News Roundup: Binational 10K In El Paso And Ciudad Juárez Is Postponed Ahead Of Migrant Caravan

Our daily look at Texas headlines.

By Becky FogelNovember 5, 2018 1:13 pm

The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.

The organizers of a binational 10K race between Texas and Mexico say they’re still optimistic the race will happen despite being postponed. It was supposed to be held Saturday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which helps support the Run Internacional, asked that it be rescheduled. That’s because the agency is preparing for the arrival of a caravan of Central American migrants seeking refuge in the United States.

Mario Porras is the director of binational affairs at the El Paso Community Foundation, and he’s also the race coordinator. He says he’s heard from past participants that this is one of the best races they’ve done.

“It’s 10 kilometers, but it’s half in El Paso and half in Juárez, with the finish at the top of one of the bridges on the international boundary line. And it’s pretty awesome seeing everybody from both countries running together for the same purpose, and at the same time being able to showcase – which is the purpose of the race – to showcase how close we are as a region, El Paso and Ciudad Juárez,” Porras says.

A new date for the race hasn’t yet been set, but Porras says he thinks they’ll be able to hold it soon.

“I’m very hopeful that we will be able to show and be triumphant again, victorious here at the border, by allowing us to have this race, hopefully in the next few weeks,” Porras says.

The latest iteration of the race is in its fourth year. As Marfa Public Radio reported in 2015, Democratic U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of El Paso championed relaunching the race after it went on hiatus for about 15 years.

Porras says while the race is postponed, they’re still accepting registrations.




A Texas congressional candidate is responding to a “Saturday Night Live” comedian who mocked his appearance on the NBC show this weekend.

Dan Crenshaw, a Navy SEAL who did five tours of duty, lost his right eye when he was hit by an improvised explosive device blast in Afghanistan in 2012.

SNL cast member Pete Davidson joked about Crenshaw while giving his first impressions of some midterm election candidates. Davidson said Crenshaw looked like a hitman:

“I’m sorry, I know he lost his eye in war or whatever,” Davidson said in the segment.

Crenshaw initially responded in a tweet Sunday, saying he tries hard to not offend and tries harder not be offended but he added, “I hope SNL recognizes that vets don’t deserve to see their wounds as punchlines for bad jokes.”

And in an interview Monday on CNN, Crenshaw says he doesn’t want a hollow apology. Instead, he said Davidson and SNL producers should pool together a million dollars to donate to charities that help veterans.

“Maybe to Navy SEAL Foundation, maybe Wounded Warriors, maybe Folds of Honor – I was just at their benefit last night. There’s a lot of great organizations out there, there’s a lot of veterans that really need help, and frankly, this kind of thing is offensive to them, they feel laughed at,” Crenshaw said.

Crenshaw is a Republican who’s running against Democrat Todd Litton to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, a Houston Republican.

Litton also addressed the joke on Twitter saying, “No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, Dan’s military service and sacrifice for our country are to be admired and appreciated. Period.”




The number of Texans who voted early in the 2018 midterms surpassed turnout from the 2014 midterms and 2012 presidential election, in the state’s 30 largest counties. The Texas Secretary of State is the agency that tracks turnout in all of those counties; they’re where 78 percent of registered voters live. During the early voting period, which started on Monday, Oct. 22, and ran through Friday, Nov. 2, 4,884,734 Texans voted either in person or by mail. This year, Texas reached a new voter-registration record of more than 15.6 million people. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6.