Election Day tomorrow, Cowboys-Titans tonight: Your Monday evening roundup

November 05,  2018 By Wayne Carter Good evening! Here is a look at the top headlines of the day. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. At First Baptist Church in Pearland (left) and House of Blues in Houston, incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz and challenger Beto O'Rourke got early starts Monday on a last day of campaigning ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections. (Justin Sullivan, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) elections 2018 In final sprint for Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz, Texas' direction at stake and Trump on their minds With the hours ticking down before polls open on Election Day, [the rivals for Texas' coveted U.S. Senate seat made a final pitch to supporters](, their fates resting to a large extent on the state's shifting demographics and political climate and sharply contrasting views of President Donald Trump. Sen. Ted Cruz drew an anemic crowd of 175 to the First Baptist Church in Pearland, a Houston suburb, leaving the sanctuary mostly empty. At the House of Blues in downtown Houston, at least twice as many cheering Democrats gathered at 8 a.m. to see Rep. Beto O'Rourke make his final appearance in Cruz's hometown, two blocks from the Toyota Center, where Trump had rallied 16,000 Republicans for the embattled incumbent last month. Texans haven't elected a Democrat statewide since 1994. But polls show O'Rourke battling to a statistical dead heat in the final days. Get ready to vote: Who's on the ballot, and [everything else you need to know for Election Day tomorrow.]( Campaign tactics: [Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke use disparate messages]( — fear and hope — to motivate voters. Tight race: Challenger Colin Allred [leads incumbent Rep. Pete Sessions by 4 points]( in latest New York Times poll in Congressional District 32. Also: The Justice Department is sending staff [to monitor Tarrant County polling sites on Election Day.]( Cowboys-titans Film room: Bold predictions, including potential fireworks from Amari Cooper in his Dallas debut SportsDay contributor John Owning looks ahead to tonight's game: It's only Week 9, but Monday night's Dallas Cowboys-Tennessee Titans matchup is a must-win for America's Team — that's what happens when the team limps out to a 3-4 start to the season. Luckily for the Cowboys, they welcome the Titans to AT&T stadium, where Dallas is undefeated this season. On paper, this matchup looks like a defensive struggle, as both teams possess a top-five scoring defense. Both teams are run-oriented and have talented, but inconsistent, quarterbacks who haven't done the best job moving their offense thus far. The Cowboys hope that switching their offensive line coach and acquiring Amari Cooper will lead to improved productivity from the offense, though an injury to David Irving puts the defense at less than 100 percent. [Read John's full analysis.]( Key matchups: Ezekiel Elliott could have a big day, [but can Dallas contain Marcus Mariota?]( Crystal ball: SportsDay's experts [predict whether the Cowboys will get a wi]([n]( in Amari Cooper's debut. Crime and courts Dallas jailers ordered transgender woman to show her genitals, lawsuit says A transgender woman has filed a federal lawsuit against Dallas County [alleging jailers ordered her to show her genitalia to them so they could determine her sex.]( Valerie Jackson, 32, had been arrested in November 2016 after she left a gun in her purse when she went through security at Dallas Love Field, but a grand jury declined to indict her on the weapons charge. Her lawsuit, filed Friday, alleges that she was harassed and humiliated at the jail and that her constitutional rights were violated.  "Ms. Jackson has suffered trauma, felt demoralized, anxious, stressed, a loss of dignity, and fear," the lawsuit says. Fraud case: A former Fort Worth real estate instructor has been sentenced to 13 years [for a $1.2 million Ponzi scheme.]( Armed robbery: Mesquite police were looking for pair of suspects [who held up a 7-Eleven at gunpoint.]( (Daniel Carde/Staff Photographer) Photo of the Day Master gardeners Ellen Schwab (left) and Sherrie Walker snip the flowers off of coleus plants in the garden at the renovated Dallas County District 1 building on Rowlett Road in Garland. County vehicles used to be maintained there, but it sat unused for years, with grease-stained floors on 11 weed-covered acres. [But the building has come back to life in a big way.]( Grapevines now thrive along with newly planted fruit trees. There's a rose bed and 80 raised vegetable beds for research. editors' picks - Line of duty: A firefighter was injured Monday [while battling a blaze at Northeast Dallas apartment.]( - Editorial: Here are [10 reasons Amazon should pick Dallas over D.C.]( And yes, tacos are included. - Science and medicine: A new study says patients can benefit from having genetic test results re-analyzed regularly [as accelerating genomics research unlocks new secrets.]( - Out of the kitchen: We've got a list of more than 30 restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth [where you can order Thanksgiving takeout — or dine in.]( - Airlines news: American is now [operating nonstop from D-FW to Cheyenne](, and Southwest is [expanding Love Field service to New York and Washington D.C.Â]( - Economic snapshot: [Can you afford rising rents for Dallas apartments?]( - Gardening: [Should this beautiful, fast-growing tree be banned?]( Finally... When winning isn't enough: Successful triathlete ponders 'what if' Brandi Grissom Swicegood, an Austin writer, captures life's moments as she balances family and relationships while training to become a professional triathlete. I should have been over the moon that I won my age group at Ironman 70.3 Cozumel, strutting around with my giant, hot-pink trophy. Don’t get me wrong, I was stoked about my first Ironman 70.3 win. The truth is, though, I was hoping to tell a different story today. I planned to tell the story of earning my pro license. Today’s story is different, but it still has a happy ending, because not meeting my goal today means I have the chance to try again tomorrow. [Read the full essay.]( [Subscribe to our Real Estate newsletter]( 👋 That's all for this evening! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please [check out our other newsletters here](. Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=Evening%20Roundup%20Feedback).[Dennis Jansen](mailto:djansen@dallasnews.com?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) STAY CONNECTED WITH US  [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Reddit](  [OTHER NEWSLETTERS]( [SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS]( [Unsubscribe](  |  [Manage Preferences](  |  [Privacy Policy](  |  [Contact](  |  [Advertise]( You received this message because you signed up for this Dallas Morning News newsletter or it was forwarded to you. Copyright 2018 - [The Dallas Morning News]( | [1954 Commerce St., Dallas, TX 75201](#)