U.S. Customs and Border Protection this week quietly updated its "Smart Wall" map to remove two "primary border barrier system" projects in the Big Bend area, including one recently slated for Big Bend National Park. Other projects are still listed for parts of Presidio, Jeff Davis and Hudspeth counties.

The San Antonio Republican was pushed into a runoff in the primary for his border district. Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP members had called on him to exit the race.

Painted on cave walls where the Pecos and Devils rivers join the Rio Grande, the rock art of the Lower Pecos canyonlands casts a powerful spell. Its imagery is intricate, depicting human-like figures with upraised arms, geometric forms and animals like snakes, birds and mountain lions. And its scale is vast. Some panels span a hundred feet or more, and there are hundreds of such sites.

The Republican primary was upended in the final days by reports that Gonzales had an affair with a former aide who died last year after setting herself on fire. He'll face Herrera in a runoff for the second straight election.