Good morning, Texas. Here’s what you need to know today.
Your Weather Planner
After just enough rain to make your car and roads dirty, the sun will return by the middle of the day once clouds depart. A warm Thursday is followed by a warmer Friday with increasing moisture. This will set the stage for a storm system to impact Texas Friday night through Saturday. This will likely impact Valentine’s Day plans for many Saturday. Rain totals look decent, especially for North Texas with a low severe weather impact at this time.
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Around Texas
1. Burleson police roll out real-time body camera translation technology ahead of World Cup
With the FIFA World Cup just four months away from bringing international soccer matches to Texas, law enforcement and emergency agencies across North Texas are ramping up preparations for an expected surge of visitors — and languages.
The Burleson Police Department is rolling out a new body camera program officials say will help officers communicate more effectively. The technology, part of Axon’s Body 4 camera system, allows for real-time translation of up to 50 languages and is among the first of its kind in the North Texas region.
2. Republican-led redistricting reshaped Houston’s historically Black congressional districts
U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan, D-Houston, was the first Black woman elected to Congress from the South, serving on the influential House Judiciary Committee. She made Texas history as the first Black woman to win a primary race for the state Legislature. And while in the Texas Senate, in 1971, Jordan drew the boundaries for Houston’s 18th Congressional District that she went on to represent.
“The 18th Congressional District, up until now, had really remained pretty much intact and had always been the place where leading black politicians have emerged to have incredible influence and important national voices,” said Mary Ellen Curtin, a professor of American studies at American University.
The new congressional map redraws the 18th District on the south of the city and resembles the old 9th Congressional District, which is currently held by longtime U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston.
3. A 15-week ‘Walk for Peace’ concludes with Buddhist monks’ arrival in Washington
A group of Buddhist monks reached Washington, D.C., on foot Tuesday, walking single file across a bridge over the Potomac River to cap a 15-week trek from Texas that has captivated the country.
The monks in their saffron robes have become fixtures on social media, along with their rescue dog Aloka. After spending Monday night at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia, they crossed over the Chain Bridge into the District of Columbia shortly after 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
Around The Nation
1. FBI releases first surveillance images of masked person on Nancy Guthrie’s porch
2. GOP, Democrats remain far apart on DHS funding agreement
3. Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympic struggles continue with 4th-place finish in the team combined
Deep in the Heart of Texas 
Wesley United Methodist Church in Robertson Hill, one of East Austin’s Black freedom communities. (Spectrum News 1/Geraldine Torrellas-Piñero)
Austin’s Black freedom communities highlighted in new documentary
There are Black freedom communities throughout many cities across Texas, like Austin, Dallas and Houston. These communities were formed by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War.
The history of Austin’s Black freedom communities are stories that have often been overlooked as the neighborhoods continue to transform. People with a passion for preserving that history are doing everything they can to shed light on it.