HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Bob Covey served on the Cy-Fair ISD school board for 16 years until he and two other longtime incumbents were unseated in 2021 by candidates who ran on conservative values with endorsements and financial contributions from partisan groups. Two years later, three additional like-minded candidates won their respective seats. Public school boards are nonpartisan, according to the Texas Association of School Boards, and Covey, a 50-year Republican, said he never thought politics had a place in public schools. But Covey spoke out on June 17 when six trustees doubled down on a previous decision to omit climate change and vaccine content from textbooks. “There wasn’t a single speaker…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Charges were filed against a Houston-based therapist accused of assaulting a client with whom he was romantically involved, according to charging documents. Thaddeus Tolbert faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and burglary stemming from an April 29, 2024, incident, documents said. According to records, Tolbert and Jhyah Scales met after she and her son began seeing him for his services in October 2023 and February 2024. Scales said Tolbert would often go in for a hug after sessions and text her, “Good morning.” In March 2024, Tolbert and Scales began to see each other…
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Police Department identified the woman shot and killed Friday night at the 1711 Caroline Apartments as 34-year-old Vanity Williams. Williams’ friends said they don’t understand why anyone would want to kill her. “I would never expect that someone would want to brutally murder her that way,” Hope Giselle, Williams’ friend, said. Giselle is still reeling from the news she got a week ago – that Williams was shot multiple times in her apartment lobby and died. “She created and made a safe space for everybody, so to think that someone would want to hurt her…
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (KTRK) — Stefon Diggs, Danielle Hunter, and Joe Mixon will start the Houston Texans’ second preseason game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Hunter signed a two-year, $49 million free agent deal to play at NRG Stadium, a 29-mile drive from his alma mater, Katy’s Morton Ranch High School. The Texans have a history of landing homegrown talent on their roster. Stafford High School’s Jalen Pitre and the Houston Cougars’ Case Keenum and Tank Dell are among the handful keeping their talents at home. ABC13 took a glimpse of the Steelers’ roster for any homegrown talent. After all, Texas is the mecca of football, so the chances…
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A court set a $350,000 bond for a man accused of leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase and hitting and killing a woman at a bus stop. Authorities charged Joseph Jebbia with murder, aggravated kidnapping, and felon in possession of a firearm and body armor in connection with Wednesday’s chase in north Houston. The bond total breaks down as follows: $150,000 for murder $100,000 for aggravated kidnapping $50,000 for unlawful possession of body armor by a felon $50,000 for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon Jebbia is due in the 174th District Court on Friday…
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houston authorities need help identifying a man believed to have tampered with someone’s drink at a Montrose bar last month. A surveillance image released by the Houston Police Department shows the suspect wanted in connection with the July 20 incident. HPD said at about 10 p.m., a man and woman were sitting at a table at Rudyard’s in the 2000 block of Waugh Drive. When the man went to get a drink at the bar, police said the suspect approached the woman at the table, exchanged a few words, and left. WANTED: Investigators need your help identifying…
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A Harris County Commissioners Court meeting that went well into the late night hours this week got tense and personal, leading to calls for decorum. The bizarre moments unfolded during the court’s regular Tuesday meeting, which started at 10 a.m. Nearly 12 hours later, just before 9:30 p.m., the meeting devolved into disarray. “I am done taking your disrespect. If someone says ‘Hello,’ you say ‘Hello’ back,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. The exchange was part of an uncomfortable back-and-forth, with the four commissioners weighing in differently. Precinct 4 Commissioner…
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Texas hospitals will soon have to start tracking how many of its patients are in the country illegally. An executive order signed by Gov. Greg Abbott Thursday afternoon requires hospitals to start tracking that information by Nov. 1. Hospitals will also have to track how much money they spend on care for undocumented immigrants. The order requires hospitals to report its findings to the state’s Health and Human Services Commission four times a year starting March 1. “I very much believe this is a political move that vilifies our immigrant communities,” Imelda Mejia, with the immigrant advocacy…
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The largest school bond in state history was approved Thursday night. For the first time since the TEA took over, voters will have a say about how HISD operates. During Thursday night’s meeting, despite people opposing the bond, stating, “No Trust, No Bond,” managers unanimously approved the $4.4 billion package on the ballot. Under this, roughly $2 billion will be allocated toward renovating and upgrading schools. A total of $1.35 billion would be spent improving the cooling, heating, and ventilation systems on campus. It would also cover lead abatement, fencing along campuses, and other security measures. The…
A Pakistani national with ties to Iran was charged in a foiled plot to assassinate U.S. government officials on American soil, the Department of Justice said Tuesday. Former President Donald Trump was one of the potential targets of the plot by Asif Merchant, who was arrested on July 12 in Texas before any attacks could be carried out, a senior law enforcement source told NBC News. Merchant unwittingly coordinated with a confidential law enforcement source, who put him in touch with two more undercover agents purporting to be hitmen, the DOJ said. Trump was nearly killed at a presidential campaign rally one day after Merchant’s arrest, when…
