WEATHER ALERT
Head of FEMA tours deadly storm damage in Houston area as more residents get power back
Read full article: Head of FEMA tours deadly storm damage in Houston area as more residents get power backThe head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has toured the Houston area to assess the damage from last week’s deadly storms.
Hot weather poses new risk as thousands remain without power after deadly Houston storm
Read full article: Hot weather poses new risk as thousands remain without power after deadly Houston stormAs the Houston area works to clean up and restore power to hundreds of thousands after deadly storms left at least seven people dead, it will do so amid a smog warning and rising Texas heat.
Floodwaters start receding around Houston area as recovery begins following rescues and evacuations
Read full article: Floodwaters start receding around Houston area as recovery begins following rescues and evacuationsFloodwaters in the Houston area and parts of Southeast Texas are starting to recede, allowing residents to begin returning to their homes and assess damages after days of heavy rainfall.
Floodwaters start receding around Houston area as recovery begins following rescues and evacuations
Read full article: Floodwaters start receding around Houston area as recovery begins following rescues and evacuationsFloodwaters in the Houston area are starting to recede, allowing residents to begin returning to their homes and assess damages after days of heavy rainfall.
Private jet was short on approach to Virginia runway when it crashed, killing 5, police say
Read full article: Private jet was short on approach to Virginia runway when it crashed, killing 5, police sayVirginia State Police say a small private jet was short on its approach to a rural airport’s runway when it struck trees and crashed into a hillside and burned, killing all five people aboard.
Houstonians worry new laws will deter voters who don't recall the hard-won fight for voting rights
Read full article: Houstonians worry new laws will deter voters who don't recall the hard-won fight for voting rightsTexas Republicans passed measures this year to eliminate Harris County’s top election job and give the Republican secretary of state power to take oversight of elections in Houston.
Judge calls new Texas election law unconstitutional but state says it will appeal ruling
Read full article: Judge calls new Texas election law unconstitutional but state says it will appeal rulingA judge has called a new law unconstitutional that passed in the GOP-led Texas Legislature that will dictate how elections are run in the state’s most populous county.
A test case challenging election results in Texas’ biggest county follows a post-Trump playbook
Read full article: A test case challenging election results in Texas’ biggest county follows a post-Trump playbookA Republican judicial candidate who lost a district court election in Harris County, Texas, is the first of almost two dozen disappointed contestants to have their case reach a civil trial.
🌀Which Florida counties are most vulnerable to a hurricane? Here’s a ranking
Read full article: 🌀Which Florida counties are most vulnerable to a hurricane? Here’s a rankingWhich U.S. counties face the biggest danger from Earth's most powerful storms? With climate experts forecasting a "borderline hyperactive" hurricane season, Gutter Gnome ranked 2023's Most Hurricane-Vulnerable Counties.
GOP state legislatures seek greater control over state and local election offices
Read full article: GOP state legislatures seek greater control over state and local election officesLawmakers in several Republican-led states have been looking to exert more authority over state and local election offices.
Masked gunman robs, sexually attacks 2 women at Orange County bus stop, deputies say
Read full article: Masked gunman robs, sexually attacks 2 women at Orange County bus stop, deputies sayDeputies in Orange County are looking for a man who allegedly robbed and sexually attacked women in separate incidents at the same bus stop.
Difficulties again put Houston at center of Texas elections
Read full article: Difficulties again put Houston at center of Texas electionsA Democrat who is the top official in Texas’ largest county on Thursday acknowledged problems around Houston on Election Day that included paper ballot shortages and delayed openings of polling locations.
This major city is producing more garbage, but there are fewer sanitation workers to do the job
Read full article: This major city is producing more garbage, but there are fewer sanitation workers to do the jobAs communities continue to grow, so does the amount of garbage. But cities and companies are struggling to keep workers willing to do these "dirty" jobs.
Mom fearing exposure to COVID places teenage son in trunk of car while driving to test site
Read full article: Mom fearing exposure to COVID places teenage son in trunk of car while driving to test siteKPRC-TV is reporting a mother has been charged after her 13-year-old son was found in the trunk of her car at a Cy-Fair ISD drive-thru COVID testing site, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office confirmed.
Houston highway project sparks debate over racial equity
Read full article: Houston highway project sparks debate over racial equityA $9 billion highway widening project being proposed in the Houston area could become an important test of the Biden administration’s commitment to addressing what it says is a history of racial inequity with infrastructure projects.
