Weekend Digest Texas May 31

Your weekend is here, Texas, and it’s time to take a look back at some of the stories that were in our headlines this week.

Your Weekend Weather

Thanks to Friday’s cold front, we’re waking up a bit more refreshing this morning with a few clouds and temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Our Saturday will be a nice one, with a mix of sun and clouds and highs near 90 degrees. Winds will be light. Sunday will be noticeably warmer with the chance of storms during the late afternoon to evening. Some storms could be strong to severe, with damaging winds and hail. Another active weather pattern develops by the middle of next week.

Take a look at your local weekend forecast: Austin | San Antonio | Dallas

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The Week in Review

1. Ban on THC products could impact Texas businesses

A bill banning consumable hemp products containing THC is on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, jeopardizing the $8 billion industry and thousands of stores across the state. The latest version of Texas Senate Bill 3 will ban all products with THC, like flower, gummies and beverages, leaving only CBD and CBG products on the shelves.

For stores like Dama Botanicals in Austin, the ban will mean a significant decrease in sellable products, and ultimately, shutting the store down.

2. Texas Monthly releases its list of the top 50 barbecue joints in the state

Every four years, Texas Monthly — a culture magazine based in Austin — releases its list of the 50 best barbecue spots in the state. 

This year, the barbecue team (yes, the magazine has a barbecue team) traveled across Texas to try all sorts of places all across the state. According to the article, the team visited 319 barbecue joints, with the most promising places being revisited by barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn. 

3. Final boarding call for free bags at Southwest as airline abandons a cherished perk

Southwest Airlines ended its policy allowing passengers to check up to two bags at no extra cost on Tuesday. Southwest had built years of advertising campaigns around its policy of letting passengers check up to two bags for free. Under its new policy, people who haven’t either reached the upper tiers of its Rapid Rewards loyalty program, bought a business class ticket or hold the airline’s credit card will have to pay for checked bags.

4. Recovery efforts continue after destructive Austin storm brought intense hail, flooding

Strong and sudden winds, intense hail and widespread flash floods slammed the Austin area Wednesday, damaging buildings and vehicles and leaving many without power. Residents and crews continue to pick up the pieces and restore power to over 10,000 Austin Energy customers.

An estimated 72,500 Austin Energy customers experienced outages at the height of the storm. 

5. Missing Texas family’s boat found in Alaska waters along with human remains

Nearly a year after the U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search for a family of four missing after the boat they were on capsized in waters off south-central Alaska, the vessel along with human remains have been found, officials said Wednesday.

The discovery came after three private Alaska companies, including one that uses sonar equipment to search underwater, offered in April to help look for the family, who are from Texas, according to a statement released by the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

6. North Texas teen Faizan Zaki overcomes a shocking, self-inflicted flub and wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee

Faizan Zaki’s enthusiasm for spelling nearly got the better of him. Ultimately, his joyful approach made him the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.

The favorite entering the bee after his runner-up finish last year — during which he never misspelled a word in a conventional spelling round, only to lose a lightning-round tiebreaker that he didn’t practice for — the shaggy-haired Faizan wore the burden of expectations lightly, sauntering to the microphone in a black hoodie and spelling his words with casual glee.

Around the Nation

1. Supreme Court lets Trump end humanitarian parole for 500,000 people from 4 countries

The Supreme Court on Friday again cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip temporary legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants, pushing the total number of people who could be newly exposed to deportation to nearly 1 million.

The justices lifted a lower-court order that kept humanitarian parole protections in place for more than 500,000 migrants from four countries: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. 

A Look Ahead  

Satellite image of Hurricane Helene at sunset on Sept. 26, 2024. (NOAA)

The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season begins on Sunday, June 1, and NOAA has released its annual outlook. NOAA is calling for above normal activity this hurricane season.