HARRIS COUNTY

A sergeant with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office was hit and killed while directing traffic overnight, according to the sheriff.

With less than a month left to vote by mail in the March primary election, hundreds of applications for mail-in ballots are being rejected as both Texas voters and local election officials decipher new ID requirements enacted by Republican lawmakers.

A Houston deputy was shot and killed during a traffic stop overnight and the man responsible is still on the run, according to authorities.

A Texas woman is now out on bond after sheriff’s deputies said she tried to purchase another woman’s child while waiting in a checkout line at Walmart.

Authorities say three teens have been found dead n in a home northeast of Houston, and it appears one of the teens killed themself after killing the other two.

A man accused of killing a Cracker Barrel manager in the Houston area was fatally shot by Harris County sheriff’s deputies as they zeroed in on him, according to the sheriff.

A manager at a Houston-area Cracker Barrel was fatally shot Saturday morning during an attempted robbery, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/SheriffEd_HCSO/status/1482436555365040128">Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.</a>

A Harris County judge on Thursday declined to find probable cause in a child endangerment case involving a teacher who placed her COVID-19-positive son in the trunk, according to media reports.

Texas Republicans last year enacted new identification requirements for voting by mail as part of sweeping legislation that further restricted the state’s voting process and narrowed local control of elections.

A Houston-area man was arrested after deputies say he had a lit barbecue pit in the bed of his truck, leading them to discover he was intoxicated and in possession of cocaine.

Prosecutors say the oldest Texas death row inmate is set for an April execution for killing a Houston police officer more than 30 years ago.

Officials tallied a total of 246 from the state's natural disaster.

Authorities are asking for the public’s help in finding a missing 81-year-old man near Houston.

The omicron wave will hit the unvaccinated the hardest, local experts say. They urge Bexar County residents to get vaccinated and boosted.

Most local officials insist they still have testing capacity at their public testing sites, but Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said demand has outpaced supply.

A man in Harris County is reportedly the first person to die from the omicron COVID-19 variant in the United States.

Texas' use of the death penalty has declined over the past several years. Public support, while strong in Texas, has been slipping as well.

A cyclist was able to narrowly escape injury during an attack from a pipe-wielding, shirtless jogger while on a trail in Katy last week, according to media reports.

AG cannot unilaterally prosecute election cases, Texas' highest criminal court rules

A Texas man was arrested this week for allegedly fraudulently obtaining a $3.3 million Paycheck Protection Program loan and using the majority of it for a private jet and luxury items.

Witnesses say a crime defendant punched and attacked a bailiff, prosecutor and judge after being denied bond in his fraud case in Houston.

A suspect is in custody Sunday following an October shooting that killed a Harris County Pct. 4 constable deputy and injured two other deputies, according to the Houston Police Department.

Two people were killed Thursday in a small plane crash in Harris County, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

Local officials believe the omicron variant will reach Bexar County.

AUSTIN (AP) — A Houston-area woman has been confirmed as having the first case of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in Texas, state health officials reported Monday.Genetic sequencing tests this week sh[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

In mid-November the Harris County district attorney issued subpoenas concerning the awarding of a contract for vaccine outreach.

The Republican Party of Texas announced Monday it had launched a new Local Government Committee to work with county parties on backing candidates for nonpartisan local offices.

It's almost impossible to find the popular console.

A $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.

A $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 has said is a history of racial inequity with infrastructure projects in the U.S. The project’s critics, including community groups and some residents, say it won’t improve the area’s traffic woes and would subject mostly Black and Latino residents to increased pollution, displacement and flooding while not improving public transportation options. Its supporters counter the proposed 10-year construction project that would remake 24 miles along Interstate 45 and several other roadways would enhance driver safety, help reduce traffic congestion and address flood mitigation and disaster evacuation needs.

In the wake of the deadly Travis Scott concert, Bayou City and Harris County politicians have formed a circular firing squad.

A county administrator will work with other government agencies to review security, fire and other safety plans at the music festival.

Calls for an independent investigation into what led to 10 deaths at the Astroworld music festival have gone unheeded.

A Houston mother is charged with murder after <a href="https://twitter.com/SheriffEd_HCSO/status/1459872931383808003" target="_blank">Harris County sheriff’s deputies said</a> she left a baby shower party and crashed her vehicle, killing her 4-year-old daughter and injuring four other children.

Law enforcement officials in Houston are being led a chase by a person who who allegedly shot at the building of the Harris County Pct. 4 Constable’s Office.

The probe will "involve our homicide division as well as narcotics," the Houston police chief said.

Long-term plans in Harris and Montgomery counties could make the trail the nation's longest urban greenway.

At the same time, in Texas, an increasing number of counties are rethinking who should run elections altogether.