Houston seethes over being frozen out of federal flood funds
Read full article: Houston seethes over being frozen out of federal flood fundsHouston residents and officials are seething over a Texas agency's decision to not award the city a single cent of the initial $1 billion in federal flood mitigation funding the state was promised following Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Despite business warnings, GOP moves ahead with voting bills
Read full article: Despite business warnings, GOP moves ahead with voting billsRepublican lawmakers around the country are pressing ahead with efforts to tighten voting laws, despite growing warnings from business leaders that the measures could harm democracy and the economic climate.
Despite business warnings, GOP moves ahead with voting bills
Read full article: Despite business warnings, GOP moves ahead with voting billsRepublican lawmakers around the country are pressing ahead with efforts to tighten voting laws, despite growing warnings from business leaders that the measures could harm democracy and the economic climate.
Texas jail inmates hungry, shivering during unusual freeze
Read full article: Texas jail inmates hungry, shivering during unusual freezeThe Harris County Sheriff’s Office denied it had restricted inmates' access to food and water in the days following the storm. The jail in Harris County has long been the subject of legal action due to overcrowding. Civil Rights Corps won a settlement in a lawsuit to ensure that most misdemeanor defendants in the Harris County Jail don’t languish behind bars because they can’t afford bail. In late January, a federal judge expressed frustration over what she called a lack of progress in efforts to relieve overcrowding at the Harris County Jail during the pandemic. In a court filing, nine inmates described the facility as a “metal can of contagion.”“A lot of people are just stuck, nothing is moving,” said Gundu, of the Texas Jail Project.
Appeals court declines to ban drive-thru voting in Houston
Read full article: Appeals court declines to ban drive-thru voting in HoustonVictoria Houptman-Bryan joins demonstrators as they stand across the street from the federal courthouse in Houston, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, before a hearing in federal court involving drive-thru ballots cast in Harris County. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)HOUSTON – A panel of federal appeals court judges has rejected an eleventh hour Republican effort to bar Election Day drive-thru voting in Houston. The court hadn't been asked to invalidate votes already cast at drive-thru sites in the Houston area. “Hopefully it's all over now.”Attorney Jared Woodfill, a former Harris County GOP Chairman representing those opposed to drive-thru voting centers, noted that county Clerk Chris Hollins has shut down all but one of the county's 10 drive-thru locations for Election Day. "We have stopped the illegal voting on Election Day because Mr. Hollins has shut down drive-thru voting in all locations but one,” Woodfill said.
Judge rejects GOP effort to throw out 127,000 Houston votes
Read full article: Judge rejects GOP effort to throw out 127,000 Houston votes(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)HOUSTON – A federal judge on Monday rejected another last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centers established during the pandemic. The lawsuit was brought by conservative Texas activists who have railed against expanded voting access in Harris County, where a record 1.4 million early votes have already been cast. Another 20,000 or more voters were expected to use drive-thru polling locations Tuesday, said Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, the county's top elections official. Harris County offered 10 drive-thru locations as an option for its nearly 5 million residents amid worries of spreading the coronavirus. More than 40% of Harris County residents are Latino, and about one in five residents are Black.
Despite virus fears, Texas sends most voters to the polls
Read full article: Despite virus fears, Texas sends most voters to the pollsWith an election official looking on an elderly voter uses the drive-thru option to vote outside Richardson City Hall during early voting Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, in Richardson, Texas. Texas is one of just five states that did not dramatically expand mail-in voting this year because of COVID-19. Long lines were common at polling sites across Texas, as were masks, although voters are not required to wear them inside polling places. Travis County, which includes the state capital of Austin, will also offer extended hours at select locations during early voting. Upping the ante is the chance to flip the Republican-controlled Texas State House of Representatives.
Houston leaders call for city lockdown amid virus case surge
Read full article: Houston leaders call for city lockdown amid virus case surgeHOUSTON Top officials in Houston are calling for the city to lock back down as area hospitals strain to accommodate the onslaught of patients sick with the new coronavirus. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, both Democrats, said this weekend that a stay-at-home order is needed for America's fourth largest city to cope with the surge of COVID-19 cases. State health officials reported 8,196 new cases Sunday, another 80 deaths and a total of 10,410 people hospitalized due to the virus. On Friday, Abbott extended a statewide disaster order that warned Texans another shutdown might be needed if the virus spread isnt contained. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.