout-out on the Sunday morning talk shows – but not for its palatial bathrooms.
Instead, New York Times Columnist David Brooks name-dropped the Texas-based convenience store chain on NBC’s Meet the Press to make a political metaphor.
He was contrasting Buc-ee’s with an expensive restaurant to describe the groups within the White House competing for President Donald Trump’s ear.
One faction led by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – the other by White House Chief Strategist and former head of the far-right website Breitbart News, Steve Bannon.
Here’s how the Meet the Press exchange went down between Brooks and National Review’s Rich Lowery.
“There is a fancy restaurant in New York called Cipriani, which is sort of the Jared Kushner wing of the Republican party,” Brooks said.
“David has never been there,” Lowery said.
“I have never been there, but I have walked by it. Then there is a bunch of truck stops in Texas called Buc-ee’s which is the Steve Bannon wing and they are very different parts of America and which is this administration going to orient around – that’s fundamentally a philosophical question and it is hard to have a single strategic administration where you’re trying to be Cipriani’s and Buc-ee’s at the same time,” Brooks said.
This isn’t the first time Buc-ee’s has found itself in the political fray.
The company took some flak from Democrats when one of the founders and owners endorsed then state Senator Dan Patrick for Lieutenant Governor back in 2014
Hillary Clinton was in Houston at the end of last week to deliver one of her first major speeches since losing the 2016 presidential election to Trump.
She spoke at a Friday luncheon for the women’s political organization Annie’s List.
Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider reports:
Clinton opened by weighing in on President Trump’s decision to hit a Syrian air base with cruise missiles. The former secretary of state said it’s necessary for the world to do more to deter Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from committing future atrocities.
“But the action taken last night needs to be followed by a broader strategy to end Syria’s civil war and to eliminate ISIS strongholds on both sides of the border,” she said.
Clinton then turned to the main theme of her speech, the importance of women running for office in Texas and supporting other women as candidates next year.
“Let our voices be heard. If this administration is, as it says, serious about empowering women, they need to do some research and implement some policies and start acting like that. And we have to hold them to account for every single step they take,” she said.
Clinton also went after Trump and the GOP Congress over the recently defeated healthcare bill, particularly its proposed cuts in maternity care. She credited the work of women in stopping the bill by showing up at town halls and calling their representatives.
Tony Romo might not be suiting up for the Dallas Cowboys next season – but Tuesday night he’ll be in uniform for the Dallas Mavericks.
The NBA team is honoring the longtime quarterback during their final regular-season home game by making him an honorary Mav – and even putting him on the bench.
Romo announced last week that he is leaving football to join CBS as the network’s lead NFL game analyst.