Authorities say three brothers who they allege were abandoned by their mother and her boyfriend were living by themselves in deplorable conditions in a Houston area apartment.

A woman and her boyfriend have been arrested in the death of the woman's 8-year-old son, whose skeletal remains were found inside a Houston-area apartment with three surviving but apparently abandoned siblings.

A gunman opened fire at a mall Monday in Boise, Idaho, leaving four people injured and two dead. Police arrived on scene within minutes and exchanged fire with the suspect, leaving the shooter in critical condition. Carter Evans reports.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 2020 lawsuit to bar drive-thru voting in Houston was rejected Monday by a federal appeals court in New Orleans.

A sheriff in Texas says the skeletal remains of a child were found inside an apartment in the Houston area along with three surviving siblings who appear to have been abandoned.

TwitterHouston cops carrying out a welfare check on an apartment found a nightmare: three siblings abandoned and living with the skeletal remains of a fourth.“A very horrific situation out here, very tragic,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at a Sunday press conference. “I’ve been in this business a long time and I had never heard of a scenario like this. It really caught me by surprise.”The surviving children were ages 15, 10, and 7, and they had been living in “deplorable conditions” fo

The bills reflect GOP efforts to further tighten voting laws, and pressure from former President Donald Trump on Texas Republicans to help advance his baseless election fraud claims. They are not expected to go far in the House.

A spokesman for Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who will have final say, did not respond to requests for comment.

“We’re talking about three individuals who were just out here working," said Sean Teare, chief of vehicular crimes with the Harris County district attorney’s office. "They were out here doing their job.”

Officials in some counties targeted by audits accuse Republican Texas leaders of pandering to conspiracy theorists and undermining faith in elections. They also say the secretary of state’s office hasn’t provided details on what the audits entail.

Police are searching for the driver who they say ran over the woman outside the restaurant.

HOUSTON (AP) — Two Houston police officers were shot and injured while serving a warrant at an apartment complex Monday morning, authorities said.

“I think we fared well,” said one official in Matagorda County, where Nicholas made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Tuesday morning.

Hurricane Nicholas made landfall along the Texas coast on Tuesday. The National Hurricane Center says it touched down on the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula, about 100 miles southwest of Houston, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. (Sept. 14)

HOUSTON (AP) — Tropical Storm Nicholas gathered strength Monday and threatened to blow ashore in Texas as a hurricane that could bring up to 20 inches of rain to parts of the Gulf Coast, including the[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Tropical Storm Nicholas strengthened as it headed for the Gulf Coast on Sunday, threatening heavy rain and floods in coastal areas of Texas, Mexico and Louisiana.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Nicholas has strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane ahead of its expected landfall in Texas.

A child whose mother forgot to drop off at daycare in the Houston area was found dead in a vehicle after several hours, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

SB 1 makes up Republicans’ third attempt to pass a far-reaching law that restricts how and when voters cast ballots. It takes particular aim at voting initiatives used in diverse, Democratic Harris County in the 2020 election.

Hundreds of Central American asylum seekers awaited coronavirus test results under tents in a park on the U.S. bank of the Rio Grande last week.

Opponents of a sweeping Republican elections overhaul in Texas sued Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, going to court even before he had signed into law changes that would further tighten the state's already strict voting rules.

Harris County joined a coalition of community and advocacy groups filing lawsuits over Senate Bill 1, arguing the far-reaching rewrite of Texas voting laws violates the U.S. Constitution and numerous federal laws and will suppress voters.

A 67-year-old Asian man in Harris County, Texas, suffered critical injuries after falling victim to two loose pit bulls that viciously attacked him during a morning walk last week. What happened: The victim, who has not been identified, was strolling in the 4300 block of Queens Retreat Drive when the pair of pit bulls crossed the street to attack him. It took place in the front yard of Elmer Levigne, a former deputy of the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

Democrats say it could make it more difficult for disabled voters and voters of color to vote, while Republicans say it'll be harder to cheat the election system.

Democrats say it could make it more difficult for disabled voters and voters of color to vote, while Republicans say it'll be harder to cheat the election system.

COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased across the Rio Grande Valley this summer, leaving hospitals unable to hire nurses fast enough.

The legislation now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it. Once he does, Texas will become the latest GOP-run state to enact new voting restrictions.

After passing through the GOP-controlled House, the bill is expected to gain Senate approval before heading to Gov. Abbot's desk.

Senate Bill 1 would set new rules for voting by mail, boost protections for partisan poll watchers and roll back local voting initiatives meant to make it easier to vote, namely those championed by Harris County that were disproportionately used by voters of color.

