James Talarico is not the only Democrat with a shot at winning an election in Texas. Polls show challenger Gina Hinojosa (pictured above), spurred on by Latino voters and the data center backlash, is running neck and neck with longtime GOP incumbent Greg Abbott in the governor’s race.

What did the commentators say?
Polls have the Hinojosa-Abbott race “statistically tied” heading into the final weeks, said The Center Square. It’s a startling turn for Abbott, who’s seeking a fourth term. 

He has never lost a statewide election “by less than 11 points,” said Slate. But some rural voters are defecting over Abbott’s “past support for data centers,” and Lone Star Latino voters are turning against the GOP because of the “president’s handling of the economy and mass deportations,” said NBC News.

Hinojosa is “perhaps the most serious electoral challenger” Abbott has faced, said the Houston Chronicle. The Democrat has sharpened a “populist message” that asks voters to “set aside the culture wars” in favor of policies and politicians that help them “make ends meet.” The message arrives amid voter anger over “rising prices and seemingly unchecked growth of Big Tech.”

Democrats have long dreamed of a “blue Texas,” said Nicole Russell at USA Today. Nonetheless, the Lone Star State is “one of the top places Americans move” because it has no income tax and is affordable. All that is made possible by “embracing conservative values.” Voters will not want to “upend that way of life” by electing a Democrat.

What next?
Polls in previous elections have given Texas Democrats “reason to hope for an upset” only to end in disappointment, said The Washington Post. Hinojosa still faces an uphill climb. A Democrat has not been in the Texas governor's mansion since Ann Richards in 1990. But national Democrats are “stepping up” their support for Hinojosa, said CBS News. The Democratic Governors Association and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker are both putting “at least $1 million” toward her election.

Following his country’s largest airport was forced to close due to a suspected drone attack thought to have originated in Belarus, the prime minister of Lithuania has called for a NATO plan to respond to Russia’s hybrid warfare. As such “incidents spread beyond Europe’s eastern flank,” said Politico, he warns that Moscow is prepared to test the alliance.

Forced shelter
Military drone incursions have become increasingly common across Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A drone that violated Lithuanian airspace was shot down in September, following similar incidents in Latvia and Estonia. In May, residents in Vilnius were “forced to take shelter” across the capital after a drone alert was “triggered,” briefly grounding flights and rail travel, said the BBC.

Lithuania, a “staunch supporter” of Ukraine, shares a large part of its southern and eastern border with Belarus, a “key Russian ally,” said the outlet. Sinkevicius warns that a Russian victory in Ukraine would probably push Moscow to look for “other directions.”

Achilles’ heel
A “tranquil corner” of Lithuania is now a “tinderbox that could help trigger World War III,” said The Sun. The gap is “one of the most volatile points on the world map,” said former U.S. Army General Ben Hodges, per the outlet. Spanning 40 miles as the crow flies, the Suwalki Gap is a corridor of land that runs along the Polish-Lithuanian border connects the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to Belarus.

Called the “most dangerous place on Earth,” the gap has long been viewed as the Achilles’ heel of NATO’s eastern defenses, because Russia could seize it relatively easily by launching a pincer assault between Kaliningrad in the northwest and Belarus in the southeast, said Der Stern. The creation of such a land bridge would effectively isolate the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all of which are NATO members, from the EU.

Lithuania has been “holding military drills and rehearsing wartime evacuation plans,” said The Sun. It allocated almost $5.6 billion to defense this year — 5.38% of its GDP, “dwarfing the U.K. spend of just 2.6%.”

A young bull elephant sprays zebras at a watering hole in Kenya’s Chyulu Hills. This photograph by the U.K.’s James Lewin has topped the Animals in their Environment category of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
James Lewin / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

“My most cherished food memories involve two ingredients: rice and pork,” said chef Donald Link in his book, “Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking.” It’s a common refrain for people raised in the prairies and bayous of southern Louisiana. 

The rice is there in the region’s popular eggplant dressing, dirty rice with chicken livers, and crawfish pies. Pork appears as cracklins, those deep-fried nubbins of seasoned pork belly, and in all manner of Deep South charcuterie. Rice and pork even tango together in the legendary sausage called boudin. Link is the owner of a handful of restaurants in New Orleans, and this cookbook takes you on a tour of the tastes of his homeland.

Two foundational ingredients
No two boudins are alike, but they are “all good,” said Link in his book. He stars both pork shoulder and liver, plus two types of fresh chiles, a glut of spices and, of course, white rice.

Lima beans appear in a stew alongside smoked sausage, and a suave pork roast is served over, yes, rice. Even chicken thighs are stuffed with sausage. Pork is ubiquitous, and rice nearly as much, appearing in a gratin with zucchini, a soup with chicken, and a fritter known as calas.

And beyond
Freshness and fiber are everywhere across “Real Cajun.” Tender lettuces are slicked with a scallion-buttermilk dressing, and tomatoes bring a lush tang to stewed okra.

A sweet finish is obligatory. So there are recipes for satsuma-buttermilk pie, blueberry cobbler, and a staple of Link’s youth, lemon meringue pie. Man cannot live on rice and pork alone.