The State of Texas: Your summer survival guide

Plus: Could this be a break in a 1974 cold case? No Images? [Click here]( [Discover Shreveport-Bossier: Louisiana's Other Side]( [Texas Monthly]( August 6, 2018 QUOTE OF THE DAY "The biggest challenge I have in this race . . . is complacency. People say all the time, ‘Oh, come on, it’s a Texas re-elect. How could you possibly lose?’ Well, in an ordinary cycle, that might be true. But this is not an ordinary cycle." —U.S. Senator Ted Cruz during a weekend campaign stop. After three polls last week showed a tightening race, Cruz faced questions [about the momentum]( that Democratic nominee Beto O'Rourke is experiencing. THE LATEST [Summer Survival Guide]( TEXAS MONTHLY Let us help you get through the hottest months of the year. [Read more.]( THE TEXANIST [Why Does Texas Have So Many Insanely Tall Overpasses?]( DAVID COURTNEY Q: I recently drove down from Iowa to see my daughter in Austin, and during my visit I couldn’t understand why Texas has so many highway overpasses and why they were built so insanely high off the ground. We made a trip to Lockhart and on the way home we connected from Texas 130 to Texas 45 on an overpass in the middle of nowhere that seemed to be nearly 100 feet tall. Why not just build highways on the ground? And when you do need to build an overpass, why does it need to be so high in the air? Marty Dunn, Des Moines, Iowa A: The Texanist, as he has noted in this space on numerous occasions, is an enthusiastic motorist. And as such, as he has also noted in this space, he counts himself lucky to live in the one state in the Union blessed with more miles of roadway than any other. Here, a person can [drive and drive and drive]( to their heart’s content. The Texanist is jealous of your recent road trip. [Read more.]( Look here every Monday for the latest from the Texanist, and [peruse his archives here.]( Tomorrow, and every Tuesday, you’ll find a selection from our archives. [Talk Like a Texan podcast: Listen Now!Discover Shreveport-Bossier: Louisiana's Other Side]( OUR TOP STORIES [Trump Administration May Be Creating ‘Permanently Orphaned’ Immigrant Kids, Judge Says]( The judge ordered the administration to begin finding missing parents and to reunite them with their children. [Read more.]( [We Guessed What These Big Tex Choice Awards State Fair Food Semifinalists Actually Are]( ”Cotton candy tacos,” we can’t wait to meet you. [Read more.]( [Alex Jones’s Attorneys Argue That No Reasonable Person Would Believe What He Says]( The Infowars honcho’s legal troubles mount. [Read more.]( THE STATE OF TEXAS Trade Target The latest escalation of the trade war between the United States and China could have an especially [big impact on Texas's energy sector](. China is threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on liquified natural gas, a burgeoning worldwide industry that could bring billions of dollars in investment to the Gulf Coast. Texas companies such as Cheniere Energy and Tellurian Inc. are actively trying to secure sales contracts that will allow them to remain competitive in the lucrative export market. Because of its forecasted reliance on cleaner fuels to combat a smog problem, experts believed that China would leave LNG off of its growing list of tariffs. How fracking brought us [the LNG wave](. Deep Dive A man hopes that vehicles [sitting at the bottom of a lake]( will lead to a break in a 44-year-old cold case. Rusty Arnold has suspected for years that three vehicles found in Fort Worth's Benbrook Lake could have a connection to the 1974 disappearance of his 17-year-old sister and two other girls. And now, after four years of planning, Arnold has raised $10,000 for drivers to pull the vehicles out. Arnold and a team of volunteers have zeroed in on the cars because they believe that one belongs to a person of interest in the case. “At the same time the girls went missing, we believe the vehicle he was driving also disappeared,” Arnold told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We sat around coming up with theories, and we discovered that the person of interest lived within five miles of Benbrook Lake at the time. It’s a hunch.” Final Countdown The former head of the City University of New York has been named the sole finalist for the next chancellor of the University of Texas System. [James Milliken, 61, was named](on Saturday, kicking off a state-mandated 21-day waiting period before UT regents can confirm him. If confirmed, he will replace Admiral William McRaven, who stepped down in May after three years on the job. Milliken has a long background in university administration, including serving as chancellor of CUNY, president of the University of Nebraska, and a senior administrator in the University of North Carolina System. Milliken, a lawyer by training, stepped down at CUNY last year, announcing he had been diagnosed with throat cancer and had other health issues. UT officials said over the weekend that he has since received a clean bill of health. Take a look at the man [James Milliken will replac ]( NEWS & POLITICS [Court’s 3D Printer Ruling Does Not Halt DIY Ghost Guns]( R.G. RATCLIFFE An Austin man can’t post a printer gun code on the internet, but you can buy it on a thumb drive for $10. [Read more.]( [Living the Bold Life: Arnold Moede]( [Living the Bold Life: Arnold Moede]( When Arnold Moede turned 88, he set his driver’s license on fire. “I wanted to protest getting old,” Moede says. He doesn’t drive anymore, but he gets around just fine. His story is part of “Living the Bold Life,” a new series with Texas Monthly and Whataburger. [Read More]( [Discover Shreveport-Bossier: Louisiana's Other Side]( MORE FROM TEXAS MONTHLY [Worship at the Altar of Craft Beer at Saint Arnold Brewing Company in Houston]( AARON CHAMBERLAIN [Witness to More Than 400 Executions, Michael Graczyk Reflects on His Career]( WILLOW HIGGINS [Augustine Frizzell is Never Goin’ Back]( ERIC BENSON [Why is Changing Austin’s Name a Non-Starter?]( DAN SOLOMON [Subscribe to Texas Monthly and Save!]( Subscribe to Texas Monthly for $1.25 an issue and get a free tote. 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