The vote on the Republican-led election legislation follows unprecedented efforts by Democrats to block it.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans on Thursday pressed forward on a third try at passing new voting restrictions after Democrats returned from a 38-day walkout with little ability now to stop the bill from reaching Gov. Greg Abbott.

A week after public health officials in Texas’ most populous county started handing out $100 cash cards to locals getting their first COVID-19 shot, the number of daily vaccinations has shot up to six times its previous rate, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Tuesday.

The meeting had been set to be held next month in Houston, due to concerns over...

The National Rifle Association has announced it has canceled its annual meeting, which had been set to be held next month in Houston, due to concerns over COVID-19.

Other city and county governments in Texas are offering incentives to unvaccinated people to get a shot. Statewide, vaccination rates have increased modestly.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans brought back their voting bill Monday with no changes as some Democrats returned to the Capitol for the first time since ending their holdout, making it clear that the bill is on track to become law after their 38-day walkout.

The court denied a request from the state to stop the mandates by undoing temporary restraining orders granted by lower courts.

HOUSTON (AP) — Some Texas cities, counties and school districts remained defiant Monday and kept in place mandates requiring students and others to wear facial coverings despite rulings a day earlier by the Texas Supreme Court halting mask mandates in two of the state's largest counties.

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton (R) has vowed to take Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's efforts to ban face mask mandates to the state's Supreme Court, as COVID-19 cases surge across the state.Driving the news: Paxton's announcement just before midnight Friday follows three defeats in the lower courts on the enforcement of Abbott's May executive order prohibiting government entities in the state, including public schools, from requiring masks.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets.

A Texas district judge granted Harris County’s request for a temporary order that prevents the enforcement of Gov. Greg Abbott's recent executive order banning face masks mandates in public schools, according to the Houston Chronicle.Why it matters: The order allows the county to temporarily enforce mask mandates for students and school faculty as COVID cases continue to tick up throughout Houston.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.The big picture: Abbott

Texas’ most populous county has joined the legal battle by local officials seeking to override Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates and institute protections against COVID-19 as hospitals around the state continue to swell with patients sickened by the virus.

COVID-19 is surging again in Texas. Hospitalizations are increasing faster than at any other time. Local officials and school leaders are pushing back against Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates. Here’s the latest.

A Houston-area woman who said she shot a homeless person who attacked or approached her aggressively has been charged with murder after investigators found her account false.

Authorities say a man who fatally shot his pregnant ex-wife and her boyfriend in the parking lot of a Houston soccer park as children played in a tournament was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.

What would the controversial voting bills Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3 actually do, and how would they affect your voting experience?

Harris County, which includes Houston, has more than 4.7 million people. Many of the voting rights innovations installed last year are at risk of being eliminated by the Republican-led legislature.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez runs one of the nation's biggest jails in Houston. If confirmed by the Senate, he'll be tasked with overhauling ICE, an agency he's criticized for its aggressive tactics.

Critics say the arrest, which comes as Texas Republicans try to pass stringent voting restrictions, is designed to keep people of color away from the polls.

On Saturday, the Texas House Select Committee on Constitutional Rights & Remedies will hear public testimony on HB 3, the elections bill.

The bills being considered by the state House and Senate omit two of the most controversial provisions from the original measure.

With the Texas Legislature gaveled back in for legislative overtime, the House and Senate have each revealed their opening bids in the GOP’s push to...

Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3 will be the starting points for the Legislature's efforts to tighten Texas voting laws. Here's what the bills would do.

It’s an unconventional but attention-grabbing strategy.

As the Legislature's special session dawns, political developments have raised the stakes for how far Republicans might go in enacting new voting restrictions, and how they might impact voters of color.

A Houston father shot a man Monday morning after he was allegedly peeping on his 10-year-old daughter through her window and touching himself inappropriately, according to Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

A grand jury has declined to indict a former Houston-area health department doctor accused of stealing nine doses of coronavirus vaccine and administering them to family and friends.

A grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict a former Houston-area health department doctor who was accused of stealing nine doses of coronavirus vaccine from a damaged vial and administering them to family and friends. Prosecutors had alleged that Dr. Hasan Gokal, who worked for Harris County Public Health, stole a vial of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine while working at a vaccination site at a suburban Houston park on Dec. 29.

The thirty-year-old Houston chief executive is creating a model for how progressives can govern effectively.

<i>Editor’s note: Officials initially said a teen and a child fell off the jet ski. New information states it was just one adult on board and no other occupants. </i>

An off-duty Harris County Precinct 1 deputy constable’s wife and four-year-old step-daughter were shot and injured in their apartment during an overnight home invasion, according to Houston Police Department.

Two women have been arrested in connection with the shooting of a Houston-area nail salon owner over a price dispute.

Houston 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.