ted's cruz

Sen. Ted Cruz scuttles back to Texas after getting busted on Cancun getaway

Ted in line at Houston airport with police escort.

Twitter

In the midst of a historically awful winter weather event in which millions of people across Texas were without power, Texas Senator Ted Cruz was caught trying to make a tropical getaway to Cancun.

Cruz and his family were photographed by fellow travelers at the George Bush Airport in Houston on February 17, as well as onboard United Airlines flight #1020.

"The confirmation is from multiple eye witnesses of @tedcruz and @heidicruz in Cancun," noted journalist David Shuster, while Fox News reported that it was true.

According to the New York Times, not only did Cruz and his family make the flight but a member of Cruz's staff contacted the Houston Police Department personnel at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Wednesday afternoon requesting "assistance upon arrival" — while the city of Houston was gripped by freezing weather.

Cruz's trip caught the attention of Dan Rather, who tweeted "There's an old Texas saying: When the going gets tough, the tough go to Cancun. (No, there actually is no such saying)."

Some wondered whether Cruz's abandoning Texas with 6+ counties declared disaster areas, people freezing, without power, drinking water, burst pipes flooding homes, and dying wasn't cause for a charge of malfeasance.

Cruz was definitely aware of the crisis. On February 16, he tweeted "A blizzard strikes Texas & our state shuts down. Not good."

Cruz criticized Austin Mayor Steve Adler when he went to Cabo in December, tweeting that Democrats were "complete and utter hypocrites."

By February 18, Cruz was saying he did it for his kids.

"With school canceled for the week, our girls asked us to take a trip with friends," he said. "Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon."

However, the flight showed he was on Standby, and a source at United Airlines said that Cruz was originally scheduled to return on Saturday but rebooked his flight back to Houston on Thursday morning at 6 am.

The skeptical comments responding to a theory that he would claim he planned to fly back the next day are fun:

CinPA @Cinder_Blue2020
Sure. I always fly to Cancun in the middle of the night, then fly right back the next day.

Andrew Smith @andosmith
Yeah when my family goes on vacation without me I always fly there with them to make sure they get there safely, then fly home. Who doesn't?

Jonathan Cornick @jonathancornick
His wife is a Goldman Sachs executive. Surely she’s been on a plane before?

Mass for Shut-ins (Podcast) @edburmila
Sounds extremely plausible to me, a person who was born an hour ago

Rachel Barkow @RachelBarkow
He deliberately flew there up and back to burn extra fossil fuel and dunk on the Green New Deal.

Mrs. Betty Bowers @BettyBowers
"The enormous roller bag was for Mr. Cruz's one pair of fresh underwear and the enormous duffle bag was for his toothbrush."

b-boy bouiebaisse @jbouie
who among us doesn’t immediately blame our kids when we get roasted for a bad decision

"One imagines there will be some reporters waiting for this arrival flight today back in Houston," Shuster tweeted. "Please post photos of Cruz with his tail between his legs. As for Heidi and the kids, enjoy the rest of your Cancun vacation."

city-news-roundup weather

are you happy?

Houston continues sad streak as one of the 'unhappiest' U.S. cities

Photo by Damaris Martin on Unsplash

Even with a poor ranking, you still shouldn't ask us to "smile more."

A new nationwide study analyzing the happiest cities in America has determined Houston is slightly happier than it was last year, but it still appears to be one of the unhappiest U.S. cities in 2026.

Houston currently ranks as the 128th happiest U.S. city. Last year, it was No. 151.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Houston across the three key dimensions:

No. 107 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 148 – Income and employment
No. 158 – Community and environment

Despite its low ranking, Houstonians are working hard to improve their city's quality of life year after year, whether its through opening new restaurants, inviting Houston-born stars to perform at the rodeo, or having a strong job market. We also have some of the best museums, a diverse culinary scene, and iconic institutions like the Johnson Space Center. And considering that people keep moving here, Houston must be happier than other places.

Having a good job and a fun social life can qualify as factors that measure happiness, but WalletHub separately emphasized that making more money doesn't necessarily mean "more" happiness.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Elsewhere in Texas
The Dallas suburb Plano and its residents' happiness far outshines the rest of Texas, according to WalletHub. Plano ranked as the 16th happiest U.S. city, and the No. 1 happiest statewide. Austin was the only other Texas city to rank among the top 50, landing in the No. 39 spot.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 70 – Irving
No. 92 – Garland
No. 106 – Grand Prairie
No. 111 – Dallas
No. 113 – Fort Worth
No. 119 – Arlington
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

reports san antonio wallethub